It's time folks. We're in the process of taking the Galaxy S8+ for a spin and are now ready to issue part one of our review telling you all about what this phone is like. In part one, we'll be going over the exterior design and build quality, as well as the Super AMOLED curved edge display.
So without further ado, let's crack on...
Samsung Galaxy S8+ Review: Design & Build
Good or bad smartphone visual design is, of course, subjective, and it’s fairly safe to say that anyone who’s been unimpressed by Samsung’s aesthetic to date is probably not going to be swayed by the Galaxy S8+. Likewise, fans of the firm’s prior devices will be just as happy with the latest edition as they were with what came before.
The main thing is that the Galaxy S8 series has only become curvier and more streamlined than its already notably curved predecessors; the corners are completely smoothed and rounded, while the curvature of the edge display follows a continuous line from front to back where it meets a perfectly symmetrical rear panel, with only a thin sliver of bodywork separating the two. The top and bottom edges are also curved but it’s not as pronounced and doesn’t curve the display itself along these edges.
Holding the phone it’s very apparent that you’re gripping what virtually amounts to a solid piece of curved glass - yes there’s a metal frame holding it together, but it’s barely noticeable.
This actually presents the first stumbling block for the Galaxy S8+; in my time with the device I never felt entirely safe holding onto it; it’s slippery as anything and the edges are so wafer thin coupled with the curved slippery glass surface. Samsung allegedly tweaked the edge curvature to improve grip but I don’t really feel this has been successful and I’d strongly recommend some kind of case to improve grip and prevent drops.
That particular gripe aside, the Galaxy S8+ feels incredibly solid in terms of its construction; there is zero wobble or flex in the frame or component panels, and it’s got a nice bit of heft to it without being heavy. You’ve also got the reassurance that it’s an IP-rated water resistant handset, so there’s no fear in taking it near the wet stuff.
Aesthetically I rather enjoy the Galaxy S8+ design, it’s still got that quasi-industrial style that is so popular just lately with the punched speaker grille and emphasis on metal and glass, but the added curviness does lend it a certain unique style that is very futuristic and elegant.
Our review unit is the black coloured model, which Samsung has made entirely black; the glass, the metal surround, the fittings and furniture. Everything is black. This again gives it a very sci-fi, 2001: A Space Odyssey obelisk-like appearance.
It’s a “stealth” phone, the kind of thing Batman might design. However, the shiny glossy glass does also show up fingerprints a fair bit, particularly on this black model. It won't stay pristine for very long.
Of course you can get other colour options which are not quite so extreme and feature metallic trim that’s a bit more visible. Here the detail of the visual design is a bit more apparent.
Samsung Galaxy S8+ Review: Display
Samsung has been playing the long game as far as display technology is concerned. It started investing heavily in OLED while everyone else was saying it was too complicated or expensive, even though many could see it would outclass LCD if done properly. The firm also started developing flexible OLED way ahead of everyone else and is now starting to reap the benefits of that as a market leader. Rivals such as Apple are now looking to source flexible OLED from Samsung's factories.
Samsung’s history with OLED hasn’t always been smooth, there have been some tough learning experiences - early on the firm’s screens came under flak for some instances of poor colour calibration and pixelation due to earlier PenTile technology.
But it persevered, and is now the undisputed ruler of the OLED market, which also virtually puts it in position as the dominant force in the display market too - OLED is now widely recognised as superior to LCD, so much so that Apple and many others are jumping on the bandwagon.
For anyone who has seen the Galaxy S7 EDGE or the Galaxy S6 EDGE in person, the display of the Galaxy S8+ will be familiar territory. It curves around the edges of the handset just like before, and it has an Always On function so that even when in sleep mode it’ll show the time, date, and some notifications while barely consuming any power at all.
However, as the bodywork has expanded on this model, the display size and ratio has also increased. The display is now a 6.2in Super AMOLED - nearly as big as the Galaxy Note - but the screen pushes out to much more of the front fascia, indeed, the phone’s front is virtually all screen with an 84% screen-to-body ratio and an 18:9 aspect ratio. As the screen and aspect ratio has expanded, the resolution has increased accordingly to 1440 x 2960 WQHD+ (3K) at 529 pixels-per-inch (ppi).
The image quality is what we’ve come to expect as typical for a Samsung flagship. In a word; superb.
