Hardware is only half the story. Samsung has also refined its software. Along with a lighter version of its TouchWiz interface, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus are the first phones to launch with Bixby, Samsung's new smart digital assistant that is designed to compete with Apple's Siri, Amazon's Alexa and (sort of) Google Assistant. Bixby promises to do more than other digital assistants. Samsung has said that anything you can do with touch can also be done through Bixby, but we'll have to actually use it for awhile to verify how true that is. The assistant uses machine learning to help improve your experience with the device. It can remind you of upcoming appointments, recommend activities and more. For example, if you always call your significant other at noon, Bixby will notice the trend and remind you on days you forget to call. There's even an image recognition element, so you can use the camera to translate and scan things.
The problem? In our initial (admittedly very short) hands-on time ted baker iphone xs max mirror folio case - arboretum reviews with Bixby, it wasn't terribly smooth, We'll reserve judgment until we fully review the phone, but this service is very much in beta until further notice, The stunning design of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus will come at a hefty cost, The S8 will cost $750, £689 or AU$1199, while the larger model is priced at $850, £779 or AU$1349, Monthly installment plans, which will vary by carrier, will make that pill easier to swallow, but be prepared to pay..
Or at least buy a case. The all-glass body and large screen doesn't look like it will be able to handle many drops. We shattered our Galaxy S7 and if you're clumsy, you may want to hold off on the Galaxy S8. Bixby sounds cool, but is it worth shelling out a ton of money? Probably not, especially since the fully capable Google Assistant is slated to come to all Android phones running Marshmallow and Nougat. (Yes, Google Assistant and Bixby will exist side by side on the Galaxy S8.). That brings us to our last point. Your current phone is probably still great. If you bought a Galaxy S7 (or one of the other great flagship phones we saw last year), there's no imperative to upgrade. Your phone already has a high quality display, a great camera and high-end specs.
But if your phone is an older model (two-plus years) or a budget phone that has been hampered by software updates, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus could be right for you, To learn more about the phones, check out CNET's first impression on the Galaxy S8 here and the Galaxy ted baker iphone xs max mirror folio case - arboretum reviews S8 Plus here, Samsung's newest superphone looks impressive, but it may not be an automatic upgrade, Here's what you need to know, The Samsung Galaxy S8 and larger Galaxy S8 Plus are two of the most anticipated phones of the year, and now they're official it's easy to see why, Between the stunning design and high-end specs, Samsung's newest phones have many people ready to throw down some serious cash, but should you take the plunge?..
But based on the company's official spec sheets -- where companies typically trot out their most optimistic numbers -- it seems likely that battery life won't quite stay the same. The differences aren't huge: an hour of 4G internet here, an hour of video there. Many numbers stay the same. You'll want to note that the talk time numbers are comparing CDMA talk time for the S7 and S7 Edge, with "global" numbers (we don't know what that means) for the S8 and S8 Plus. And as you can see, Samsung didn't give us an apples-to-apples comparison for music playback. We'll need to do our own testing to be sure.
