Table of Contents
A Samsung presented last monday (17) the company's new high-end smartphones for the Brazilian market: Galaxy S8 e Galaxy S8+. The models arrived in the country with great fanfare and our team has been testing them for some time. The result, you can see in this review:
Layout and Finishing
These new smartphones represent a considerable advance in the harmony between design, elegance in the set of specifications and an intuitive and renewed interface. You can see the attention to detail in the body and screen of the devices, made of metal and glass. The models have IP68 certification against water and dust, and the glass is the Gorilla Glass 5, well resistant to scratches and damage.
Both S8, how much S8 +, have the same set of physical buttons: on/off, volume up and volume down on the left side; and the exclusive button for the wizard Bixby on the right side, which we will discuss in more depth in a moment.
On top of the appliances is the tray for the GSM chip e microSD card. If the prefers, he can replace the latter with a second carrier chip (function Dual-SIM). At the base are located the entrance USB Type-C – new standard that speeds up data transmission and device charging – and the audio connector, for wired headphones, microphones and speakers.
the back of the S8 e S8 + defines the color of each model, contains the company logo, the main camera, flash, heart rate sensor and the fingerprint sensor, which has been repositioned in this version.
And the screen…. Well, that deserves a separate chapter.
The Infinite Display
Call of “Infinite Display” the new screen has 18 format: 9 (18,5:9, to be more specific) and occupies almost the entire frontal area of both versions, reaching 5,8 inches No. S8 e 6,2 inches No. S8 +. The technology used and the Super AMOLED, responsible for bringing vivid colors and intense shine.
Although they have different sizes, the resolution is the same on both devices – Quad HD+ (2960x1440) – varying only in the amount of pixels per inch that each screen has, being 570ppi in the S8 and 529ppi in S8 +.
The edges are minimal, both on the sides and on the top and bottom, to the point that there is no space left to put the company logo on the front of smartphones.
O S8 e S8 + take advantage of this novelty, ing the system's traditional physical buttons to the display: Home, Recent Apps and Back.
Even with the screen off, just press the area where the “Home” button would be, and the touch will be recognized and will trigger the screen. Taking advantage of one of the great advantages of Super AMOLED screens - they can turn on individual pixels - the device can show buttons, widgets, drawings and notifications on the screen, even with it off. The function Always On Display, present in S7 and S7 Edge but now improved in S8 e S8 +, makes it easy to view information without expending a lot of energy.
Hardware, Speed and Performance
More efficient and economical
A Samsung equipped these tops with 4GB of RAM, Exynos 8895 octa-core processors (models with Snapdragon 835 processor will not be sold here), GPU Mali-G71 MP20 e 64GB de internal memory, with the possibility of increasing this capacity with microSD memory cards.
These specifications mean that the S8 and S8 + are among the fastest and most efficient smartphones ever created, switching between tasks smoothly and running the heaviest games without stuttering. If the previous versions (S7 and S7 Edge) were already known for their speed, in this update we have an even more efficient set, which also uses less energy (thanks to the new processor with a size of 10 nanometers and the technologies built into it).
samsung dex
Perhaps one of the best demonstrations of all this power is the bet of Samsung in transforming the S8 and S8 + on a desktop computer. With the help of a base or However, call Samsung DeX, connected to almost any mouse, keyboard and monitor, smartphones start to run with a “desktop” version of the system Android, making it work as if it were a traditional computer. Yes, it's revolutionary.
iris sensor
The South Korean company also presented news regarding the security of new smartphones, bringing to the S line o iris reader. With it, it is possible to unlock the device and enter s in services and apps just by looking at the screen, very quickly.
According to the company, using the iris is 200 times safer than fingerprint-based security methods. And, in our tests, we noticed that it is really fast: just look at the marked location on the screen, and the device unlocks. Look:
In addition to it, it is also possible to the 's face as an unlocking method or use the already traditional fingerprint sensor (now located on the back of the devices) and other forms of access, such as s, PIN and Pattern (draw a pattern on the screen).
