Galaxy S8 Hands-on: Return of the King

[Mark Spoonauer]

The Samsung Galaxy S8 combines the sexiest design yet with serious smarts, thanks to a new Bixby assistant.


Galaxy S8 Hands-on: Return of the King : Read more

 

[davidwjohnson]

I have the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge N915T (Note Edge 4)
Time for me to upgrade.
Should I buy Galaxy S8 Plus -- or wait for next version of Note Edge?

 

[doktorS]

As I already said in the comment you erased, this phone is wonderful, and I wish to know whether it also EXPLODES, like its predecessors?!
This would add a bit of adrenaline to the raving excitement people like you heap on it!
Now I don´t dare ask.. what if it had been YOUR KID who got badly burned by one of these exploding pieces of sh*t? Would you be as rabid in your praise now?
You see, my good friend - consumer society, short-term factual memory, need to earn your daily bread... I can sympathize with all this stuff. But endorsing so desperately a phone which is an actual health hazard for any sane person and his/her family.. this is a bit over the top!
Come on, hurry and erase this comment too!
Otherwise people might read it and start thinking for themselves instead of gobbling up your review (not so disinterested, I bet)...

 

[Mark Spoonauer]

Hi doktorS,
Thanks for the comment. We extensively covered the Note 7 recall and its impact. And while it's certainly possible something could happen with this phone, Samsung says they've instituted new safety policies to try to prevent fires or explosions. We take safety very seriously, and will continue to do so.

This article is an overview of the features and what we think of them, and also what we believe is missing, such as a dual-lens camera. We can't evaluate the safety of the device until we review it and it gets in shoppers' hands.

As I already said in the comment you erased, this phone is wonderful, and I wish to know whether it also EXPLODES, like its predecessors?!
This would add a bit of adrenaline to the raving excitement people like you heap on it!
Now I don´t dare ask.. what if it had been YOUR KID who got badly burned by one of these exploding pieces of sh*t? Would you be as rabid in your praise now?
You see, my good friend - consumer society, short-term factual memory, need to earn your daily bread... I can sympathize with all this stuff. But endorsing so desperately a phone which is an actual health hazard for any sane person and his/her family.. this is a bit over the top!
Come on, hurry and erase this comment too!
Otherwise people might read it and start thinking for themselves instead of gobbling up your review (not so disinterested, I bet)...

 

[Mark Spoonauer]

Hi David,

Good question. While there are some early rumors for the Galaxy Note 8, it's too early to say what features it might have or how good it might be. However, if you do like the S Pen, the S8+ doesn't have it. That looks like it will continue to be a Note exclusive. If we had to guess, the Note 8 will debut in the fall.

I have the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge N915T (Note Edge 4)
Time for me to upgrade.
Should I buy Galaxy S8 Plus -- or wait for next version of Note Edge?

 

[Mark Spoonauer]

Hi, The Galaxy S8 is available for pre-order March 30 and hits stores April 21. You can see the pricing info here: http/www.tomsguide.com/us/samsung-galaxy-s8-price,news-24776.html

when it is going to release ? and what will be the accurate price ??

 

[Joshua_182]

Is the screen improved from the note 7? (Which was amazing) I'm currently using a Mate 9 as my note replacement and I'm used to the 5.9 16x9 ratio. I'm wondering how much width I'll loose switching to the S8+ just think I'll be missing out having black sides on the display in my games and movies just trying to figure out if I'll be gaining or loosing screen realestate lol

 

[emellaich]

Any thoughts on using Google assistant? There isn't a hardware home button to long press and on my $6 and muy wife's s7 the okay Google voice command doesn't always activate it.

 

[Molishous]

Tom, on my desktop your video's are so quiet I can not hear them if the A/C is running! I don't know if it's because you make them for some other version but it's very frustrating and I appreciate the info!

 

[ajack46]

I just saw the Hands on review for S8 and it is mind blowing, liked the retina security option. Quite excited for brixby.

 

[Mark Spoonauer]

This doesn't prove the S8 is safe but it is interesting. http/www.tomsguide.com/us/galaxy-s8-battery-torture-test,news-24898.html

Doktors...what a cynical and nasty person you are. Your comments proved why your previous post was erased. I would have erased it too. Do you know for fact that S8 will have battery problems?

 

[frenzalrhomb]

First of all, thank you for the fantastic review! The one question I can't see addressed in any reviews is: how does the S8 compare to the Galaxy S7 Edge in size? Would it feel like a step down/too small? Comparatively, how does the S8+ feel vs. the S7 Edge? Is it too big/cumbersome to hold?

