Those who pre-ordered the latest flagship phone of electronics giant Samsung will be getting their orders ahead of the official launch. T-Mobile customers, especially, may get their hands on their new smartphones two days before Galaxy S8 starts selling in stores.
CNet reports that T-Mobile sent a text alert to those who pre-ordered the smartphone of the good news. They said they will be shipping out the units on Apr. 19, two days before the Galaxy S8 official take-off. However, the telecommunications company has not given any further comment regarding the text alert.
The company is known for shipping popular handsets way ahead of their official dispatch dates. This sets them apart from their rivals, Verizon and AT&T. The tech website also refers to the mobile carrier as a rebel because of their approach in facing their bigger competitors head-on.
However happy people who pre-ordered Galaxy S8 may be, there is a caveat to their early release. According to BBC, a key feature of the flagship phone from the brand will be delayed. That is the Bixby voice assistant. The innovation was announced last month at an event that is supposed to make its entrance with Samsung's new phones.
English-speaking users will have their Galaxy S8 phones without the Bixby voice assistant once they ship. For now, users can just use the standard Android voice assistant from Google. Samsung said in a statement that the full version of the feature will roll out at a later time. They set the timeline for the update in spring.
The company did not reveal the reasons behind this decision. But early reviews of Galaxy S8 showed that Bixby was still lacking despite its launch date just days away. Although the voice part of the software will be missing, Bixby's other features like Vision, Home and Reminder will still roll-out on the original launch date.
