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Microsoft has its own version of the Samsung Galaxy S8 (updated)
Samsung has been bundling Microsoft apps like Skype, OneDrive, OneNote and more on its phones and tablets for a while now. However, when it comes to the Galaxy S8, the two companies are taking their partnership a step further. Microsoft is selling a Samsung Galaxy S8 Microsoft Edition and it's accepting pre-orders starting today at its retail stores in the US ahead of the April 21st launch.
Samsung's Galaxy S8 is the first phone with Bluetooth 5.0
You didn't have to wait long to see the first phone packing Bluetooth 5.0 -- in fact, it's less than a month away. When Samsung posted the specs for its brand new Galaxy S8 line, it quietly let slip that the smartphones would use the bleeding edge wireless standard. To recap, 5.0 promises up to twice the speed of Bluetooth 4.2, and four times the range. You could connect to smartwatches that are more responsive and capable, for example, and connect to some smart home devices from a greater distance. Just don't expect to see the difference right away.
Watch Samsung's Galaxy S8 event in under nine minutes
After a 15-minute "you can still trust us" intro, endless inspired-by-your-dreams cliches and enough specs to benumb the most caffeinated tech blogger, Samsung actually unveiled two damn good phones, the Galaxy S8 and S8+. We wouldn't be so cruel as to put you through the hour-plus ordeal, though, dear reader. We've condensed the whole thing down to nine minutes, so you can catch all the highlights -- Bixby! Infinite displays! Super selfies! Flame-free! -- and none of the tedium. Enjoy.
Samsung's 'unbox your phone' event gave us a phone that's still a box
Before Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S8 to the world, it teased the audience with a device that would break the conventions of the traditional smartphone. The event's pre-roll animation showed an enormous 1980s brick phone morphing into a 1990s-era flip phone, which in turn evolved into a modern smartphone. That device then exploded beyond its frame and summoned the event's tagline: Unbox your phone. When the event started, however, Samsung didn't reveal a revolution in smartphone design -- it showed the world another glass slab with a gorgeously large touchscreen. Except this one has smaller bezels.
Does anyone actually want to use a phone as a desktop?
Samsung is entering an increasingly crowded club with its new Dex dock, which turns the Galaxy S8 into a pseudo-desktop replacement. It's an idea most recently pushed by Microsoft with Windows Continuum (as seen in HP's Elite X3 and the Lumia 950), but we've seen companies like Motorola experimenting with this sort of setup since the dawn of the smartphone age. The concept makes sense on paper: Our phones are getting more powerful, so why not figure out ways to turn them into full-fledged computers? But after seeing so many try and fail to do so, I have to wonder: Does anyone actually want this?
The Galaxy S8+ vs. the competition: Big sibling battle
Samsung knows you like big phones. However, the Galaxy Note's gone MIA this year for understandable reasons, leaving the new Galaxy S8+ to step up with its 6.2-inch screen and curved edges. But the Galaxy S8 line isn't the only big-and-bigger handset duo out there right now, with Apple and Google already staking their claims with similar pairings. The screen of the S8+ certainly dwarfs those on the Pixel XL and the 7 Plus, but is that enough of an advantage? Check out the specs of these three larger flagships to get a better idea of the new phone's capabilities, and stay tuned for our full review of the S8+ in the coming weeks!
Samsung's Galaxy S8 UK pricing starts at £689
Samsung just unwrapped its latest flagship phone, the Galaxy S8, along with some all-important prices and release dates. If you live in the UK, here's what you need to know: The phone comes in two models, the S8 and S8+, and will be sold for £689 and £779 respectively. Both come with 64GB of storage as standard, so you just have to worry about the size and the color -- your options are black, silver, gold, blue or a purple-ish "orchid gray." The official release date is April 28th in Europe, however if you pre-order before April 19th there's a chance you'll get it up to eight days early.
The Galaxy S8 vs. the competition: Both beauty and beast
Samsung's had a rough year, but it's hoping that its new flagship phones can turn things around. In fact, the company's wants you to see the Galaxy S8 as a new type of handset: bigger and bolder in shape, with personal assistant Bixby and a desktop mode to sweeten the pot. But it's entering a market already full of swank devices like the Google Pixel (with its amazing camera) and the iPhone 7. While you'll have to wait for our full review to see how the S8 fares in the wild, we've lined up its specs against some of the competition to see if it's bringing the right tools to the field.
All the places you can buy the Galaxy S8 and S8+
If you're looking to make sure you're among the first to own Samsung's swanky new Galaxy S8 but don't want to line up outside a store on April 21st, you're in luck. Major and minor carriers alike have announced that they're running pre-order campaigns (with some hefty incentives) starting as early as tomorrow. Here's what each has planned:
Samsung's Galaxy S8 can sign into websites using your face
The Galaxy S8's face and fingerprint detection are about more than unlocking your phone: If Samsung has its way, you'll use them to sign into seemingly everything online. The company is expanding its Samsung Pass feature to use biometrics to sign into not only a wider array of financial services but also shopping (as rumored) and other websites. Yes, you could start shopping just by staring at your phone for a while. And if you're health conscious, the S8 might save you a trip to the clinic.
Samsung's Bixby AI assistant can see as well as talk
With its latest Galaxy S8 and S8+ smartphones, Samsung also launched its very own AI assistant, Bixby. We know what you're thinking: Do I really need yet another Android helper bot like Google Assistant or even Cortana vying for my attention? Actually, Bixby might prove to be more useful for Galaxy S8 owners than we expected, thanks to its tight integration with the smartphones' hardware.
