Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ Finally Launched — Specifications, Pricing and Availability

At long last we are seeing the leak season for the Galaxy comes to an end as Samsung officially launched the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+, as their names would imply, are essentially the same phone but in different sizes. Both the devices come in a beautifully-premium body made of glass fronts and backs and a metallic side frame. This is the first Samsung device in a very, very long while that does not come with a hardware home button, too. The removal of the Home button and the other buttons allowed Samsung to go crazy with the phone's screen by minimizing the bezel.

The front of the Galaxy S8 and S8+ is dominated by the large Infinity Display, further accentuated by the minimal bezels on the top and bottom, and the edge curve on the sides which effectively nullifies the frames on the side of the display. Samsung has chosen to go with a pure black front this time for its darker variant, reminiscent of the stealth black Note 7, which helps hide the wide array of sensors on the front and blends in much better with the Super AMOLED display when displaying black colors. The Galaxy S8 has a 5.8″ QHD+ (2960×1440) display and the Galaxy S8+ has a 6.2″ QHD+ display, a jump up in size from the 5.1″ display on the S7 and 5.5″ display on the S7 Edge — the key difference being they come in a 18:9 aspect ratio, which actually means they are similar to their predecessors in terms of display width. The S8 measures 148.9 x 68.1 x 8.0 mm and weighs 155g, while the S8+ measures 159.5 x 73.4 x 8.1 mm and weighs 173g. Both the devices bear IP68 water and dust resistance.

The lack of Home button on the front led Samsung to move the fingerprint sensor onto the back of the device. But Samsung has oddly positioned the sensor on the right side of the camera module, which does look more awkward than a symmetrical and circular sensor like the ones we see on the Pixels; we'll have to wait to find out how awkward this implementation really is. The left side of the device has the volume rocker and power button, while the right side bears the dedicated button for the Bixby Virtual Assistant. The new phones come with a USB Type-C port, and thankfully, also come with a 3.5mm headphone jack port (it's a sad state of affairs when one has to specifically list this specification).

The insides of the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ are the same  (except for battery size, of course), but there are variations overall depending where you buy your device. The International variant of the S8's will be powered by Samsung's own Exynos 8895 SoC based on 10nm FinFET technology, while the American variant of the S8's will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC based on the same Samsung-fabbed 10nm FinFET technology.

Both variants will also come with 4GB of DDR4 RAM [as we've seen in previous years, the Chinese variant will get it bumped up to 6GB (+128GB storage) as per its TENAA listing, although Samsung did not mention of this during the launch event]. Its UFS 2.1 storage comes in at 64GB internally and microSD expansion for additional storage. Depending on the market, the Galaxy S8's will also sport Dual SIM capabilities.

The camera setup on the Galaxy S8 and S8+ is comprised of a 12MP Dual Pixel sensor with f/1.7. As expected from Samsung's flagship, you also get PDAF and OIS. Video capabilities on the devices include simultaneous 4K video and 9MP image capture, as well as 4K video recording at 60FPS and FHD slow-mo at 120fps. The front setup consists of an 8MP autofocus sensor with f/1.7.

The main difference between the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ resides in their battery capacity. The S8 comes with a 3,000 mAh battery, while the S8+ comes with a larger 3,500 mAh battery. For their display sizes, the batteries do seem about right, but we can understand why Samsung would want to play it safe. Both of these devices come with fast wireless charging as well as regular fast charging capabilities.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ come with Android 7.0 Nougat below Samsung's own skin. You can read more about its software features in our dedicated coverage.

Pricing and Availability

Pre-orders for the devices will begin at 12:01 EDT on March 30,2017. AT&T, Cricket Wireless, Sprint, Straight Talk Wireless, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, and Verizon Wireless will carry the devices in stores from April 21st. Customers who pre-order will receive a free Gear VR headset with Controller as well as Oculus content.

Variations will persist across other regions for both pricing and availability. We'll add pricing as soon as Samsung reveals them.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ will come in Midnight Black, Orchid Gray and Arctic Silver colors initially.

What are your thoughts on the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Samsung Galaxy S8+? Do you look forward to purchasing the device? Let us know in the comments below!

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