Samsung and Microsoft are both enthusiastic to announce the availability of the Microsoft-customized Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus. On March 29, Samsung made the new flagship series official. On March 30, Microsoft announced the pre-order availability of the Microsoft-edition Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus. According to Microsoft, both S8 variants will be made available for purchase starting April 21 at Microsoft's brick-and-mortar stores in US.
As for the pricing, the Galaxy S8 Microsoft edition will be priced at $749.99 while the Galaxy S8 Plus version will be a hundred dollar pricier at $849.99. Note that all Galaxy S8 units, regardless where they are bought from, will be shipped with some bundled Microsoft apps. This includes, Skype, Office and OneDrive. The Microsoft edition handsets however, will bring in more bloatware as Cortana and Outlook will be added to the Samsung devices.
Moreover, the specs of the Microsoft edition Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus are identical to the regular models. The only difference in general is the additional apps from Microsoft. Nevertheless, the Windows-maker shows some positivity in its new venture with Samsung. As per ZDNet, Microsoft officials have shared a prepared statement expressing their intentions in their new venture. They said that they are committed to enabling their clients to get more from Office and Microsoft apps.
Furthermore, the company said that the new device customization is an example of Microsoft's aim to bring together their apps so its customers can work, play and connect from their pocket-sized devices. Nevertheless, there are still no confirmation as to whether or not the Microsoft edition Galaxy S8 will reach international markets. As of now, only its US availability is confirmed.
On an different note, it was during last year's CES when Microsoft announced its renewed partnership with Samsung as the latter unveiled a Windows 10 tablet at the event. Moreover, Microsoft's partnership with Android device makers does not end with Samsung. Since 2015, the company has been on deals with about 31 OEMs to bundle different Office apps with their Android units.
