DxOMark experts tested the Samsung Galaxy S8 camera, identifying the main advantages and disadvantages. The quality of photo and video cameras, features, examples, competitors.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 has one of the best cameras on the mobile market, and the DxOMark rating proves it. The overall camera score is 88 points. The rating is calculated as the arithmetic average of the ratings of the photo and video camera. The maximum possible score is 100 points. Until recently, the Samsung Galaxy S8 was second only to the top one with a rating of 89 points. The situation was changed by the recently released HTC U11, which scored 90 points in the rating.
Galaxy S8 camera strengths- excellent autofocus, correct white balance, effective noise reduction algorithms in the frame. The smartphone takes high-quality pictures in any lighting conditions.
The main camera flaw of the Galaxy S8 According to DxOMark experts, the same algorithms for post-processing of a frame are becoming artificially hiding "defects", and so the sharpness of photos is reduced.
Experts confirm that the Galaxy S8 perfectly adjusts exposure and color in automatic mode... If a complex scene is captured, the smartphone automatically turns on HDR, as a result of which the footage is less natural. However, users even like this effect.
The Samsung Galaxy S8's camera captures high-quality, clear images in low light conditions. Photos are bright enough, detailed and clear, subject to static shooting. Slight movement or vibration of the smartphone itself (which is possible, provided that the user is holding the device in his hands), the quality of the photo is significantly reduced. The pictures are blurry, blurry and sloppy.
Galaxy S8 ranking in DxOMark Mobile Photo
Galaxy S8 camera advantages:
- fast and correct autofocus in all lighting conditions
- correct color rendition in most cases
- excellent exposure
- high-quality detailing in any part of the image (illuminated or darkened)
- low noise in flash photography
Disadvantages of the Galaxy S8 camera:
- reduced detail and clarity in post-processing
- different sharpness in different parts of the photo
- very small details are not transmitted
- incorrect color rendition when shooting under electric light
DxOMark experts also rate the Galaxy S8 camcorder highly. Tests show that the S8 has improved video stabilization over its predecessor, the Galaxy S7. The improvement is most noticeable when shooting video in motion (there are practically no frame fluctuations), as well as in low light conditions.
Rating Galaxy S8 in DxOMark Mobile Video
Galaxy S8 camcorder advantages:
- fast auto focus and subject tracking
- effective image stabilization
- wide dynamic range
- correct color rendering
- low noise in bright conditions
Disadvantages of the Galaxy S8 camcorder:
- high noise level when shooting in low light
- still noticeable jitter in motion
With this review, Five-Inches kicks off a new series of smartphone camera ratings and tests. Comparisons, ratings and recommendations for choosing the best camera in your smartphone are waiting for you.
Samsung decided this year that size really matters, which is why the new Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 + get large screens by 5.8 and 6.2 inches, respectively. Other companies have already tried to make devices with the largest displays possible, but the Koreans in this regard have really reached a new, unprecedented level. How convenient it is to use the new "galaxies" - read the translation of the review from YugaTech on Treshbox.
It is noteworthy that even the simple version of the Galaxy S8 has a diagonal screen larger than that of the unsuccessful phablet. Galaxy Note 7, not to mention the "plus". What then will the eighth Galaxy Note be? Will his screen be bigger than 6.2 inches? It's very interesting what Samsung will come up with for fans of a stylus and a large display, but for now let's look at the eighth "galaxy".
Specifications
- Screen: 5.8 / 6.2 inches, Super AMOLED, 2960 × 1440 pixels, 570/529 ppi, Corning Gorilla Glass 5.
- Operating system: Android 7.1 Nougat, shell Samsung Experience 8.1.
- Processor: Exynos 8895, eight-core (4 × Cortex-A53 @ 1.7 GHz and 4 × 2.3 GHz @ 2.3 GHz), 10 nm.
- GPU: Mali G71-MP20.
- RAM: 4 GB (LPDDR4).
- Storage: 64 GB (UFS 2.1) with support for microSD cards up to 256 GB.
- Main camera: 12 megapixels (Sony IMX333 + S5K2L2 ISOCELL), Dual Pixel, aperture f / 1.7, optical stabilization (OIS), video recording 1080p × 60FPS, 4K × 30FPS.
- Front camera: 8 megapixels, wide-angle sensor, f / 1.7 aperture.
- Battery: 3000/3500 mAh, lithium-ion, fast charging from 0 to 100% in 75 minutes.
- Dimensions (mm): 148.9 x 68.1 x 8.0 (Galaxy S8), 159.5 x 73.4 x 8.1 (Galaxy S8 +).
- Weight (grams): 155/173.
- Slots for SIM-cards: one nanoSIM, the second is combined.
- Communication: 4G / LTE (up to category 16), Bluetooth 5.0, USB Type-C, 3.5 mm audio jack, dual-band (2.4 / 5 GHz) Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, GPS / GLONASS / Galileo.
- Sensors: Fingerprint scanner, pressure sensor, accelerometer, barometer, gyroscope, geomagnetic sensor, Hall sensor, heart rate sensor, proximity sensor, light sensor.
- Water protection: IP68.
- Available colors: in Russia so far only black, golden and mystical (pink-gray).
- Price: 54,990 / 59,990 rubles.
Appearance and design
The flagship Galaxy S line has undergone a big redesign this year. The general concept has not changed, but the approach is completely different. Both versions of the smartphone received a curved screen on the edges, and the top and bottom bezels were greatly reduced. As with the LG G6, the corners of the display panel are rounded. It is not only beautiful, but also practical in terms of the strength of the case. If dropped or other external influences occur, there is less chance of damage to the matrix with rounded corners.
The hardware control buttons and the Samsung logo, which used to be usually located on the top frame, were removed from the front panel. This freed up space for the display. Only some sensors remain and front-camera... We have already seen this in Xiaomi Mi MIX, which has nothing on the front side of the case except a display, a camera and a pair of sensors.
The bottom edge is strewn with a 3.5 mm port, universal USB Type-C and speaker mesh. Sadly, Samsung hasn't dabbled in two separate stereo speakers just yet.
The top edge is equipped with a tray for nanoSIM cards. There's also an optional hybrid microSD card slot up to 256GB. It can be used for optional nanoSIM.
The rear panel contains a camera sensor that does not protrude from the body with a two-tone LED flash on the left and a fingerprint scanner on the right. The position of the fingerprint sensor is at least strange, but more on that later. The back of the device is covered with a protective glass Corning Gorilla Glass 5... It is slightly curved along the edges, which creates a nice visual effect, but also thanks to this, the phone fits perfectly in the hand.
Preserved protection of the case from water and dust according to the standard IP68... The smartphone can be immersed in water to a depth of 1.5 meters for no more than 30 minutes.
In general, there are no questions for Samsung in terms of appearance and Galaxy S8 designs. The phone looks impressive and fits nicely in the hand.
Screen
Samsung is doing the right thing by making the screen the main feature of its smartphones. They are allowed to do this, because their own panels Super AMOLED- almost the best on the market. Galaxy S8 has the most big screen in the flagship line of the South Korean manufacturer. 5.8 "is even more than the typical diagonal of a phablet (5.5-5.7"). This is a big improvement, especially considering the dimensions that are almost identical to the previous generation.
This diagonal was achieved by removing the hardware buttons and the fingerprint scanner on the rear panel. The Samsung inscription was also moved there. The frames have been reduced to a minimum - there is only room for the front camera, a pair of sensors and an iris scanner.
The edges of the display are curved, as you would expect from a smartphone from Samsung's flagship line. Let us remind you that for the first time this "feature" appeared in the Galaxy Note edge, and then migrated to the Galaxy S line. Now there is no division into the regular and edge versions - both "galaxies" have a curved screen.
Screen resolution - 2960 × 1440 pixels(WQHD +). Thus, the pixel density is 570 dpi. Smartphone firmware has a function that automatically or manually changes the screen resolution to save energy. By default, the indicator is set to Full HD + (2280 × 1080). The lowest bar is HD + (1480 × 720). The latter is used when the power saving mode is on.
