Galaxy S5, which incorporates all the latest technical advances. It looks like it may become the most popular smartphone this year, it has everything for that. There were many rumors about what it would be like, but compared to the S4, the company's new flagship has taken big steps forward. So let's start our review of the Samsung Galaxy S5.
In terms of appearance, the smartphone looks more rectangular, it is closer to the Note 3 than to the Galaxy S4. The Samsung Galaxy S5 is almost 6mm longer and 3mm wider than the S4 and weighs 15g. more. The body of the smartphone is completely protected from moisture and dust and is certified according to the IP67 standard, which means that the phone can be completely submerged in water and is absolutely dustproof. The phone is equipped with a fingerprint scanner located on the button under the screen and note the sensor can also be used to securely enter any application on the smartphone, and not only to enter the main menu of the phone. On the back is a heart rate sensor.
The material of the case has not changed, it also remained plastic, but its texture is good, so it is pleasant to hold it in your hand. Also, the smartphone is equipped with an infrared IR port, with which you can control all the appliances in the house, that is, you will have one remote control. The phone has a compass, gyroscope, accelerometer and barometer.
Smartphone size: 142 x 72.5 x 8.1mm, 145g
There is a sensor on the back of the phone that detects your heart rate when you place your finger on it.
Processor and software
The Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone is an ultra-powerful device, it uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor with a clock speed of 2.5 GHz and an Adreno 330 graphics chipset.
Android flagship operates on the basis of the Android 4.4 KitKat operating system with a new version of Samsung's proprietary TouchWiz interface. The interface has been changed and improved, it has become more understandable. Completely changed the settings menu and updated some of the applications.
Very nice icons, light and a bit airy. The menu has become more pleasant.
Children's mode (Kids Corner) looks very high quality and has a large number of customization options
Memory
The smartphone has 2 GB of RAM. Internal memory 16 or 32 GB, which can be expanded with microSD memory cards (up to 64 GB).
Screen
What can we say, the image on the screen of the Samsung Galaxy S5 has excellent qualities: wide viewing angles, colors are vivid and saturated, fading in the sun is very low. The smartphone is equipped with a 5.1-inch capacitive touch SuperAMOLED HD screen with a resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels, density 431 (ppi) pixels per inch and 16 million colors. The display is covered with Gorilla Glass 3.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 features a 16MP (1 / 2.6 ”) camera and a new autofocus system capable of capturing 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) video at 30fps and 1080p video at 60fps. from. An additional front camera has a resolution of 2.1 megapixels and is designed for video calling.
The picture quality is excellent for a top-end smartphone.
Snapshots from the S5 camera.
We can now say that the quality of the pictures is higher than on the Samsung Galaxy S4. The camera in this phone will not disappoint anyone.
Communication capabilities
The smartphone supports Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, Bluetooth 4.0 BLE / ANT +, USB 3.0, infrared, GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, 3.5 mm audio jack,.
Networks: EDGE / GPRS / GSM (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), WCDMA (850/900/1900/2100 MHz), LTE
Battery
The new smartphone is equipped with a removable 2800 mAh battery, which is slightly more than on the Galaxy S4.
The capacity of this battery is quietly enough for a day of use with an average load. The smartphone also has a special Ultra Power Saving mode when it is turned on, a black and white image is shown on the screen, while you can only make calls and send messages, while the Internet is turned off. The manufacturer says that with 10% of the remaining energy, the smartphone can work for another whole day.
Price
It is expected that the prices for the Samsung Galaxy S5 will be from 29,990 rubles for the 16 GB version.
Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone video review:
The term "super smart phone" owes its appearance to the HTC HD2 communicator, which became the first device on our market with a fast processor, plenty of RAM and a huge screen with high resolution. Now, in my opinion, in addition to the already mentioned HD2, only two super smartphones are sold in Ukraine, these are HTC Desire (I hope everyone has already read its review?) And Samsung Galaxy S, which will now be discussed.
Specifications Samsung Galaxy S (GT-i9000)
If HTC Desire attracts attention primarily due to its software part (HTC Sense shell, timely update to the latest Android versions), then Samsung Galaxy S takes the hardware. It is built on the basis of the Samsung Hummingbird S5PC110 processor, which integrates the ARM Cortex A8 computing core and the PowerVR SGX540 graphics accelerator. Samsung claims it is the world's fastest ARM processor, and we have no reason to disbelieve this claim yet. But the brightest (literally) feature of the device is the Super AMOLED screen, which can be found in more detail in our Samsung Wave (GT-S8500) review. So, the technical specifications of the Samsung Galaxy S are as follows:
- Ranges: GPRS / GSM / EDGE 850/900/1800/1900, UMTS / HSPA 900/2100.
- Form Factor: keyboardless candy bar.
- Operating system: Google Android 2.1 (soon to be updated to 2.2) with TouchWiz 3.0 interface.
- Display: Super AMOLED, 480x800 pixels, 16 million colors, touch (capacitive matrix).
- Camera: 5 MP, autofocus, geotagging, video recording (1280x720 / 30p).
- CPU: Samsung S5PC110A01 based on ARM Cortex A8 core, 1 GHz clock speed; integrated video accelerator PowerVR SGX540.
- RAM: 512 MB.
- Flash memory: 8 or 16 GB + microSDHC cards.
- Multimedia capabilities: MP3 player, FM receiver, video player (support for MPEG-4, Divx, Xvid, H.264), video editor, integration with YouTube, Find Music service (analogue of Track ID in Sony Ericsson phones).
- Wireless technologies: Wi-Fi b / g / n, Bluetooth 3.0 HS.
- Interface connector: microUSB, 3.5 mm headphone output.
- GPS: yes, support for A-GPS, support for Google Maps.
- Dimensions and weight: 122x64x10 mm, 119 grams.
Samsung Galaxy S video review
Appearance and design features
Samsung Galaxy S is notable for its large size, which is noted by everyone around. For example, my wife briefly described it in one word: "Shovel". Nevertheless, people with large hands will surely like its size. At least, they did not cause any discomfort to me, especially since due to its small thickness, the phone fits perfectly in a jeans pocket.
Outwardly, the Galaxy S appears to be a copy of the iPhone. But, unlike the "iPhone", the body of the Samsung smartphone is frankly plastic (including a pseudo-metallic shiny frame around the screen, which looks like painted with Chinese silver). Due to this, the weight of the device is not large, at first acquaintance the device seems too light for such a solid size. In general, the materials do not cause the "wow" effect that I personally expected to get from a phone costing almost $ 800.
The back cover is covered with a nice pattern of colored (blue-green) circles hidden under a layer of transparent plastic.
Unfortunately, this plastic wears out even from simply wearing it in a pocket; small scratches and abrasions appear on the lid, which, depending on the lighting, can look like light or dark spots. In general, it's okay, but, in my opinion, such trifles are unacceptable in a device that confidently claims to be the best Android smartphone of 2010.
The location of the buttons and connectors is quite standard: the connectors are on the top, the double volume key is on the left, the power button (which is also used to lock the smartphone) is on the right.
Screen
As I already mentioned, the Galaxy S has a huge 4-inch Super AMOLED screen with a resolution of 480x800 pixels (aspect ratio 16: 9). The dimensions of the screen and the ability to adjust its brightness over a wide range make it possible to successfully use a smartphone to read texts from the screen.
In general, this screen has no equal in terms of brightness and color saturation, although TFT displays are distinguished by more believable color reproduction and are capable of displaying purer white. It is not clear why, but the Galaxy S lacks an oleophobic coating on the screen (in Samsung Wave it has a place to be), so removing dirt and fingerprints from the screen is quite difficult: they just smudge, but do not go anywhere. We have to use wet wipes to clean the equipment. But in the Galaxy S, the screen is protected by highly durable aluminosilicate Gorilla Glass, so you don't have to worry about its safety.
