Showing posts with label Samsung Galaxy S8 Philippines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Samsung Galaxy S8 Philippines. Show all posts

Saturday, 1 April 2017

Samsung Galaxy S8+ vs S7 Edge vs S8 Size Comparison Photos

"Sir Mark, is the new Samsung Galaxy S8 notably bigger than my Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge?"

"Given that Samsung Galaxy S8+ has a 6.2-inch screen and that the S7 Edge only has a 5.5-inch display, I'm sure that the new phablet has a far larger footprint than the old one. Can you confirm that, Mark?"

"My SGS7Edge fits in my pocket perfectly. I understand that the Samsung Galaxy S8 has a bigger screen than my current phone -- so I'm afraid it might not fit my pocket just as well. Is that right?"

These are just some of the many 'size related' questions that I got from friends and readers as soon as I arrived home from the Samsung Unpacked event at The City of Dreams Manila last March 29, 2017 where the company officially announced its two new flagship Android smartphones.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus vs Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge vs Samsung Galaxy S8

Well, thankfully, Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is one of my currently daily drivers and I had it with me during Samsung Unpacked, allowing me to snap these shots.

I know a picture paints a thousand words so I'll let these size comparison photos speak for themselves.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus vs Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge vs Samsung Galaxy S8
(L-R) 6.2-inch Samsung Galaxy S8+, 5.5-inch Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, and 5.8-inch Samsung Galaxy S8.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus vs Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge vs Samsung Galaxy S8

Here are the dimensions and weight of each model:

Samsung Galaxy S8+
159.5 x 73.4 x 8.1 mm (Length x Width x Thickness)
173 grams

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
150.9 x 72.6 x 7.7 mm (Length x Width x Thickness)
157 grams

Samsung Galaxy S8
148.9 x 68.1 x 8 mm (Length x Width x Thickness)
155 grams

SGS8+ is taller, wider, thicker, and heavier than the SGS7Edge. But that's to be expected. What we should note is that despite the sheer screen size difference, the phablets' footprints are still somehow comparable or not that far from each other.


Amazingly, although it has a larger 5.8-inch display versus just 5.5-inch screen on the SGS7Edge, the new Samsung Galaxy S8 is actually smaller, slimmer, and lighter than its predecessor. Sure, the 2017 release is thicker but it's barely noticeable.

So how was Samsung able to make the new flagship models relatively small despite having massive screens? Well, they used a new display resolution of 1440 x 2960 pixels, which is taller than 1440 x 2560 pixels resolution of the SGS7Edge, and removed the physical home button in front. This allowed the new screens to 'eat into' the previously unused space in the top and bottom bezels of the phone. Together, these elements are the foundation of Samsung's new Infinity Display feature.

Wednesday, 29 March 2017

Samsung Galaxy S8 Philippines Official Price, Specs, Release Date, Actual Unit Photos

Here's the truth: Much of what was officially disclosed tonight by Samsung about its 2017 flagship Android smartphone were already known to us prior to this Unpacked Event at the City of Dreams Manila. After all, Samsung Galaxy S8 had been the most rumored and talked about upcoming top-of-the-line handset within the past several months.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Philippines

And yet, despite already having an idea about how the device will look and work, none of the leaks could have prepared me for how gorgeous and sleek it actually is in the flesh.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Philippines

As one of the few tech bloggers in the Philippines to have actually played with the Korean Giant's 2017 flagship offering in the flesh, I will tell you this: Samsung Galaxy S8 is the most beautiful smartphone that the company has released so far.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Philippines

In terms of aesthetics, Samsung Galaxy S8 is already a winner by a clear mile. And I'm sure that millions of consumers will purchase the handset on this merit alone.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Philippines
Just like its immediate predecessor, Samsung Galaxy S8 is also IP68 Certified, which means that it is protected against water and dust ingress. You'd be glad that your phone has this feature if you accidentally splash water on it or drop it in the sink.

What's incredible, however, is that this model's physical appearance is hardly the only thing that's of note about it. In fact, I can safely that in all departments or areas that need to be covered in crafting a smartphone, this specific device is the current industry leader.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Philippines

Let's start with the display: The smartphone sports a 5.8-inch SuperAMOLED display that gently curves down either sides and is protected by scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass 5 touchscreen panel.