From left to right: resolution selection, picture mode and other settings
The aspect ratio of such a screen is rather strange - 18.5: 9. Not the best option for watching videos and pictures in games. But the firmware provides a function for adapting content to the display.
As for the matrix itself, these are top-end Super AMOLED panels of high quality. Color reproduction, detail and contrast are at a high level. The display behaves perfectly under the sun's rays - readability is maintained. V Galaxy firmware The S8 has a feature to reduce blue radiation at night - reduces eye strain.
Camera
Samsung pays a lot of attention to the camera in its flagship smartphones. The eighth generation of the "galaxy" was no exception - the devices perfectly capture both photos and videos. Galaxy S8 uses Sony's new IMX333 sensor and S5K2L2 ISOCELL sensor 12 megapixels(the same was in S7).
Sample photos from Galaxy S8 (images are highly compressed)
The main camera supports optical image stabilization (OIS)... The videos are very high quality, but it is clear that Samsung programmers have not yet completed the camera software. With sharp turns, the picture is slightly blurred. Perhaps this will be fixed with the final update before the start of sales. Supports video recording in 4K × 30FPS or 1080p × 60FPS resolution. The frame rate for slow motion video is capped at 240FPS at 720p resolution.
The front camera has received a big improvement - from 5 to 8 megapixels. There is a wide-angle sensor with a good aperture index - f / 1.7. Your selfies will definitely look good even in poor lighting conditions.
The camera app interface has been heavily redesigned. Now he looks like some kind social network like Snapchat. We've added a lot of interesting features and chips. For knowledgeable users, a professional shooting mode is provided. It allows you to manually adjust the ISO (50-800), shutter speed (1/2400 to 10 seconds), white balance and picture profile.
In the Galaxy S7, a lot of people liked the function of launching the camera by double tapping the Home button. Since it was removed, this "feature" moved to the unlock button.
Operating system
New items work on the Android 7.0 Nougat platform, on top of which the proprietary firmware is installed Samsung Experience(formerly TouchWiz). As is always the case with Samsung, several applications are preinstalled: Samsung Notes, branded Browser, Secure Folder, and others. Still, it's not as bad as it was in the 2014-2015 versions of TouchWiz.
Since the hardware control buttons were removed, Samsung decided to slightly neutralize this loss. Now there are almost always the virtual buttons Receiving, Home and Back at the bottom. Sometimes two disappear, but only Home remains. The center button has a pleasant feedback and customizable sensitivity. On the desktop, there is no separate button for calling up the application menu - a universal gesture from bottom to top or vice versa is responsible for this.
There is special software for curved screen edges: App Edge, People Edge, Clipboard Edge and more. All of this interacts in one way or another with the curved screen. For example, you can bring up the favorites bar by swiping over this area. There is also a utility for creating a screenshot or even a GIF animation.
Security features include a fingerprint sensor and an iris scanner. The finger sensor was moved to the back cover and placed next to the camera. Thus, you can reach it with a normal grip only with your right hand and index finger. But also the fingers themselves should be long enough. The sensor itself is fast and stores up to four fingerprints.
Another innovation in the firmware and design of the smartphone is the Bixby voice assistant. It can be called up in any application using the button on the left side of the case. Bixby is a mixture of traditional voice assistant, trainee artificial intelligence and recommendation system. Wherever you call Bixby, it will understand the context and find exactly what you need. However, the assistant practically does not work in the test samples.
Overall, the new Samsung skin for Android is very enjoyable to work with. Smooth animations and cute icons are pleasing to the eye, and thoughtful functions make the usual interaction with a smartphone a real pleasure. For those who do not like the standard interface, themes are available in the corporate catalog - there you can find a shell to your liking.
The 64 GB test sample was free 53.98 GB... Thus, more than 10 GB is occupied by the firmware.
Iron
On the test, the guys from YugaTech.com got a smartphone in a version with a processor Exynos 8895 own production of Samsung. It is with this chipset that the Galaxy S8 for Europe and the CIS is equipped. This is the ninth generation of Exynos processors. And they can compete with solutions from Qualcomm, Huawei and other companies.
The Exynos 8895 is built on a 4 + 4 architecture: four ARM Cortex-A53 cores (1.7 GHz) are responsible for simple tasks, and four custom Exynos M1 cores (2.3 GHz) are included when processing heavy processes like games. But the main difference between the 8895 and the previous generation is the graphics accelerator. The novelty uses the Mali G71-MP20 video chip. The big increase in productivity is precisely his merit.
Despite Samsung ditching the new Cortex-A73 cores (Snapdragon 835 and Kirin 960), the Exynos M1's own cores show roughly the same power.
Test results Galaxy S8 in benchmarks:
- AnTuTu: 174 155.
- Quadrant Standard: 43 185.
- PCMark: 5,371 (Work 2.0), 6,034 (Work 1.0).
- PCMark Storage: 4,421.
- 3DMark: 3,159.
- Vellamo: 7,269 (Browser), 3,324 (Graphics Metal), 3,621 (multi-core test).
- Geekbench 4.0: 1,974 (single-core), 6,339 (multi-core).
Calls, connectivity and battery
Samsung's new flagship is equipped with all modern communication standards, including 4G / LTE, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0(for the first time in a smartphone) and NFC. Voice quality in calls is perfect. It's nice that Samsung still puts a lot of emphasis on the most important feature of a phone - making calls. The 5th Bluetooth receiver allows you to connect two pairs of headphones or other audio accessories to one Galaxy S8.
Having increased the screen diagonal, Samsung, unfortunately, decided not to do the same with the battery. In an ordinary "galaxy" non-removable battery with capacity 3,000 mAh, and in the Plus version - 3,500 mAh... However, the manufacturer claims that the runtime will remain the same.
In the benchmark PC Mark Battery Test, which emulates an intense load, the smartphone lasted 10 hours and 43 minutes. At the same time, the brightness was set to 50%, the sound was turned off, and the phone was also switched to airplane mode. To be honest, the result is controversial. The same Galaxy S7 worked longer in the same benchmark.
Galaxy S8 in mode video playback lasted 10 hours 45 minutes at the same brightness, volume and switched off networks. And this is also less than in the Galaxy S7 - by about 1 hour.
Galaxy S8 Wireless Charging Stand
As they say, here you can decide for yourself what is more important to you - a cool and large screen, or a little longer battery life. The battery is charged via the USB Type-C connector in about 75 minutes from 0 to 100%. Wireless charging supported. And yes - it doesn't explode when charged.
Outcomes
Samsung has tried to make a truly new smartphone, original and innovative. Although we have already seen the LG G6 and Xiaomi Mi MIX, the eighth galaxy is a completely different smartphone. Koreans have come close to the point where we will just carry a large panel with a display without bezels and a bulky body.
In the Galaxy S8, you can find the best screen, powerful processor, great body design, quality materials and a good camera.
Of course, art requires sacrifice, so there was a fly in the ointment in a barrel of honey. The disadvantages include poor ergonomics of the fingerprint scanner. In addition, the price has increased, although for Russia this is not particularly noticeable - the price tags for the new Galaxy S8 are approximately at the same level as that of the Galaxy S7 at the start of sales.
Good:
- Stylish design.
- Great screen.
- Powerful processor and plenty of memory.
- Good camera.
- Iris scanner.
- A well-developed shell for Android.
- Opening times could have been better.
- The price has gone up.
- The fingerprint scanner is inconvenient.
In the course of testing, a number of comparative tests were carried out in various conditions and modes.
In contact with
How Samsung Galaxy S8 and iPhone 7 Plus cameras differ
iPhone 7 Plus has a dual main camera with a wide-angle (ƒ / 1.8 aperture) and a telephoto lens (ƒ / 2.8 aperture). This solution allows you to receive as well as use a 10x digital zoom. Both cameras have a 12MP sensor. A 7-megapixel sensor (ƒ / 2.2 aperture) is responsible for taking selfies (front camera).
The Samsung Galaxy S8 has a 12MP main camera (ƒ / 1.7 aperture) and an 8MP front camera (ƒ / 1.7 aperture).