Autonomy
The Samsung Galaxy S uses a large 5.55 Wh (1500 mAh) battery. In the conditions of the Kiev network of MTS with a small number of conversations, active use of mobile Internet (Twitter, Facebook, push-synchronization of e-mail) and a certain number of games, the device is able to live exactly one working day, that is, if in the morning I take it off charge, then upon returning home, I must immediately put it on charge again. Interestingly, the Samsung Wave, built on the same hardware platform and equipped with the same battery, can survive two days without recharging in the same conditions.
I have a theory that the Android operating system itself is poorly optimized in terms of power consumption. This theory is also supported by the fact that earlier Acer Liquid e demonstrated a shorter battery life than Acer neoTouch S200 (these two smartphones also use the same platforms and batteries, but the first one runs on Android OS, and the second one - Windows Mobile 6.5).
Performance
Samsung Galaxy S performance with Android 2.1
As you might expect, the performance of the Samsung Galaxy S is excellent, even the heaviest applications (i.e. games) just fly. Read more in our HTC Desire vs Samsung Galaxy S comparison. You can expect that after the update to Android 2.2, performance will grow even more due to system optimization.
Firmware features
On October 15, Samsung began the official update of the Galaxy S to Android 2.2. The Scandinavian countries were the first to get "under distribution", the wave of updates has not yet reached the CIS, so at present the official Galaxy S are running Android 2.1 with the TouchWiz 3.0 shell installed on top of it.
Cyrillic is absent as a class in the quick navigation bar and in the Phone application
One of the main disadvantages of the Galaxy S is incomplete localization. There is no Cyrillic in the phone book in the quick navigation bar for contacts. In the "Phone" application, Cyrillic input is not provided in principle, which does not allow using T9-search for contacts if their names are written in Russian or Ukrainian. The way out of this situation is to install the free Dialer One application, so the problem is not fatal - and yet it is not clear why the manufacturer did not take care of this on its own.
The phone book, like Samsung Wave, integrates work with social networks Twitter and Facebook. Additional tabs "Events" and "Media" appear in the properties of the contact, where the content related to this contact from social networks (posts on Twitter, photos from Facebook) is collected. Social features work, but they are not up to the level of HTC Sense. The rest of the phonebook is standard for Android devices.
To enter text, you can use both the standard Samsung virtual keyboard and the Swype keyboard, which allows you not to lift your finger off the screen when entering a word, but simply move it from letter to letter. Of course, Swype cannot correctly recognize words that are not in it the dictionary, but if you just type a word - it will be automatically added to the dictionary. Switching layouts in Swype is also very convenient, you just need to swipe your finger vertically up from the lower left corner of the virtual keyboard. The only drawback is the lack of support for the Ukrainian language. FM-receiver with a rare auto-off option (it will be appreciated by those who like to fall asleep in headphones.) As usual, there is an automatic station search. You can add six stations to your favorites, they will be displayed as buttons on the main screen of the application.
Like other modern Samsung smartphones, Galaxy S out of the box supports playing video files in WMV, DivX and H.264 formats, including those packed in an MKV container. The built-in music player supports playing files not only in MP3 and AAC formats, but also in much rarer OGG and FLAC formats. Unfortunately, I was unable to get the phone to correctly recognize FLAC tags on any file from my extensive collection, and some files (known to be normal) played with noticeable stuttering. MP3 playback does not cause any problems, including with tags. The sound quality is excellent, the kit comes with the same (decent) earplugs as with the Wave.
For starters, let's leave the pre-installed ThinkFree application package designed for working with Microsoft Office documents.
Camera
The Samsung Galaxy S uses a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus and the ability to record HD video (1280x720 pixels, 30 frames per second, progressive scan). Apparently, the module is similar to that used in the Wave already mentioned several times. You can read more about photo quality in comparison with HTC Desire (there you will also find a link to a gallery of test shots). I will only add that Samsung designers copied the iPhone so zealously that they decided to remove the camera button from the right side of the device. As a result, taking photos with the Galaxy S is almost as inconvenient as it is with HTC devices.
In the dry residue
As a result, our "super-smartphone" Samsung Galaxy S makes a rather contradictory impression. On paper, he has practically no equal, but in practice it turns out that everything is not so smooth. The insufficiently high-quality case is a very serious drawback for the 800-dollar device, which, by definition, should have a fashion element (completely absent in the case of the Galaxy S). The declared support for FLAC, in fact, works through a stump-deck, and the shortcomings of localization make it possible to recommend the Galaxy S primarily to those users who like to rummage in their phone and customize everything "for themselves." For those who want to buy a smartphone and just use it, I personally recommend looking at HTC models. It is not yet known if these shortcomings will be addressed in the update to Android 2.2. On the other hand, from the point of view of hardware and especially the screen, the Galaxy S really has no equal on the market, so if you want the best and are not afraid of having to work a little with a file, then this device is unlikely to disappoint you. 7 reasons to buy a Samsung Galaxy S:
- record performance to date (especially in 3D);
- magic screen;
- good quality built-in camera;
- HD video recording with a refresh rate of 30 frames per second;
- playback of unconverted video "out of the box";
- convenient FM radio;
- an update to Android 2.2 is about to be available.
5 reasons not to buy a Samsung Galaxy S:
- the design of the phone case does not correspond to its price level;
- the back cover is easily scratched;
- it is not clear where the camera button has gone;
- localization disadvantages;
- the declared FLAC support works very poorly.
The debut Samsung Galaxy S was born in mid-2010. Here's a quick snapshot of the mobile phone world, so you don't think the Galaxy S is an upstart lucky enough to hit the stars:
- Nokia was already producing outdated Symbian smartphones,
- Apple released long-awaited iPhone 4 with infamous network reception
- LG sat in the budget class (like Fly now, for example),
- Xiaomi smartphones are not yet born,
- Meizu was making a parody of the iPhone running Windows Mobile.
Android was still very few people needed and looked like a short-lived experiment like the half-dead Maemo / Meego. Because most of the android phones were still those goners - with poor autonomy, buggy firmware, or a lack of memory. For example, HTC in 2010 released Desire with 576 MB (!) Of internal memory, of which there was even less free space. Sony Ericsson sold the flagship X10 with 384 MB of "RAM", ancient Android 1.6, incomplete color display and non-working multitouch! Therefore, Galaxy S, as the only Android flagship brought to mind, provoked a culture shock - nothing of the same quality, with all the bells and whistles working, except for the iPhone, simply did not exist!
Samsung Galaxy S
Yes, it was frustrating with a weak level of GPS reception (Samsung was just learning to produce its own processors), the flagship hardware could hardly pull the proprietary TouchWiz shell, especially the RAM was soiled. But in terms of display quality, headphone sound, rear camera, and design, the Galaxy S was the best and only competitor to the iPhone. The success was predictable.
| Samsung Galaxy S (GT-I9000) | |
| release date | June 2010 |
| Android 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 | |
| Screen | 4 ", 800x480, AMOLED, 233 ppi |
| CPU | Samsung Exynos 3110, 1 core (1x Cortex-A8 1.0 GHz), 45 nm |
| Graphics | PowerVR SGX540 |
| RAM | 512 MB |
| Persistent memory | 8/16 GB |
| Communication | |
| Cameras | main: 5 MP, with autofocus, video recording 1280x720, front: 0.3 MP |
| Battery | 1500 mAh, removable |
| Dimensions (edit) | 122.4 x 64.2 x 9.9 mm |
| Weight | 119 g |
| 650 euros |
Galaxy SII - when power headroom overcame all other innovations
According to many, the best Galaxy S ever made. At one time it was coolly received by "reviewers", because it seemed like a boring piece of plastic with powerful hardware, but practice has shown that ordinary workers needed just an ordinary android phone with excessive performance, a good camera and without showing off like a 3D camera / 3D display (HTC Evo 3D) or for a game console (Sony Ericsson Xperia Play).
