2017-09-06T13:27:00.004-07:00

Samsung Galaxy S8 review

Introduction

When 5 inches is the de-facto standard for a compact Android handset, yet you want to prove that more is always better, what do you do? Well, it depends on the definition of more. You can do something crazy, stupid or impossible. Samsung? They decided to be sensible. Design a phone, build a screen, put the screen where it always goes. Business as usual.

It's pretty much the same phone as the Galaxy S7. Size-wise, that is. Only with a 5.8" display where there used to be a 5.1" screen.

Now, back to present time. The LG G6 has been around for some time, and we also asked you to look beyond the diagonal in our Galaxy S8+ review earlier this week. Displays are getting taller and breaking out of the 16:9 box they were trapped in for a few years now. But while LG opted for a square times-two 18:9 ratio, Samsung went with 18.5:9, because why not.

Both of this season's premium Galaxies are in this bizarre 2.06:1 aspect, but the regular S8 is petite. It's a millimeter wider than an iPhone 7 with a screen surface of some 40% more than the small-sized Apple (that's real estate, not diagonal, so it isn't apples to oranges). Put the S8 next to an S7 and the new one is actually narrower, and visibly so. So from the get go we'd say that the S8 has the most screen you can get in a phone this size, and even a few sizes up.

The flat S-series design is no more. This year's phones both feature the signature Samsung curved screens. Ever so subtle and nothing like the Note Edge that started it all. Evolution.

new Galaxy

Samsung Galaxy S8 review

Introduction