● SAMSUNG GALAXY S8 £689 +++++
SUPERTEST SUPERPHONESSamsung’s quest for space
leads them to a new Galaxy
There’s more than a selfie
cam sitting at the top – an
iris scanner can unlock
the phone with a glance.
It works best during the
day, but doesn’t scan
100 % of the time.Samsung already had one of
the best-looking phones in the
world with last year’s Galaxy S7
Edge, but it’s refined the design
for 2017, stripping away bezels
and buttons to make room for
an eye-catching screen that
almost completely fills the front
of the phone.
It’s a thing of beauty on the
surface, but a performancemonster underneath – exactly
what a flagship phone should be.
With Samsung’s own octa-core
Exynos CPU supplying the grunt,
there’s no game or app you
won’t be able to run. Dock it into
Samsung’s DeX Station and it can
even switch from phone to desktop
PC, running all your apps on the
big screen with a keyboard and
mouse. Now that’s a powerhouse.On paper, Samsung has played it
safe when it came to the battery:
a 3000mAh cell doesn’t exactly
sound massive, but you’ll easily
get a whole day of juice from a
full charge.
The biggest new addition on
the software side is Bixby, an AI
butler that won’t just recognise
your voice but detect what’s on
screen and what the camera ispointing at. Samsung has even
given it a dedicated button, just
below the volume keys. We’re
waiting on Bixby’s full UK launch,
and only a few apps work with it
for now, but it has potential if app
developers get on board.
With a truly top-notch camera,
retina-busting resolution and a
design to die for, the Galaxy S8
really is the full package.DESIGN
It just wants a hug
Samsung’s stylishly compact
combination of metal and glass
might be taller and skinnier
than other phones, but that
just makes the S8 easier to
hold. The curved screen edges
that made the S7 Edge so
distinctive make a return, and
the slim bezels are guaranteed
to turns heads too.
The physical home button
is gone, replaced by a digital
version, and the fingerprint
sensor relocated to the rear.
Yes, it’s a little closer to the
camera lens than we’d like, but
iris scanning means you won’t
be using it all that often.
●●●●●●●●●●CAMERA
Cutting-edge cam
On paper, not much has
changed from last year:
the 12MP rear shooter has
the same pixel count, f/1.7
aperture, OIS and dual-pixel
autofocus as the S7. This time
around, though, multi-frame
processing stitches three
snaps together for every press
of the shutter button. And
we also get an improved 8MP
selfie cam up front.
The S8 consistently delivers
photos that are packed with
detail and colours that stay
true to life, without the overly
aggressive sharpening seen in
some rival phones.
●●●●●●●●●●OS AND APPS
A touch of class
This year’s version of TouchWiz
is all about choice. Don’t like
Samsung’s way? There’s sure
to be one you do like hidden
somewhere in Settings. It’s
much less intrusive than in
previous years, but still has
useful additions to Nougat.
●●●●●●●●●●SCREEN
To infinity and beyond
The display might be a huge
5.8in, but ultra-slim bezels
save it from being a pocket-
burster. The 2960x1440
resolution is perfect for
VR, and the AMOLED panel
can handle HDR video with
near-perfect contrast.
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