Samsung Galaxy S8 - What's it like?

Release date and price

Release date: 28 April 2017 in the UK.

Price: Expensive. The regular Samsung Galaxy S8 costs £609, while the S8+ costs £689 - though both are of course available on contract plans. (Including deals with unlimited data, and plans with no upfront cost.)

Take a look at all the available S8 and S8+ deals:

Design and display

We'll say it now: the Galaxy S8 is a beauty. Just look at it.

It's a decent step up from the previous S7. The screen is massive, with an insane ratio of 18.5:9, and bezels around it are practically non-existent - there's just a thin sliver at the top and bottom, and the sides are curved down like the S7 Edge. It's not called an 'Infinity Display' for nothing.

The larger S8+ is the same, only even bigger: the screen measures a whopping 6.2 inches.

And yes, the lack of space at the bottom means there's no physical home button, which Samsung's finally done away with. Instead there are three soft buttons on the display - and the middle one is pressure-sensitive, just like the screen on the iPhone 7.

As for the rest of the buttons, there's a new one on the side (just under the volume rocker) dedicated to the new AI, Bixby, and the fingerprint scanner has been shifted to the back - right next to the camera.

Features

Like every Samsung flagship, the Galaxy S8 comes packed with some brand new stuff. Such as...

Bixby

Yep, Samsung has a new AI personal assistant, built by some of Siri's early developers. It's still in the early stages comparatively, but it can do stuff like work out where you are using the camera. And if you don't like it, don't worry - the regular Google Assistant is still there too.

DeX dock

With the DeX dock, you can connect your S8 or S8+ to a monitor, meaning you can essentially use your phone as a computer. It's got the processing power after all, so why not?

Iris scanner

Biometrics are here! We're a step closer to that cyberpunk future of our dreams!

The new iris scanner on the front of the phone means you can unlock it just by looking at it - which you may find useful, given that the fingerprint scanner is now all the way round the back.

HDR

As if the screen isn't already impressive enough, it's also HDR-enabled for the first time. That means superbly bright and crisp colours when you watch compatible videos.

Specifications

Here's the nitty gritty of the two phones for you mobile geeks.