In the broadest sense of the word, the smartphone was really created on the principle of "the same cabbage soup, but pour more". At the same time, cabbage soup was already very expensive, and the processor, although it was better than the “low-power stove” NVIDIA Tegra 2 in the first dual-core processor, LG Optimus 2X, was also very hot and gluttonous. And jokes with lamentations about the autonomy of Android-flagships also began with the Galaxy SII - under load the smartphones worked "from socket to socket" for only a few hours.
But the SII was "stuffed" so much that even today, after 6 years, its characteristics do not look like a laughing stock. A very cool, powerful "mainstream" - a solid phone without experimentation. The competitors were either late and were weaker (HTC Sensation XE with its "under-RAM" 768 MB of RAM and 1 GB of internal memory, a single-core Sony Xperia Arc with 512 MB of RAM), or they were sold overseas (Motorola RAZR XT910) and did not really compete with the "worldwide" Galaxy SII.
Samsung Galaxy S2
In short, the prohibitive characteristics of iron, with a design similar to the first generation, justified themselves - the smartphone became wildly popular with the original buyers, and then very slowly decreased in price in the secondary market. Since then, the main complaint against the Galaxy S in comparison with the iPhone has become the case materials - obscenely expensive and plastic Samsung somehow did not please the eye in comparison with glass-metal iPhones.
In those years, Samsung did not yet consider enthusiasts to be the second class of buyers and did not put a stick in their wheels with regional blocking, changing bootloaders and KNOX, so the Galaxy SII is still popular with geeks - if you wish, you can even install Android 7.0 on it.
| Samsung Galaxy S2 (GT-I9100) | |
| release date | February 2011 |
| Android Support (Official) | Android 2.3, Android 4.0, Android 4.1 |
| Screen | 4,3 ", 800x480, AMOLED, 217 ppi |
| CPU | Samsung Exynos 4210, 2 cores (2x Cortex-A9 1.2 GHz), 45 nm |
| Graphics | Mali-400 MP4 |
| RAM | 1 GB |
| Persistent memory | 16/32 GB |
| Communication | 3G, Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 b / g / n), Bluetooth 3.0, GPS |
| Cameras | main: 8 MP, with autofocus, video shooting 1920x1080, front: 2 MP |
| Battery | 1650 mAh, removable |
| Dimensions (edit) | 125.3x66.1x8.5 mm |
| Weight | 116 g |
| Price in Europe at the time of release | 715/828 euro |
Galaxy SIII - "Soap dish with whistles"
Starting with the third Galaxy S, Samsung began to "comb" its flagships under the new corporate design - instead of the "iPhone, but not the iPhone" appearance, because of which Apple sued Koreans, the flagships received, sorry, licked cases made of glossy plastic.
With such innovations, many Galaxy fans have experienced acute discomfort, the smartphone has forever received the nickname "remnant". But fans have always chosen Galaxy because of its superiority in performance, and these very characteristics have changed very much since the SII - it's no surprise that sales soared and S3 bought 50% more people than S2.
Five years later, the Galaxy SIII doesn't look cool at all - it didn't become a “living classic” like the SII, and very quickly “blown away” in terms of prestige / suitability for modern work, unlike peers like the LG Optimus G / Nexus 4 or iPhone 5. And the Galaxy SIII has become the most problematic Samsung flagship in terms of reliability - a lot of smartphones "died" due to premature wear of the internal memory, and the AMOLED display, not only has become more grainy ("thanks" to Pentile technology), but also and had a tendency to quickly "burn out". That is, traces of applications or menus were immortalized on the screen.
Samsung Galaxy S3
The processor was also not outstanding - just a "sandwich" of Galaxy S2 cores with outdated graphics. For comparison, Qualcomm already then offered a 28 nm process technology (APQ8064 in LG Optimus G and Xiaomi Mi2) and 2 (!) Times cooler video accelerator for games.
But, starting with the third generation Galaxy S3, the Koreans began to introduce a pack of "whistles" into their top model, which no one used (the only happy exception was the auto brightness of the display):
- Multiple windows... Almost useless at 4.7 inches and not always performing well.
- S Voice... A stupid voice assistant that was only useful in English-speaking countries.
- Gestures and voice commands... Well, remember, without searching on the Internet, at what command did the Galaxy S3 take a photo? How do I take a screenshot without touching the screen?
- S-Beam... File transfer via NFC. Have you used this function many times or seen its application in practice?
They bought the Galaxy S3 not for the design (which was terrible in comparison with the Sony Xperia S / SL or the same iPhone 5) and not for the perfection of the camera, the primacy in which remained with the Nokia Lumia 920. The third generation of Galaxy was bought up partly by inertia, partly because, although the smartphone was not a leader in each of the individual nominations, all the components in it were of high quality and flagship. And they also bought it for the "adult" diagonal of the display and all the same 4 cores, good sound in the headphones and the regular release of new versions of Android, unlike LG Optimux 4S, HTC One X or Sony Xperia S, for example.
| Samsung Galaxy S3 (GT-I9300) | |
| release date | May 2012 |
| Android Support (Official) | Android 4.0, Android 4.1, Android 4.3 |
| Screen | 4.8 ", 1280x720, AMOLED, 306 ppi |
| CPU | Samsung Exynos 4412, 4 cores (4x Cortex-A9 1.4 GHz), 32 nm |
| Graphics | Mali-400 MP4 |
| RAM | 1 GB |
| Persistent memory | 16/32/64 GB |
| Communication | 3G, Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 b / g / n), Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, GLONASS |
| Cameras | main: 8 MP, with autofocus, video shooting 1920x1080, front: 1.9 MP |
| Battery | 2100 mAh, removable |
| Dimensions (edit) | 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 mm |
| Weight | 133 g |
| Price in Europe at the time of release | 600/650 euros |
Galaxy S4 - an unattainable "spaceship"
The fourth generation of the "galaxy" in its concept was closer to the Galaxy SII than to its predecessor. Because Samsung rallied and built the coolest smartphone of 2013. Octa-core processor! Full HD AMOLED display with multiple color modes (even photographers have been pleased)! 0.2-inch bigger screen with a more compact body!
Therefore, it seems rather strange that the S4 sold in the same circulation as the S2, that is, in the amount of 40 million units versus 60 million in comparison with the Galaxy S3.
The problem, probably, was that over the three years that have passed since the announcement of the first Galaxy S, competitors have also given birth to balanced flagships, and Samsung users are already tired of the plastic case (a little more elegant, but too similar to the S3), the plump shell and far-fetched software innovations. ... For example, LG G2 "gave a light" to Samsung in terms of display brightness, performance, and video quality, and the platform-based Nexus 5 was also cheaper. HTC One M7, with its stupid camera and weak battery, still looked much more expensive. And the "cut" support for LTE (4G) in many countries could also confuse someone. Software innovations like a video pause if you take your eyes off the screen, a slightly wiser S-Voice assistant and stupid photos with sound / photos on two cameras at the same time, as you might guess, did not take off.
Samsung Galaxy S4
And the blanket was pulled over by the Galaxy Note 3, which from an experimental "shovel" with a stylus for artists and businessmen turned into a popular "big Samsung" when phablets were at the peak of popularity.
