Style and substance: Reviewing Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+

Samsung's latest duo offers good looks and smooth all-round performance in plenty

Out of the box, both the Samsung Galaxy S8 (Rs 57,900) and Samsung Galaxy S8+ (Rs 64,900) looked an amalgamation of the style cues of the Galaxy S7 edge and the Galaxy Note 7. But the new line was sexier, with more glass than metal and hardly-there bezels. The S8+, with a 6.2-inch screen (6.1-inch without the curved edges) is as tall as the 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus, but narrower and thinner. The S8 has a 5.8-inch screen (5.6-inch without the curved edges), but feels like any phone with a 5-inch screen. Since the screens on the S8 and S8+ are practically devoid of bezels, the home button is now a software one, with haptic feedback. The phone is a fingerprint and dust magnet and a bit slippery so one needs to invest in a case, which would undoubtedly hit the looks of the phone. 

Besides the usual ways of unlocking a phone, Samsung offers two other ways: an iris scanner and face recognition. While face recognition is easy, it isn’t that secure. I instead opted for the iris scanner. Setting up wasn’t difficult and it worked without a hitch indoors. On the S8+, the fingerprint scanner, which now flanks the back camera along with the heartbeat monitor, was pretty difficult to reach with my chubby fingers.

The phones run Android 7 out of the box, with Samsung’s Experience UX built on top of it. Samsung has bundled a truckload of apps with the phones, but there’s little sluggishness. One needs to swipe up to access all apps and swipe down for notifications. A swipe to the right brings up Bixby, Samsung’s special sauce.

While you can still access Google Now, Bixby does similar stuff and some more, such as one can take a picture of an object and it can give you suggestions. One would need to use Bixby more extensively to find out how useful it is. For now, it’s work in progress.

I loved the game mode last year, and this time it was no different. Asphalt 8: Airborne and NFS: Most Wanted performed without a hitch and didn’t heat up the phone too much —  it did eat up a chunk of the battery, though. And you’re better off using headphones for gaming, since in landscape mode, I ended up  muffling the sound on the tiny speaker. 

I binge-watched the last season of Game of Thrones but wasn’t satisfied with the sound, so I turned to the bundled AKG earphones. While the AKG pair was bass-heavy, there was no distortion even at high volumes. They also had a wide soundstage. Next, I listened to Hardwell and Calvin Harris on Google Play Music on my daily run, and was impressed. 

Using the 12-megapixel (MP) back camera, the S8 and S8+ focus faster in low light, compared with the S7 line. Photos clicked in direct sunlight came out very well, nearly as good as those clicked by an iPhone 7 Plus. In low light and indoors, Samsung was king. Overall, there are few phones that can match the prowess of the camera on the S8 and S8+. 

The multimedia capabilities of the S8 and S8+ mean you will consume a lot of content on it. With the S8+, I was just about able to get through the day. 

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ are for those who want the best-looking Android phone in the market and don’t mind using Samsung’s interface. Both of them are solid performers but you can go for the S8+ if you want a sexy phablet.

Apple doesn’t reveal hardware details such as RAM and battery capacity; data collated from reports; source: companies and news reports