Samsung Galaxy S8

The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ mark a fresh start for Samsung after the disaster that was the Galaxy Note 7. Samsung builds some beautiful phones. The Note 7 was a beautiful phone. The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are also very beautiful phones. But, unlike the Note 7, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ have a lot of added responsibility on their shoulders.The new Galaxy S phones also have as many as three modes of biometric authentication, and a feature that lets you connect these phones to a monitor the way Microsoft's Windows Continuum does. We take a closer look.

Specifications:

Processor: The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ available in India will be powered by a 2.3GHz octa-core Exynos 8895 processor clubbed with Mali-G71 MP20 GPU. The US version of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ come with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor inside.

RAM: Both the phones come with 4GB of RAM.

Internal storage: Both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ come with 64GB of internal memory which is expandable by up to 256GB via a micro-SD card.

Screen: The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ come with what Samsung calls as an Infinity display. Both the phones boast of an edge-to-edge screen and an unusual 18.5:9 aspect ratio instead of a regular 16:9. While the Galaxy S8 is a 5.8-inch phone, the Galaxy S8+ has a 6.2-inch screen. Both the phones have a 2960x1440 pixel (WQHD+) resolution and Super AMOLED panels. The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ also come with Samsung's trademark always-on functionality.

Rear camera: Both the phones come with a 12-megapixel (Dual Pixel) rear camera with f/1.7 aperture and optical image stabilisation. While the rear camera is largely the same as the one in last year's Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge, Samsung has made software tweaks to enhance post-processing that should result in slightly better results. At the same time, the camera app now houses a barrage of fancy new animations to add AR effects to photos.

Front camera: On the front, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ sport an 8-megapixel camera with autofocus.

Software: Both the phones run Android Nougat-based TouchWiz UI or more precisely Samsung Experience UX.

Battery: While the Galaxy S8 has a 3,000mAh battery, the Galaxy S8+ has a larger 3,500mAh battery inside. Both the phones support fast and wireless charging.

Special features:

-- Both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, from the onset, are exact replicas of each other. The Galaxy S8+ is simply a larger Galaxy S8 with a bigger battery. Samsung isn't launching a new Edge phone this year, because probably, both its new Galaxy S phones have just the right amount of curves and Edge-functionality built right into them. There was no need for a stand-alone curved-display phone this year round.

-- Both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ still boast of a glass and metal body, but unlike their predecessor phones, Samsung's 2017 flagships have near bezel-less screens. These have Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on both the front as well as on the back.

-- The front, in the case of the Galaxy S8 and S8+, is clean and without any buttons. Contrary to reports, the Galaxy S8 and S8+ phones do have a front-mounted home button, only that it is software-based now. So are the back and recent keys. While the home button is pressure sensitive -- and gives haptic feedback when pressed something on the lines of Apple's Force Touch -- it is also now possible to edit and re-position the back and recent keys. Both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ also come with a dedicated Bixby button.

-- Bixby is Samsung's take on Apple's Siri and Google's Assistant. It responds to both touch and voice and has the ability to translate as many as 52 languages. Apple's Siri, for your reference, maxes out at 30. "At launch, Bixby's Voice function will integrate with several Samsung native apps and features including Camera, Contacts, Gallery, Messages and Settings, with the plan to expand its capabilities to include more Samsung and third-party apps in the near future," Samsung said. Bixby, for instance, can be used to search for images. Also, it can be used to get details about nearby places. There's a catch however, in that, it supports only US English and Korean languages for now. Also, Bixby doesn't support voice commands yet.

-- The Galaxy S8 and the S8+ have a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner that lies adjacent to the camera module. In addition, Samsung's new Galaxy S-phones also come with an iris scanner and facial recognition for added security. Samsung Knox and Samsung Pay are also built-in.

-- Just like their predecessor phones, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are IP68-certified for water and dust resistance.

-- Samsung has also announced a dock and a feature called DeX that is very similar to Microsft's Windows Continuum. "Samsung DeX is a unique solution that transforms your smartphone into a desktop by providing a secure desktop-like experience. With Samsung DeX, users can easily display and edit data from their phone, making working from a smartphone faster and smarter," the company said.