Advertisement

Samsung's rugged Galaxy S8 Active launches this week

Pre-orders commence tomorrow through AT&T.

Samsung is officially releasing the Galaxy S8 Active on Friday, August 11. The rugged sibling to the company's all-conquering flagship will come in two colors (meteor gray and titanium gold). For a limited time, the phone will be exclusively available through AT&T -- that includes pre-orders, which start tomorrow.

The new handset's specs match those that were leaked around two weeks ago. Internally, it carries all the high-end hardware from the standard Galaxy S8, including a Snapdragon 835 CPU, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage. It also packs a 12-megapixel rear camera, and an 8-megapixel front-facing camera. The Active's main perk is its battery, which at 4,000mAh, is larger than the 3,000mAh and 3,500mAh batteries found inside the S8 and S8 plus, respectively.

Its other main differentiators are its design and durability. All the clumsy phone-droppers out there will be glad to learn the Active is shatter-, water-, and dust-resistant. That means you can submerge it in up to 5 feet of water for up to 30 minutes or drop it from up to 5 feet on to a flat surface. Honestly, give it hell (or a drunken night on the town) and see if it survives. On top of that, it's made with military-grade materials -- which should hopefully stop it from leaking like its predecessor. The handset's exterior boasts a metal frame and bumper to protect against shock, and the rugged back cover we've come to expect. Judging from the pics, it also deviates from the original Galaxy S8 by ditching the flagship's curved Infinity Display.

You can grab the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active from AT&T, starting from $28 per month. There's no word yet on additional pricing, and when the phone will land on more carriers.