There are no ideal things. I have never held a perfect smartphone in my hands. Yes, the concept of "ideal" is different for everyone. But there are parameters that are important for almost everyone. This year, Samsung showed a smartphone that for the first time in many years came close to being the best smartphone for everyone. The company was able to make a device that will suit both a fashionista, a geek, and an ordinary user. But not everything in the Galaxy S8 is implemented perfectly.

Most of the jambs of the smartphone appear only after a couple of months of use. The Galaxy S8 has been my main smartphone for three months. I'll tell you what's wrong with this device.

1. Body wear

In a review of the older model Galaxy S8 +, I praised the case materials. Since then, nothing has changed - S8 is great in the hand: the glossy metal of the side faces is pleasant to the touch, the glass front and back looks wonderful (except that the smartphone is instantly covered with fingerprints), the assembly is perfect.

But there is one "but". Despite the use of the latest generation of Gorilla Glass 5 in the production of the device, the Galaxy S8 scratches very easily, scuffs appear on the screen, as if it were not glass, but protective plastic. I’ll make a reservation right away, I use a smartphone without a case and films - I don’t want to hide this beauty under layers of protection. I use my smartphone very carefully: I don’t throw it away, I don’t carry it in a bag with change and keys: only an empty pocket of jeans or shorts. With the same use, my old Galaxy S6 kept its perfect appearance for more than a year and a half with small scratches from occasional falls on the parquet at home.

So the low resistance to external physical influences is the first obvious minus of the Galaxy S8.

2. Weak autonomy

Samsung, after troubles with exploding batteries of the Galaxy Note 7, clearly decided to take the path of minimizing risks and put modest batteries in the S8 line. In the case of the regular S8 in question, this is 3000 mAh. Due to the use of a new technological process for the production of a chipset, in theory, a smartphone with an increase in performance should consume either less or the same amount of energy as a device of the previous generation. Apparently this is true, the smartphone lives as long as the Galaxy S7. Achievement? I wouldn't say. In my case, this means that during the day you need to recharge your smartphone in order to make it through the evening. It seems unacceptable to me that a device that is also designed for a business audience, for whom it is important to stay in touch during the day, does not survive until the evening. S8 + in this regard looks like a slightly more rational choice for those who care about autonomy. One more thing before moving on to the next point. S8 is not always stable in terms of battery life. It happens when the charge leaves right before your eyes, but sometimes, on the contrary, you rejoice that the smartphone "holds the blow". And to identify what this difference in the behavior of the battery depends on, I have not been able so far.

And the S8 is very gluttonous in an inactive state. Leaving a smartphone at night with 100% charge and getting a device with 87% in the morning is not a problem. Xiaomi Mi6 () under the same conditions, in the same network, in the same place lost only 1% of the charge.

3. Work instability

Don't misunderstand me. The Galaxy S8 is one of the fastest smartphones on the market. But there is one "but". Or even two. Launching built-in apps like dialer, settings or messages takes forever compared to the competition. At the same time, these same applications are the first to be unloaded from RAM, almost every time they are loaded again. This negatively affects the experience of using a smartphone. This is especially disappointing when, for example, the much more budget Huawei Nova 2 loads system applications faster and keeps them in memory for days. Sad.

The second "but" - after a couple of days of active use, the smartphone starts to slow down: scrolling on Facebook or Instagram comes with obvious jerks, the transition between applications freezes the device for a fraction of a second. This is not a problem if you regularly restart your smartphone. But be honest, how often do you do it? That's what we're talking about.

But what about the pluses?

Galaxy S8 with all its cons will remain my main smartphone after this article. There are several good reasons for this.

1. Camera

You can complain for a long time about the lack of a second camera module in the S8 (the upcoming Galaxy Note 8 should fix this "flaw"), but it would be foolish to deny that the camera in the S8 shoots great. 64 gigabytes of expandable memory provokes more frequent launch of the camera. And at the same time take both photos and videos. And the video on the S8, especially in FullHD mode, 60 frames per second, turns out to be excellent - the stabilization works effectively and the stereo sound recording is good (hello, iPhone with its mono recording). It is pleasant to watch photos and videos not only from the screen of a smartphone, but also from a computer: the quality is at its best. See for yourself in our photo gallery.