The main camera body of the Samsung Galaxy S8 does not protrude beyond the back of the smartphone, like the iPhone.
Taking photos with Samsung Galaxy S8 and iPhone 7 Plus cameras
Color rendering
In terms of taking photos, both flagships show excellent quality of mobile photography, and the final result largely depends on the scene and software customization cameras.
In most cases, the Galaxy S8 produces a sharper, brighter and more saturated image, while the 7 Plus produces a softer, more realistic and natural image.
The HDR mode is definitely better on the Galaxy S8. For those not in the know, a smartphone with HDR (High Dynamic Range) technology takes multiple shots at different exposures, and then combines the best characteristics of the two photos to create a single image.
In most cases, on the test, the picture on the iPhone turned out to be too dark, while on Samsung flagship photos are lighter and more contrasting.
Zoom and portraits
But in portrait photography, the iPhone 7 Plus is in the lead. Thanks to the second camera with a telephoto lens, there is a 2x optical zoom, which will make it possible to get closer to the picture without loss of quality, while the Galaxy S8 has only digital zoom. Also, thanks to the dual camera in the iPhone, it is possible to obtain images with the "bokeh" effect (a clear figure remains in focus, and the background becomes blurred like in DSLR cameras). However, here you need to get a handle: the exposure does not always allow you to achieve the desired effect, the edges are not always clear, and the light must be maintained with distance. Also, do not forget that the "Portrait" mode is a software feature of iOS.
Taking photos in motion
With intense movement of the subject, both cameras shoot perfectly. Of course, flaws may appear in both representatives, and here a lot depends on the time you press the "shutter".
Low light photography
In low light conditions, the iPhone 7 Plus lags behind the South Korean flagship "due" to more noise.
Front camera photo
The front camera of the Galaxy S8 is slightly blurry and unnecessarily softening when taking selfies. But the main advantage of the "galaxy" is a wider viewing angle of the lens, which allows you to capture large quantity space with a minimum distance of the smartphone.
But in low light, the Galaxy S8's selfies are brighter and more detailed. But do not forget that in the iPhone 7 Plus, the display can act as a flash, so this nuance is partially offset.
Shooting video with the main camera Samsung Galaxy S8 and iPhone 7 Plus
Color rendering
In practice, when shooting video, the picture in the Galaxy S8 turned out to be more contrasting, although less clear (slightly blurry), but this moment very much depends on the available exposure and lighting. The lens of the "galaxy" has a slightly larger angle of view of the main camera.
In turn, the seven with the Plus prefix suffers from gray tones and dark areas. Despite this, the 7 Plus has more pleasant color rendition when recording video, although it is not always realistic.
Optical stabilization
Image stabilization on the Galaxy S8 fulfills several the best way than in the top "seven". In low light conditions, detail is better on the flagship of the South Korean giant. In good lighting, you won't notice much difference.
Autofocus speed
In terms of autofocus with dynamic zooming in and out, the iPhone definitely wins. The S8 has a slower autofocusing process. But with a sharp appearance of an object in the frame (for example, on the right or left side of the smartphone), the opposite is true - the Samsung Galaxy S8 copes with this task faster.
Shooting video in low light conditions
In low light conditions, the image is more detailed in the S8. Samsung also has slightly less noise, and a larger number of minimally illuminated objects get into the image. But in dynamic scenes, autofocus works better on the iPhone 7 Plus.
Underwater photography
Underwater shooting in poor conditions with muddy water without various kinds of accessories showed that Samsung camera copes with this task better. Images are clearer and sharper.
In good lighting conditions and clear water, the image is equally good for both flagships.
Slow Motion Mode
Slow Motion mode is also good on both smartphones.
Macro photography
In macro photography, the 7 Plus can focus at a shorter distance to the subject.
Front camera video
If, when comparing the main camera of the two flagships, everything is not so simple and in many respects the result depends on the scene, then with the front camera everything is much more obvious. iPhone 7 Plus records a richer, brighter picture. Of the minuses - a large number of dark areas. Focusing on the iPhone is at a shorter distance, but the autofocus speed itself is faster on the Galaxy S8.
Outcome
The cameras in both smartphones are really good. Every year, manufacturers take small steps to bring out the resulting quality. mobile picture to a new level. In terms of video shooting, it is difficult to single out any of the flagships and you obviously won't notice any obvious differences.
But as for the photo, then the Samsung Galaxy S8 is definitely in the lead. The images are of higher quality. The camera in Galaxy is faster. There is access to RAW "out of the box", but the iPhone only at the expense. The front camera has more resolution and slightly better stabilization and the ability to shoot in low light.
So if we discard the features with portrait photography with the dual camera of the iPhone 7 Plus, then we give preference in taking photos to the Galaxy S8. Let's hope that Apple will rehabilitate itself in September and showcase a new milestone in technology, but that will be a completely different story.
Long, bezel-less, with great camera and highest performance
Samsung has recently officially presented its long-awaited flagship smartphones Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 +. Even with major setbacks in the recent past, Samsung's flagship phones not only continue to be the main competitor to Apple's iPhones, but are also some of the most technologically advanced Android smartphones out there. Compared to the previous (seventh) generation, a lot has changed here, from the overall design to the location individual elements in particular, not to mention the improved hardware and updated software stuffing. Not all changes are for the better, but there are so many of them that we can say that Samsung has decided to start from scratch. It is worth noting that, to the delight of many, the difference between the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 + models is only in size, almost everything else is the same. There are no various modifications with a variable amount of built-in memory or RAM, different performance, the presence or absence of certain elements. The user does not need to bother with the choice, it is enough just to decide on the preferred dimensions of the device. The technical characteristics of both models are almost identical, and we will begin with listing them. this review using the Galaxy S8 + as a reference.
Key Features Samsung Galaxy S8 + (Model SM-G955F)
- SoC Samsung Exynos 8895 Octa, 8 cores: [email protected], 3 GHz (Exynos M1) + [email protected], 7 GHz (ARM Cortex-A53)
(another modification of the smartphone is based on SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 835) - GPU Mali-G71
- Operating system Android 7.0
- 6,2 ″ Super AMOLED touchscreen display, 2960 × 1440, 529 ppi
- Random access memory (RAM) 4 GB, internal memory 64 GB
- Nano-SIM support (2 pcs.)
- MicroSD support up to 256GB
- GSM / GPRS / EDGE networks (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
- WCDMA / HSPA + networks (850/900/1900/2100 MHz)
- FDD LTE Band 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 32, 66 networks
- TD LTE Band 38-41 networks
- Wi-Fi 802.11a / b / g / n / ac (2.4 and 5 GHz) MIMO
- Bluetooth 5.0 LE
- GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, BDS
- USB Type-C, USB OTG
- Main camera 12 MP (f / 1.7), autofocus, 4K video
- Front camera 8 MP (f / 1.7), autofocus
- Waterproof IP68
- Proximity sensor, lighting, heart rate, magnetic field, accelerometer, gyroscope, barometer
- Iris scanner, fingerprint scanner
- 3500 mAh battery, fast charging
- Wireless Charging (WPC, PMA)
- Dimensions 160 x 73 x 8.1 mm
- Weight 173 g
Contents of delivery
Samsung Galaxy S8 + received a stylishly designed matte black cardboard box with a laconic design. The lid cannot be removed completely, it leans back like a casket. Contents are neatly packaged in separate cells.
The set, in the best traditions of Samsung, turned out to be extensive. The package of the smartphone includes a USB Type-C connecting cable, a network adapter with a variable output current and voltage of 5/9 V 1.67 / 2 A, a key of an unusual shape for ejecting cards, a Micro-USB - USB Type-C adapter, a second USB adapter - USB Type-C.
The company also included high-quality wired double-driver AKG stereo headphones with a set of interchangeable in-ear pads.
