Like its smaller version, the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus is making waves - big ones. Among the current crop of plus-sized models, Samsung's flagship smartphone can rightly lay claim to being the best. However, also like the Galaxy S8, the S8 Plus has at least one annoying feature.
Design and Display
If you're a big phone enthusiast and you love the Samsung Galaxy S8's look, you'll fall head over heels with the S8 Plus. CNET even proclaimed that big phone lovers will not find "a prettier device with a larger screen anywhere else". The Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus indeed has the biggest screen among smartphones, even within the plus-sized group. This is of course due to its radical new design highlighted by the "Infinity Display". Because of the curved edge design and the very minimal bezels on the top and bottom, the Galaxy S8 Plus managed to have a screen that measures a whopping 6.2 inches. The bigger screen means the handset itself is bigger. However, it measures just 1 millimeter wider and is, in fact, 4.5 millimeters shorter than the iPhone 7 Plus.
The Galaxy S8 Plus is made of glossy metal and glass which makes it even more desirable. The Galaxy 8 and 8 Plus's game-changing design is so ravishing that it may go down as one of the most iconic smartphones in history.
Performance
The Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus comes with Android Nougat 7.0 out of the box. It also runs on either Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 octa-core processor with up to 2.35GHz speed or the company's own Exynos 8895 CPU. It also has 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage with up to 2TB expandable memory. On paper, the Galaxy S8 Plus is definitely one of the better performing smartphones around.
Camera and Other Features
A high-end smartphone like this deserves to have a high-end camera. It comes with a 12-megapixel rear camera while its front-facing camera is at 8 megapixels. While not as impressive as the cameras of the OnePlus 3T, the Galaxy S8 Plus did manage to be better than the iPhone 7 Plus which has a 7MP front camera. The plus-sized Samsung device also has wireless charging, an IP68 water resistance rating which is the highest so far, and a huge 3,500mAh battery.
Fingerprint Scanner and Bixby
There are a couple of things that are less desirable about the Galaxy S8 Plus, and its smaller version for that matter. Bixby is nowhere to be found and the fingerprint sensor seems like it doesn't want to be found. With Bixby, Samsung promised that it will eventually come so it's just a matter of being patient. The fingerprint sensor, however, is one annoying problem that will never go away. As Tech Radar and practically everyone else noted, the scanner is placed awkwardly on the rear of the phone which makes it difficult and uncomfortable to reach. With the bigger Galaxy S8 Plus, it may even be harder.
Despite the few negatives and a rather hefty price tag, the Samsung Galaxy S8 is one smartphone that is definitely worth a look especially if the prospective buyer prefers their smartphones big. If they prefer something even bigger, then Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Note 8 would be a good choice as well as long as it fares better or at least as well as the Galaxy S8 Plus.