Samsung Pay
As with other smartphones and smart watches from the company, the Samsung Pay arrives for the Galaxy S8 e S8 +. With it, you can make purchases with your smartphone, safely, leaving your credit and debit cards at home.
You can even secure access to the service with iris authorization or personal fingerprint. To better understand how this technology works and which machines are ed, visit our Samsung Pay Test.
System, Interface, Intelligence…
Os Galaxy S8 and S8+ smartphones follow the tradition of using an interface developed by Samsung, superimposed on the system Android 7.0 (Nougat). If, in the past, this change was criticized by many s, in the new version this game has changed.
The interface became simple and light, allowing the hardware to stand out. And the level of attention paid to the smallest details is impressive: from the discreet notification, which appears as a discreet border across the screen of the devices; to the beautiful use of Away On Display, allowing that, even with the screen off, the device has your face; and the menus with thin fonts and well-positioned icons, which make navigating the screens more pleasant and intuitive; everything looks renewed.
A Samsung is to be congratulated on the development and improvement of this interface, to the point of making us conclude that the Stock Android (Stock Android, in free translation), in comparison, appears to be dated and disorganized.
There are so many details, it would be difficult to describe them all in one review (TL:DR, right?). So it's worth getting a S8 in hand and try them out point by point.
Bixby
One of the most anticipated news of the S8 and S8 + is the new personal assistant, the Bixby. It learns the 's needs to help with basic tasks, provide contextual information and teach how to use functions present on the smartphone.
For example, it is possible to click on one of the side buttons of the device, to receive information that the Bixby understand to be important to you at that moment, or take a photo of a place or product, so that the assistant can analyze it and bring to the screen information about location, prices, related photos.
These integrations vary from country to country, but we already know that the Bixby works together with the 📌 Pinterest: (for photo catalogs), Vivino (for wine labels and recommendations), Google Search e Places (for information, restaurants, tourist attractions and commercial establishments) and even with language translators. In Brazil, new partnerships will be announced in the coming months.
However, to say that it is better or more interesting than the Google Assistant – a similar feature offered by Google No. Android – is still an open question. much of what Bixby claims to offer does not yet have complete integration with companies and services that import to the Brazilian market.
Also, we don't know how long it will take to nationalize the assistant, so that it works well in Portuguese.
Cameras
Talking a little about the set of cameras, only the front gained new features, such as the increase in the resolution of 5 SM to 8 SM, f/1.7 aperture and system of autofocus. The rear camera is the same as the one used on the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge with 12 SM resolution, f/1.7 aperture, autofocus, optical stabilization sensor (OIS), LED flash, Dual Pixel sensor (which captures more light) and other features that you can check in the table at the end of this post.
It is a shame to note that there was no significant improvement here for the main camera as, for many people, this is one of the items that most justify a purchase of a new smartphone. Still, to say that the camera of the Galaxy S8 and S8+ is the same as the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge is still the same as ing that it is still one of the best smartphone cameras on the market (if not the best, so far).
Battery
But big screens and powerful specs require big batteries. In this sense, battery Galaxy S8 has 3.000 mAh while that of Galaxy S8+ has 3.500 mAh, representing a somewhat conservative bet in a world where models with greater capabilities already exist.
Our tests showed that the power consumption of the S8 e S8 + It even seems to be more efficient. But don't expect it to last more than a day, okay? Heavy use can cause both models, especially the S8, drain the battery before the end of the day.
Accessories
They are part of the package sold with the S8 e S8 + o USB charger for fast charging (fast adaptive charging), one USB Type-C cable (USB Type-C, in English), two types of USB adapters (to facilitate data transfer when migrating to the new smartphone), a key for the card drawer (MicroSD and GSM chip) and AKG headphones of excellent quality.
In addition to them, they will be sold by samsung to new wireless fast charging base, a ed cover called “ClearView“, a thinner (0,8mm) cover called “Clear“, an LED cover called “LEDView“, a suede cape called “Alcantara" traditional silicone covers, horrible exotic cover “2Piece” (split into two parts), a bottom cover with keyboard (in the style of a Blackberry), external batteries with USB-C ports and the icing on the cake: the dock samsung dex, which turns your smartphone into a desktop computer.