By the way, together with the Galaxy S8, I started testing a convenient external flash drive with USB Type-C. I got the San Disk Dual USB Drive Type-C 32 GB model. A convenient thing, especially when so many smartphones with USB Type-C pass through you: insert a USB flash drive, throw off test shots, immediately upload it to a computer or main smartphone (the flash drive slides out in two directions: on one USB Type-C, on the other, a regular input for computer: Type-A). Very comfortably. Colleagues are already interested in a similar solution for smartphones with micro-USB. But most interested in the owners of the iPhone with 16 GB of memory on board.

2. Screen

Until you try the screen with the new 18:9 ratio (in the case of the S8 18.5:9), you will not understand all the charms of the stretched format. All content in the browser, in Instagram feeds, Facebook received a significant increase in height: much more information is simply placed on the screen. This is especially noticeable in comparison. You take a smartphone with a classic aspect ratio and you understand how those extra millimeters of the screen are missing. There is a picture in the gallery that fully demonstrates the difference using the Galaxy S8 and HTC U11 as an example. You can write a whole story about the brightness and saturation of the Galaxy S8 display, I have already said that from this point of view, the Samsung display is unrivaled. I especially want to note the behavior in the sun. All information on the screen is readable, the colors are distinguishable even in the brightest light, with a direct hit of the rays on the display. Impressive.

3. Sound and headphones

As a person who is very impressed with high-quality sound, it has always been important for me that the device that is always at hand (for many years it has been a smartphone that replaced the Sony player) can play music well. And that is why the complete headphones from smartphones have always remained sealed in the box. But with the advent of the Galaxy S8, the situation has changed. Not only does the smartphone play music two heads better than the previous generations of the flagship Galaxy, but the bundled headphones put my favorite Sennheiser plugs on the shelf gathering dust. Clear balanced sound, clear bass: a pleasure to listen to any genre. And the heavier tracks (which I mainly listen to) do not turn into mush at any volume. Thanks to Samsung and their cooperation with Harman for great sound!

conclusions

There is no perfect smartphone, but there are attempts by manufacturers to create such a device. Manufacturers improve their flagships every year, and Samsung made the strongest claim this year with the S8. Is this the best smartphone on the market? On the basis of properties, perhaps yes. Is it possible to find an analogue, but cheaper? You can - examples of LG G6, One Plus 5, HTC U11, Xiaomi Mi6 confirm this. Another question is, what do users compare these smartphones with? The answer is simple - with the Galaxy S8 and iPhone 7. And this indicates the undisputed leadership of Samsung and Apple in the smartphone market (at least today). Let's see what these leaders will bring us in the coming months. We are waiting for the Galaxy Note 8 and the new iPhone.

Characteristics

OS Version: Android 7.0, Samsung Experience Version 8.1

Dimensions (WxHxD): 73.4x159.5x8.1 mm

Screen:

AMOLED, touch, multi-touch, capacitive

Diagonal: 5.8 inches, curved screen, rounded edges

Resolution: 2960x1440

Number of pixels per inch (PPI): 531

Cameras:

Main camera:

12 MP, LED flash, autofocus, OIS, F/1.7 aperture, Dual Pixel technology, RAW support

Max. video resolution: 3840x2160

Max. Video frame rate: 30fps or 60fps when shooting FullHD

Front-camera:

8 MP, autofocus

Connection:

SIM card type: 2 nano SIM, alternate work

GSM 900/1800/1900, 3G, 4G LTE, LTE-A Cat. 16 VoLTE

Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, USB, ANT+, NFC

Satellite navigation: GPS/GLONASS/BeiDou

Performance:

Processor: Exynos 8895

Built-in memory: 64 GB + micro-SD up to 256 GB (instead of the 2nd SIM card)

RAM: 4 GB

Battery:

Battery capacity: 3000 mAh

Charging connector type: USB Type-C

Wireless charging function

Quick charge function

Sensors:

Light, proximity, hall, gyroscope, compass, barometer, fingerprint reader, iris scanner

Peculiarities:

Corning Gorilla Glass 5 front and back

Moisture and dust protection according to IP68 standard

Support for Samsung Pay (NFC+MST)

Audio - UHQ 32-bit &DSD support

3.5 mm headphone jack

Still, in a week, which is usually reserved for a review of a top-end smartphone, it is difficult to find out all the strengths and weaknesses of the model. Another thing is to leave the device for a year, find out its pros and cons thoroughly, and then make an informed decision: “Yes, my next phone will be of the same brand” or “No, I will never buy this lomier again!”.

Phone starts with design

For a long time it seemed to me that the days of the wow effect from new phones were somewhere in the distant past, when Nokia ruled the cellular world, and Symbian was considered the best OS. No, really, what can you think of in a rectangle with a large screen? Somehow, only Apple managed to differ, and even then from year to year the company repeated itself more and more and surprised less and less.

I would never have thought that Samsung would be able to revive the old feelings of delight from the novelty of the phone. The company, of course, had successful copies of good Android smartphones, but there was nothing unusual in the appearance of all these Galaxy S - plastic and plastic. Everything changed with the release of the Galaxy S7, especially with the G8.

Galaxy S8 looks very cool! In fact, that's what attracted me to him in the first place. The elongated “limitless” display with rounded ends has not yet been repeated by anyone, and even a year after the release, the device still begs for the title of the most beautiful smartphone. And yet - very convenient. With such a diagonal aspect ratio of 18:9 gave an excellent effect in terms of comfort.

True, a year later, an unexpected effect appeared. Getting used to the shape and display of the Galaxy S8, standard phones with flat displays began to be perceived as unusual. You take one in your hand and think, wow, how flat! Such a funny addictive effect. However, after a couple of minutes, I already want to return to my favorite proportions and shapes. I am sure that sooner or later all manufacturers will switch to such design solutions. Although look at the iPhone X and the latest Android flagships - they have already followed in the footsteps of Samsung.

And everything would be great with the design and construction of the Galaxy S8, if not for the fingerprint sensor, or rather, its location. Guys, this is a concrete fail. How could it be made so as to actually achieve complete unsuitability in everyday use? I don't know a single person who would get used to unlocking the S8 with a fingerprint without heartache.

The rest of the "advanced" methods, by the way, are also no better. All these face and iris recognitions are, in my opinion, too slow-witted and often mistaken. I had to completely refuse to unlock. Press the button, swipe up - and voila!

As strong as Stallone's biceps. But not eternal, like Jackie Chan's career

For all the time of using the Galaxy S8, the smartphone fell flat on the floor several times. I wore the phone without a case, because I always like to feel the device in my hand the way it was intended by the manufacturer.

For a very long time, the S8 stoically held on - small scratches dotted both windows, back and front. However, it did not reach critical breakdowns. But only until one day the smartphone slipped out of my pocket and slammed its corner onto the asphalt when I got out of the car.

A classic story, once again confirming that the most dangerous place in modern phones is just the corners. If it had been a different, classic device, everything could have cost a chip on the case and a crack above the display. But here, in the literal sense, you have to pay for beauty. The screen's edge-to-edge design results in an increased risk of being left with a broken display.

Usually in such situations, the issue is easily resolved: change the glass - and that's it. With the Galaxy S8, this, of course, also rolls, but it's just too expensive. As I was told, the glass changes along with the matrix only to the original. For everything about everything you will have to pay about 500 rubles. Expensive!

By an effort of will, he abandoned the idea of ​​​​a replacement and continued to use the device “as is”. Fortunately, the drop did not affect the performance in any way, even the sensitivity of the sensor in the broken area was completely preserved.

In general, I was satisfied with the stability of the device to my lifestyle. But the cost of repairs unpleasantly surprised.

Bright, juicy, reddish

Specialized sites sang a lot of odes to the Galaxy S8 display, vying to call it the best among the best. I will not repeat after them, but only describe my impressions.

