After much speculation over its built and specifications over past few months, South Korean giant Samsung on Wednesday launched its flagship device, Galaxy S8, that has a voice assistant
Samsung Galaxy S8 S8 plus
DJ Koh Samsung President Mobile Communications Business introduces the new Samsung S8 and S8 Plus during a news conference in New York. Pics/AFP
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New York: After much speculation over its built and specifications over past few months, South Korean giant Samsung on Wednesday launched its flagship device, Galaxy S8, that has a voice assistant.
The device comes in two variants with different screen sizes -- the 5.8-inch Galaxy S8 and 6.2-inch Galaxy S8 Plus - and will be available from April 21. Registrations begin from March 30. The device might be priced from $720 (approximately Rs 47,000). Samsung will release these devices in India in the coming months.
Bixby is intelligence reimagined, offering a suite of services that changes how you use your phone. #UnboxYourPhone https://t.co/pHVmdc8ZNj pic.twitter.com/Xo3clXuM86
— Samsung Mobile (@SamsungMobile) March 29, 2017
A more efficient processor means faster downloads, longer battery life, and less wasted energy. #UnboxYourPhone. https://t.co/pHVmdc8ZNj pic.twitter.com/oDVCK387so
— Samsung Mobile (@SamsungMobile) March 29, 2017
A new Iris Scanner and facial recognition give the perfect combination of security and convenience. #UnboxYourPhone https://t.co/pHVmdc8ZNj pic.twitter.com/YMZr6ueUBY
— Samsung Mobile (@SamsungMobile) March 29, 2017
Samsung also revealed Bixby, a smart voice assistant to rival Apple's Siri and Google's Assistant. With a perfect amalgam of voice, vision and touch, Bixby can search restaurants, take screenshots and even book a cab for you. The technology giant has used the best hardware and provided the best features available to date in the device.
The device has a bezel-less curved edge "infinity display" covered with pristine glass and a 12MP rear camera with multi-frame processing and optical image stabilisation. It has an 8MP auto-focus front shooter.
The new Samsung S8 is on display for the press after a news conference in New York
The device is IP68 rated, meaning it is water and dust resistant. The company has also upped the security feature with iris scanner, face recognition and fingerprint scanner - moved to the back of the device - to unlock the device. The home button has been shifted beneath the "infinity display".
Available in five different colours, the device has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Octa core (2.35 GHz Quad + 1.7 GHZ Quad) processor. For models that will be available in countries other than the US, Samsung has used Exynos Octa core (2.35 GHz Quad + 1.9 GHZ Quad) processor.
According to The Verge, while Galaxy S8 comes with a 3,000 mAh battery, the Galaxy S8 Plus is fitted with 3,500 mAh battery pack. The devices run on Android 7.0 Nougat and have USB-C and 3.5mm headphone jacks. The company also launched Samsung Connect app that would allow users to control a number of internet-connected home devices such as TVs or refrigerators. It also unveiled new Gear 360 camera.
The Samsung Galaxy S8
There's a lot riding on Samsung S8 devices due to the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco. Samsung ultimately killed that smartphone after two recalls, both related to issues with faulty batteries. Earlier this month, Samsung launched two new smartphones in 'Galaxy A' series -- 5.7-inch Galaxy A7 and 5.2-inch Galaxy A5 in India which were priced at Rs 33,490 and Rs 28,990, respectively.
Samsung also joined the 'go digital' bandwagon, and last week unveiled Samsung Pay, the company's flagship mobile payments service, in India. At MWC in Barcelona this year, Samsung announced its innovative "I&G (Infill & Growth) Project" for Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd that will help expand both the current network capacity as well as network coverage.