Appearance and usability
The design of the Samsung Galaxy S8 / S8 + turned out to be unusual and attractive. The streamlined body is completely made of metal and glass, there is no plastic here. A metal frame rounded on all sides, symmetrically tapering at the sides and expanding at the top and bottom ends, connects two glass panels - the front and the back. The cover is Gorilla Glass 5, the glasses have noticeable curvatures on the sides. The bezel in the front plane of the screen is completely hidden behind the bend of the glass, so here we can talk about a truly bezel-less version.
The case of the Samsung Galaxy S8 + is absolutely symmetrical, the back side is also completely covered with Gorilla Glass 5 with curved edges. The edges of the glasses are rounded so strongly that they almost seamlessly (not counting the frames) merge into one another, creating a finished shape without a single sharp corner and straight edge. For this form, Samsung marketers have dubbed their new brainchild “smartphone without borders”.
Samsung Galaxy S8 + looks very attractive. And although such a design may seem too "licked" and "pampered", but such are the modern realities, the absolute majority of users liked it.
Due to the unusual aspect ratio of the display (not 16: 9, but 18.5: 9), the case turned out to be very elongated in height. At the same time, the absence of a frame on the sides of the screen in the front plane made it possible to make the case so narrow that it is quite comfortable to hold it in the hand even with a screen diagonal of 6.2 inches. True, the device is quite slippery due to its glass panels, smooth frame and streamlined shape.
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The curved edges of the front glass work in conjunction with the corresponding software in the same way as in previous models of the series Galaxy Edge... A full array of elements can be found above the screen, including an LED event indicator and even an iris scanner.
The scanner works tolerably, but the very process of setting the blocking and constant recognition is quite tedious, because this system works only under certain light conditions and at a certain distance from the eyes. It is much easier and faster to use the fingerprint scanner, although its location here causes some bewilderment.
There are no more control buttons under the screen, only on the screen itself. This is not typical for Samsung, its Galaxy smartphones there was always a hardware key on the front (in the latest models - with an inscribed fingerprint sensor). Now its place was taken by a virtual button on the screen, but it is also not quite ordinary. In order for the static button, which is constantly highlighted in the Always On Display mode, not to cause pixel burnout, it was made movable. Thus, at first glance, the central button on the screen, which is static at first glance, is actually constantly shifting imperceptibly in different directions.
The fingerprint scanner has been moved to the back. At the same time, it is strongly shifted from the center to the right, so that it is inconvenient for a left-hander to reach with his finger. In addition, the tactile platform of the fingerprint sensor does not differ from the neighboring elements, it is difficult to feel it blindly, you need to get used to it. In general, this is, perhaps, the most unusual and inconvenient variant of the location of this element from all of us previously encountered, Samsung has again been overly clever with a fingerprint sensor.
Next to the scanner, you can find a camera module with a flash, as well as a heart rate sensor familiar to Samsung smartphones. None of the elements stick out beyond the surface, so the smartphone is stable on the table, does not sway when you touch the screen. The flash is as bright as possible.
There are no complaints about the operation of the fingerprint scanner itself, it works quickly, clearly and accurately. But, as already mentioned, reaching for him, holding the smartphone in his left hand, is very inconvenient.
The slot for installing cards is located on the upper end. The cover of the removable slide, on which the cards are stacked, has a rubberized gasket, since the Samsung Galaxy S8 +, like the LG G6, meets the IP68 protection category, that is, the case is completely protected from dust and allows immersion in water to a depth of 1.5 m for 30 minutes. However, the developers did not go further: the design here is not designed for harsh operating conditions, like the LG G6, so the hero of the review does not have a certification of the military standard.
Uses a standard hybrid slot that accepts either two Nano-SIM cards or one SIM and one card microSD memory... The slide is made of flexible plastic, the device itself reports on the need to tightly close the connector cover to protect it from water.
The volume control button has been moved to the left side edge, here it is adjacent to a separate key for calling the Bixby smart assistant, with which you can work with available services and applications through touch screen, voice or text commands. The power key remained on the right side edge. The buttons are not very large, but the handling is quite comfortable, the keys are easily felt blindly.
All other interface elements are located at the bottom end. A USB Type-C connector is installed here, supporting connection external devices v USB mode OTG, the main speaker is brought out here, as well as a 3.5 mm headphone jack and a spoken microphone hole. Surprisingly, the developers could not install any of the elements exactly, each of them turned out to be offset relative to the longitudinal axis of the end, which spoils the impression a little.
After examining the structure of the Galaxy S8 + case, let's compare it with the previous model Galaxy S7 Edge. With the naked eye, you can see that the width of these smartphones is almost identical.
However, the Galaxy S8 + is equipped with a more elongated display with a custom aspect ratio, which allowed for more surface area under the screen. V result Galaxy The 6.2 "S8 + sits in the palm of your hand as comfortably as the 5.5" Galaxy S7 Edge.
In addition, the sides of the body of the review hero have become less slippery due to the increased width of the metal frame: the curved edges of the screen on the Galaxy S8 + have been reduced, the frame is now exactly in the middle between the front and rear panels. So, in general, the changes went to the novelty only for the benefit.
Samsung Galaxy S8 + is presented on the Russian market in three colors: black ("Black Diamond"), gray ("Mystical Amethyst") and gold ("Yellow Topaz").
Screen
The Samsung Galaxy S8 + features a Super AMOLED display with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 with highly rounded edges. The physical dimensions of the screen are approximately 70 × 142 mm with a diagonal of 6.2 inches, that is, the aspect ratio is 18.5: 9. The screen resolution is 2960 × 1440, the dot density is about 529 ppi. The corners of the screen, like the LG G6, are rounded, there are no side frames as such in the front plane of the screen, the upper and lower segments surrounding the screen are only about 8.5 mm high.
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The brightness of the display can be adjusted manually or set automatic settings based on the operation of the ambient light sensor. HDR10 mode supported. The AnTuTu test diagnoses support for 10 simultaneous multitouch touches. There is a vision protection mode (preventing eye fatigue). In the Always-on mode, the off screen displays information about the current time and date, as well as about missed events.
In the screen settings section, you can choose the resolution and applications that should be used in full screen proportions. It seems that the developers first made a screen with an unusual aspect ratio, just so that it was "not like everyone else's", and then added various "crutches" to the software so that the programs would work normally with such a screen.
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A detailed examination using measuring instruments was carried out by the editor of the "Monitors" and "Projectors and TV" sections Alexey Kudryavtsev... Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the test sample.
The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface, resistant to scratches. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are better than that of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photo in which a white surface is reflected in the turned off screens (on the left - Nexus 7, on the right - Samsung Galaxy S8 +, then they can be distinguished by their size):
The screen of the Samsung Galaxy S8 + is slightly darker (the brightness in the photos is 107 versus 115 for the Nexus 7) and does not have a pronounced shade. The doubling of reflected objects on the Samsung Galaxy S8 + screen is very weak, which indicates that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen. Due to the smaller number of boundaries (such as glass / air) with very different refractive indices, screens without an air gap look better in conditions of intense ambient light, but their repair in the case of cracked outer glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be changed. The outer surface of the Samsung Galaxy S8 + screen has a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (effective, better than that of the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are much easier to remove and appear at a slower rate than in the case of regular glass.