The Galaxy S8 boasts an ultra-high resolution of 2960×1440 pixels! Never used it. I turned it on a couple of times to feel the change, but in the end I didn’t notice any difference compared to 2220 × 1080. Everything is so very clear, it hurts the eye. By the way, I encountered problems in applications from a “non-standard” aspect ratio just a couple of times, and then only in the very first weeks of using the Galaxy S8. Today, it seems, all developers have learned to adapt their programs for such displays.

In fact, the only major problem in my copy of the phone is the red tint. The crimson tint is especially noticeable on a white background. In general, I had to get used to the fact that in the browser white is actually reddish. At the same time, it also changes the intensity depending on the angle of inclination.

There was no trace of the oleophobic coating in a year

Okay, I'm used to the red tint - Belarusian! The rest of the screen is very pleasant to use. Sometimes too bright and juicy, but this is OLED. And why natural shades on the phone? Tea is not a design tool, and as a user, it's nice to see a palette that is embellished, but emotionally more attractive.

Don't piss me off Bixby

Oh, this another virtual assistant! All you need to know about him is that he is absolutely useless in our area. In fact, there would be nothing terrible in this if Samsung did not plan to allocate an entire hardware button and an additional screen for it.

It is impossible to reassign an action to a key without dancing with a tambourine. Yes, you can't just disable the button. But this is important, given how many times I pressed it instead of the power button.

Perhaps, in the second place among the Samsung Edge panels, which are incomprehensible to me, are the very ones that were invented to somehow fill the rounded ends of the display with functionality. Perhaps there really is some meaning to these retractable gizmos, but I could not find it. Most popular contacts? They are in the "Favorites" of the phone book. Apps in demand? Here they are - right on the desktop and without unnecessary swipes. Screenshot tools? Well, I have no idea who and how often they may need.

Finally, another very controversial software (although rather hardware-software) thing is Always On. Yes, it's very cool that you can glance at the screen at any time and find out, for example, the current time without unlocking the phone. That's just the function I turned off somewhere a month later. Only after that the battery began to suffice me at least for a day.

Clay foot

It turns out that flagships still know how to slow down. An unpleasant discovery, but that's how it is. All the shortcomings of the Galaxy S8 (and there are actually very few of them) can be put up with. But when a flagship phone stutters in the interface, when the camera turns on for a couple of endless seconds, when the keyboard can't keep up with my fingers...

Samsung's desire to promote its processors is commendable. It's bad that in terms of performance they fall short of Qualcomm's flagship models. As a result, you have to deal with a top-end smartphone, the performance of which, subjectively, is at an average level.

And it's not even about games - the lack of power is visible in normal everyday work. What can we say, even if the animation of flipping desktops cannot boast of smoothness?

What's next?

The Galaxy S8 is a cool phone that frankly annoys two things: a fingerprint sensor and insufficient performance for a flagship. The first problem is radically solved by the rejection of any kind of identification. But with the second you have to live. At the same time, the smartphone pleases every day with cool pictures, it has a very cool sound (for me, as not the most sophisticated music lover, the bundled AKG headphones are more than enough) and, of course, the design.

Recently released Galaxy S9 - that's what I'm using now. On the one hand, the model is very similar to its predecessor. On the other hand, while it gives a slightly different feeling of use. Yes, Exynos is also here, but so far I have never encountered a lack of power. The display got rid of redness, the fingerprint sensor is finally convenient to use, the batteries with Always On consistently last for a day. The work on the bugs was done perfectly, which is exactly what the S8 should have been. Except that something still needs to be done with Bixby.

However, it is premature to draw any conclusions about the "nine". Let's see what happens in a year. The G8 is good, but, in my opinion, it came out too hastily and a year earlier than it should have been.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 model appeared in Russian stores and specialized points of sale around the world about 2 years ago. Many wanted to get a novelty, but not everyone could afford such an expensive smartphone.

In recent weeks, the Samsung Galaxy S8, which has quickly become popular, has dropped significantly in price. Now it has become available to many Russians.

