With the promising iPhone 8 still months away from being unveiled, the highly impressive Samsung Galaxy S8 has little to go with in terms of competition against fellow 2017 flagship smartphones. That, however, does not mean that the current crop of smartphones is not up to the challenge. One of the best smartphones from last year, the Google Pixel, provides probably the stiffest completion for the Galaxy S8.
Design and Display
Just looking at the two smartphones, the Samsung Galaxy S8 is clearly better in design and screen. Thanks to the lowest bezel-to-screen size ratio ever, the Galaxy S8 has a much bigger screen than the Google Pixel. It also looks a whole lot better. When compared with the Pixel's big brother, the Pixel XL, the two screens are roughly the same size even though the Galaxy S8 is noticeably smaller in terms of dimensions.
As Tech Radar noted, the Galaxy S8 took home DisplayMate's "best smartphone screen" award not only for its good looks. The 5.8-inch curved AMOLED display will come with Full QHD (2960 x 1440 pixel resolution) once the user enables it in the settings. As for the Pixel, its 5-inch AMOLED display has a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution. The Galaxy S8 is also the first to get the Mobile HDR Premium certification.
Security
Samsung again takes this one with its iris scanning and face recognition features. The Pixel does have a fingerprint sensor at the back and is better placed than that of the Galaxy S8.
Performance
The Google Pixel came out late last year and immediately impressed with its Snapdragon 821 processor. The Galaxy S8 waited until the Snapdragon 835 became available and it figures to keep it a while longer as it currently holds exclusivity over its use. Both smartphones come with 4GB of RAM. The Galaxy S8 is only offered in 64GB size while the Pixel has either 32Gb or 128GB of storage.
Camera
The Google Pixel earned a lot of praises for its camera. CNET, for one, said that it takes better shots than the iPhone 7 plus. It also commended the Pixel's 12-megapixel camera for how fast it works and how vibrant and focused the images are. Its close-ups remain sharp while the landscape shots and distant objects still show details.
Samsung had an opportunity to utilize a far better camera but it chose to use a 12 megapixel as well. Both have 8MP front cameras.
Digital Assistant
The older Google Pixel has a more veteran artificial intelligence than Samsung's Bixby. The Google Assistant is already available to all Android flagships while Samsung has plans for Bixby to roll out to its other smart devices later on.
Battery and Charging
The Galaxy S8 has a larger 3000mAh battery than the Pixel's 2770mAh. However, Samsung has a bad rep regarding its batteries. It is depending on the Galaxy S8 to help the company move past that fiasco. While both devices have wired fast charging abilities, Samsung gets another point for giving its new flagship smartphone wireless charging capabilities.
For this battle, the title of best Android smartphone goes to the Galaxy S8. Despite a few issues with the Google Pixel, it remains one of the better Android phones aside from the new Galaxy S8. The next Google Pixel is expected around October this year and the rumored features, including AR and VR capabilities and a possible foldable display, are promising, to say the least. When the Google Pixel 2 does finally come out, it will surely be more capable than the original Pixel of giving the Samsung Galaxy S8 a run for its money.