When displaying the white field in full screen and with manual brightness control, its maximum value was 370 cd / m² under normal conditions and rises to 580 cd / m² in very bright light. You also need to take into account the fact that in this case the smaller the white area on the screen, the lighter it is, that is, the actual maximum brightness of the white areas will almost always be higher than the specified value. For example, when displaying a white field on half of the screen and black on the other half, we obtained values of 460 cd / m² and 725 cd / m² for the above conditions. As a result, readability in the daytime in the sun should be at a good level. Minimum value- 1.6 cd / m². The reduced brightness level allows you to use the device without any problems even in complete darkness. Automatic brightness control works according to the light sensor (it is located to the left of the slot of the front speaker). The operation of this function depends on the position of the brightness adjustment slider, with which the user can try to set the desired brightness level in the current conditions. If the brightness slider is set to maximum in an office environment, then in complete darkness the auto brightness function reduces the brightness to 6.4 cd / m² (a bit dark), in an office lit with artificial light (about 550 lux) sets it to 340 cd / m² (excessively bright) , in a very bright environment (equivalent to a bright day outdoors, but no direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or slightly more) increases to 545 cd / m² (sufficient). If, in complete darkness and in office conditions, set the brightness a little higher and lower, then the screen brightness for the three conditions mentioned above is as follows: 13, 180, 545 cd / m² (ideal combination). It turns out that the automatic brightness control function works adequately and to some extent allows the user to customize his work for individual requirements. At any brightness level, there is significant modulation with a frequency of about 60 or 240 Hz. The figure below shows the dependence of brightness (vertical axis) on time (horizontal axis) for several values of brightness adjustment:
It can be seen that at the maximum brightness and close to it, the modulation amplitude is not very large, as a result, there is no visible flicker. However, when the brightness decreases, modulation appears with a large relative amplitude, its presence can already be seen in the test for the presence of a stroboscopic effect or simply with rapid eye movement. Depending on individual sensitivity, such flickering can cause increased fatigue.
This screen uses a Super AMOLED matrix - an active matrix on organic light-emitting diodes. A full color image is created with subpixels of three colors - red (R), green (G) and blue (B), but there are twice as many green subpixels, which can be referred to as RGBG. This is confirmed by a fragment of a micrograph:
For comparison, you can see the gallery of photomicrographs of screens used in mobile technology.
In the fragment above, you can count 4 green subpixels, 2 red (4 halves) and 2 blue (1 whole and 4 quarters), while repeating these fragments, you can lay out the entire screen without gaps and overlaps. For such matrices, Samsung has introduced the name PenTile RGBG. The manufacturer considers the screen resolution for green subpixels, for the other two it will be two times lower. The location and shape of the subpixels in this variant is close to the case of the screen of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and some other newer ones. Samsung devices(and not only) with AMOLED screens. This PenTile RGBG variant is better than the old one with red squares, blue rectangles and green subpixel stripes. Nevertheless, some uneven contrast borders and other artifacts are still present. However, due to the very high resolution they have only minimal effect on image quality.
The screen has excellent viewing angles. True, when deviated even at small angles, the white color alternately acquires a light blue-green and pinkish tint, but the black color remains simply black at any angle. It is so black that the contrast setting is not applicable in this case. For comparison, here are the photos on which the screens of the Samsung Galaxy S8 + (profile Basic) and the second comparison participant displayed the same images, while the brightness of the screens was initially set to about 200 cd / m2, and the color balance on the camera was forcibly switched to 6500 K.
White box:
Note the good uniformity of brightness and color tone white margin (except for a slight darkening and a change in hue towards the curved edges).
And the test picture (profile Basic):
The color rendition is good, the colors are moderately saturated, the color balance of the screens is slightly different. Recall that the photograph can not serve as a reliable source of information about the quality of color reproduction and is provided only for a conditional visual illustration. In particular, the pronounced reddish tint of white and gray fields present in the photographs of the Samsung Galaxy S8 + screen is visually absent when viewed from a perpendicular view, which is confirmed by hardware tests using a spectrophotometer. The reason is that the spectral sensitivity of the camera sensor does not exactly match this characteristic of human vision. Note that in this case the picture occupies in height (with this screen orientation) the entire area available for image display and goes over the curved edges of the screen, which leads to darkening and color distortion. Also, in the light, these areas almost always glare, which further interferes when viewing images displayed in full screen. And even the picture of films with an aspect ratio of 16: 9 goes over the folds, which greatly interferes with watching a movie.
The photo above was taken after selecting a profile Basic in the screen settings, there are four of them:
Profile Adaptive display differs in some kind of automatic adjustment of the color rendition to the type of the displayed image and the surrounding conditions:
Saturation and color contrast are greatly increased, looks terrible. What happens when you select the two remaining profiles is shown below.
AMOLED movie:
Saturation and color contrast are also increased, but not as much.
Photo AMOLED:
Saturation is slightly lower, but color contrast is slightly higher than in the case AMOLED movie.
Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen (profile Basic).
White box:
The brightness at an angle on both screens has noticeably decreased (to avoid strong darkening, the shutter speed is increased compared to previous photos), but in the case of Samsung, the drop in brightness is much less pronounced. As a result, with formally the same brightness screen samsung The Galaxy S8 + looks much brighter visually (compared to LCD screens), as the screen of a mobile device often has to be viewed from at least a slight angle.
And the test picture:
It can be seen that the colors have not changed much on both screens and the brightness of the Samsung smartphone is noticeably higher at an angle. The switching of the state of the matrix elements is performed almost instantly, but at the turn-on front there may be a step with a width of about 17 ms (which corresponds to a screen refresh rate of 60 Hz). For example, this is how the dependence of brightness on time looks like when switching from black to white and vice versa:
In some conditions, the presence of such a step can lead to plumes trailing behind moving objects. However, dynamic scenes in films on OLED screens are distinguished by high definition and even some "jerky" movements.
The gamma curve plotted using 32 points with equal intervals in terms of the numerical value of the shade of gray showed that there was no significant blockage either in the highlights or in the shadows. The exponent of the approximating power function is 2.09, which is slightly less than the standard value of 2.2, while the real gamma curve deviates little from the power dependence:
Recall that in the case of OLED screens, the brightness of image fragments dynamically changes in accordance with the nature of the displayed image - it decreases for generally light images. As a result, the obtained dependence of brightness on the hue (gamma curve), most likely, does not correspond a little to the gamma curve of a static image, since the measurements were carried out with sequential output of shades of gray on almost the entire screen.
Color gamut in case of profile Adaptive display very wide:
In profile AMOLED movie coverage is a bit narrower:
When choosing a profile Photo AMOLED coverage is drawn to the borders Adobe RGB:
When choosing a profile Basic coverage is compressed to sRGB borders:
Without correction, the spectra of the components are very well separated:
In case of a profile Basic with maximum correction, the color components are already noticeably mixed with each other:
Note that normal sRGB-optimized images appear unnaturally saturated on screens with wide color gamut without proper color correction. Hence the recommendation - in most cases, watching movies, photos and everything natural is better when choosing a profile. Basic, and only if the photo was taken on the Adobe RGB setting, it makes sense to switch the profile to Photo AMOLED... Profile AMOLED movie despite the name, the least suitable for watching movies and anything else.
The grayscale balance is good. The color temperature is close to 6500 K, while this parameter does not change very much in a significant part of the gray scale, which improves the visual perception of the color balance. The deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) remains below 10 units for most of the gray scale, which is considered a good indicator for a consumer device:
(The darkest areas of the gray scale in most cases can be ignored, since there the color balance does not have of great importance, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)
For some reason, only when choosing a profile Adaptive display it becomes possible to adjust the color balance with three adjustments of the intensity of the primary colors, but due to the too wide color gamut, it is in this profile that it makes no sense to correct the balance.
Let's summarize. The screen has a very high maximum brightness and excellent anti-reflective properties, so the device can be used outdoors without any problems, even on a sunny summer day. In complete darkness, the brightness can be lowered to a comfortable value. It is permissible to use the mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works adequately. The advantages of the screen include an effective oleophobic coating, as well as a color gamut close to sRGB and a good color balance. At the same time, let's recall the general advantages of OLED screens: true black color (if nothing is reflected in the screen), noticeably less than that of an LCD, the drop in image brightness when viewed from an angle. The disadvantages include modulation of the screen brightness. Users who are particularly sensitive to flicker may experience increased fatigue due to this. However, the overall quality of the screen is very high. Separately, we note that from the point of view of image quality, curled edges only harm, since this design find introduces very noticeable color tone distortions and reduces brightness at the edges of the picture, and in ambient light conditions leads to inevitable glare at least along one long side of the screen.
Camera
The front 8-megapixel camera does not receive its own flash, but it has a fast f / 1.7 lens and even supports intelligent autofocus with face detection. As a front flash, you can use the "fill" bright illumination of the screen directly at the moment of shooting. Naturally, there is a mode for retouching selfie photos. The front camera shoots well for its level, there are no special complaints about detail and sharpness, but it's hard to say that this camera is in some way better than analogues from Huawei, for example. Not bad, but nothing more.
