The Galaxy S8 Plus is poised to set the tone for flagship handsets with its nearly bezel-less display, loaded chipsets, and a fully redesigned Android overlay that’s much less obtrusive than in years past. It comes with features that users never knew they wanted such as dual Bluetooth antennas and a micro SD slot. This is a phone that is not to be underestimated as Samsung threw everything in except the kitchen sink when they created the Galaxy S8.
Fits in the palm of the hand With a big display
The Galaxy S8 Plus has dimensions that help it fit in the palm of the hand without loss of screen space. It’s longer from top to bottom and narrower from side to side than previous phones. Now users can enjoy a larger screen without feeling like they’re carrying a phone/tablet combination. The Galaxy S8 Plus does this by eliminating the bezels and giving the user a curved screen. The top and bottom bezels are almost completely gone, as well. Samsung calls this the Infinity Display. However, even though the phone fits into the palm of the hand, it’s still a bit too wide to use with one hand. It’ll take two thumbs to type on this one.
A Display that does it all
The display itself consists of a 6.2-inch screen that has an entirely new aspect ratio of 18.5:9 and HDR. There’s nothing out there on the market that can compete with the image quality of the Galaxy S8. That means watching videos on a Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus on T-Mobile’s reliable high-speed network is going to create an experience like no other. Scrolling through Facebook also takes on a new dimension with the shape of the screen. It lets the reader look at their feed and view multiple stories instead of reading part of one and scrolling through it.
Perhaps the only drawback to the aspect ratio is the fact that the phone puts up black bars when playing back videos. Don’t want to deal with the black bars? Choose the Smart Cropping feature that fills up the screen for the most part.
Meet the new TouchWiz, not the same as the old TouchWiz
TouchWiz has given way to a new form known as Android “Samsung Experience.” Samsung has taken Android’s Nougat operating system and created a cleaner overlay that still retains a lot of the stock Android experience. Now it’s possible to swipe up or down on the home screen to get the pull-down app drawer or the internal search box. Apps can be long pressed to get additional options that allow the user to move, uninstall, or put together multiple apps. It also uses Nougat’s grouping style of notifications.
A Powerful Chipset
The phone itself only has 4GB of RAM, but the lack of RAM doesn’t make the phone feel underpowered by any means. The Qualcomm 835 chipset is lightning fast and has the added benefit of drawing less power than previous chipsets. But that’s only the beginning of what this chipset is capable of.
This is a phone designed to work with the Samsung Gear VR for those who want to experience virtual reality with a phone strong enough to provide the best visuals possible. And this chipset is designed to resist slowdown over the next couple of years, which means a two-year-old phone will operate with nearly the same speed that it possessed on day one.
Among the features that the chipset comes with are gigabit LTE modems that are also ready for gigabit Wi-Fi; they’re ready to take advantage of the next level of technology when they arrive. Another useful feature is Bluetooth Dual Audio that lets the user stream to two Bluetooth enabled devices at the same time.
The Galaxy S8 Plus is a must have for those who want a heavy-duty phone that does it all and then some. Its features and chipset make this a powerhouse of a phone that is going to last for years to come without much loss of use. This is a phone that makes all other flagships look underpowered in comparison. However, if you tend to use your phone for only basic tasks, you may want to shop for a device that offers only what you know you’ll use.
Photograph by Andri Koolme