 

[Freddyfresh]

When you tested the battery did you change the screen to 2k or left it at stock 1080??

 

[SF95070]

I have had my S8+ for about a week, so still learning, but here are some thoughts.
The display is gorgeous and the phone feels great in my hand. I was surprised when my 5' 2" wife with smallish hands also preferred the 8+ to the 8. The retina scan works fine, but now that the newness has worn off, I think I will just use the simple 4 digit code which is easy to access. Along with many others, I find the placement of the fingerprint scanner to be a bother. I am also disappointed that while a few apps like the one from B of A will allow the fingerprint to sign in, they won't recognize the Iris Scanner.
My previous phone was a Note 4 and I keep feeling like getting the S8+ was a bit of "victim of advertising". The S8+ does everything it promises. I'm just not sure it does enough more to really justify paying $700 to replace the Note 4. That is probably more of a complement to the Note 4 than a criticism of the S8.
BTW, the hide it well, but the S8 does have S-Health, now labelled Samsung Health and still counts steps with a built in pedometer function.
The Smart Switch App was flawless. I transferred everything from my Note 4 using the included USB adapter while I transferred my wife's Note 2 using the wireless connection. Her's took 2 hours including 6 GB of Video and 16 GB of Music. Mine took about an hour with less music and video. It asks what you want to transfer and then just does it. I also backed my phone up to my laptop using the Windows version.
So, in conclusion, it is great phone, but older Samsungs are also great phones, so you may not see that much more functionality. On the other hand, the looks, feel and that screen may be enough to create phone lust and it certainly delivers on its promises.

 

[RodsComments]

The review covered many things, very useful. What I did not see is anything about the phone's radio(s)' performance. Great camera(s), great video, awesome sound, lots of memory, etc. are wonderful but if the device does not perform well as a phone then all the rest is moot - I can get all the rest in a laptop or notebook. A few years ago I bought the then flagship HTC, the EVO. At the time it had great camera, video, sound, etc. But as a phone it failed miserably. Most reviews I read do not cover phone performance well, if at all.

 

[SF95070]

The review covered many things, very useful. What I did not see is anything about the phone's radio(s)' performance. Great camera(s), great video, awesome sound, lots of memory, etc. are wonderful but if the device does not perform well as a phone then all the rest is moot - I can get all the rest in a laptop or notebook. A few years ago I bought the then flagship HTC, the EVO. At the time it had great camera, video, sound, etc. But as a phone it failed miserably. Most reviews I read do not cover phone performance well, if at all.

 

[SF95070]

My wife and I got our S8 Plus phones the day they were released. The s8 Plus has had no problems as a phone in either Phone over WiFi or regular Verizon Phone service. While I am sure that there must be some dead spots out there, we haven't found them and between the 2 of us we cover much of Silicon Valley. Even worked well in hotels with marginal coverage. So, while this isn't quantitative data with S/N ratios and measured signal strength, I can say that these phones have been great as a communication device.

 

[RodsComments]

My wife and I got our S8 Plus phones the day they were released. The s8 Plus has had no problems as a phone in either Phone over WiFi or regular Verizon Phone service. While I am sure that there must be some dead spots out there, we haven't found them and between the 2 of us we cover much of Silicon Valley. Even worked well in hotels with marginal coverage. So, while this isn't quantitative data with S/N ratios and measured signal strength, I can say that these phones have been great as a communication device.

Thank you for the info!

 

[Pollik]

Samsung phones are undeniably good.

Samsung customer is undeniably appalling.

The worst story I have heard happened to a friend...Samsung didn't even turn up in court, so they lost the case, didn't pay the fine, so bailiffs were sent in.

My own story was a litany of broken promises and lies. I lost 16 hours of life trying
sort out what should have been a simple issue (with a Samsung app). It is still unresolved.

I have bought my last Samsung.

Google Samsung support reviews - they are mostly 1 star ratings, with some pleading to be able to award minus ratings.

 

[Gordon_22]

Samsung galaxy s8 phone is a POS phone. I had phone for 2 weeks and already needs repair. Do you actually use this POS phone or just review. Phone doesn't fast charge anymore. Samsung and phone carrier both said it's a hardware problem. Return to store for maintenance. I've got better things to do than waiting around to fix a 2 week old phone. It really is a POS phone and avoid at all cost. I would give anything to have my old galaxy s7 back.