Tech

11 Facts about the New Samsung S8 That Has Nothing to Do with Fire

2017-03-30 , 11:12 am

So, yesterday, Samsung unveiled its latest flagship phone, the Samsung S8. And it’s not a surprise that comments like these were spotted everywhere.

In an ironic twist, our humble little country also got into the spotlight globally when a Samsung storeroom caught fire just one day before the announcement of the phone.

So, other than the fact that it won’t catch fire and explode (I…think so?), here’re some of the facts about this phone that you might be interested in.

There’s No More Physical Home Button

The familiar physical home button that Samsung users are used to is now part of history; this will make way for apps that could literally take up the entire screen. Like it or not, more phones are going away with the home button (with iPhone 8 also rumoured to remove it), so it’s time to get used to tapping “Home” instead of pressing “Home”.

It’s almost…bezel-less

The bezel-less look, seemingly like a concept just a few months ago, has become the latest trend in smartphones. The first smartphone to sport this futuristic look is Xiaomi’s Mi Mix (pictured below), and Samsung S8 will be joining the bezel-less gang.

It’ll just be a matter of time before all phones go bezel-less, and the phone we’re holding now would seem old-fashioned.

It’ll come in two versions

Taking a leaf from iPhone, the S8 will come in two versions: S8 and S8+. The S8 is 5.8-inch while the S8+ is 6.2-inch. This means the S series is going to be just as big, if not bigger, than the Note series.

Just in case you’re not aware, the S7 is at 5.1-inch, while the Note 7 (yeah, the one that was recalled) is (was) at 5.7-inch.

By the way 6.2-inch…isn’t just large. It’s gigantic.

It doesn’t have a more powerful battery

I just can’t resist mentioning this: the S8 comes with 3,000 mAh battery power, while the S8+ comes with 3,500 mAh. For the record, the S7 comes with 3,000 mAh battery power while the ill-fated Note 7 comes with 3,500 mAh battery power.

This is a rubbish point since there’s no need to mention about things that haven’t changed…but with the bad publicity Samsung has been garnering recently, this really needs to be pointed out.

Because there’s no improvement in the battery. #justsaying

Siri has come to Samsung

Known as Bixby, it works just like Siri, but here’s the difference: it has a dedicated button. Located at the side of the phone, it’s a virtual assistant that can take voice commands: just say, “Bixby, rotate this photo left” and the photo will be rotated.

It also serves as a remote for your smartphone; imagine connecting your phone to your smartphone, and simply say, “Bixby, turn off the lights” at night. It’s so damn cool, you no longer need to instruct your dog to off the lights for you.

Colours are pretty limited

Coming in black, grey and silver, Samsung seems to be shouting the words “take us seriously!” (as these colours are usually associated with seriousness). It’s mentioned that gold and blue are available internationally as well, though it’s not certain whether that includes Singapore.

Now…here’s the gold question: No pink?

It can be unlocked in many different ways…including facial recognition

Remember days when everyone unlocked his or her phone with the same “password”: press Menu than press *? S8 comes with various ways to unlock your phone: from the traditional fingerprint scan (wait…fingerprint scan is now considered “traditional”?) to iris scans to the new facial recognition.

And facial recognition also means you can’t put on weight, if not you can’t unlock your phone. Right?

VR, VR and more VR

It’s 2017—of course everything has to be VR, including the new S8. A docking system called Samsung DeX can connect your phone to your HDMI monitor, allowing you to watch the movie you’ve downloaded to your phone on the big screen.

With the Gear 360 and Gear VR, and a Samsung S8 or S8+, you can create 4K 360-degree videos. And watch them. Let’s just say it’s VR: the possibilities are unlimited. By the way, try not to think dirty.

Here’re the boring specs

Maybe it’ll interest some, but for the benefit of the many who just want to know whether the specs are good, here’s a word for you: good. It has one of the best specs you can get on an Andriod phone.

Here’re the specs for people who really want to compare (do note that the US version’s processor is different):

S8
Samsung Exynos Octa core (2.35 GHz Quad + 1.9 GHZ Quad), 5.8-inch OLED, 2960 x 1440, 570ppi, Rear Camera: 12-megapixel, OIS, F1.7, Front Camera: 8-megapixel, auto focus, F1.7, Ram: 4GB, Battery: 3,000 mAh, Size: 148.9 x 68.1 x 8 mm, 155g

S8+
Samsung Exynos Octa core (2.35 GHz Quad + 1.9 GHZ Quad), 6.2-inch OLED, 2960 x 1440, 529ppi, Rear Camera: 12-megapixel, OIS, F1.7, Front Camera: 8-megapixel, auto focus, F1.7, Ram: 4GB, Battery: 3,500 mAh, Size: 159.5 x 73.4 x 8.1 mm, 173g

Availability in Singapore is still unknown

Over in the US, pre-orders are already available, with the phone to be released on 21 April 2017. Usually, it won’t be long before it arrives in Singapore, so this is kind of the dates you should be looking at.

I mean, if aircraft carriers allow the phones to be imported here lah.

Price

Over in the US, the price for S8 is about SGD$977 while for S8+, it’s about SGD$1,186. Still way cheaper than the rumoured iPhone 8 that could go up to SGD$1,400.

Now that I think about it, people are really rich. I’ve never spent more than $100 for a phone before, expect perhaps my Nokia 3310.

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Featured Image: techcrunch.com

This article was first published on Goodyfeed.com