Smartphone Galaxy S8 64GB UK Version - Midnight Black

It goes without saying that the gap between phones is getting smaller and smaller. Years ago, phones would either dominate the market, or just simply be forever in the "cheap and acceptable" area for performance and quality etc. I used to work for Vodafone, so got a lot of experience working with mobile phones and I have to be honest, I used to absolutely hate Samsung phones. However, that has all changed. This genuinely has completely changed my perspective on their handsets and I am sincerely impressed with what I have purchased. I have had several phones, including Sony Xperia z2, Xperia z5, Huawei p9, OnePlus 3T and recently I had a OnePlus 5 which I returned as faulty and instead for this Samsung S8. Allow me to break it down below into a few areas to give you a little insight with it. Speed and performance: I have to be honest, the performance on this handset is flawless. It is super quick, responsive and hasn't yet lagged at all or dipped in performance in the slightest. I can open the camera quickly (something that other phones struggle with if you're coming from an app), can take a photo and then go back to the app that I was in without any issues at all. Easily on par with the OnePlus handsets if I am honest. Battery: This is my only negative. I have the s8 meaning I have the 3000mah battery within the handset. I am pretty heavy on my phone, and forever checking emails and texting my girlfriend (gotta make her feel loved like haha) so always using it. After starting work at around 9am and finishing at 5, I am usually down to around 20% if I am in Quad HD Mode. I can put the resolution down to 1080p and will then with the same usage, be down to around 38% roughly on average, so it does make a difference. I don't find that things such as the camera have such a hard effect on the battery, unless you're filming in 4k, then you start to notice a metaphorical leak so to speak. Screen: My goodness... this is my favourite part. I always thought this bezeless, or at least small bezel thing was a bit of a gimmick, but oh no. I could never go back to a phone that doesn't have this kind of display ever again. This handset, is smaller than other smart phones, but has a bigger screen. Weird, huh? Well, because the screen practically covers the entire phone size, you get a beautiful view and great clarity that is simply gorgeous. I mentioned previously about Quad HD, which in my opinion is of equal sharpness to retina if I am honest. It does dip into the battery life, though, and to be honest, for normal viewing angles you will find 1080p perfect. 2k would be good for the VR experience. Honestly though, the screen is beautiful, I am being very serious when I say that this is the most beautiful screen I have seen on a phone before, and it has completely changed my opinion on how phones should be designed from now on. Camera: The camera is good. It offers good colour reproduction and produces sharp images. I am led to believe they have used the Samsung s7 camera in this. It has OIS, which is nice and definitely makes a difference. I find the video modes are good, and there are modes such as Pro Modes meaning you can take control of various controls on your camera. It's a shame that there isn't a dual camera setup, considering that a lot of phones are going that way, but let's be honest, if you're truly wanting to get into photography, then you're going to get yourself a DSLR. This phones camera performs excellently taking nice images and will suit the needs of the majority if not all of the people that use it. Video low light performance is a little bit average, but in well lit environments the colours are beautiful and are exceptionally well complemented by the gorgeous display. Bixby: Have to be honest, I don't like Bixby. Samsung have incorporated a physical button on the left hand side of the phone. I downloaded an app and disabled bixby in the system, so I don't have to content with that anymore. I would appreciate an update from Samsung allowing users to modify the rooting of that button, to complement their own wishes such as Google Now, or flashlight etc. Google Assistant is moving far faster, evolving in a much more advanced method, and works flawlessly 99% of the time. I had to repeat 3 times to Bixby to get the weather in Birmingham in the UK. Despite constantly saying "What's the weather like in Birmingham, UK?" it still kept referring to the sunny weather in Birmingham, Alabama... not the much wetter, much greyer weather here in the West Midlands. Overall: Look, this handset in my opinion is fantastic. Like I said, I used to hate Samsung and found their handsets overpriced and underspec. But I genuinely think this is a change. You can get a great deal and pay under the RRP if you look around well enough. The time researching for a better price is definitely worth it. The handset offers a beautiful, and I really do mean a beautiful design and great performance meeting many criterias and expectations. I love this phone. Honestly. I am usually so critical of phones and find it hard to settle with one, but so far, this handset is proving to be the best phone I have ever purchased. I would definitely recommend. One final note, the s8+? Yes, it has a bigger battery... but if you have an average sized hand (male), stick with the regular s8. Ladies, if you've got smaller hands, definitely stay with the S8... I am a man and use the normal one, because the plus size would require some serious hand gymnastics to reach the back button top left. If you found this useful, give me a helpful vote if you don't mind! Then I know that I have helped someone somewhere in the Amazon world. Take care