In any case, Galaxy S4 has become one of the most technically advanced, popularly loved and “ageless” flagships, to which even Samsung engineers “breathed unevenly” - a situation when non-Nexus is updated to a new version of Android a couple of years after the release. are vanishingly rare. This is a smartphone that you can use to this day and not feel deprived of anything (except, perhaps, LTE communications).
| Samsung Galaxy S4 (GT-I9500) | |
| release date | March 2013 |
| Android Support (Official) | Android 4.2, Android 4.3, Android 4.4, Android 5.0 |
| Screen | 5.0 ”, 1920x1080, AMOLED, 306 ppi |
| CPU | Samsung Exynos 5410, 8 cores (4x Cortex-A7 1.2 GHz + 4x Cortex-A15 1.6 GHz), 32 nm |
| Graphics | PowerVR SGX544 MP3 |
| RAM | 2 GB |
| Persistent memory | 16/32/64 GB |
| Communication | 3G, Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 b / g / n / ac), Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, GLONASS, IrDA |
| Cameras | main: 13 MP, with autofocus, video recording 1920x1080, front: 2 MP |
| Battery | 2600 mAh, removable |
| Dimensions (edit) | 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm |
| Weight | 130 g |
| Price in Europe at the time of release | 690 euros |
The Galaxy S5 is neither good nor bad. No
Either Samsung was disgusted with releasing the Galaxy S and the Koreans were preparing to replace it with other models, or it became hard to snatch a pack of performance and luxury records from the engineering department, but in the fifth generation the smartphone turned out ... insipid.
Firstly, Samsung "faked" with the holy of holies - a display and a processor. Yes, Full HD AMOLED, as was the case with the Galaxy S4, only slightly brighter than its predecessor. Is that all? And where is the selected Samsung processor, with which Galaxy put competitors on the blades in 2011 and 2013? Why is the buyer of "the most sophisticated alternative to the iPhone" offered the consumer-grade Snapdragon 801, which is even in the unnamed Chinese (OnePlus One)? And why is the Galaxy Note 4, which has always been on the sidelines, not deprived of innovations? And only the lazy didn’t joke about the nauseous varieties of “young plastic skin” in the style of the Zhiguli ceiling and the peeling frame “like metal”. The Galaxy S5 looked especially sad compared to the iPhone 6 of the same year.
But the smartphone has become popular not because of the characteristics "on paper", but, as in the case of the first Galaxy S, the quality of the work that was put into it.
Samsung Galaxy S5
Simply because the "most likely" adversary in terms of bells and whistles, the LG G3, was slow, overheated and had little battery life (the processor had a hard time pulling the Quad HD display), and the camera was worse. HTC One M8 firmly established itself in the class "but we have a cool body and stereo speakers!" situation with the Pixel) that no one needs expensive Googlephones. And in the fight against the Sony Xperia Z2, Samsung had an argument “I'm also Samsung” and a water resistance of the same class. Oh, yes, the fingerprint scanner became another innovation of the model - disgusting in terms of the quality of work, but do you understand how indifferent such nuances were to ordinary workers?
In short, Samsung has got a quality, super-reliable, but very boring flagship. And it was impossible to continue this way, because the sales of the smartphone "did not go", and the company's management realized that with such an approach, not today or tomorrow, the great Galaxy S will even be trampled by the powerful "Chinese."
| Samsung Galaxy S5 (SM-G900F) | |
| release date | February 2014 |
| Android Support (Official) | Android 4.4, Android 5.0, Android 6.0 |
| Screen | 5.1 ”, 1920x1080, AMOLED, 432 ppi |
| CPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AC, 4 cores (4x Krait 400, 2.5 GHz), 28 nm |
| Graphics | Adreno 330 |
| RAM | 2 GB |
| Persistent memory | 16/32 GB |
| Communication | 4G (LTE Cat. 4), 3G, Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 b / g / n / ac), Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, GLONASS |
| Cameras | main: 16 MP, with autofocus, video recording 3840x2160, front: 2 MP |
| Battery | 2800 mAh, removable |
| Dimensions (edit) | 142x72.5x8.1 mm |
| Weight | 145 g |
| Price in Europe at the time of release | 650 euros |
Galaxy S6 / S6 edge - Samsung's revolutionary flagship with run-of-the-mill sales and childhood illnesses
No top smartphone in 2015 was perfect, but the Galaxy S6 came closest to that bar. All-new, luxurious glass and metal design (Samsung's first non-ugly flagship since the Galaxy S2!), A bright and perfectly calibrated 5.1-inch Quad HD display, the most powerful and hassle-free processor in Android phones in 2015 (thanks to the grand fiasco Qualcomm Snapdragon 810), super-fast internal memory in random operations, very high-quality rear camera, thin body. And the Galaxy S6 edge also has a futuristic design, albeit at the expense of usability.
In other words, in 2015, the most beautiful, fastest and most technically advanced Samsung flagship was born in two versions - flat and curved. Even two years later, only two drawbacks can be noted in it: rather poor (by flagship standards) autonomy and the absence of a memory card slot.
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
True, defective copies of the S6 were more common than those of the previous generation model. Pink displays, failure of the focusing of the rear camera, purple spots in the pictures on the front camera - users of Samsung flagships have not encountered such a number of problems since the SIII.
Samsung Galaxy S6
The sixth generation Galaxy can be called the best smartphones of 2015 without any exaggeration, so it's a shame that they weren't able to replicate the success of the S5. They failed so much that the head of Samsung's mobile division was asked. The problem was that Samsung's management was piling up equal numbers on the S6 and S6 edge counters, with queues lining up mostly behind the curved version. And the price of a smartphone was astronomically high.
| Samsung Galaxy S6 (SM-G920 / SM-G925F) | |
| release date | March 2015 |
| Android Support (Official) | Android 5.0, Android 5.1, Android 6.0, Android 7.0 |
| Screen | 5.1 ”, 2560x1440, AMOLED, 577 ppi |
| CPU | Exynos 7420, 8 cores (4x Cortex-A53, 1.5 GHz + 4x Cortex-A57 2.1 GHz), 14 nm FinFET |
| Graphics | Mali-T760 MP8 |
| RAM | 3 GB |
| Persistent memory | 32/64/128 GB |
| Communication | 4G (LTE Cat. 6), 3G, Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 b / g / n / ac), Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, GLONASS |
| Cameras | main: 16 MP, with autofocus, video recording 3840x2160, front: 5 MP |
| Battery | 2550 mAh, non-removable |
| Dimensions (edit) | 143.4x70.5x6.8 mm |
| Weight | 138 g |
| Price in Europe at the time of release | 700/850 euros |
Nothing new in design
Samsung engineers took the Galaxy S8, twisted it in their hands and decided that it was already perfect. We agree: the Galaxy S8 is pretty darn good, but in its second year, the wow is weakened, it's time to move on. We didn't stretch the screen from the top and bottom, that's good - we don't need one more "bangs" from the iPhone X. There is still protection from water and dust according to the IP68 standard.
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On the front and back, Gorilla Glass 5 is still slippery and will certainly scratch. It is convenient to hold the Galaxy S9 + in your hands, but reaching out to the edges of the screen is a gamble, you can drop it. The Galaxy S9 is more practical in this regard.
Three colors of smartphones will arrive in Russia: Midnight Black, Lilac Purple, Titanium Gray. In Russian - black, purple, silver. Coral Blue will not reach us, which is a pity.
