Samsung has unveiled new versions of its flagship smartphone as it looks to recover from the disaster of its fire-prone Note 7 handset last year. The Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus increase screen size by doing away with a physical home button and dramatically reducing the frame. The Samsung logo is gone and the home […]
Samsung has unveiled new versions of its flagship smartphone as it looks to recover from the disaster of its fire-prone Note 7 handset last year.
The Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus increase screen size by doing away with a physical home button and dramatically reducing the frame.
The Samsung logo is gone and the home button is instead ‘virtual’ and on the display itself.
The S8 comes in at 5.8 inches (up from 5.1 on the S7) and the Plus measures 6.2 inches (up from 5.5 on the S7 Edge).
The S8 will be £689 and the Plus £779 (that’s up from £569 and £639 on the S7).
Tech fans saving up for the release can also look forward to trying out the firm’s new Siri-like personal assistant, Bixby.
The voice-activated feature can handle many of the functions done via touch and can recognise and retrieve information from the web when a user scans an object, such as an item of clothing or book, with their camera.
Other features of the S8 include iris scanning to unlock the phone, the front-facing camera boosted from five to eight megapixels, and an optional docking station to turn the phone into a desktop computer.
To avoid any PR disasters like the Note 7, Samsung says the S8 cells will go through multiple inspections that include X-rays and extreme temperature stress tests.
They are also said to have better longevity, retaining most of the charge after several years of use.
Last year’s Note 7 fire debacle, where battery problems caused some to combust, led to the device being banned from planes in the US and forced Samsung to remove the handset from sale.
The new models, unveiled at dual events in London and New York, will go on general sale in the UK on 28 April and a week earlier in the US.