It’s incredibly sharp with no pixelation or blurring to be found. Text in particular is very crisp. It also features a full 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut, the very same one used on 4K TV sets and certified by the UHD Alliance for Mobile HDR Premium. In short, if content has been produced for 4K UHD Premium TVs, it’ll look as good on the Galaxy S8+.
A new high saturation “Deep Red” OLED display technology Samsung has implemented here means the Native Colour gamut has a wider range too, well over 100% coverage for both DCI-P3 and sRGB. This, together with the excellent brightness levels (as much as 20% brighter than the Galaxy S7 and peak brightness over 1,000 nits) makes outdoor use in bright sunlight a breeze.
All of the previous standout features from Samsung’s Galaxy S7 display have returned, including the excellent adaptive brightness and contrast, user-adjustable colour profiles, performance and power saving modes, and the acclaimed personalised auto brightness control feature.
The customisable EDGE display features, which allow you to configure quick access shortcuts along the curved screen edges, has also been expanded. It’s quicker and easier to set up, and you can add applications, contacts, and a selection of smart editing tools, all on three customisable and swipe-able panels; it’s a bit like having a whole separate selection of homescreens hidden in the display edge.
From using the phone I can certainly say the colour is rich and vibrant, in Samsung’s typical style. Contrast is also fantastic with inky deep blacks and viewing angles are insanely wide.
The long and the short of it is this is a gorgeous display with fantastic visual quality and smooth touch input. I can’t really imagine anyone getting tired of ogling or prodding this screen after any length of time, and it’s highly tailorable to your needs as the viewer. You really can have it your way by tweaking the settings however you please.
We should note that some users in Korea have complained that the Galaxy S8 has a red hue to the display and tweaking the display colour settings doesn’t seem to fix it. Samsung’s official response so far is to issue the following statement:
“It is not a quality problem and it can be adjusted with the phone itself. If the color still appears to be reddish, customers can change it at the service center.”
It’s our understanding that this isn’t a problem on every unit, but it is something we’ll be keeping an eye on and will update you with as more info emerges.
Samsung Galaxy S8+ Review: Battery
Long battery life is pretty much the Holy Grail for many smartphone users these days. There are plenty of flagship-grade smartphones which offer relatively good battery life, and a few which offer excellent battery life. It’s not too rare now to find devices such as Samsung’s Galaxy Note series, the Huawei Mate 8 and 9, the bigger iPhone Plus models, and Google’s Pixel XL which will still see you sitting comfortably at somewhere around the 70%-76% range for the battery charge after watching a two hour movie on full brightness.
This sort of usage tends to translate into being able to watch films pretty much for eight hours straight on a single charge. Likewise, you tend to end up with a phone that’ll last days, or even a good chunk of a week if largely left idling, ticking away between 7%-10% per day.
But this will probably last a day and a half at most if you’re like most of us and are often giving it a poke for some reason or another throughout your typical day. You can bring that down further again if we’re talking a lot of intensive stuff like gaming.
So where does the Galaxy S8+ fit into this? Well for the two hour movie test using Mad Max: Fury Road, on full brightness, with the film downloaded to storage, and Wi-Fi and other connectivity switched off, it went from 100% charge to, get this, 86%. Yes you read that right, a two hour film on full brightness only cost 14% of the battery charge.
This is madness. I kid you not I have never seen anything quite like this in my time of reviewing smartphones. I reckon upwards of 10 hours of movie playback is not at all unrealistic here. You can easily expect a couple of days of normal smartphone use on a single charge, in some cases perhaps three, and if you leave this phone alone save for a few calls or the occasional email, web browsing session or message, it will last you a good three or four days, possibly more.
In short, the Galaxy S8+ has the best battery of any smartphone I have ever tested. It just keeps going. I've pretty much only had to charge it a couple of times since I got hold of it.
Granted, I am sure you will still be able to burn through it in a day if you really push things, but let’s be real here, no smartphone will survive on a single charge if you insist on playing Super Mario Run or Star Wars Lego from dawn until dusk, only taking breaks to watch YouTube in between.
But for most standard users this is a dream come true. This is a phone you can rely on to be alive and kicking from when you leave the house in the morning right through to the next day, and you don't have to be too careful with it to achieve this, as long as you don't rinse it like crazy. At the very least this kind of battery usage makes it easier to plan around. I have not been caught short by the Galaxy S8+ leaving me high and dry unexpectedly as so many other phones are liable to do.
Check back for part three where we'll examine the Galaxy S8+'s camera!