The fingerprint scanner is now where you need it
The inconvenient fingerprint scanner in the Galaxy S8 + is perhaps the main drawback of the smartphone. Samsung recognized the problem and fixed it: now the scanner is under the camera. Even in the large Galaxy S9 +, you don't have to reach for it, your finger rests exactly on the fingerprint.
"Kid" offended: Galaxy S9 did not receive a dual camera
Apple once set a bad tone with the iPhone 7 Plus with a dual camera and the iPhone 7 with one. As if a mother loves one son more than the other.
The same story is with the new flagships of Samsung: the Galaxy S9 + received a dual camera with optical stabilization in both modules, with double zoom and background blur, and the Galaxy S9 has one regular module. Apparently, the smartphone would be too perfect. And so the buyer has to sacrifice convenience because of the size. And money.
The idea for the camera was taken from the human eye.
In the dark, our pupils dilate to capture more light, and during the day they constrict. Samsung used this principle in a mobile camera, only as a pupil - a diaphragm.
In sufficient light, the Samsung Galaxy S9 shoots with a maximum aperture of f / 2.4, at night it "jumps" to f / 1.5. If you look into the camera, you can see how the peephole narrows and widens. This, by the way, is the fastest mobile optics. They say there is a difference compared to the Galaxy S8: better detail at night, less noise. Let's check.
It is not clear only why mechanically change the diaphragm. In cameras it is clear why: the more the aperture is open, the worse the sharpness. So even if the lens can shoot at f / 1.5, the photographer will sacrifice bokeh and stop at f / 2.4 - because the quality is better. Why this smartphone is not clear. It is enough to leave the maximum aperture f / 1.5. When there is a lot of light, the automation will set the appropriate parameters.
Super slow-mo: like Sony, but different
Samsung has made a camera module with its own DRAM for the first time. Now frames are processed 4 times faster. This made it possible to implement a super slow motion video with a frequency of 960 fps. When shooting, 0.2 seconds of real time is stretched over 6 seconds of video.
This technology appeared almost a year ago in the flagships of Sony, their module is called Motion Eye. But it works differently. For example, in the Sony Xperia XZ1, you have to press the capture button exactly at the desired moment. More often than not, you do not have time. Samsung Galaxy S9, on the other hand, predicts when to create a slow-motion "piece" of video.
Here, too, an ambush: while the automatics guess badly, or does not understand at all what they want from it. At the Galaxy S9 booth, it was only on the fifth attempt that I noticed my antics. The girls from Samsung just shrugged and smiled. “But the music is automatically superimposed,” they said, embarrassed. In general, the idea is good, but it needs some work.
AR Emoji is overkill
Okay, we had a little laugh with Animoji in Apple X. Talking poop or cock with human facial expressions is absurd, so it's funny. But Samsung is positioning the Galaxy S9 as a business smartphone, and offers some kind of game with animated hydrocephalus in its makeup.
AR Emoji has already received a bunch of filters, masks, movements, but this is unlikely to be popular. The smoothness of facial expressions and copying accuracy is still much worse than in the iPhone X. Samsung is like a 70-year-old grandfather bursting into a youth get-together and trying to joke with memes. It turns out sad and ridiculous.
The screen is slightly better
In terms of display size and detail, everything is the same: 5.8 inches for the Galaxy S9, 6.2 inches for the Galaxy S9 +. Samsung said the colors are better and the brightness is even higher. It is interesting to compare with the iPhone X: in practice, the screen turned out to be brighter than that of the formal record holder Galaxy Note8.
The matrix is sAMOLED with infinite contrast, there is support for HDR, the resolution is Quad HD +, that is, 2960 x 1440 pixels. The clarity of the picture is off scale, but if you reduce it to Full HD + (as you can), then you will not notice the difference. But 10-15% will be added to the working time.
A new Exynos will arrive in Russia
This is an eight-core processor manufactured by Samsung - Exynos 9810. New flagships will be shipped with it to Europe and Russia, and China and the United States will get a version with Qualcomm Snapdragon 845. For us, no difference, both processors work phenomenally fast, judging by the first tests - 25 % faster than Snapdragon 835.
The new processors should show slightly better autonomy, while the battery capacities remain the same: 3000 and 3500 mAh for the Galaxy S9 and S9 +, respectively. We remember how the Galaxy S8 + "tore" competitors in the tests, playing videos for 14-15 hours in a row. Most likely, now there will be a similar result. There is also support for fast wireless charging.
Stereo speakers and audio jack - a win-win combo
Cooperation with AKG is bearing fruit: first, the sound quality has significantly improved in the Galaxy S8 and a cool headset has appeared in the kit, now there are two speakers in the Galaxy S9. Top and bottom, both from AKG, with Dolby Atmos technology. And the headset is included again. Why, they even left the headphone jack! Soon such smartphones will be included in the Red Book.
Long, bezel-less, with great camera and highest performance
Samsung has recently officially presented its long-awaited flagship smartphones Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 + in Russia. Even with major setbacks in the recent past, Samsung's flagship phones not only continue to be the main competitor to Apple's iPhones, but are also some of the most technologically advanced Android smartphones out there. Compared to the previous (seventh) generation, a lot has changed here, from the design in general to the arrangement of individual elements in particular, not to mention the improved hardware and updated software stuffing. Not all changes are for the better, but there are so many of them that we can say that Samsung has decided to start from scratch. It is worth noting that, to the delight of many, the difference between the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 + models is only in size, almost everything else is the same. There are no various modifications with a variable amount of built-in memory or RAM, different performance, the presence or absence of certain elements. The user does not need to bother with the choice, it is enough just to decide on the preferred dimensions of the device. The technical characteristics of both models are almost identical, with their listing we will begin this review, choosing the Galaxy S8 + model as a sample.
Key Features Samsung Galaxy S8 + (Model SM-G955F)
- SoC Samsung Exynos 8895 Octa, 8 cores: [email protected], 3 GHz (Exynos M1) + [email protected], 7 GHz (ARM Cortex-A53)
(another modification of the smartphone is based on SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 835) - GPU Mali-G71
- Operating system Android 7.0
- 6,2 ″ Super AMOLED touchscreen display, 2960 × 1440, 529 ppi
- Random access memory (RAM) 4 GB, internal memory 64 GB
- Nano-SIM support (2 pcs.)
- MicroSD support up to 256GB
- GSM / GPRS / EDGE networks (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
- WCDMA / HSPA + networks (850/900/1900/2100 MHz)
- FDD LTE Band 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 32, 66 networks
- TD LTE Band 38-41 networks
- Wi-Fi 802.11a / b / g / n / ac (2.4 and 5 GHz) MIMO
- Bluetooth 5.0 LE
- GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, BDS
- USB Type-C, USB OTG
- Main camera 12 MP (f / 1.7), autofocus, 4K video
- Front camera 8 MP (f / 1.7), autofocus
- Waterproof IP68
- Proximity sensor, lighting, heart rate, magnetic field, accelerometer, gyroscope, barometer
- Iris scanner, fingerprint scanner
- 3500 mAh battery, fast charging
- Wireless Charging (WPC, PMA)
- Dimensions 160 x 73 x 8.1 mm
- Weight 173 g
Contents of delivery
Samsung Galaxy S8 + received a stylishly designed matte black cardboard box with a laconic design. The lid cannot be removed completely, it leans back like a casket. Contents are neatly packaged in separate cells.
The set, in the best traditions of Samsung, turned out to be extensive. The package of the smartphone includes a USB Type-C connecting cable, a network adapter with a variable output current and voltage of 5/9 V 1.67 / 2 A, a key of an unusual shape for ejecting cards, a Micro-USB - USB Type-C adapter, a second USB adapter - USB Type-C.
