Samsung's new Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ phones are so beautiful they would make you want to forget all about the infamous Galaxy Note 7. The Galaxy Note 7 is, after all, history. The Galaxy S8 is the future. A future with all-screen and no buttons. A future where voice and context would mean the same thing. A future that would be safe and sound as well, hopefully. That's the dream.
There was lot of humility -- more than the usual -- in Samsung Mobile chief DJ Koh's Unpacked keynote this year. You'd have to give it to the man for all the patience. It hasn't been easy for him. But, what's important is how he sailed through all this -- arguably some of the darkest times the world of tech has ever seen -- and yet managed to stay as calm as he did. All this time, he did not stop innovating, or rather; he did not stop imparting that vision to everyone who worked behind the scenes to make the dream a reality.
The phone, for the last year or so, has been subject to numerous leaks and rumours. Practically every aspect of Samsung's new flagship phone was known well before launch. And the Galaxy S8 is (also) in line with almost all those leaks. But, a keynote is a keynote for a reason, and even though the Galaxy S8 was no secret, the world was waiting for Samsung's 2017 Unpacked more than ever. It was waiting to see what's next. It was waiting to see if Samsung would rise from the ashes of the Note 7. Good thing for Samsung, it passed the first test. The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ have grabbed the tech fraternity's attention and how. By the time Samsung starts selling these phones -- April 21 -- many critics would be out with their verdict as well.
But, in the case of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ reviews don't matter, because the Note 7 was the best phone ever, until going kaput. Chances are the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ would garner rave reviews as well. It's the first six months of actual usage case scenarios that would, but, define the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. It's for the same reason why many would wait for at least six months to figure out whether or not it's a good idea to invest in Samsung's new flagship phones.
"The Galaxy S8 and S8+ are our testament to regaining your trust by redefining what's possible in safety and marks a new milestone in Samsung's smartphone legacy," Koh said in a press statement. Just to ensure, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ -- batteries - don't suffer the same fate as the Note 7, Samsung has invested a great deal of research into these phones. In addition to the standard tests, the Galaxy S8 and S8+ batteries have been pushed through 8 other tests to meet the highest level (ever) of safety standards. The company, in fact, also flew journalists to Seoul, South Korea recently to make them understand how paramount customer safety is for Samsung.
The new Galaxy S phones from Samsung are an evolved lot that have plenty under the hood to make rivals, most importantly Apple nervous. Koh has stressed time and again that Apple is their biggest competitor. Koh wants to beat Apple and if you were to talk about innovation, half the battle has already been won by the South Korean major. The Galaxy S8 and S8+ have a fancy new edge-to-edge design, lots of horsepower courtesy a next-gen mobile processor, improved cameras and smart AI tricks. The new Galaxy S phones also have as many as three modes of biometric authentication, and a feature that lets you connect these phones to a monitor the way Microsoft's Windows Continuum does. Moreover, Samsung is also looking to make the Galaxy S8 and S8+ power up your entire home through Samsung Connect Home.
Both the Galaxy S8 and the S8+, from the onset, are exact replicas of each other. The S8+ is simply a larger Galaxy S8 with a bigger battery. Samsung isn't launching a new Edge phone this year, because probably, both its new Galaxy S phones have just the right amount of curves and Edge-functionality built right into them. There was no need for a stand-alone curved-display phone this year round. Both the Galaxy S8 and S8+ still boast of a glass and metal body, but unlike their predecessor phones, Samsung's 2017 flagships have near bezel-less screens. These have Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on both the front as well as on the back.
The front, in the case of the Galaxy S8 and S8+, is clean and without any buttons. Contrary to reports, the Galaxy S8 and S8+ phones do have a front-mounted home button, only that it is software-based now. So are the back and recent keys. These phones also come with a dedicated Bixby button.
Just like their predecessor phones, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are IP68-certified for water and dust resistance. There's a microSD card slot as well.
-- The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ come with what Samsung calls as an Infinity display. Both the phones boast of an edge-to-edge screen and an unusual 18.5:9 aspect ratio instead of a regular 16:9. While the Galaxy S8 is a 5.8-inch phone, the Galaxy S8+ has a 6.2-inch screen. Both the phones have a 2960x1440 pixel (WQHD+) resolution and Super AMOLED panels. Both the phones have an always-on display.
-- The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835/Exynos 8895 64 bit (10nm-based) processor. The company has, so far, been launching only its Exynos-based Galaxy S flagship phones in India, so chances are Exynos 8895-based Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ would be coming to India. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 835-based Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ will be sold in the US.
-- Both the phones come with 4GB RAM. There was no mention of a 6 gig RAM version at Unpacked, but, chances are the company may launch such a variant later like it did in the case of the Note 7. If this happens, chances are the 6GB RAM Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ would be exclusive to China.
-- Both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ come with 64GB of internal memory which is expandable by up to 256GB via a microSD card. Both the phones run Android Nougat-based TouchWiz.
-- Both the phones come with a 12-megapixel (Dual Pixel) rear camera with f/1.7 aperture and optical image stabilisation. On the front, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ sport an 8-megapixel camera with autofocus.
-- While the Galaxy S8 has a 3,000mAh battery, the Galaxy S8+ has a larger 3,500mAh battery inside. Both the phones support fast and wireless charging.
"iPhone has become one of the most important, world-changing and successful products in history. It's become more than a constant companion. iPhone is truly an essential part of our daily life and enables much of what we do throughout the day," CEO Tim Cook said while celebrating one billion iPhones (sold) in July last year.
You can argue all you want that the iPhone 7 wasn't as revolutionary as the first iPhone (for its time) but come to think of it, a lot of people have actually spent their money on it.
Apple has sold a lot of iPhones. Although the iPhone 7 -- as mentioned earlier -- did not reinvent the wheel, it helped the company in question earn an all-time record revenue of $78.4 billion -- with a record quarterly earnings per diluted share of $3.36 -- for the first quarter of 2017 ending on December 31. Global sales accounted for 64 per cent of the quarter's revenue, the company claimed even as its shares rose three per cent in after-hours trading following the results.
Not to mention, it's also that time of the year when Apple is looking to launch the next iteration of the iPhone. 2017 is expected to be all the more eventful since it marks the iPhone's 10th anniversary. Apple is reportedly working on a special edition iPhone 8, for the year, which is expected to come with some top-tier specs (and some real cool tech) and an atrociously high price tag of 1000$. This new anniversary edition iPhone is said to have a curved OLED - not necessarily bezel-less - screen with an invisible home button. It is also said to have wireless charging.
A lot of these features have already been tick marked by Samsung. At the same time, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ have lot of new tricks up their sleeve. But, would they actually make cash counters ticking for Samsung, is something only time will tell.
Source: indiatoday.intoday.in
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