How much has the Samsung Galaxy S8 fallen in price

AKKet.com experts have studied the cost of the flagship in various electronics stores throughout the Russian Federation. It turns out that today the Samsung Galaxy S8 has become cheaper by 28,000 rubles. If its initial price was 54,990 rubles earlier, now it is 26,700 rubles. The gadget has fallen in price almost 2 times.

Samsung Galaxy S8 is still offered in 5 shades - gold, black, red, purple, blue. It has an IP68 waterproof housing. The model has a PS Google Pay, support for Always-On Display. It has a 5.8-inch Super AMOLED screen with a resolution of 2960x1440 px.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 is powered by an octa-core Exynos 8895 processor and has a Mali-G71 graphics system. The amount of RAM and storage memory is 4 GB and 64 GB, respectively. Sufficiently high quality cameras - 12 MP main and 8 MP front - provide good images. The smartphone is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The 300 mAh battery can be quickly charged thanks to the Fast Charge function.

Samsung Galaxy S8 parameters:

148.9 mm - body length;
68.1 mm - body width;
8 mm - body thickness.

The mass of the flagship equipped with Android 9.0 Pie OS is 155 grams.

I decided to become the owner of a smartphone with an EDGE type form factor (simply - with a curved screen) last year, after the appearance of the flagship Galaxy S7 Edge at the discoverer of Samsung curved screens. However, the price of the novelty (49,990 and 59,990 rubles for the regular and “plus” models) “bited” - I licked my lips, passing by the windows with the coveted phone, but did not dare to lay out an amount exceeding the size of the average Moscow salary. Even the interest-free installments, with which the company actively stimulated sales, did not help me cross the line between the desire to live within my means and the desire to have a fashionable and beautiful gadget.

I became a step closer to my dream when I was offered to test this year's new product: Samsung released another flagship in the Galaxy S line, this time without an alternative with an EDGE screen - outwardly S8 and S8 + differ only in size. I got the usual "eight" with a display of 5.8 inches. Plus model will be in all 6.2.

Samsung Galaxy S8

Design and first impressions

The streamlined shape of the device fits comfortably in the hand, the width of the device is exactly such that you can reach the icon on the opposite edge of the screen with your thumb. The body of the gadget, which is elongated compared to most of the “classmates”, is perceived without objection: the fact that holding the device in the palm of my hand, I cannot reach the upper corner of the display does not bother at all - we have long lost the habit of working on modern “shovels” with one hand. In addition, the curved screen comes to the rescue: if desired, you can enable the Edge side screen panel by setting a personal list of functions and applications that are called up with a light touch of a finger.

But on the big “borderless” screen, you can comfortably watch a widescreen movie, see more details in a photo, or read a long text with less scrolling. And in general, the design of a “smartphone without borders” (the slogan of this model) captivates at first sight with some kind of weightlessness, airiness, evoking associations with an infinity pool, where the water surface goes beyond the horizon, into infinity.

iPhone 6S Plus (5.5" screen) and Samsung Galaxy S8 (5.8" screen)

However, as is well known, any advantages are always the reverse side of disadvantages. This turned out to be true for the Samsung G8. The graceful streamlined shape is beautiful, but there is nothing to catch on (literally!), besides, the glossy surface of the back panel is slippery, so there is a danger of dropping the device, which, in fact, happened.

I tried to hold the car keys, a thin clutch and a smartphone in one hand. And my Samsung, unpacked three days ago, slipped out of my hand

The fall was at first glance not that dramatic - vertically angled down. For a device with a conventional "frame" display, this would be quite tolerable - a maximum of a scratch or a small dent on the case (I can judge by my own Honor). But the “limitless” screen is not like that: a chip and three small cracks immediately appeared on the glass, one of which, after a couple of days, “grew” by almost a third of the screen. Hence the practical advice to fans of infinity screens: do not hesitate to pack your gadgets in durable book cases or slips. Now I understand that the offer of the seller in the salon, when I was looking at the "seven", to immediately buy an additional guarantee for the screen and get a cover and a protective glass - this was not just a promotion for additional options, but quite a prudent recommendation. Another "but" in relation to the screen without side frames - sometimes sensitive touchscreen erroneously reacts to the touch of fingers just holding the smartphone, and launches unnecessary applications or unnecessarily changes the viewing scale. However, over time, you can get used to this feature, and the case put on the device should generally reduce the problem to "no".