The company also included high-quality wired double-driver AKG stereo headphones with a set of interchangeable in-ear pads.
Appearance and usability
The design of the Samsung Galaxy S8 / S8 + turned out to be unusual and attractive. The streamlined body is completely made of metal and glass, there is no plastic here. A metal frame rounded on all sides, symmetrically tapering at the sides and expanding at the top and bottom ends, connects the two glass panels - the front and the back. The cover is Gorilla Glass 5, the glasses have noticeable curvatures on the sides. The bezel in the front of the screen is completely hidden behind the bend of the glass, so here we can talk about a truly bezel-less version.
The case of the Samsung Galaxy S8 + is absolutely symmetrical, the back side is also completely covered with Gorilla Glass 5 with curved edges. The edges of the glasses are rounded so strongly that they almost seamlessly (not counting the frames) merge into one another, creating a finished shape without a single sharp corner and straight edge. For this form, Samsung marketers have dubbed their new brainchild “smartphone without borders”.
Samsung Galaxy S8 + looks very attractive. And although such a design may seem too "licked" and "pampered", but such are the modern realities, the absolute majority of users liked it.
Due to the unusual aspect ratio of the display (not 16: 9, but 18.5: 9), the case turned out to be very elongated in height. At the same time, the absence of a frame on the sides of the screen in the front plane made it possible to make the body so narrow that it is quite comfortable to hold it in the hand even with a screen diagonal of 6.2 inches. True, the device is quite slippery due to its glass panels, smooth frame and streamlined shape.
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The curved edges of the front glass work in conjunction with the associated software in the same way as in previous models of the Galaxy Edge series. A complete set of elements can be found above the screen, including an LED event indicator and even an iris scanner.
The scanner works tolerably, but the very process of setting the blocking and constant recognition is quite tedious, because this system works only under certain light conditions and at a certain distance from the eyes. It is much easier and faster to use the fingerprint scanner, although its location here causes some bewilderment.
There are no more control buttons under the screen, only on the screen itself. This is not typical for Samsung, its Galaxy smartphones always had a hardware key on the front (in the latest models - with an inscribed fingerprint sensor). Now its place was taken by a virtual button on the screen, but it is also not quite ordinary. In order for the static button, which is constantly highlighted in the Always On Display mode, not to cause pixel burnout, it was made movable. Thus, at first glance, the central button on the screen, which is static at first glance, is actually constantly shifting imperceptibly in different directions.
The fingerprint scanner has been moved to the back. At the same time, it is strongly shifted from the center to the right, so that it is inconvenient for a left-hander to reach with his finger. In addition, the tactile platform of the fingerprint sensor does not differ from the neighboring elements, it is difficult to feel it blindly, you need to get used to it. In general, this is, perhaps, the most unusual and inconvenient variant of the location of this element from all of us previously encountered, Samsung has again been too clever with a fingerprint sensor.
Next to the scanner, you can find a camera module with a flash, as well as a heart rate sensor familiar to Samsung smartphones. None of the elements stick out beyond the surface, so the smartphone is stable on the table, does not sway when you touch the screen. The flash is as bright as possible.
There are no complaints about the operation of the fingerprint scanner itself, it works quickly, clearly and accurately. But, as already mentioned, reaching for him, holding the smartphone in his left hand, is very inconvenient.
The slot for installing cards is located on the upper end. The cover of the removable slide, on which the cards are stacked, has a rubberized gasket, since the Samsung Galaxy S8 +, like the LG G6, complies with the IP68 protection category, that is, the case is completely protected from dust and can be immersed in water to a depth of 1.5 m for 30 minutes. However, the developers did not go further: the design here is not designed for harsh operating conditions, like the LG G6, so the hero of the review does not have a certification of the military standard.
It uses a standard hybrid slot that accepts either two Nano-SIM cards or one SIM and one microSD card. The slide is made of flexible plastic, the device itself reports on the need to tightly close the connector cover to protect it from water.
The volume control button has been moved to the left side edge, here it is adjacent to a separate key for calling the Bixby smart assistant, with which you can work with the available services and applications via the touch screen, voice or text commands. The power key remained on the right side edge. The buttons are not very large, but the handling is quite comfortable, the keys are easily felt blindly.
All other interface elements are located at the bottom. A USB Type-C connector is installed here, which supports connecting external devices in USB OTG mode, the main speaker is brought out here, as well as a 3.5 mm headphone jack and a spoken microphone hole. Surprisingly, the developers could not install any of the elements exactly, each of them turned out to be offset relative to the longitudinal axis of the end, which spoils the impression a little.
After examining the structure of the Galaxy S8 + case, let's compare it with the previous model Galaxy S7 Edge. With the naked eye, you can see that the width of these smartphones is almost identical.
However, the Galaxy S8 + is equipped with a more elongated display with a custom aspect ratio, which allowed for more surface area under the screen. As a result, the 6.2-inch Galaxy S8 + sits in the palm of your hand just as comfortably as the 5.5-inch Galaxy S7 Edge.
In addition, the sides of the body of the review hero have become less slippery due to the increased width of the metal frame: the curved edges of the screen on the Galaxy S8 + have been reduced, the frame is now exactly in the middle between the front and rear panels. So, in general, the changes went to the novelty only for the benefit.
Samsung Galaxy S8 + is presented on the Russian market in three colors: black ("Black Diamond"), gray ("Mystical Amethyst") and gold ("Yellow Topaz").
Screen
The Samsung Galaxy S8 + features a Super AMOLED display with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 with highly rounded edges. The physical dimensions of the screen are approximately 70 × 142 mm with a diagonal of 6.2 inches, that is, the aspect ratio is 18.5: 9. The screen resolution is 2960 × 1440, the dot density is about 529 ppi. The corners of the screen, like the LG G6, are rounded, there are no side frames in the front plane of the screen, the upper and lower segments surrounding the screen are only about 8.5 mm high.
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The brightness of the display can be manually adjusted or set to automatic settings based on the operation of the ambient light sensor. HDR10 mode supported. The AnTuTu test diagnoses support for 10 simultaneous multitouch touches. There is a vision protection mode (preventing eye fatigue). In the Always-on mode, the off screen displays information about the current time and date, as well as about missed events.
In the screen settings section, you can choose the resolution and applications that should be used in full screen proportions. It seems that the developers first made a screen with an unusual aspect ratio, just so that it was "not like everyone else's", and then they added various "crutches" to the software so that the programs would work normally with such a screen.
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A detailed examination using measuring instruments was carried out by the editor of the "Monitors" and "Projectors and TV" sections Alexey Kudryavtsev... Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the test sample.
The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface, resistant to scratches. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are better than that of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photo in which a white surface is reflected in the turned off screens (on the left - Nexus 7, on the right - Samsung Galaxy S8 +, then they can be distinguished by their size):
The screen of the Samsung Galaxy S8 + is slightly darker (the brightness in the photos is 107 versus 115 for the Nexus 7) and does not have a pronounced shade. The doubling of reflected objects on the Samsung Galaxy S8 + screen is very weak, which indicates that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen. Due to the smaller number of boundaries (such as glass / air) with very different refractive indices, screens without an air gap look better in conditions of intense ambient light, but their repair in case of cracked outer glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be changed. The outer surface of the Samsung Galaxy S8 + screen has a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (effective, better than that of the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are much easier to remove, and appear at a slower rate than in the case of regular glass.