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The main camera uses a 12-megapixel sensor with a pixel size of 1.4 microns, as well as a fast f / 1.7 lens, OIS and Dual Pixel technology, which is designed to provide fast enough autofocusing to capture even the sharpest movements in low light conditions. There is a very bright LED flash.
The camera shoots in automatic or manual mode. In manual mode, you can adjust shutter speed (1/24000 to 10 s), sensitivity (up to ISO 800), white balance and exposure compensation. There is the possibility of retouching images, support for HDR auto and a selective focus mode to change the depth of field in the finished image. The camera is also connected to the intelligent assistant Bixby, which must recognize objects of shooting, find places and translate texts from the screen.
Using the Camera2 API, you can transfer camera control to third-party applications. It is also possible to save images in RAW.
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The camera can shoot video in 4K resolution (3840 × 2160), but only at 30 fps, and 60 fps is available only in Full HD (1920 × 1080). There is also a shooting mode at an intermediate resolution of 2560 × 1440, also at 30 fps. There's an optical image stabilization feature that really makes handheld shooting extremely smooth. In any of the resolutions, the camera copes very well with video shooting: sharpness, color rendition and detail are normal, there is enough brightness, artifacts and slowdowns are out of the question. There are no complaints about sound recording either: the sensitivity of the microphones is high, the sound is clear, loud, the noise reduction system adequately copes with the noise of the wind.
- Movie # 1 (87 MB, 3840 × [email protected] fps, H.264, AAC)
- Movie # 2 (33 MB, 2560 × [email protected] fps, H.264, AAC)
- Movie # 3 (28 MB, 1920 × [email protected] fps, H.264, AAC)
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Good sharpness across the frame. |
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Quite good detail in the distant shots. |
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For indoor shooting, the detail is excellent. |
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The camera handles fine and complex details well. |
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Good detail when shooting at dusk. |
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The text has been worked out perfectly. |
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The camera copes well with macro photography. |
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Good sharpness in the field of the frame and in plans. |
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With the removal of the plan, the sharpness falls off slowly and smoothly. |
We also tested the camera on a laboratory bench using our method.
| Jpeg | RAW |
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Illumination ≈3200 lux. |
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Illumination ≈1400 lux. |
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Illumination ≈130 lux. |
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Illumination ≈130 lux, flash. |
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Lighting<1 люкс, вспышка. |
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Samsung continues to improve the quality of its cameras. The megapixel race, fortunately, has been forgotten, and now the manufacturer pays more attention to detail. Even in difficult scenes, the camera does not forget about small details, so the images look good even in low light conditions. Soapiness is gradually fading away, which means that the algorithms of the program have improved. The program has practically ceased to "eat" the details, and sharping is almost invisible. Of course, if you look closely, you can find both, but this is nit-picking.
A laboratory test confirms that the camera has remained virtually unchanged from the previous generation. However, there are differences, they just lie in the little things that are difficult to reflect on the stand. For those who like to tinker with photo processing, the manufacturer has made a very good RAW, which in some situations really allows you to get a result better than an intra-camera JPEG.
In general, the camera turned out to be quite flagship and will perfectly cope with many different scenes.
Telephone part and communications
The communication capabilities of the Samsung Galaxy S8 + include support for the advanced LTE Cat.16 technology, all three LTE FDD frequency bands of interest to us (Band 3, 7, 20) are supported, and there is also support for four TDD LTE bands (Band 38-41). Supports two Wi-Fi bands (2.4 and 5 GHz), there is Bluetooth 5.0 LE, you can organize a wireless access point via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth channels. The developers claim that thanks to support for Wi-Fi 1204-QAM and LTE Cat.16 standards, the download speed compared to previous flagships Samsung Galaxy S7 / S7 edge is increased by 20% both over Wi-Fi and over the mobile Internet. The device behaves confidently in the city limits of the Moscow region, the quality of signal reception raises no objections, the device demonstrates high speeds in the usual testing places, quickly restores the connection after a break.
The device has an NFC module, but it does not support electronic travel cards. The USB Type-C connector supports connecting external devices in USB OTG mode, the corresponding adapter is included in the accessory kit. The data transfer speed between a computer and a smartphone via a cable connected in the case of a PC to the USB 3.1 Type-C ports is about 26 MB / s.
The navigation module works with GPS (with A-GPS), with the domestic Glonass and with the Chinese Beidou. The first satellites during a cold start are detected within the first seconds, the positioning clarity is maximum. There is a built-in magnetic compass.
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The phone application supports Smart Dial, that is, when dialing a phone number, a search is immediately carried out by the first letters in contacts. In the conversational dynamics, the voice of a familiar interlocutor is well recognizable, there is no extraneous noise, the sound is natural, clear, the volume reserve is sufficient. The power of the vibration alert is much higher than the average level; its intensity can be changed manually.
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Software and multimedia
As a software platform, the Samsung Galaxy S8 + uses Android OS version 7.0 Nougat with its own proprietary shell. There is a convenient opportunity to quickly transfer all data from an old smartphone to a new Samsung Galaxy S8 or S8 + using the OTG adapter that is included in the package.
First of all, it should be noted that the enlarged display with a changed aspect ratio and high resolution provides more space for any information, text or graphics, so a lot of attention has been paid to the dual-window mode. Not every application here can be made to work in a small window; for this, each has a corresponding icon displayed in the menu of the last open programs. That is, you first need to start and minimize the application in order to understand whether it has the ability to work in two-window mode, and then find the second one. Not a very simple and intuitive option, but you can get used to it. In addition, these windows can be resized. There is also the possibility of reducing the entire working area of the screen for ease of control with one hand. It cannot be said that this functionality is convenient in practice, since all elements on the screen become too small, especially the buttons of the virtual keyboard, but there is such a possibility.
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Due to the non-standard aspect ratio of the screen, the video in the player is displayed with black bars on the sides, but using scaling, the image can be stretched to the very edges of the screen. Some games report possible display issues, but overall we have not encountered any unsolvable issues.
Another feature of the Samsung Galaxy S8 + screen is the ability to use its curved sides, available for interaction with fingers due to the lack of frames. There is nothing new here: as before, you can display an illuminated virtual strip on the side of the screen, when you press it, a menu is opened that is responsible for quick contacts and instant access to the most used applications. Also here it becomes possible to select and save any part of the screen with further text recognition.
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But of course, the main feature of the software of the new Korean smartphones was the emergence of Samsung's voice assistant - Bixby, which is a direct competitor to both Siri and Google Assistant, which, by the way, remained in place. As conceived by the developers, Bixby will be able not only to answer questions by collecting information on the Web, but also to identify a product using a camera and search for it on Amazon, translate texts in real time, and recognize landmarks. But the functions that will allow you to fully control the smartphone through voice commands are not yet available and will appear later.
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As already mentioned, the smartphone's camera is connected to the Bixby intelligent assistant, which is supposed to recognize objects of shooting, find places and translate texts from the screen. True, in practice, for the Russian realities, all this is still difficult for him. Even if the main language of the device is Russian, the program will persistently offer to translate from any other language, but not from Russian. The assistant also does not know everything yet. At the same time, there were no problems with the translation from English into Russian.
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There are very few additional programs, and those that exist are represented mainly by a set of Microsoft applications. Of particular note is Game Launcher, a handy game aggregator that automatically collects all installed game applications in one place, and also provides additional functions related to this. For example, it is possible to start recording the gameplay from the screen right during the game, with its further broadcast on the network. You can also use Game Launcher to improve system performance when launching selected games to enhance your gaming experience.
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To listen to music, only a regular Google Play Music player is provided, supplemented by a powerful set of manual settings and equalizer presets, as well as Adapt sound technology for headphones. The set with the smartphone comes with two-driver AKG headphones with a very good sound quality for their level. But if everything is fine with the sound in the headphones, then the main speaker of the smartphone is not so impressive. It produces a rather monotonous and flat sound, without noticeable depth and saturation, although there are no complaints about the purity and volume reserve.