Samsung Galaxy S8 Lock Screen Notifications

Camera

Shooting photos and videos on a new gadget turns into pure entertainment or a demonstration of the capabilities of a pro - whoever likes what. Lens masters will appreciate the built-in technologies in terms of focusing and stabilization - moving objects are clear even in the dark, for the best composition you can choose the focus length, and the most advanced will turn on the shooting mode "Pro" and adjust shutter speed, exposure and other functions incomprehensible to a mere mortal.

Lazy people like me won't be able to stop taking selfies with funny stickers - they also move! Food bloggers will love the Food shooting mode

Features such as face recognition, shooting mode selection and built-in filters can not even be mentioned: Samsung's flagship has them by default. I will only note that it is extremely convenient to control the camera: you can configure functions, switch between the front and rear cameras, change the zoom with one movement of your finger, and if necessary, the camera will take a picture at your command “Voice!”, That is, sorry, “I’m shooting!”

Galaxy S8 camera has a function to add funny stickers when taking a picture

Sound and virtual assistants

Perhaps this may seem unimportant to some, but I personally was pleased with the acoustic capabilities of the G8: in the car, wishing to listen to my favorite album and not finding a USB cable to connect to the car audio system within reach, I simply turned on the music on my smartphone. The volume and sound quality were at the level of the built-in speakers in the car!
A unique feature of the novelty is the personal assistant Bixby. As conceived by the manufacturer, it should become an intelligent virtual assistant that adapts to the owner, with voice control and augmented reality functions. It looks like Samsung has only implemented a fraction of the visual functionality of Bixby Vision so far. This is an augmented reality video camera with the ability to recognize images in the frame. The declared search for goods in my case did not work in any way (perhaps this required connected bank cards?); the search for similar photos on the Web, implemented in conjunction with Pinterest, functioned perfectly (however, it’s hard for me to imagine who, other than photo editors, could use such a function); the search for places also proved to be worthy: tired of constantly consulting a guidebook on a trip, we simply pointed the Bixby camera at a building or monument - and the smartphone displayed brief information about the object, as well as about nearby attractions, cafes and restaurants worth visiting.

1 / 4





Bixby Vision Rebecca Minkoff Bag Recognition Test

Shooting subjects in Bixby Vision

Even when the bag was placed against a white background, Bixby Vision could not find a single Rebecca Minkoff bag for sale in any online store.

But with the help of Pinterest algorithms, Bixby Vision was able to find several similar bags, incl. Prada and Louis Vuitton. But no photo of the original - Rebecca Minkoff - was found

Health and activity

Previously, I had no experience communicating with fitness applications, so the pre-installed Samsung Health impressed me with its wide range of possibilities: measure the pulse, oxygen saturation, assess the level of stress and count the number of steps taken with the help of built-in sensors, without using additional gadgets like a fitness bracelet. In addition, the application has the ability to record the duration of sleep, various types of physical activity, the amount and calorie content of food, blood sugar levels - however, all this will have to be done independently, in manual mode. But on the basis of all the data received, the application formulates personal recommendations and regularly reminds you of the need to move, not forgetting to give out a “candy” - marks your personal records and gives virtual rewards-medals.

Samsung Health Data

Samsung Health Data

Built-in applications and security systems

As an editor, I was pleased with the built-in Microsoft Office package (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneDrive) - quite often I have to open and edit documents right on the go, I immediately download the office suite to all smartphones, but here I didn’t have to, and the built-in applications The default ones work better than the self-installed ones.
Separate praise for the G8 is for its incredible security capabilities. The information on your S8 will be protected by a triple security loop. Firstly, the standard PIN code, password or graphic pattern has not gone anywhere, and secondly and thirdly, a fingerprint scanner, face recognition and iris recognition have been added to them. I saw reviews on the Web about the unfortunate location of the fingerprint scanner - next to the lens of the rear camera, but I never had problems with the supposedly “smeared” camera glass, all the pictures always came out clear, despite the fact that I used the fingerprint scanner very actively ( unlocking with it always went smoothly).