When displaying the white field in full screen and with manual brightness control, its maximum value was 370 cd / m² under normal conditions and rises to 580 cd / m² in very bright light. You also need to take into account the fact that in this case the smaller the white area on the screen, the lighter it is, that is, the actual maximum brightness of the white areas will almost always be higher than the specified value. For example, when displaying a white field on half of the screen and black on the other half, we obtained values of 460 cd / m² and 725 cd / m² for the above conditions. As a result, readability in the daytime in the sun should be at a good level. The minimum value is 1.6 cd / m². The reduced brightness level allows you to use the device without any problems even in complete darkness. Automatic brightness control works according to the light sensor (it is located to the left of the front speaker slot). The operation of this function depends on the position of the brightness adjustment slider, with which the user can try to set the desired brightness level in the current conditions. If the brightness slider is set to maximum in an office environment, then in complete darkness, the auto brightness function reduces the brightness to 6.4 cd / m² (a bit dark), in an office lit with artificial light (about 550 lx) sets it to 340 cd / m² (excessively bright) , in a very bright environment (equivalent to a bright day outdoors, but no direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or slightly more) increases to 545 cd / m² (sufficient). If, in complete darkness and in an office environment, set the brightness a little higher and lower, then the screen brightness for the three conditions mentioned above is as follows: 13, 180, 545 cd / m² (an ideal combination). It turns out that the automatic brightness control function works adequately and to some extent allows the user to customize his work for individual requirements. At any brightness level, there is significant modulation with a frequency of about 60 or 240 Hz. The figure below shows the dependence of brightness (vertical axis) on time (horizontal axis) for several values of brightness adjustment:
It can be seen that at the maximum and close to it brightness, the modulation amplitude is not very large, as a result, there is no visible flicker. However, when the brightness decreases, modulation appears with a large relative amplitude, its presence can already be seen in the test for the presence of a stroboscopic effect or simply with rapid eye movement. Depending on individual sensitivity, such flickering can cause increased fatigue.
This screen uses a Super AMOLED matrix - an active matrix on organic light-emitting diodes. A full color image is created with subpixels of three colors - red (R), green (G) and blue (B), but there are twice as many green subpixels, which can be referred to as RGBG. This is confirmed by a fragment of a micrograph:
For comparison, you can see the gallery of photomicrographs of screens used in mobile technology.
In the fragment above, you can count 4 green subpixels, 2 red (4 halves) and 2 blue (1 whole and 4 quarters), while repeating these fragments, you can lay out the entire screen without gaps and overlaps. For such matrices, Samsung has introduced the name PenTile RGBG. The manufacturer considers the screen resolution for green subpixels, for the other two it will be two times lower. The location and shape of the subpixels in this variant is close to the case of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and some other newer Samsung devices (and not only) with AMOLED screens. This PenTile RGBG variant is better than the old one with red squares, blue rectangles and green subpixel stripes. Nevertheless, some uneven contrast borders and other artifacts are still present. However, due to the very high resolution, they only have a minimal effect on image quality.
The screen has excellent viewing angles. True, when deviated even at small angles, the white color alternately acquires a light blue-green and pinkish tint, but the black color remains simply black at any angle. It is so black that the contrast setting is not applicable in this case. For comparison, here are the photos on which the screens of the Samsung Galaxy S8 + (profile Main) and the second comparison participant displayed the same images, while the brightness of the screens was initially set to about 200 cd / m2, and the color balance on the camera was forcibly switched to 6500 K.
White box:
Note the good uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field (except for a slight darkening and a change in hue towards the curved edges).
And the test picture (profile Main):
The color rendition is good, the colors are moderately saturated, the color balance of the screens is slightly different. Recall that the photograph can not serve as a reliable source of information about the quality of color reproduction and is provided only for a conditional visual illustration. In particular, the pronounced reddish tint of white and gray fields present in the photographs of the Samsung Galaxy S8 + screen is visually absent when viewed from a perpendicular view, which is confirmed by hardware tests using a spectrophotometer. The reason is that the spectral sensitivity of the camera matrix does not exactly match this characteristic of human vision. Note that in this case the picture occupies in height (with this screen orientation) the entire area available for displaying the image and goes over the curved edges of the screen, which leads to darkening and color distortion. Also, in the light, these areas almost always glare, which further interferes when viewing images displayed in full screen. And even the picture of films with an aspect ratio of 16: 9 goes over the folds, which greatly interferes with watching a movie.
The photo above was taken after selecting a profile Main in the screen settings, there are four of them:
Profile Adaptive display differs in some kind of automatic adjustment of the color rendition to the type of the displayed image and the surrounding conditions:
Saturation and color contrast are greatly increased, looks terrible. What happens when you select the two remaining profiles is shown below.
AMOLED movie:
Saturation and color contrast are also increased, but not as much.
Photo AMOLED:
Saturation is slightly lower, but color contrast is slightly higher than in the case AMOLED movie.
Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen (profile Main).
White box:
The brightness at an angle on both screens has noticeably decreased (to avoid strong darkening, the shutter speed is increased compared to previous photos), but in the case of Samsung, the drop in brightness is much less pronounced. As a result, with formally the same brightness, the Samsung Galaxy S8 + screen visually looks much brighter (in comparison with LCD screens), since you often have to look at the screen of a mobile device at least from a slight angle.
And the test picture:
It can be seen that the colors have not changed much on both screens and the brightness of the Samsung smartphone is noticeably higher at an angle. The switching of the state of the matrix elements is performed almost instantly, but at the turn-on front there may be a step with a width of about 17 ms (which corresponds to a screen refresh rate of 60 Hz). For example, this is how the dependence of brightness on time looks like when switching from black to white and vice versa:
In some conditions, the presence of such a step can lead to plumes trailing behind moving objects. However, dynamic scenes in films on OLED screens are distinguished by high definition and even some "jerky" movements.
The gamma curve plotted using 32 points with equal intervals in terms of the numerical value of the shade of gray showed that there was no significant blockage either in the highlights or in the shadows. The exponent of the approximating power function is 2.09, which is slightly less than the standard value of 2.2, while the real gamma curve deviates little from the power dependence:
Recall that in the case of OLED screens, the brightness of image fragments dynamically changes in accordance with the nature of the displayed image - it decreases for generally light images. As a result, the obtained dependence of brightness on the hue (gamma curve), most likely, does not correspond a little to the gamma curve of a static image, since the measurements were carried out with sequential output of gray shades on almost the entire screen.
Color gamut in case of profile Adaptive display very wide:
In profile AMOLED movie coverage is a bit narrower:
When choosing a profile Photo AMOLED the coverage is compressed to the borders of Adobe RGB:
When choosing a profile Main coverage is compressed to sRGB borders:
Without correction, the spectra of the components are very well separated:
In case of a profile Main with maximum correction, the color components are already noticeably mixed with each other:
Note that normal sRGB-optimized images appear unnaturally saturated on screens with wide color gamut without proper color correction. Hence the recommendation - in most cases, watching movies, photos and everything natural is better when choosing a profile. Main, and only if the photo was taken on the Adobe RGB setting, it makes sense to switch the profile to Photo AMOLED... Profile AMOLED movie, despite the name, the least suitable for watching movies and anything else.
The grayscale balance is good. The color temperature is close to 6500 K, while this parameter does not change very much in a significant part of the gray scale, which improves the visual perception of the color balance. The deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) for most of the gray scale remains below 10 units, which is considered a good indicator for a consumer device:
(In most cases, the darkest areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since the color balance there does not really matter, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)
For some reason, only when choosing a profile Adaptive display it becomes possible to adjust the color balance with three adjustments of the intensity of the primary colors, but due to the too wide color gamut, it is in this profile that it makes no sense to correct the balance.
