Slideshow

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+: Hands on review, slideshow and gallery

21 Photos PC World Staff (PC World)

The real deal? Has Samsung truly made the best Android smartphone of all time?

  • Samsung held the launch at a shabby-chic, concrete castle on the cliffs of Coogee in Sydney.

  • The new 5.8-inch S8 ($1,199) and the 6.2-inch S8+ ($1,349).

  • We can't show you the pictures we took on the S8 but here are pictures of the pictures. Detail and colour look impressive in good light. The responsiveness and accuracy of the camera is the best we've ever seen (in our brief time with it).

  • This is a fair reflection of the S8's low-light performance (it was a very dark room). The S7 and Google Pixel XL did similar. This may be better. But we'll wait to see for sure. Very impressive though.

  • This picture was taken on LG's impressive G6 (we've metered on the cake). It has decent low-light performance but the S8 seems that much better.

  • The underside of both phones.

  • The fingerprint reader is oddly placed. Time will tell if it's annoying or not. Our brief experience showed it to be near instant. You can also swipe down to get to the menu.

  • The bottoms - USB-C ports AND proper headphone jacks!

  • Two phones and the Pacific Ocean.

  • The tops of the phones - there's a Nano SIM and a microSD slot.

  • A Bixby button beneath the volume rocker. Will this prove annoying? Time will tell. Bixby won't be useful in Australia until Samsung deciphers our accent.

  • The bezel-less "Infinity" screens have been troubling us but, in our brief time with them, didn't annoy us like previous curved-screen Samsungs. Here's hoping.

  • There's an IR sensor next to the 8-megapixel front camera. This scans your Irises to unlock the phone. It's quicker than with the Note 7.

  • The two phones flanking the LG G6. The G6 is a bit uglier but it does similar things and costs a bit less.

  • The new Gear VR with touch remote. It will come free with early purchases of the phones.

  • The new Gear 360 camera.

  • A live demo if a broadcast from the Easter Show (at the other end of town). It worked very well... until the sub-3G signal in our concrete bunker failed.

  • Apparently this house is up for sale. If you ask how much it costs then you can't afford it.

  • Bonus Samsung connected fridge.

  • Strap yourself in for Gear VR.

  • The creepy house on the right (which looks like a building site) is where our S8 launch took place.

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