The Samsung Galaxy S8 is an Android smartphone manufactured by Samsung Electronics as the eighth generation of the Galaxy S series. The Samsung Galaxy S8 was launched on March 29, 2017, together with the S8+. It was then immediately followed the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, with a North American release on April 21, 2017 and a worldwide launch during April and May.
Let's review the features and functionalities of the Galaxy S8.
A new button on the side replaces the volume rocker and standby switch. This is a dedicated Bixby button and although it demonstrates that Samsung is serious about its new virtual assistant, it sounds excessive for Bixby to get its own button. Samsung has even kept the headphone jack. If we are to compare to Apple's decision to drop a physical headphone jack used to be the end of the 3.5mm jack, this Samsung phone didn't with the AKG wired headphones that came in the package.
It has a much gentler curve than the Galaxy S7 Edge which makes it look like the infamous Galaxy Note 7. Gorilla Glass 5 on both the front and back should have a bit more security. However, the 5.8-inch panel scale is deceiving in several respects. It's somewhat longer than an iPhone 7 and significantly smaller than the Pixel XL in terms of width.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 has received its final security upgrade four years since its release. The Galaxy S8 was a well-timed success story for Samsung, debuting in the spring of 2017 with a daring concept that diverted focus away from the well-documented Galaxy Note 7 battery issues of the previous six months.
The switch comes a year after Samsung demoted the S8 from its quarterly product upgrade roster. While Samsung has a strong device support strategy, the Galaxy S8 is getting old. Given the company's vast array of smartphones, it's understandable that support for far older models is being phased out.
Samsung was just upgrading the Galaxy S8 on a biannual basis anyway, so this isn't a huge loss, but it is an indication that this system has reached the end of existence.
There is some positive news for a few S8 models. You will continue to get quarterly reminders if you own a Galaxy S8 Active. Users of the Galaxy S8 Lite will now continue to receive biannual security alerts.