What I find truly amazing is that despite having a screen this big, the handset only measures 148.9 x 68.1 x 8 mm, making it even smaller than the Samsung Galaxy S7 which only has a 5.5-inch display!

Samsung was able to do this not only by almost eliminating the bezels framing the screen but also by giving it a taller 1440 x 2960 pixels resolution that covers more of the top and bottom portions of the bezels without making the device wider. The company markets this look as 'Infinity Display'.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Philippines
Samsung Galaxy S8 is the first high-end Android smartphone from the company to ditch the the physical home button below the display, replacing it with a pressure-sensitive portion at the bottom of the screen that gives a tactile feedback when you press on the virtual buttons.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Philippines

Now, as for imaging capabilities, this model - just like its predecessor - definitely stands shoulder to shoulder with the best of them.


At the back, the device sports a 12 MegaPixel Dual Pixel camera with f/1.7 aperture, phase detection autofocus, 1/2.5" sensor size, 1.4 µm pixel size, LED flash, Optical Image Stabilization, and 4K 60fps video recording capability. I'd say its performance is largely similar to that of the S7 Edge, which is certainly not a bad thing.


The bigger and more noticeable improvement can be seen on the front camera, which now has a higher resolution at 8 MegaPixels, which allows it to deliver far clearer and more brilliant selfies.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Philippines
SGS8 is powered by a non-removable 3,000 mAh battery pack, which was carefully crafted and placed by Samsung inside the handset, bearing in mind the lessons learned from the Note7 debacle.

Under the hood, the version of Samsung Galaxy S8 that's coming to the Philippines runs its TouchWiz-skinned Android 7.0 Nougat OS with the powerhouse 64-bit Octa Core 10nm Exynos 8895 processor incorporating a Mali-G71 GPU that's scalable from one to a whopping thirty two cores, making the handset a real beast when it comes to gaming and recording 4K videos. Complementing this powerhouse processor are 4GB of RAM for multitasking and 64GB of internal storage that can easily be augmented using the hybrid secondary nanoSIM card slot.

Crafted to give users peace of mind and a high level of mobile security, SGS8 supports a number of unlocking options including the standard pattern and password as well as more advanced ones utilizing the Fingerprint Scanner and Iris Scanner. On top of this, the handset allows the user to encrypted folders for private documents and content, adding a whole other layer of protection.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Philippines
Samsung Galaxy S8 now has a USB Type C port; A level up from the microUSB 2.0 port of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge!

SGS8 also features the all-new Bixby virtual assistant - the Korean company's answer to Apple's Siri - which can be launched via a dedicated hardware button below the ones for volume up and down. Made to interact with Samsung apps and other supported third party applications, Bixby allows the use of voice commands to perform tasks, generates cards on the home screen ala FlipBoard based on the user's interests, and performs searches through object recognition using the camera. More about this service on TechPinas soon.

6.2-inch Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus and 5.8-inch Samsung Galaxy S8, respectively.

Upon launch, Samsung Galaxy S8 will don an official SRP of Php 39,990 in the Philippines and will be out in a number of elegant colors, namely, Maple Gold, Orchid Gray, Midnight Black, and Arctic Silver. The company has yet to disclose the phone's exact release date in our market but I guess it will just coincide with the global release of the device happening on April 21, 2017.

Smart Communications, the largest mobile network in the Philippines, now offering the Samsung Galaxy S8 as a bundled handset with all of its postpaid plans, starting at Plan 399.