Price and availability
With the pre-sale of Galaxy S8 and S8 + scheduled to start this Tuesday (18), the company has already released the prices and combos designed for each model:
- Samsung Galaxy S8: BRL 3.519,00 (black, talk, amethyst)
- Samsung Galaxy S8 +: BRL 3.871,00 (black, talk, amethyst)
- Samsung Dex base: R$649,00
The new smartphones arrive in stores and telephone operators on the day May 12. All versions have 64GB of internal storage and both the S8 as much as S8 + will be available in colors Midnight Black (black), Orchid Gray (amethyst) and Arctic Silver (silver).
And the first buyers will get the new version of VR Gear, the virtual reality glasses from Samsung (now with a control in the style pointer), as a gift.
Conclusion
The new ones Galaxy S8 and S8 + has the breath and sophistication to take a place among the best smartphones of the year (so far), in a fight that includes the next launch of LG in the country (Google Pixel and Pixel XL.
From this list, they are our favorites. But we know that this type of choice is somewhat personal and will also depend on your preference for a brand, operating system, or even the budget available. There is just no denying that, with the S8 and S8 +, Samsung is positioning itself as a company that dictates the trends by which the market will organize itself.
It looks like the game has turned, doesn't it?
Image gallery
Technical specifications (Galaxy S8 and S8+):
| Córdoba | Galaxy S8 | Galaxy S8+ |
| OS | Android 7.0 | |
| speech | 2G, 3G, and 4G/LTE Cat. 16 | |
| Dimensions | 148.9 x 68.1 x 8.0 mm, 155g | 159.5 x 73.4 x 8.1 mm, 173g |
| Processor | Exynos 8895 Octa core processor (2.3GHz Quad + 1.7GHz Quad), 64 bit, 10 nm in the version sold in Brazil; or Qualcomm Octa core Snapdragon 835 processor (2.35GHz Quad + 1.9GHz Quad), 64-bit, 10nm in the US version | |
| RAM memory: | 4GB of RAM (LPDDR4) on international models, or 6GB on a South Korean-exclusive version. | |
| Internal memory: | 64GB of internal storage space (UFS 2.1) | |
| External memory: | MicroSD memory cards are ed | |
| Fabric | 5.8 inch (146.5mm)1 Quad HD+(2960×1440), (570ppi) | 6.2 inch (158.1mm)1 Quad HD+(2960×1440), (529ppi) |
| Main Camera: | 12 MP, f/1.7, 26mm, autofocus, optical stabilization (OIS) sensor, LED flash, sensor size: 1/2.5, pixel size: 1.4 µm, geolocation, 4K simultaneous recording with Snapshot 9MP, touch focus, smile detection, auto HDR, panorama.Video: 2160p@30fps, 1080p@60fps, HDR, dual-video rec. | |
| Secondary Camera: | 8 MP, f/1.7, autofocus, 1440p@30fps, dual-video calling (use of both cameras), Auto HDR | |
| Battery: | 3,000 mAh | 3,500 mAh |
| Fast charging, wired or wireless, WPC and PMA compatible | ||
| Payment: | NFC, MST, Samsung Pay | |
| Wi-Fi: | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz), VHT80 MU-MIMO, 1024QAM | |
| Bluetooth: | Bluetooth v5.0 (LE up to 2Mbps) | |
| GPS: | Yes, AGPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou | |
| Tickets: | USB-C input (USB-Type C), Standard audio input | |
| Standard | Accelerometer, Barometer, Fingerprint sensor, Gyroscope sensor, Geomagnetic sensor, Presence sensor, Heartbeat sensor, Proximity sensor, RGB light sensor, Iris sensor, Pressure sensor. | |
| Audio | MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA, DSF, DFF | |
| Video | MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM | |
| Colors: | Midnight Black (black), Orchid Gray (amethyst), Arctic Silver (silver), Coral Blue, Maple Gold (in Brazil, only black, silver and amethyst colors will be sold) | |
For more information about the launch on Brazil, stay tuned on our social networks: Instagram, YouTube, Twitter e Facebook.