Face recognition worked intermittently: obviously, it all depends on the lighting conditions in which you take a control shot and then scan the face

Therefore, sometimes I amused my friends by freezing with a frozen expression and a gadget brought to my nose. But I failed to test unlocking the smartphone by scanning the iris. The fact is that the manufacturer immediately warns that the presence of glasses or contact lenses makes it difficult to scan the iris, and I have severe myopia. Attempts to scan the iris without glasses and lenses did not lead to success in my case - the gadget could not capture my biometric data. To the S8's credit, I must say that the control recording of the iris and subsequent unlocking in a person who does not suffer from myopia went off with a bang.

Performance

When I received an assignment from the column editor to test the gadget in the AnTuTu rating application, I got an unexpected and impressive result. The overall score (the number of points obtained when measuring the performance of a smartphone) was in the ranking in 2nd place - higher than the “typical” Galaxy S8 included in the ranking (see photo). Samsung's flagship has outdone itself!

Samsung Galaxy S8 results in AnTuTu Benchmarking System

Battery and Charging

For such a multifunctional and productive gadget, an important issue is food. In a state of relative rest - without many hours of watching movies and graphically charged games, but with constant web surfing, photo experiments and running several applications at the same time - the battery holds a charge for at least two days. A worthy result among "classmates".

Fast wired charging turned out to be fantastically fast: she promised to charge the gadget with a 28% charge level in 1 hour and 16 minutes and kept her promise

Slot for a second SIM card

Today, few people have just one mobile number - either failures of mobile operators, or new tempting Internet tariffs force users to buy a second, or even a third SIM card. I also tried to double my mobile capabilities, but I couldn’t insert two SIM cards into my smartphone at the same time even with the help of a consultant in a communication salon: the second slot, declared as a hybrid one for an SD or SIM card, no matter how hard we tried, could not accommodate SIM card nano-format. In the end, the consultant, rummaging through the Internet, said that this modification does not provide for the installation of a second SIM card - only a memory card. I had to take my word for it.

Should you buy a Samsung Galaxy S8 smartphone?

And, finally, the price is an important criterion for evaluating any new product. It is traditional for Samsung flagships - RUB 59,990 S7 Edge was also worth it when it first entered our market. However, after a few months, the price of the flagship has decreased, and there are very interesting offers in the salons. But if you are unpretentious, like Oscar Wilde, and you "enough the best", then perhaps the novelty is worth the money.

Photo: genk.vn, Sergey Smitskiy


When will the Samsung S8 drop in price? Was the Galaxy S8 worth buying?

Now that Samsung has shown off its latest smartphone to the public, it's promising a more advanced camera, a more powerful and efficient processor... and (depending on where you buy it) a hefty price tag. And although the price of the S9 in the US is slightly lower than the original cost of the S8, in Russia the price can reach almost 57,990 rubles for a new phone, and the cost of the S9 + will be more than 74,990 rubles.

But you don't have to spend a huge amount of money. Just to get a quality flagship smartphone. You can find quite a powerful model on the market right now, and its price is expected to drop sharply in the coming weeks.

We are talking about the Galaxy S8 - the model that the expected S9 promises to throw off the line.

Buying last year's smartphone may seem counterproductive, as the S9 promises improved specs, especially for the device's camera. But the S8 deserves credit on its own, as it topped our smartphone rankings for most of 2017. And very soon it will be possible to buy it at a much lower price than a few weeks ago - at a number of stores the price is already decreasing.

Let's take a closer look at what you still get by choosing the S8 over the newer S9, and what you'll most likely have to sacrifice for the low price.

