Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ smartphones have been launched in India at an event in New Delhi. The latest flagship Samsung smartphones will be available in the country from May 5, while pre-bookings begin from Wednesday itself. The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ will be available from select offline retailers, and, will also be available via Flipkart and the Samsung India E-Store.
Samsung Galaxy S8 price and variant
The India variants of Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are powered by the Exynos 9985 chipset and feature dual-SIM functionality. The price in India of Galaxy S8 is Rs. 57,900 (MOP), while the Samsung Galaxy S8+ price in India is Rs. 64,900 (MOP). Samsung has brought the dual-SIM variants of the smartphones to India. The latter will be available in Midnight Black, Coral Blue, and Maple Gold colour variants, while the former will come in Midnight Black and Maple Gold colour options.
The India price tags evidently bear a significant premium over the US pricing. In the US, the Samsung Galaxy S8 is priced as low as $720 (roughly Rs. 46,700) and the Galaxy S8+ at $840 (roughly Rs. 54,500).
Samsung Galaxy S8 pre-order and launch offers
While Galaxy S8 pre-orders have started today. Flipkart is the online partner for the Galaxy S8 and S8+ and it will also be available via select offline retail stores. As for pre-booking offers, Samsung will be bundling a wireless charger free (Rs. 4,499) with the handset, and you can read the full terms and conditions on the Samsung site. The company has also detailed a launch offer for Reliance Jio users. Called the Reliance Jio Double Data offer that provides 28GB+28GB data a month at Rs. 309, for 8 months.
Samsung Galaxy S8 India variant
The Galaxy S8 India variant will be powered by the Samsung Exynos 8895 SoC; the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC variants will only be available in select regions including the US. This should not be a deal-breaker for potential buyers in India, as the two SoCs were recently spotted to have comparable performance – in fact, the Samsung Exynos 8895 SoC beat the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC in some benchmarks.
Samsung Galaxy S8 specifications and features
If we look at India’s current market scenario, the only premium category smartphones right now are mostly from last year. The Google Pixel and Apple iPhone 7 are both from 2016; the Xiaomi Mi 6 – one of the newer smartphones to feature the advanced Snapdragon 835 SoC is yet to be launched in the country, and the HTC U Ultra runs an older SoC. Now, this essentially makes the Galaxy S8 undefeated in this price category, until an equivalent or more powerful smartphone makes its way, at the same price point.
The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are mostly identical smartphones. The primary differences are battery capacity, dimensions, and screen size of the Infinity Display, which is a dual-edge curved display with an 18.5:9 aspect ratio, complete with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. The Galaxy S8 sports a 5.8-inch QHD+ (1440×2960 pixels) Super AMOLED display, while the Galaxy S8+ sports a 6.2-inch display with the same resolution and display technology. The displays are certified by the UHD Alliance as Mobile HDR Premium.
The octa-core Samsung Exynos 8895 SoC sports a quad-core module clocked at 2.35GHz, and another quad-core module clocked at 1.9GHz. The Exynos 8895 SoC on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ is coupled with 4GB of RAM.
The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ smartphones feature 12-megapixel ‘Dual Pixel’ rear cameras with optical image stabilisation and an f/1.7 aperture. On the front, the smartphones bear 8-megapixel front cameras with autofocus, and also bear an f/1.7 aperture. Both smartphones feature 64GB of inbuilt storage that’s expandable via microSD card (up to 256GB) in a hybrid dual-SIM configuration.
Connectivity options on the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ include 4G LTE (Cat. 16), Wi-Fi 802.11ac (2.4GHz, 5GHz), Bluetooth v5.0, USB Type-C, NFC, and GPS. Sensors on board include an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, barometer, gyroscope, heart rate sensor, magnetometer, and proximity sensor. They both support Samsung Pay, with NFC and MST connectivity. The two smartphones come with iris scanner, fingerprint scanner, and facial recognition.
The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ support wireless charging as well as fast charging. The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ pack 3000mAh and 3500mAh batteries respectively. The Galaxy S8 measures 148.9×68.1x8mm and weighs 155 grams. The Galaxy S8+ measures 159.5×73.4×8.1mm and weighs 173 grams.
Coming to one of the key features of the Galaxy S8; the smartphone is the first Samsung Galaxy smartphone to pack a digital voice assistant of its own. Called Bixby, the voice-controlled software aims to take on Microsoft’s Cortana, Apple’s Siri, and Google Assistant, with smarts of its own. Water and dust resistance capabilities are present as well, putting the Galaxy S8 into the premium but durable range of smartphones.
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Product Specifications
| Galaxy S8 | Galaxy S8+ | |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Android 7.0 | |
| Network | LTE Cat.16 * *May differ by markets and mobile operators |
|
| Dimension | 148.9 x 68.1 x 8.0 mm, 155g | 159.5 x 73.4 x 8.1 mm, 173g |
| AP | Octa core (2.3GHz Quad + 1.7GHz Quad), 64 bit, 10 nm process Octa core (2.35GHz Quad + 1.9GHz Quad), 64 bit, 10 nm process *May differ by markets and mobile operators* |
|
| Memory | 4GB RAM (LPDDR4), 64GB (UFS 2.1) *May differ by markets and mobile operators |
|
| Display | 5.8” (146.5mm) * Quad HD+ (2960×1440), (570ppi) | 6.2” (158.1mm) * Quad HD+ (2960×1440), (529ppi) |
| * Screen measured diagonally as a full rectangle without accounting for the rounded corners | ||
| Camera | Rear: Dual Pixel 12MP OIS (F1.7), Front : 8MP AF (F1 .7) | |
| Battery | 3,000 mAh, | 3,500 mAh, |
| Fast Charging on wired and wireless Wireless Charging compatible with WPC and PMA7 *Fast wireless chargers sold separately |
||
| Payment | NFC, MST | |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz), VHT80 MU-MIMO,1024QAM Bluetooth® v 5.0 (LE up to 2Mbps), ANT+, USB Type-C, NFC, Location (GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou) * Galileo and BeiDou coverage may be limited. |
|
| Sensors | Accelerometer, Barometer, Fingerprint Sensor, Gyro Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, Hall Sensor, HR Sensor, Proximity Sensor, RGB Light Sensor, Iris Sensor, Pressure Sensor |
|
| Audio | MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA, DSF, DFF |
|
| Video | MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM | |
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Samsung Galaxy S8 review:
April 18, 2017 - CNETThe Samsung Galaxy S8 is without a doubt the most beautiful, polished phone I've ever held. For Samsung, it's also the most important phone. It represents a chance to restore buyers' confidence after the Note 7 battery disaster and an opportunity to...