Good points: - Properly waterproof (until the screen cracks) - Virtual reality (the Gear - an add-on - was not quite the stuff of sci-fi, but un-tethered and bloomin' good for a 'phone. Oculus/Meta no longer supports it though, so you're back to Google Cardboard. I used to get about 3 hours' VR out of a charge.) - Android - Some nice extras (fast processor, really nice screen, heart monitor, and the location uses at least 4 different satellite systems) - Screen still works when cracked, including touch. - Induction charging - Most spares are cheap and easy to get hold of, and there are plenty of Youtube demos showing how to replace them. Bad points, in order: - Curved screen. The most fragile part of the device sticks out beyond the rest, what could possibly go wrong? - Curved screen. Worth mentioning twice because it makes it hard to hold the device without touching the screen. Also significantly increases the cost of rigid screen protectors. - Expensive screen. Becomes a problem when it breaks. - Battery is on the small side for such a power-hungry device. Awkward to replace, too. - Samsung requires access to location information whenever location is turned on. It's in the terms and conditions, but they don't specify who they plan to tell when you go on holiday. - Mine refused to update for over a year (took a while to notice and a while to fix) - Bixby All in, this is a really good portable computer, and a pretty good 'phone. If you plan to carry it around then you will need a good case for it, but there are some good ones on the market now. Probably not ideal for builders or wrestlers.

Upfront this phone does everything you can do on the new iPhone X at almost half the price! At this price the S8 really is a bargain. The first thing you'll notice is how much more freedom you have compared with Apple products. Thr home screen is hugely customisable with apps and widgets. You can also install other apps which increase the customisation even further. Nova Launcher being a prime example. Of course if this is your first Android it'll take some getting used too. I do believe the autocorrect keyboard on the iphone is better than the S8 however. I find myself making far more corrections to the text on the S8. At first i found the large screen scary, but i soon came to love it, and when i watched videos i had recorded on my iphone i discovered that the quality of the screen is outstanding. Netflix HD videos look brilliant and so do videos recorded on the device. Which brings us onto the camera. I believe this is where the S8 has and iphone beat. Quite simply photo quality is incredible and the variety of photos you can take is good. Panoramas are a favourite of mine, ans unlike iphone where you can only take a limited arc, the S8 allows 360 degree panos. I could go on and on and on. But it comes down to what you want in a phone. If all your devices are apple then it may be difficult for you to move away. However i recommend this phone to anyone, and at this price why would you spend double on a iphone that does the same job?

Great phone, I am not someone who is obsessed with all things shiny and new for its own sake, I had previously owned a galaxy S4( great phone in its own right for its time) however I dropped it and broke it and although I had it repaired it was never the same again. This new S8 is brilliant the speed and ease of use is awesome I have not even figured out all of its features as yet, I am surprised daily by accidental and useful features that make this phone a joy to use. The camera is brilliant and the battery life is great. Hopefully I will not drop this and it will last as long as the S4 did (I use it as my travel phone using local SIM card when abroad the S4 that is) I can’t award the S8 5 Stars as this will require a comparison with another phone of similar pedigree from different brands. I highly recommend.

. I love it. Best phone ever. I had an S5 that was showing its age. This S8 is leaps and bounds better in every way - battery life, storage, speed, manipulability (is this a word?). I have read reviews that mention that it may be too large for some people. Compared with my S5 it is slightly slimmer, slightly longer and noticeably thinner. Once it is in its case there is hardly any difference. N.B. it takes a nano-SIM. Full marks here to Vodafone who said that they would post a new one to my home address to arrive the next day, or I could go to their local Vodafone shop where they would fit a new SIM, activate it, and help me with setting up the phone. All this even though I had bought the phone via Amazon, and not from them. Mind you, setting up the phone was easy-peasy (Thank you Google), as is the use. The leaflets provided with the phone were all in Italian, which luckily I can read although others may not be able to. :-) The only bit in English was a warning sticker that said "EUROPEAN SIM CARD ONLY. READ ME", the bit to read being in Italian. What did European mean? European, i.e. not US or Japan? Or European, i.e. not UK? Luckily on reading it told me that it meant European Union, Switzerland and a few other countries. So if yours comes like that and you cannot read the Italian, no need to panic. I am extremely pleased with this purchase. .