TechPinas Smartphone Technical Specs Table (TSTST)
Name : Samsung Galaxy S8
Type : Slate Form Factor (Full Touchscreen)
Price Category : High-End (Flagship Level)
Dimensions : 148.9 x 68.1 x 8 mm
Weight : 155 grams
Available Colors : Midnight Black, Maple Gold, Orchid Gray, Arctic Silver, Coral Blue
Operating System : Android 7.0 Nougat with TouchWiz UI
Display : 5.8 inches (~83.6% screen-to-body ratio), 1440 x 2960 pixels (~570 ppi pixel density), SuperAMOLED, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, Curved Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Processor : 64-Bit Octa Core 10nm Exynos 8895 Octa
RAM : 4GB RAM
Internal Storage : 64GB ROM, expandable via hybrid nano SIM2 slot
Camera : Back: 12 MegaPixels, Dual Pixel, f/1.7, 26mm, phase detection autofocus, OIS, LED flash, 1/2.5" sensor size, 1.4 µm pixel size
Front: 8 MegaPixels, f/1.7
Video Capture : Back - 4K 60fps, 1080p 120fps, Dual Video Recording
Front - 4K 30fps
Audio and Video Playback : MP3, WAV, eAAC+, FLAC, MP4, H.264
Ports : USB Type C 1.0 reversible, USB OTG, 3.5 mm audio jack
Connectivity : Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth v5.0 with A2DP, EDR, 3G HSPA+; LTE-A
GPS : A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO
FM Radio : No
Sensors : Accelerometer, Digital Compass, Proximity, Gyroscope, Fingerprint Scanner, Iris Scanner, Heart Rate, Barometer
Network : 2G bands GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 and SIM 2
3G bands HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
4G bands LTE band 1(2100), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 20(800), 28(700), 38(2600), 40(2300)
SIM Card Type : Dual nanoSIM
Battery : Non-removable 3,000 mAh Li-Po battery
Uptime : TBD
Value-Added Features : Infinity Display, New Design, Iris Scanner, Bixby Assistant, Improved Selfie Cam, IP68 Certified Water and Dust Resistant
Announcement : Philippines - March 30, 2017
Availability : Global - April 21, 2017
Price : Official SRP in the Philippines - Php 39,990

Thursday, 16 March 2017

Samsung Galaxy S8 Specs and Photo Leak Before March 29, 2017 Announcement

According to serial gadget leaker Evan Blass, the 2017 flagship Android smartphone of Korean Giant Samsung is going to look like this:


And looking at the official invite that I got from Samsung Philippines' PR agency - GreenBulb - for our local Unpacked Event happening on March 29, 2017, I guess Evan is on point yet again.


Of all top-of-the-line 2017 smartphones, Samsung Galaxy S8 along with its larger sibling - Samsung Galaxy S7 Plus - are clearly the most talked about and featured in leaks.

It doesn't come as a surprise, though, since their predecessors had likewise enjoyed the same attention prior to their launch.

Add to that the yearning for a new flagship handset that the brand's fans feel following the Note7 debacle and it's easy to get this through-the-roof level of anticipation.


Just to recap everything we've read so far, here are the purported or yet-to-be-confirmed technical specifications of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S8 and the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus phablet:

Samsung Galaxy S8

140.14 x 72.2 x 7.3 mm
5.8-inch Curved 4K SuperAMOLED display, 18.5:9 ratio
Pressure-sensitive lower part of the display
64-Bit 2.45 GHz Octa Core Kryo 280 based Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor
(or Samsung Exynos 8895 processor in some markets)
Adreno 540 GPU
4GB of RAM (6GB in select markets)
ROM starts at 64GB
12 MegaPixel autofocus rear camera, f/1.7 aperture, Dual Pixel
8MP f/1.7 selfie camera in front
4K video recorder
Iris Scanner
Fingerprint Scanner
Android 7.0 Nougat OS with TouchWiz UI
Bixby Virtual Assistant
microSD card expansion slot
Dual SIM version in some territories including the Philippines
Non-removable 3,000 mAh battery pack with quick charge and wireless charging support.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus


152.38 x 78.51 x 7.94 mm
6.2-inch Curved 4K SuperAMOLED display, 18.5:9 ratio
Pressure-sentitive lower part of the display
64-Bit 2.45 GHz Octa Core Kryo 280 based Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor
(or Samsung Exynos 8895 processor in some markets)
Adreno 540 GPU
4GB of RAM (6GB in select markets)
ROM starts at 64GB
12 MegaPixel autofocus rear camera, f/1.7 aperture, Dual Pixel
8MP f/1.7 selfie camera in front
4K video recorder
Iris Scanner
Fingerprint Scanner
Android 7.0 Nougat OS with TouchWiz UI
Bixby Virtual Assistant
microSD card expansion slot
Dual SIM version in some territories including the Philippines
Non-removable 3,500 mAh battery pack with quick charge and wireless charging support

Again, these are not yet official -- so take them with a grain of sale. However, if you ask me, I think many of these details are already pretty much accurate. But that's just my hunch.

 

To quote the company, "Samsung has been the pioneer in offering not just premium but highly innovative smartphones. Every launch promises a leap beyond expectations as it dares to go beyond limits."

In line with that statement, Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus are indeed expected to set a new standard in terms of Android handset design, build, raw power, and imaging capabilities upon launch. Exciting, eh?