The past week has been a busy one for the world of Android with Samsung dominating the scene. We have YouTubers destroying their Samsung Galaxy S8 phones, Samsung's Bixby posing as a problem, the return of the Galaxy Note 7 and more news on the Note 8.
As Forbes noted, the Samsung Galaxy S8 has been subjected to various tests by people who wants to know and show how sturdy a new device is. A certain YouTuber named TexRax did a drop test of both the Galaxy S8 and the iPhone 7 from a height of 5 feet. While both suffered scratches on the first drop and was shattered on the second, the iPhone 7 was noticeably more damaged. In fact, the Android phone was still usable after the second drop while the iPhone 7 was rendered useless.
GSMArena reported about another "destruction test" of the Galaxy S8. TexRax sent the same Galaxy S8 he tested out to What's Inside. The hosts of What's Inside along with Zach of JerryRigEverything, another popular YouTube channel, went at it with suction cups, some pry tools, a cutter, and a Dremel rotary saw. The rotary saw did its job of cutting the top half of the Galaxy S8 and even nicking the battery in the process. Impressively, the battery fizzled a bit and expanded before fizzing out. Even after Zach poked the battery with a cutter there were no sparks, ignition or fire. The test somehow confirms Samsung's dedication to safety, particularly with its batteries.
As mentioned, Samsung lorded over the Android world last week not only because of the Galaxy S8. The Korean tech giant's digital assistant had its share in the limelight but not for good reasons. Bixby was heavily promoted prior to its supposed introduction with the Galaxy S8. As it turned out, Bixby would not be initially available with the new flagship smartphone. Worst of all, Samsung has stayed mum about the reasons why.
Another bit of news from Samsung is concerned with the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7. According to some reports, the Note 7 will be refurbished and resold. In fact, a leaked image of the refurbished device surfaced this week. Aside from the leaked photo, rumors also indicated that the Note 7 will run on Android Nougat 7.0.
Lastly, the Android news would not be complete without anything on the Galaxy Note 8. The supposed design of the Note 8 was also leaked this week and it looks so much like the S8. While this means the Note 8 will be equally as impressive as the S8 design-wise, Forbes noted that this may also mean that the two will go up against each other.