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Performance
The hardware platform of the Samsung Galaxy S8 + is built on the Samsung Exynos 8895 Octa SoC with 8 cores in two clusters: 4 Exynos M1 cores up to 2.3 GHz and 4 ARM Cortex-A53 cores up to 1.7 GHz. This SoC is made using the latest 10nm process technology. Responsible for graphics processing is the Mali-G71 video accelerator with support for the Vulkan graphics API. The amount of RAM is 4 GB, and the internal memory is 64 GB, of which about 1.6 GB of RAM and 52.5 GB of ROM are initially free.
It is worth noting that traditionally for Samsung Galaxy devices can be based on different SoCs: in this case it is Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 or Exynos 8895. As always, the question of supply of this or that modification will depend on the region. The smartphone we received for tests ran on the Samsung Exynos 8895 platform.
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According to the results of all SoC tests, without exception, Samsung Exynos 8895 showed the maximum results, it is the most powerful mobile platform at the moment of all we tested. Accordingly, the Samsung Galaxy S8 + is one of the most powerful smartphones available today and has a significant headroom for future updates. The smartphone confidently copes with any tasks in real scenarios, and thanks to the powerful video accelerator, it behaves perfectly even in the most demanding games. These videos of the gameplay in Modern Combat 5 and in Mortal Kombat X were recorded by the built-in means of the smartphone itself using the Game Launcher application.
Benchmarking AnTuTu and GeekBench:
All the results obtained by us when testing the smartphone in the most recent versions of popular benchmarks, we have summarized in tables for convenience. Several other devices from various segments are usually added to the table, also tested on similar latest versions of benchmarks (this is done only for a visual assessment of the obtained dry numbers). Unfortunately, within the framework of one comparison, it is impossible to present the results from different versions of benchmarks, therefore, many worthy and relevant models remain behind the scenes - due to the fact that they once passed the "obstacle course" on previous versions of test programs.
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Testing the graphics subsystem in game tests 3DMark, GFXBenchmark and Bonsai Benchmark:
When testing in 3DMark for the most productive smartphones, it is now possible to run the application in Unlimited mode, where the rendering resolution is fixed at 720p and VSync is disabled (which can cause the speed to rise above 60 fps).
| Samsung Galaxy S8 + (Samsung Exynos 8895 Octa) |
Lg g6 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 821) |
Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe (Qualcomm Snapdragon 820) |
Honor 8 Pro (HiSilicon Kirin 960) |
Meizu Pro 6 Plus (Samsung Exynos 8890 Octa) |
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| 3DMark Ice Storm Sling Shot ES 3.1 (more is better) |
2628 | 2409 | 2676 | 1417 | 1869 |
| GFXBenchmark Manhattan ES 3.1 (Onscreen, fps) | 19 | 12 | 31 | 18 | 13 |
| GFXBenchmark Manhattan ES 3.1 (1080p Offscreen, fps) | 36 | 24 | 32 | 21 | 24 |
| GFXBenchmark T-Rex (Onscreen, fps) | 57 | 38 | 59 | 46 | 52 |
| GFXBenchmark T-Rex (1080p Offscreen, fps) | 103 | 61 | 92 | 57 | 71 |
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Browser cross-platform tests:
As for benchmarks for evaluating the speed of the javascript engine, you should always make allowances for the fact that the results in them significantly depend on the browser in which they are launched, so that the comparison can be truly correct only on the same OS and browsers, and this possibility is available when testing not always. In the case of Android OS, we always try to use Google Chrome.
| Samsung Galaxy S8 + (Samsung Exynos 8895 Octa) |
Lg g6 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 821) |
Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe (Qualcomm Snapdragon 820) |
Honor 8 Pro (HiSilicon Kirin 960) |
Meizu Pro 6 Plus (Samsung Exynos 8890 Octa) |
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| Mozilla kraken (ms, less is better) |
2535 | 2494 | 2931 | 3139 | 13047 |
| Google octane 2 (more is better) |
9905 | 10036 | 9287 | 10155 | 3116 |
| SunSpider (ms, less is better) |
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Testing has traditionally been conducted at typical power consumption levels without using power saving features. In the settings of the Samsung Galaxy S8 +, you can find operating modes from high-performance to economy, the choice of which will affect a lot, right down to the brightness and even the screen resolution.
Continuous reading in the Moon + Reader program (with a standard, light theme) at the minimum comfortable brightness level (the brightness was set to 100 cd / m2) with auto scrolling lasted 21.5 hours until the battery was fully discharged, and with continuous high quality video viewing (720p ) with the same brightness level via a home Wi-Fi network, the device operates up to 14.5 hours. In 3D games mode, the smartphone can work for more than 5 hours.
The smartphone should support fast charging, but we were not able to test this, since at the time of writing this review, the test device did not come with an AC adapter. However, from a conventional charger (5 V 2 A), the device charges quite quickly, within about an hour and a half with a current of 1.75 A at a voltage of 5 V. Wireless charging is also supported (WPC and PMA).
Outcome
The prices for the Russian market are as follows: On April 28, the Galaxy S8 and S8 + smartphones went on sale in Russia at a suggested retail price of 54,990 and 59,990, respectively. It is not entirely clear why the difference in the cost of devices of the same functionality with a slight difference only in the size of the display and the battery is as much as 5 thousand. Be that as it may, in the case of the Samsung Galaxy S8 + for 60 thousand, the manufacturer offers one of the best smartphones in many respects, including the quality of the camera, the performance of the hardware platform and very advanced communication capabilities, in an attractive and very unusual case, as well as with a lot of additional functions, many of which, however, were available in the previous models of the series.
At the same time, it cannot be said that the smartphone has become some kind of breakthrough, a new word in the creation of mobile devices and is completely devoid of disadvantages. A single main camera, although it is one of the best on the market, still looks rather strange against the background of the general movement towards increasing the number of modules. Also, one cannot praise the sound of the main speaker: in terms of sound, the device is clearly inferior to the flagship smartphones Apple and Huawei. The decision to move the fingerprint scanner to the back, and even to such an unfortunate location, was also highly dubious. Well, one cannot but recall the recent problems with the ignition of the batteries of Samsung mobile devices, against the background of which users can now be wary of paying a very high price, which the manufacturer asked for their mobile novelties, right away. And nevertheless, the interest in the flagship devices of the Korean company has not weakened, it can be seen. Even those who were not going to shell out 60 thousand rubles for a smartphone are now eagerly discussing its capabilities on the Internet. However, something in the testing process remained undisclosed for us as well, since we did not have the final commercial sample in our hands. Most likely, we are still waiting, at least, a meeting with the brought to mind Bixby assistant, as well as with camera firmware updates, which may well expand its already remarkable capabilities.
In conclusion, we suggest watching our video review of the Samsung Galaxy S8 + smartphone:
We also suggest watching our video review comparing smartphones Samsung Galaxy S8 + and Galaxy S7 Edge:
More recently, two fresh "space" flagships of the Samsung Galaxy S8 and its slightly larger version of the Galaxy S8 + have appeared on the mobile device market. It would seem that there is something else to chase, what other improvements can be put into these small devices. Apparently, Samsung, which sooner or later should have happened, also asked similar questions. Since after the breakthrough Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge in many ways, it has become pointless to improve gadgets technically, where should we go next? The South Korean developer has taken the development of its flagships along a new path. Namely - design and usability. Instead of trying to outplay its biggest competitor, the IPhone, the Morning Freshness developers turned their attention to the comfort of their own customers.
Specifications Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus
In terms of technical stuff, the S8 and S8 + rightfully occupy a leading position not only among their own representatives, but also among the flagships of other brands. They are quite a bit outperforming their younger predecessors - S7 and S7 Edge. However, Samsung representatives themselves pay much more attention to the design of the phone and various “chips” that have appeared here. So let's take a look at what is here.
