NETWORK
Technology GSM / HSPA / LTE GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE
2G bands GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2 (dual-SIM model only) GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - A1660, A1778
CDMA 800 / 1900 / 2100 - A1660
3G Network HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 - A1660, A1778
CDMA2000 1xEV-DO & TD-SCDMA - A1660
4G Network LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700), 13(700), 17(700), 18(800), 19(800), 20(800), 25(1900), 26(850), 28(700), 32(1500), 66(1700/2100), 38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500) LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700), 13(700), 17(700), 18(800), 19(800), 20(800), 25(1900), 26(850), 27(800), 28(700), 29(700), 30(2300), 38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500) - A1660, A1778
Speed HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A (4CA) Cat16 1024/150 Mbps HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A (3CA) Cat9 450/50 Mbps, EV-DO Rev.A 3.1 Mbps
GPRS Yes Yes
EDGE Yes Yes
LAUNCH
Announced 2017, March 2016, September
Status Available. Released 2017, April Available. Released 2016, September
BODY
Dimensions 148.9 x 68.1 x 8 mm (5.86 x 2.68 x 0.31 in) 138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1 mm (5.44 x 2.64 x 0.28 in)
Weight 155 g (5.47 oz) 138 g (4.87 oz)
Build Corning Gorilla Glass 5 back panel
SIM Single SIM (Nano-SIM) or Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by) Nano-SIM
- Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified)
- IP68 certified - dust/water proof over 1.5 meter and 30 minutes - IP67 certified - dust and water resistant
- Water resistant up to 1 meter and 30 minutes
- Apple Pay (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX certified)
DISPLAY
Type Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors LED-backlit IPS LCD, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size 5.8 inches (~83.6% screen-to-body ratio) 4.7 inches (~65.6% screen-to-body ratio)
Resolution 1440 x 2960 pixels (~570 ppi pixel density) 750 x 1334 pixels (~326 ppi pixel density)
Multitouch Yes Yes
Protection Corning Gorilla Glass 5 Ion-strengthened glass, oleophobic coating- 3D Touch (home button only)
- Always-on display
- TouchWiz UI - Wide color gamut display
- 3D Touch display & home button
- Display Zoom
PLATFORM
OS Android 7.0 (Nougat) iOS 10.0.1, upgradable to iOS 10.3.3
Chipset Exynos 8895 Octa - EMEA
Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 835 - USA & China Apple A10 Fusion
CPU Octa-core (4x2.3 GHz & 4x1.7 GHz) - EMEA
Octa-core (4x2.35 GHz Kryo & 4x1.9 GHz Kryo) - USA & China Quad-core 2.34 GHz (2x Hurricane + 2x Zephyr)
GPU Mali-G71 MP20 - EMEA
Adreno 540 - USA & China PowerVR Series7XT Plus (six-core graphics)
MEMORY
Card slot microSD, up to 256 GB (dedicated slot) - single-SIM model
microSD, up to 256 GB (uses SIM 2 slot) - dual-SIM model No
Internal 64 GB, 4 GB RAM 32/128/256 GB, GB, 2 GB RAM
CAMERA
Primary 12 MP, f/1.7, 26mm, phase detection autofocus, OIS, LED flash, check quality 12 MP, f/1.8, 28mm, phase detection autofocus, OIS, quad-LED (dual tone) flash, check quality
Features 1/2.5" sensor size, 1.4 µm pixel size, geo-tagging, simultaneous 4K video and 9MP image recording, touch focus, face/smile detection, Auto HDR, panorama 1/3" sensor size, geo-tagging, simultaneous 4K video and 8MP image recording, touch focus, face/smile detection, HDR (photo/panorama)
Video 2160p@30fps, 1080p@60fps, HDR, dual-video rec., check quality 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps, 720p@240fps, check quality
Secondary 8 MP, f/1.7, autofocus, 1440p@30fps, dual video call, Auto HDR 7 MP, f/2.2, 32mm, 1080p@30fps, 720p@240fps, face detection, HDR, panorama
SOUND
Alert types Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones Vibration, proprietary ringtones
Loudspeaker Yes Yes, with stereo speakers
3.5mm jack Yes No- 32-bit/384kHz audio
- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic - Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
- Lightning to 3.5 mm headphone jack adapter incl.
COMMS
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot
Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX 4.2, A2DP, LE
GPS Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS
NFC Yes Yes (Apple Pay only)
Infrared port No No
Radio No No
USB 3.1, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector 2.0, reversible connector
FEATURES
Sensors Iris scanner, fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, heart rate, SpO2 Fingerprint (front-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
Messaging SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM iMessage, SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email
Browser HTML5 HTML5 (Safari)
Java No No- Samsung DeX (desktop experience support)
- Fast battery charging (Quick Charge 2.0)
- Qi/PMA wireless charging (market dependent)
- ANT+ support
- S-Voice natural language commands and dictation
- MP4/DivX/XviD/H.265 player
- MP3/WAV/eAAC+/FLAC player
- Photo/video editor
- Document editor - Siri natural language commands and dictation
- iCloud cloud service
- MP3/WAV/AAX+/AIFF/Apple Lossless player
- MP4/H.264 player
- Audio/video/photo editor
- Document editor
BATTERY
Non-removable Li-Ion 3000 mAh battery Non-removable Li-Ion 1960 mAh battery (7.45 Wh)
Stand-by
Talk time Up to 20 h (3G) Up to 14 h (3G)
Music play Up to 67 h Up to 40 h
MISC
Colors Midnight Black, Orchid Gray, Arctic Silver, Coral Blue, Maple Gold Jet Black, Black, Silver, Gold, Rose Gold, Red
SAR 0.44 W/kg (head) 0.75 W/kg (body) 1.19 W/kg (head) 1.19 W/kg (body)
SAR EU 0.32 W/kg (head) 1.27 W/kg (body) 1.38 W/kg (head) 1.34 W/kg (body)
Price About 610 EUR About 610 EUR
TESTS
Performance Basemark OS II: 3272 / Basemark OS II 2.0: 3376
Basemark X: 42370 Basemark OS II 2.0: 3416
Display Contrast ratio: Infinite (nominal), 4.768 (sunlight) Contrast ratio: 1603:1 (nominal), 3.964 (sunlight)
Camera Compare PHOTO / Compare VIDEO
Loudspeaker Voice 66dB, noise 70dB, ring 72dB Voice 67dB, noise 73dB, ring 75dB
Audio quality Noise -92.5dB / Crosstalk -92.8dB Noise -92.4dB / Crosstalk -80.9dB
Battery life Endurance rating 84h Endurance rating 61h
Interesting review, and I know there are is a sizable segment of the population that will go between device platforms based on what's trendy. While I find the S8 very appealing , I iam heavily invested in the iOS platform , and have a lot of content, apps and all of my contacts , etc .. Until there is an easy way to move or use all of that content. I will most likely stay with Apple.