If you read smartphone reviews, you often see the word flagship being used a lot. Now, even if it is a flagship, it is sometimes used in the meaning of 'a mobile phone with high specifications made by a major manufacturer'. However, when you meet a smartphone that boasts high technical perfection and meticulous detail like the Samsung Galaxy S8 series, you are reminded once again that a mobile phone is not just a matter of how good a chip is used.


Like Apple and Google, Samsung isn't just selling mobile phones. The Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus serve to draw users into the ecosystem that Samsung has built. Like Apple's iPhone or Google's Android.

The first step into this ecosystem is software called Bixby. Built to compete with Google Assistant, Bixby is an ambitious work by Samsung, which is still in its infancy. But this is not the end. Samsung has prepared DeX for corporate customers. Dex is a device that connects a keyboard, mouse, and monitor to a smartphone so that it can be used as a single desktop.

To be honest, last year wasn't a very good one for Samsung. Due to the Galaxy Note 7 explosion, the device had to be recalled and, of course, it was banned from carrying on board. In addition, Samsung's high-end washing machine model was also subject to a recall due to a problem with the lid flying off during operation. Lee Jae-yong, CEO of Samsung Group, the parent company of Samsung and a pillar of Korean industry, was also arrested on charges of political scandal and bribery. Being able to produce meaningful results without losing concentration in such a situation is a great thing in itself.

Large and lightweight design The
Galaxy S8 series is flawless in many ways. The version I used was a jumbo size S8 Plus Black model, and the carrier used T-Mobile service. The S8 Plus measures 158.1mm diagonally, but it has a 6.2-inch 2680 x 1440 Super AMOLED display without overkill. The S8 is slightly smaller at 146.5mm and also has a 5.8-inch Quad HD+ Super AMOLED display. (However, there is no difference in specifications between the two models, except for this difference in screen size and battery performance.)

Compared to the Note 7 and Galaxy S7 Edge, the S8 Plus is about the same width and about a quarter of an inch longer. While the Note 7 had a 5.7-inch display and the S7 Edge had a 5.5-inch display, the S8 Plus increased its size to 6.2 inches. Despite this large screen, there is no feeling of inconvenient use at all. Even though it is a fairly large phone, it is attractive that it does not feel heavy or burdensome to operate by hand. Even though I personally don't really like plus-sized phones.

Corning Gorilla Glass is adopted for both the front and back of the device, and the design also creates the illusion of no bezel by drawing a curve along the corners in both models. In fact, the bezel size has been minimized. The length of the upper and lower parts of the device is only 0.6 cm. As a result, the S8 series feels more like a full-screen glass device without a bezel rather than a mobile phone, and the rounded corners also provide a comfortable grip.

Robust hardware The
hardware specs didn't disappoint us either. Specific components vary slightly by region. The version released in the US, for example, used the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 S-Core chipset, while the rest of the region used Samsung's own Exynos chip. In fact, the graphics rendering and application speed were very good in the US version.

The test results are also excellent. According to the AnTuTu benchmark, the Samsung Galaxy S8 scored 163307, higher than any Android phone. In second place was the OnePlus 3T with 162297 points. (In terms of all smartphone models, iPhone 7+ firmly maintained the top spot with 184546 points).

The 3500mAh battery installed in the S8 Plus can be used for up to 7 hours and 30 minutes without using the power saving mode at maximum brightness. It also took only 3 hours and 10 minutes to charge wirelessly from 0 to 100%. (The S8 has a 3000mAh battery.) There is no need to worry about the battery capacity in the S8 Plus. Especially if you are a light user, you may be able to use it for more than a day. In addition, the temperature of the battery during charging and use was also at its maximum of 39 degrees Celsius.

A headphone jack, USB-C port, and a single speaker are mounted on the bottom of the device, and the power button is located in the right corner. A SIM/microSD is inserted in the upper part, and there is a volume control and a Bixby activation button on the right side. On the back of the flat-shaped device, the Samsung logo is embossed in an almost invisible exterior color.

A very thin, almost invisible rim surrounds the camera, located in the upper rear corner, as is the fingerprint sensor. It is true that there is no problem with the fingerprint sensor on the back, but since the relatively small size of the sensor was placed right close to the camera lens, there was a concern about the possibility of fingerprints coming into contact with the camera.

Doug Duvall / IDG

Other than that, the specs of the S8 phone are as or more than we expected. The operating system is Android 7 of course, it has an NFC chip that can use Samsung Pay, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0 (the first smart devices I've seen), A-GPS, Russia's GLONASS, European It supports Galileo and Chinese BDS (which is also not found in other models). FM radio is not supported, but heart rate and pulse sensors are attached, and ANT+ is added to communicate with fitness devices. In addition, for the careless users, the S8 also maintains the IP68 waterproof function. In other words, the S8 has no problem even if it is submerged at a depth of 1.5m for more than 30 minutes, and this will be more than enough for waterproofing.

These high specifications continue to move on to the software side. Most smartphones provide PIN lock, pattern lock, and fingerprint lock, but the S8 series adds iris recognition and facial recognition functions.

However, if you are wearing glasses, the iris recognition may not work well. On the other hand, the facial recognition function is much more advanced than the existing Android standard. It takes a little time to get used to it for the first time, and it has the disadvantage of not being recognized when the lighting is bad, and the recognition success rate is about 75%, but at least when you hold a picture that is not you or someone who resembles you in your family, There was no work. Also, if unlocking by facial recognition is not possible, there is no problem as you can unlock it with your fingerprint or PIN. However, only one of the iris recognition and fingerprint recognition functions can be used, and it is impossible to use both.

Doug Duvall / IDG
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The user interface based on Samsung's Touch Wiz Android skin was also very flexible and smooth. The basic icon design has also been changed, and I personally think the old design wasn't bad, but the new version was also good. When you want to bring up the app drawer, you can see installed apps by swiping upwards on the home screen without a separate icon. Still, if you prefer an icon, you can change it in the settings. Edge apps, which can be said to be a shortcut function activated by swiping from the edge of the screen, first appeared on the Galaxy S7 Edge and then returned to the S8 series, but they are not as useful as you might think.

In addition, a nine-band parametric equalizer and high-resolution DAC for the AKG earphones attached to the S8 device (for reference, Samsung acquired Harman in November last year) were added. You can also induce streaming to other Bluetooth devices through Spotify while playing YouTube, etc. through the speaker. If you feel that the phone is too large for your hand, you can temporarily reduce the size of the content on the screen with a finger gesture, which allows you to freely touch all the functions of the screen without using both hands.

Christopher Hebert / IDG

The setting menus are also diverse and concise. In addition, when it is difficult to find the setting menu you want, you can easily find it through search, and you can easily move to the settings you do not know or need by putting a link in the setting menu.