Wednesday 29 March 2017

Samsung Galaxy S8 vs Samsung Galaxy S7: here's what's upgraded

The Samsung Galaxy S8 has finally been announced and it looks to be an impressive phone, albeit one that was heavily and accurately leaked in advance. 

It's got a big screen, plenty of power and a refined design among other things, but just how much different is it to the Samsung Galaxy S7?

We've answered that below, with a comprehensive rundown of the similarities and differences between Samsung's new flagship and its old one across all the key categories, from design and screen, to camera, power, battery life and more.

So read on to find out whether you should invest in a glistening new Galaxy S8 or would be better off sticking with the cheaper Galaxy S7.

Design

The design of the Samsung Galaxy S8 isn't enormously different from the Galaxy S7, with both phones sporting a metal frame and a glass back.

But the S8 is longer than – though not quite as wide as – the Galaxy S7, with dimensions of 148.90 x 68 x 8mm, to the Samsung Galaxy S7’s 142.4 x 69.6 x 7.9mm.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 also looks quite different from the front, as unlike the S7 it doesn’t have a home button beneath the screen, with the fingerprint scanner instead moved to the back, where it sits alongside the camera.

The S8 also has tiny bezels above and below the screen, for a more 'all-screen' look than the S7.

One thing that’s not changed though is water and dust resistance. Both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S7 are IP68 certified, meaning they can be submerged up to 1.5 meters deep for up to 30 minutes.

Overall then, the Galaxy S8 has an impressive design, especially when viewed from the front, but one that’s recognisably an evolution of the Samsung Galaxy S7.

Screen

It’s (almost) all change here, with the Galaxy S8 trading the S7’s 5.1-inch flat screen for a 5.8-inch curved one.

But despite the screen being significantly larger, the overall footprint of the S8 is only slightly bigger, as the fingerprint scanner has been moved to the back and the bezels have been shrunk to almost non-existence. 

That means the S8 feels more like a normal phone than a phablet despite the gargantuan screen.

The resolution of the S8’s screen has been upgraded too, with a 1,440 x 2,960 QHD+ resolution in place of the Samsung Galaxy S7’s 1,440 x 2,560 QHD option. 

Given the extra width over its predecessor, the S8’s screen isn't that much sharper, but it stands out in other ways, with a super-widescreen 18.5:9 aspect ratio similar to the LG G6.

It’s also following in the Note 7’s footsteps in supporting HDR content, which the Samsung Galaxy S7 doesn’t. The only thing that has stayed the same is the technology used, with both phones having Super AMOLED displays, capable of delivering punchy, vivid colors.

OS and power

Both phones run Android of course, and while the Galaxy S8 is launching with Android Nougat, the Galaxy S7 can now be updated to that. As such, there isn't a huge difference on the OS front.

As for power, there's a significant upgrade there, but no more than the typical yearly power boosts you’d expect to get.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 has 4GB of RAM and either an octa-core Exynos 8890 chipset (in Europe) or a quad-core Snapdragon 820 one (in the US), both of which were among the most powerful mobile chipsets in 2016.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 meanwhile is sticking with 4GB of RAM and has an octa-core chipset clocked at up to 2.35GHz. Samsung hasn't confirmed which chip it's using, but we're expecting an Exynos 8895 chip in Europe, and a Snapdragon 835 one in the US, each of which is the next generation of the chips the S7 used.

Given that the Galaxy S7 already offers almost flawlessly snappy performance these probably won't make a hugely noticeable difference, especially as they have a bigger screen to drive, but we wouldn’t be surprised if app load times are slightly faster, screen response time under the finger better and games look slightly better - we'll be sure to let you know in our full Galaxy S8 review. 

These chips are more power efficient too, which could help the battery last longer.

Camera

The camera on the S8 is one of the smallest upgrades over the S7, as it has just a single-lens 12MP snapper – just like the Samsung Galaxy S7.

Even the aperture hasn't changed, coming in at f/1.7 again. The software (and therefore the potential quality of images) may be better this time around though, and we'll be sure to test the camera out thoroughly to find out for sure. 

Samsung is seemingly banking on the fact that it's already got one of the best sensors on the market in the back of the S7, but whether that will stand up to the challenge of 2017's best phones remains to be seen.

The front-facing camera has at least got more of an update on the S8 though, with an 8MP sensor in place of the Samsung Galaxy S7’s 5MP one.

This change is welcome, as the Samsung Galaxy S7’s front-facing camera is solid but unexceptional, though how much impact the change in megapixels will have is also uncertain for now.

Battery

The Samsung Galaxy S8 has a 3,000mAh battery. That’s exactly the same size as the Samsung Galaxy S7’s and a bit of a worry, since it needs to power a much larger screen with more pixels.

On the other hand, the chipsets used by the Samsung Galaxy S8 are more power efficient, so there’s a possibility that it will balance out, but this is one thing you’ll definitely want to check up on when we’ve put the S8 through a full review.

Fast charging is included at least, but it's also present in the Samsung Galaxy S7.

However the S8 has made the move to USB Type-C, so, while you might need to invest in some new cables, you’ll at least be able to plug them in either way around.

Price

Samsung hasn't yet confirmed what the Samsung Galaxy S8 will cost, but pre-launch rumors put it slightly higher than the Samsung Galaxy S7.

2016's Galaxy S7 started at £569/AU$1149 (around $750) SIM-free, and can now be found from roughly £450/$670/AU$900, while the Samsung Galaxy S8 may sell for around $845/£695/AU$1,115, which would put it at roughly $100/£130 more expensive.

Takeaway

On paper the Samsung Galaxy S8 sounds like a huge improvement on the Samsung Galaxy S7 in some areas, with the screen being the real highlight.

It’s a lot bigger, without making the phone itself massive, and with a new aspect ratio and HDR support it's a genuinely different experience to use.

Elsewhere, the design has been refined and there's quite a lot more power in the Galaxy S8.

On the other hand, the camera hasn't changed much, the battery life is a concern and the S8 is almost certainly going to be pricier. Plus, the fingerprint scanner being moved to the back probably won’t please everyone – though the addition of an iris scanner will give you another security option.

Still, battery concerns aside the S8 sounds like a real crowd-pleaser overall, but if you want to save some money the Galaxy S7 is still a top phone too.



from TechRadar: Phone and communications news http://www.techradar.com/news/samsung-galaxy-s8-vs-samsung-galaxy-s7-heres-whats-upgraded

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