Samsung's Galaxy S8 arrives April 21st
Now that the Galaxy S8 is finally official, the next most important piece of news is when you can buy it and how much it will cost. The new handset will be available in five colors -- of these, the Midnight Black, Orchid Gray and Arctic Blue options will be offered in the US when the phone arrives on April 21st. Major carriers, including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular and Verizon Wireless as well as low-cost options like Cricket Wireless and Straight Talk Wireless, will all start selling the device that day. If you want to make sure you're not left high and dry in the event those outlets run out of stock, you can pre-order the Galaxy S8 starting tomorrow.
Every Galaxy S8 comes with a pair of $99 AKG earbuds
Samsung's newly announced Galaxy S8 and S8+ will come with a pair of $99 AKG earbuds, the company revealed at its Unpacked event in New York City today. Although Samsung didn't say much beyond that, AKG is known for making products with great audio quality, so this should be an improvement over the earphones that have traditionally been included in the box with Galaxy phones. Indeed, audio was clearly a big focus for Samsung with its new flagship device: One of the best features of the S8 is that it can stream music to two headphones at a time, as long as you're using Bluetooth as the pairing method. It may not be something you use regularly, but at least you have the option to do so if you ever need to.
The Galaxy S8 and S8+ pack big changes into gorgeous bodies
Samsung officially revealed the new Galaxy S8 and S8+ here in New York, and it seems safe to say that we got what we expected. The lack of a home button; the new AI assistant; the near bezel-less, curved screens; the rear-mounted fingerprint sensors -- all the leaks were true. What ultimately matters more than the lack of surprises are ambition and keen execution, and Samsung clearly embraced both when building the S8s. It's a good thing too: After the Galaxy Note 7's rise and fiery fall, Samsung needed to prove that it could craft some flawless smartphones. Well, I'm not sure about flawless, but the S8 and S8+ are both gorgeous and full-featured -- for now, the good certainly seems to outweigh the bad.
The Galaxy S8 can double as a pretend desktop
The road to the perfect phone-desktop hybrid is littered with the carcasses of ambitious failures -- just look at Microsoft's Lumia 950 and Motorola's Atrix. Still, that isn't stopping Samsung from giving it a go with a new dock for the Galaxy S8 called Dex. Since the S8 packs a top-of-the-line Snapdragon 835 chip that was designed with VR in mind, the idea here is that the phone can do double duty as a desktop machine. I tried out the accessory with an S8 plugged in and was particularly impressed with the way Samsung has customized Android for bigger screens.
The new Gear 360 camera streams live video, works with iPhones
Make no mistake: Samsung has been really busy lately. Beyond the Galaxy S8 and S8+, the company also built a new Gear 360 camera that's both cuter and more feature-rich than before. The new Gear 360, for instance, shoots video in true 4K. By comparison, last year's model shot video at 3,840 x 1,920, which was so close to 4K we're not sure why Samsung didn't close the gap. And in an about-face from last year, this new model also supports iPhones right out of the box. Just make sure you have an iPhone 6s or newer (including the tiny SE) and that it's running iOS 10. Though I saw the camera ahead of today's launch event, however, I didn't get to see this particular feature in action, so consider me cautiously optimistic.
Samsung's new Gear VR and controller arrive on April 21st for $129
While the VR war between the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive is getting most of the hype, the competition in mobile VR is a far bigger deal for most consumers. After all, you only need a phone and a cheap headset for mobile VR, not a powerful gaming rig and lots of spending money. Samsung's Gear VR cemented itself as a pioneer in the market over the past few years, but Google's Daydream View headset came out swinging last year with the inclusion of a small motion-sensing remote.
Samsung squeezed a smart home hub into a WiFi router
Samsung isn't content with simply unveiling the Galaxy S8 today. In addition to its latest flagship phone, the company is also showing off a new Gear 360 camera, a desktop dock and, interestingly enough, a router. The Connect Home Smart Wi-Fi System is a mouthful of a name, but the device itself may actually reduce clutter in your home, since it removes the need for a separate SmartThings Hub. Samsung hasn't shared information on price and availability yet, but we do know the Connect Home system will be sold on its own or in a three-pack. A so-called Pro version will also be available.
Watch Samsung's Galaxy S8 livestream right here at 11AM ET
It's that time of the year again: Samsung is holding an event to unveil its latest and (hopefully) greatest Galaxy S phone, and it wants you to tune in. Visit this post at 11AM and you can watch a livestream of Samsung's big Unpacked gathering as it happens. You likely already know that the much-anticipated Galaxy S8 will be the star of the show -- there have been enough leaks and pre-event announcements to give you a good idea of what to expect from the giant-screened handset. Samsung has a history of unveiling additional gadgets and software, however, so don't be shocked if there's more to the story than what you've seen so far. And if you want our own take on proceedings (or just can't stream), you can always check out our live blog to get the full scoop. Click here to catch all the latest news from Samsung's Galaxy S8 launch event!
Live from Samsung's Galaxy S8 event!
Samsung's forthcoming Galaxy S8 is one of the worst-kept tech secrets in recent memory -- but we're still interested in what Samsung is going to unveil today all the same. The company pretty much took the year off from Mobile World Congress, where it has traditionally shown off its flagship phone for years now. But now, after a whole host of leaks, Samsung is finally ready to take the wraps off its latest mobile phone -- and a lot is riding on this one. It needs to make consumers forget the Galaxy Note 7 debacle as well as keep up with the best that Apple and Google have to offer. It's a tall order, but based on what we've seen thus far, Samsung may be ready to unveil one of the most interesting smartphones we've seen in years. Stay tuned here for our liveblog of the day's announcements -- Samsung's Unpacked event kicks off at 11AM ET / 8AM PT, and we'll be covering all the news about the Galaxy S8 as well as any other surprises Samsung has in store for us.