No one can say for sure how much the Samsung S8 will drop in price with the start of S9 pre-orders on March 2nd. But judging by past price changes of earlier models, the S8 could drop in price very quickly. As a rule, smartphone prices fall by 15-20 percent in 12 months.

That's exactly what happened a year ago with the release of the Galaxy S8: The S7 was suddenly no longer a hot commodity, according to Lindsey Sacrida, director of content marketing service DealNwes.


Here's how the Samsung S8 fell in price (Price dynamics)

“Last year when the S8 was announced, we found offers to purchase an unboxed 32G S7 for prices starting at $31,000 – $29,990 less than the original price,” Sakraida said shortly before the S9 was released. “We also noticed the 128GB model for 39,990 rubles. So before the introduction of the S8, only unlocked S7s saw price cuts in stores.”

The situation changed with the release of S8 in April 2017. According to Sakraida, by that time, the monthly fee for S7s bought in installments began to decline. The S7 model, which had a starting price of 47,990 rubles, fell in price to about 37,990 rubles in the months leading up to the release of the S8, according to DealNews. The S7 can currently be found on Amazon for 27,000 rubles ($449).

How much and when will the Samsung S8 fall in price? You can find out by comparing it with the Galaxy S7.

When did the Samsung Galaxy S7 fall in price?

Price tracking site CamelCamelCamel confirms this by showing that Galaxy S7 prices from third-party sellers dropped significantly (see image below) in the spring of 2017 when the S8 hit the market. The same thing happened with the prices of older models such as the Galaxy S6.

In general, smartphone prices are declining by 15-20 percent per year, says Christina Gallup. But will the Samsung S8 get cheaper as well as the S7?

The price drop for the S7 with the introduction of the S8 could be an exception, Sakraida warns. “The S7 was a good smartphone, but for many buyers its reputation has been tarnished by the Note 7 fiasco, so it is possible that the S7 price cut was more aggressive than the expected similar effect for the S8 after the S9 was shown,” she added.


Here's how the Samsung S7 fell in price (Price dynamics)

But it still makes sense to look at prices for unlocked S8s after the announcement of the S9. According to Sakraida, price cuts from distributors can be expected as soon as the S9 starts shipping.

At the time of this writing, both Samsung and the major wireless carriers are still charging over $46,990 for the Galaxy S8, although that will likely change with the S9's release. But on retail sites, everything is not so: there you can find an unlocked S8 for less than 39,990 rubles.

So, if you choose the Galaxy S8 over the new S9, you'll be saving money - the current price difference is $15,000 and the gap is expected to widen. What options will you have to sacrifice for a lower cost?

The S9 offers the most improvement in photography. The new model stands out with a 12-megapixel camera with adjustable aperture: in low light, the aperture expands to f/1.5; it can also be narrowed down to f/2.4 to capture more detail in wide-angle shots. The S9 still has a single rear camera like the S8 and S8+, and dual lenses can be found on the larger (and more expensive) Galaxy S9+.


S9 left and S8 right

We had time to take some test shots with the S9. We're still doing a detailed comparison with the results of other phones, but these frames can already be judged on the performance of the improved S9 camera. In general, we noticed improved results in low light levels, although color reproduction is not quite accurate in some cases.

“I definitely think people should consider buying the S8 when the S9 goes on sale, especially since stores will be offering bargains at a low price.” – Christina Gallup, WhistleOut.

So what should you buy, Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S9?

Should you ignore the latest flagship smartphone in favor of last year's model? Much depends on what options you are interested in. If you use your smartphone to take a lot of photos, then the improvements in the Galaxy S9 may justify the increased cost.

Also consider how long you plan to use your next phone. While the S8 is still able to handle most apps, 24 months later that may no longer be the case as Android updates are coming soon and app developers will start offering more processor-hungry apps.

Still, based on the specs and features of Samsung's new smartphone, the S9 isn't all that different from last year's model. If you can do without some of the bells and whistles in the Galaxy S9, then the current Galaxy S8 should be enough to satisfy your desires - especially given the approaching price drop.

The choice is yours, but the Samsung S8 is pretty cheap compared to last year.