ok you guys, i barely ever leave comments but i just have to. After reading the bad reviews i got a bit nervous and worried, i didn't even know if i could trust the good reviews because some guy said they pay ppl to leave good reviews and the guys that leave those review have only reviewed one product, this one, u can now see how convincing that argument was. The phone arrived today and everything was intact, i payed for the express so it came on tuesday (ordered on saturday). Seal not broken, contained usb C, the cable, usb adapter and the nice AKG earphones. Comes with warranty and the phone is unlocked. I even watched youtube videos on how to spot fakes and this passed, from the box to the content to the look of the icons on the phone and all. Either this is originall or a very high class fake.The only thing was that it was originally in spanish but immediately brings up a language list. So this wasnt even the slightest bit of an inconvenience. This doesn't mean the bad reviews are not genuine, perhaps i just got lucky but i just wanted to share this review so you can at least have the benefit of the doubt. I hope yours turns out as awesome as mine did. It almost seems too good to be true especially considering the price. Someone would still probably create reasons as to why tgis review cannot be trusted lol. im not trying to force or convince you to buy it, whats my business. im just sharing my experience cuz im just so excited

Samsung can make great phones - when they work. I admit the S8 I received was faulty but this isn't the only reason for the poor review. I previously had an S5 and prior to that an S2. Both of these developed faults and were replaced. Once fully charged the S8 indicated I had 6 hours of battery life left. I went into a Samsung Experience store. They ran a diagnostic test on the S8 and told me it had a hardware fault causing battery drain. Amazon Customer Service have agreed a refund which I await. So yet another unreliable Samsung phone experience. Faults aside I found it awful to use. The screen is narrow which made using the keyboard tricky especially in apps which weren't scaled to the odd 18:9 screen ratio. I've talked to a friend who likes this phone but even he reluctantly said he wished they'd stuck with the 16:9 ratio for several reasons. Firstly to avoid the keyboard issue I mentioned. Secondly to avoid watching cropped 16:9 videos or alternatively watch them with black bars. Which genius decided to make the whole phone out of glass? The Samsung store said this is one phone you must have a case with as the corners made of glass create pressure points and the phone cracks easily. I've never used a case with my phones and the S2 and S5 were fine even after several drops. My friend who has the S8 similarly never uses a case - he is now the proud owner of a badly cracked S8. People criticised the S5 for looking "cheap" build wise. It was this very cheapness that made it so durable. The "cheap" plastic back of the S5 made it very light (this is a good thing) and not prone to cracking. The "cheap" plastic silver bezel of the S5 meant there were no vulnerable pressure points on the phone corners. I've owned the S5 for nearly 3 years and not used a case - the screen is pristine. There is some minor peeling to the bezel. My point is that the S8 by comparison is not durable. Even the staff at the Samsung store were warning me of its fragility. Speed wise I thought it would be like a Ferrari compared to my S5 but frankly I didn't spot much difference. To summarise the phone arrived faulty which is consistent with my experience of owning 2 other Samsung phones - poor reliability. It is fragile, has a daft narrow screen ratio causing keyboard and video issues. If I could buy a (working) S5 again with the improved specs of the S8 namely the 64gb of storage etc I would. Unlike the fragile S8 my S5 has proved to be durable (when I got one that was fault free). The Samsung store told me the closest thing to my S5 was either the A5 or the S7 - but guess what?- these are made out of glass too. I guess at least they have a bezel and no pressure points like the S8. I'm going to look at the Huawei P10 and even the P10 lite. A company that make great phones, don't fill them with bloatware or gimmicks and the build is more robust. I may consider the Samsung S7 or A5 as to be fair my S5 is still going strong. I was excited to receive my S8 but it's turned out to be a huge dissapointment. I look forward to receiving the full refund Amazon promised me over the phone.

Coming from a HTC 10 user, I have to say there aren't too many improvements needed to a mobile phone but the Samsung Galaxy s8 is just that little bit more attractive. For one, the size of the phone is incredible. It's smooth surface with an excellent display makes this the best screen on any phone I've ever had. Yet it's not just the appearance that impresses me, it's the speed of the phone too. Everything just works very quickly and smoothly too. The camera is stunning but I thought the HTC 10 had a very good camera too, so just a slight upgrade here. The only downside of the phone is the fingerprint scanner which is ultimately useless because of its positioning but you can get over that and use the superb facial recognition or the standard pin or pattern. The main attraction to the Samsung Galaxy s8 however is the customisation which is what sets it apart from the iPhone. It's genuinely capable of being the phone you've always wanted because you can change themes, appearances, display, resolution, button positions etc. I honestly have never owned such a wonderful phone.