By now, you’ve probably checked several reviews and videos out there about the S8. I’m not here to be the first to tell you whether it’s a good phone; I am here to tell you whether it is still worth the hype a month after purchase, or whether it’s a phone with all the bells and whistles that are nothing more than a few gimmicks.
First Impression
First impressions always count, and the Galaxy S8 is undoubtedly gorgeous. It’s hands down the best designed, most beautiful smart phone out there. The curved screen melts into the edges, with glass front and back sides merging into one of the thinnest bezels on a smartphone. This is one stunning device. A stunning device that also doesn’t slip! Unlike many other phones out there, you feel quite confident while holding the S8.
On the flipside – and this is something many friends’ first impression confirmed – it looks like it’s very fragile, can break or get cracked at the slightest of drops. Fortunately, I haven’t dropped mine yet, but I am not using any covers or screen protectors and I’ve already noticed a couple of tiny scratches on both the back and front of the phone.
Another issue I noticed within the first couple of days was that there’s a bit of a lag when using the phone. That quickly disappeared with an update I installed. So, make sure you install all updates once you get the phone for best experience.
So, what’s new?
Well, no home button for starters. It’s one of the first things you notice when handling this phone. As Samsung’s ads that are plastered everywhere suggest, they’ve increased the screen size vertically on both sides (upper and lower), and with that the home button is replaced with a touch/capacitive one.
The new capacitive home button is visible when the phone is both locked and in use, but disappears when watching videos or playing games, giving you even more screen real-estate to play around with.
With the removal of the physical home button, there was a migration of the fingerprint scanner which now resides next to the camera on the back of the phone. You may be wondering whether that is a smart move, as it’s often difficult to reach or find it and it frequently causes fingerprint smudges on the camera lens. Unfortunately, that is indeed the case. I used to enjoy a seamless experience when unlocking my Galaxy S7 Edge by simply placing my finger tip on the home button; it was quick and effortless. Now, one month later, I’m still somewhat struggling sometimes to place my finger on the right spot – and yes, I still sometimes place it on the camera thinking it is the fingerprint scanner. It simply is not intuitive. While I understand that placing the scanner in the middle of the back, ala the Pixel, might have compromised the phone’s sleek design, it would probably have been the better choice considering how important this function is.
Instead, I’ve found myself relying more on the iris scanner, which is also new. We’ve first seen the iris scanner technology on the now-defunct Note 7, but the iris scanner thankfully made it here and it doesn’t disappoint. It works in low light, it’s really fast about 95% of the time and it’s quite practical. Most of the time, the phone unlocks without even me seeing the iris scanner unlock screen (this is when the front camera activates and it looks like you’re taking a selfie of the upper half of your face).
I mentioned 95% of the time. The iris scanner won’t work too well for either one of the following two reasons:
- Extremely low light: You’re better off inserting your pin if it’s pitch dark, like your bedroom at night when all lights are off
- The angle you’re holding the phone at: This is the most common one. You need to make sure the front camera and scanner are facing your phone at a certain range of angles. It’s not specific to the tee, but it needs to be within that range to work
What else is new?
Considering how popular social media Stories are becoming on platforms like Snapchat and Instagram, it’s quite important to have a great front facing camera. That’s what Samsung did, they ramped up the front camera with 8MP and auto-focus capabilities. The difference is immediately felt when taking selfies, especially in well-lit scenarios.
The last of the significant new additions, apart from some software tweaks, is Bixby. Bixby is Samsung’s Google Now. It replaces S-Voice and the Flipboard magazine you used to see when swiping right (to the left).
Bixby is still getting upgrades but the idea is that it’s supposed to be your go-to place for the latest of anything you might need depending on where you are, the time of the day, your habits and behavior, etc. It’s exactly what Google Now is, except it’s made by Samsung: it’s colorful and it has a dedicated button to access it, placed right under the volume rocker on the left side.
I personally get why a big company like Samsung would want to produce its own stuff, but knowing how great Google Now already is and the deep integration and intelligence it already provides, I feel like Bixby is an overreach and is quite redundant at this stage. Samsung could’ve used the money to improve other matters.
So, how has it been for the past 1 month?
It’s been great! The phone is fantastic to hold and use. It’s super sexy to look at and it doesn’t disappoint at all under the hood either. Performance has been outstanding and is only bested by the extreme fluidity of the Google Pixel.
The 12MP, f/1.7 shooter is also arguably the best camera on a smartphone in the market today. I haven’t had the chance to do comparative shoots, but I’ve compared the S8 with the iPhone 7 while taking pictures of the same thing under the same settings, the S8 came out on top every time. The only thing missing is a dual camera on the phone. Having a dual camera setup allows for a wider range of modes to play around with when taking picture. And while the S8 offsets that with the fantastic built-in camera app features, having an extra camera would always provide that extra edge to what software can do on its own.
Battery life has been decent with the phone taking me through most of my waking day. I usually place my phone on the charger when I go to sleep (around 12 midnight) and remove as soon as I wake up (around 8AM), even though the phone only needs about 1.5 hours to fully charge!
The phone usually reaches about 10-15% battery by around 10PM. So, if you’re planning an outing on some evening you’d be wise to give it a little charging nudge during the day or turn on the Power Saving mode.
What is else is awesome about the S8?
Well, the kept all the other cool stuff there. The phone still has:
- Always on display
- SD card expansion slot (or another SIM card)
- Wireless charging
- IP68 water and dust resistant
- Headphone jack!!
And they added a few minor tweaks here and there, namely:
- Bluetooth 5
- The most stock Android-like experience Samsung has provided thus far
- HDR video ready
- Samsung Pay, this is not a S8 specific feature per se but it was launched around the same time and I had the chance to activate it on both the S8 and the Gear S3 Frontier. Worked like a charm on both.
What you need to keep in mind when buying one:
- Charger’s been changed to USB-C. So, you’ll have to change all your extra charges that are lying around in different rooms and at your office
- Although I’m not a big fan, it’s advisable to get a screen protector and a cover to avoid getting minor scratches here and there that you would feel bad about. It’s also advisable to get a shatter warranty available at some shops so you can fix it for free if you drop it and it breaks
- Get the wireless charging dock if you have a little bit of extra cash. It’s cool!
- And if you have some more cash, get the Galaxy Gear 3 with it. You won’t regret it
To summarize
The Samsung Galaxy S8 not only does it not disappoint; it massively impresses. Sleek and sexy design, top of the line specs and superior camera and display all make the S8 probably the king of all smartphones for now.
The near-perfect experience is slightly marred by the relocated fingerprint scanner which is somewhat of an inconvenience, but the phone makes up for it by providing other means of authentication and by being great in pretty much everything else.
If you’re in the market for a flagship smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S8 should be your number one choice. Which size to take is purely a matter of personal preference since both are practically identical save for the screen and battery sizes.