Body materials
The body of the phone, like most modern Samsung phones, is made of glass and metal. The frame that framing the perimeter is metal, and the front and rear panels are completely hidden under the glass. The S8, by the way, is equipped with Gorilla Glass 4, while the "baby" S8 + is protected by Gorilla Glass 5. Both have an oleophobic coating, which means that the phones are protected from minor scratches, dust and do not glare in the sun. And at the same time, they are extremely easily soiled. It is better to immediately purchase a cover for a brand new gadget, otherwise you risk going crazy trying to get rid of the instant and ubiquitous fingerprints on the case.
The phone is very pleasant to hold in your hand, but it gets dirty at the speed of light
Design
The materials of the S8 / S8 + differ little from their predecessors, but the design has undergone dramatic changes. Now the working screen occupies almost the entire surface of the front panel - as much as 84% of its area. The speaker, retina scanner, proximity sensor, front camera and light sensor remained in place. Do you understand what this means? No mechanical home button and the famous Samsung logo above the display. The Home button, as well as the Touch Return and Launched Apps, are now part of the screen. These “managers” have retained their functions. The virtual Home key is located in the usual place and is always available to the user. It feels like pressing it exactly transfers pressing to the previous physical version - you can feel a kind of click both when you hold down the key and when you release it. If you press on this sensor with great force, it will vibrate and instantly bring you to the main screen. For those who are worried about the accessibility of the key during the operation of various full-screen programs, for example, games, let's clarify - Home is always available.
The fingerprint scanner had to be moved to the back panel, because there was simply no room in the front
On the back, along with the camera and flash, the developers have placed a fingerprint scanner. Not all users were satisfied with this decision, however, you must agree, the creators simply did not have any alternatives.
Sizes and colors
The dimensions of the Samsung Galaxy S8 are 148.9 x 68.1 mm, and the height is 8 mm, while the weight is 152 g. The Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus is slightly larger than its counterpart: length and height - 159.5 x 73.4 mm, thickness - 8.1mm and weight 173g.
The dimensions of the phones, in general, do not feel too capacious and uncomfortable. The devices fit perfectly in the hand. True, small flaws are found when trying to reach the S8 + fingerprint scanner. While in the S8 the sensor button can be found without much difficulty, in the plus model it becomes a significant task. The rest of the ergonomics of the devices shows itself well.
Despite their rather large size, both phones fit perfectly in the hand. But trying to reach the opposite upper corner is in vain
The phones have five colors, but only three are available for Russia: yellow topaz (gold), black diamond and mystical amethyst (silver).
Screen
The screen is the most remarkable part of the phone, as it takes up almost all the space on the front panel. The diagonal size for the regular version is 5.8 inches with a pixel density of 570 ppi, for the plus model - 6.2 with a density of 529 ppi. The screen resolution is 2960 x 1440 pixels, i.e. Quad HD +. The screen, of course, has curved edges, just like the Galaxy S7 / S7 Edge. However, this time the developers tried to make the display “limitless” and they really succeeded.
The side bezels in the front of the screen have disappeared, and the top edges on either side of the display are extremely narrow, creating an unusual feeling of being immersed in the image. In addition to this, the slightly elongated proportions of the screen add originality to the phone. It uses a ratio of 18.5: 9 instead of the usual 16: 9. This innovation, surprisingly, does not cause any discomfort. Quite the opposite. Now the screen can accommodate much more information, which is certainly convenient. And such an unusual display of the picture only adds to the uniqueness.
Both versions of the phone use the same type of SuperAMOLED screen. If you have already used mid-range and high-end Samsung phones, then you know about all the advantages of this type of screen. You still have various detailed settings at your disposal - color mode, calibration, blue filter, contrast, brightness, and more. The screen performs well both indoors and on a brightly lit street. Among other things, in the screen settings, you can set the desired resolution and the list of applications that will be used in full screen mode.
Photo gallery: smartphone display testing
The intelligent assistant still needs some work - at least in the Russian version
Biometric phone protection
Face recognition and an iris scanner have been added to the available data protection tools. In the first case, you need to take into account many different nuances. In good light, the sensor works perfectly and without failures. But if the light is dim or practically nonexistent, do not be surprised if your own phone suddenly does not recognize you. Also, recognition may not work if, for example, you are trying to unlock your phone while lying down, or your current view is somehow different from the one that was originally captured. In addition, many people note that it is easy to trick the scanner by simply showing it the owner's photo. In the second case, recognition takes a little longer, but this tool is much more reliable.
The retina scanner can go awry if you wear sunglasses. The rest - including regular glasses - is not a hindrance to him
AKG headset
Samsung acquired Harman last year. The developer is renowned for having previously created various audio products for brands such as Harman Kardon and Bowers & Wilkins. This time, Harman is co-creating with Samsung. The result of their work was in-ear headphones with a remote control, invented and released specifically for the S8 and S8 +. We must pay tribute, the sound in them is really good. However, this is only at midrange. Avid connoisseurs of good sound will clearly notice that the bass in these headphones does not differ in power, there is no immersion effect or depth of sound either. And the volume of the AKG headset is very low. Maybe it's the phones themselves, you ask. But no. If you replace the bundled headset with any other more or less high-quality headphones, then the sound improves significantly. "Space" novelties give out just a gorgeous scale of sound waves, but AKG is definitely not suitable for its disclosure.
Camera capabilities
Both phones inherited the camera from their top-end ancestor, the Galaxy S7. The main lens has a resolution of 12 megapixels, while the aperture is f / 1.7. The front camera is slightly worse - only 8 megapixels with an aperture value of the same f / 1.7. Focus length is 26 mm, optical stabilization is available. In terms of technical strength, the camera is really no different from its predecessor. So what's the innovation?
And the fact that Samsung has focused on the software part of its cameras. Improved low-light performance. The developers turned to Dual Pixel technology, due to which autofocus accelerated, as well as continuous shooting.
Daytime shooting (+ sample photos)
During daytime shooting, there are no complaints about the camera. The pictures come out clear, as detailed as possible, without blurring, even if the subject was in motion. The picture itself is saturated, sometimes even too much, but these are already features of all Samsung mobile equipment. The white balance is adjusted perfectly, the color scheme pleases with its maximum believability.
The phone very sensitively adjusts the white balance, almost without mistakes. There are no complaints about macro photography
Among other modes, the Samsung Galaxy S8 / S8 + has the ability to manually adjust the focus.You can independently choose which plan your phone should focus on
By the way, you can shoot in two modes - auto and manual. Manual mode allows you to customize exposure, shutter speed, ISO, white balance. In addition, the S8 / S8 + offers several preset modes to choose from. However, even without them, the camera behaves quite well.
Shooting in low light (photo)
We are already accustomed to the fact that in low light conditions, when twilight begins to thicken on the street or you enter the room with your device, the quality of the shooting deteriorates sharply, the picture acquires a lot of noise, blurriness appears and saturation disappears. This is not the case with the Galaxy S8 / S8 +. The phone shoots well even in dim light.
The picture was taken during the onset of the evening - there is no noise, and the detail is as high as during daytime shooting As you can see for yourself, the camera on the new Samsung Galaxy S8 / S8 + is not inferior, but even surpasses some DSLRs
Front-camera
8 megapixels allow the front camera to take pictures with quality that is no worse than the main lens. It supports autofocus mode and auto facial. The camera does not have its own flash, but the screen backlight is a good substitute for it.
Even in dim light, the sculpture's selfie came out detailed and rich.
Video
The maximum available resolution in which the S8 / S8 + can shoot is 4K, i.e. 3840 x 2160 pixels, the frame rate reaches 30fps. At a lower FullHD resolution, the frame rate is increased to 60 fps. Optical stabilization is available for video shooting, which instantly aligns the frame. The phones give an excellent picture - a decent level of saturation, brightness and detail even in the dark. Sound recording is also of high quality - there are no incomprehensible interference and noise, the audio track is clear and loud.
The South Korean developer realized in time that pixels are not at all the point and “more” does not mean “better”. The camera on the S8 / S8 + is not superior in strength to the camera of the same S7, but the difference in the quality of shooting is noticeable.