Let's summarize. The screen has a very high maximum brightness and has excellent anti-reflective properties, so the device can be used outdoors without any problems, even on a sunny summer day. In complete darkness, the brightness can be lowered to a comfortable value. It is permissible to use the mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works adequately. The advantages of the screen include an effective oleophobic coating, as well as a color gamut close to sRGB and a good color balance. At the same time, let's recall the general advantages of OLED screens: true black color (if nothing is reflected in the screen), noticeably less than that of an LCD, the drop in image brightness when viewed from an angle. The disadvantages include modulation of the screen brightness. Users who are particularly sensitive to flicker may experience increased fatigue due to this. However, the overall quality of the screen is very high. Separately, we note that from the point of view of image quality, curled edges only harm, since this design find introduces very noticeable color tone distortions and reduces brightness at the edges of the picture, and in ambient light conditions leads to inevitable glare at least along one long side of the screen.
Camera
The front 8-megapixel camera does not receive its own flash, but it has a fast f / 1.7 lens and even supports intelligent autofocus with face detection. As a front flash, you can use the "fill" bright illumination of the screen directly at the moment of shooting. Naturally, there is a mode for retouching selfie photos. The front camera shoots well for its level, there are no particular complaints about detail and sharpness, but it's hard to say that this camera is somehow better than its counterparts from Huawei, for example. Not bad, but nothing more.
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The main camera uses a 12-megapixel sensor with a pixel size of 1.4 microns, as well as a fast f / 1.7 lens, OIS and Dual Pixel technology, which is designed to provide fast enough autofocusing to capture even the sharpest movements in low light conditions. There is a very bright LED flash.
The camera shoots in automatic or manual mode. In manual mode, you can adjust shutter speed (1/24000 to 10 s), sensitivity (up to ISO 800), white balance and exposure compensation. There is the possibility of retouching images, support for HDR auto and a selective focus mode to change the depth of field on the finished image. The camera is also connected to the intelligent assistant Bixby, which must recognize objects of shooting, find places and translate texts from the screen.
Using the Camera2 API, you can transfer camera control to third-party applications. It is also possible to save images in RAW.
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The camera can shoot video in 4K resolution (3840 × 2160), but only at 30 fps, and 60 fps is available only in Full HD (1920 × 1080). There is also a shooting mode at an intermediate resolution of 2560 × 1440, also at 30 fps. There's an optical image stabilization feature that really makes handheld shooting on the go extremely smooth. In any of the resolutions, the camera copes very well with video shooting: sharpness, color rendition and detail are normal, there is enough brightness, artifacts and slowdowns are out of the question. There are no complaints about sound recording either: the sensitivity of the microphones is high, the sound is clear, loud, the noise reduction system adequately copes with the wind noise.
- Movie # 1 (87 MB, 3840 × [email protected] fps, H.264, AAC)
- Movie # 2 (33 MB, 2560 × [email protected] fps, H.264, AAC)
- Movie # 3 (28 MB, 1920 × [email protected] fps, H.264, AAC)
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Good sharpness across the frame. |
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Quite good detail in the distant shots. |
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For indoor shooting, the detail is excellent. |
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The camera handles fine and complex details well. |
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Good detail when shooting at dusk. |
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The text has been worked out perfectly. |
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The camera copes well with macro photography. |
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Good sharpness in the field of the frame and in plans. |
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With the removal of the plan, the sharpness falls off slowly and smoothly. |
We also tested the camera on a laboratory bench using our method.
| Jpeg | RAW |
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Illumination ≈3200 lux. |
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Illumination ≈1400 lux. |
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Illumination ≈130 lux. |
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Illumination ≈130 lux, flash. |
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Lighting<1 люкс, вспышка. |
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Samsung continues to improve the quality of its cameras. The megapixel race, fortunately, has been forgotten, and now the manufacturer pays more attention to detail. Even in difficult scenes, the camera does not forget about small details, so the images look good even in low light conditions. Soapiness is gradually fading away, which means that the algorithms of the program have improved. The program has practically ceased to "eat" the details, and sharping is almost invisible. Of course, if you look closely, you can find both, but this is nit-picking.
A lab test confirms that the camera has remained virtually unchanged from the previous generation. However, there are differences, they just lie in the little things that are difficult to reflect on the stand. For those who like to tinker with photo processing, the manufacturer has made a very good RAW, which in some situations really allows you to get a result better than an intra-camera JPEG.
In general, the camera turned out to be quite flagship and will perfectly cope with many different scenes.
Telephone part and communications
The communication capabilities of the Samsung Galaxy S8 + include support for the advanced LTE Cat.16 technology, all three LTE FDD frequency bands of interest to us (Band 3, 7, 20) are supported, and there is also support for four TDD LTE bands (Band 38-41). Supports two Wi-Fi bands (2.4 and 5 GHz), there is Bluetooth 5.0 LE, you can organize a wireless access point via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth channels. The developers claim that thanks to support for Wi-Fi 1204-QAM and LTE Cat.16 standards, the download speed compared to previous flagships Samsung Galaxy S7 / S7 edge is increased by 20% both over Wi-Fi and over the mobile Internet. The device behaves confidently in the city limits of the Moscow region, the quality of signal reception raises no objections, the device demonstrates high speeds in the usual testing places, quickly restores the connection after a break.
The device has an NFC module, but it does not support electronic travel cards. The USB Type-C connector supports connecting external devices in USB OTG mode, the corresponding adapter is included in the accessory kit. The data transfer speed between a computer and a smartphone via a cable connected in the case of a PC to the USB 3.1 Type-C ports is about 26 MB / s.
The navigation module works with GPS (with A-GPS), with the domestic Glonass and with the Chinese Beidou. The first satellites during a cold start are detected within the first seconds, the positioning clarity is maximum. There is a built-in magnetic compass.
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The phone application supports Smart Dial, that is, when dialing a phone number, a search is immediately carried out by the first letters in contacts. In the conversational dynamics, the voice of a familiar interlocutor is well recognizable, there is no extraneous noise, the sound is natural, clear, the volume reserve is sufficient. The power of the vibration alert is much higher than the average level; its intensity can be changed manually.
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Software and multimedia
As a software platform, the Samsung Galaxy S8 + uses Android OS version 7.0 Nougat with its own proprietary shell. There is a convenient opportunity to quickly transfer all data from an old smartphone to a new Samsung Galaxy S8 or S8 + using the OTG adapter that is included in the package.
First of all, it should be noted that the enlarged display with a changed aspect ratio and high resolution provides more space for any information, text or graphics, so a lot of attention has been paid to the dual-window mode. Not every application here can be made to work in a small window; for this, each has a corresponding icon displayed in the menu of the last open programs. That is, you first need to start and minimize the application in order to understand whether it has the ability to work in two-window mode, and then find the second one. Not a very simple and intuitive option, but you can get used to it. In addition, these windows can be resized. There is also the possibility of reducing the entire working area of the screen for ease of control with one hand. It cannot be said that this functionality is convenient in practice, since all elements on the screen become too small, especially the buttons of the virtual keyboard, but there is such a possibility.
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Due to the non-standard aspect ratio of the screen, the video in the player is displayed with black bars on the sides, but using scaling, the image can be stretched to the very edges of the screen. Some games report possible display issues, but overall we have not encountered any unsolvable issues.
Another feature of the Samsung Galaxy S8 + screen is the ability to use its curved sides, available for interaction with fingers due to the lack of frames. There is nothing new here: as before, you can display an illuminated virtual strip on the side of the screen, when you press it, a menu is opened that is responsible for quick contacts and instant access to the most used applications. Also here it becomes possible to select and save any part of the screen with further text recognition.
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But of course, the main feature of the software of the new Korean smartphones was the emergence of Samsung's voice assistant - Bixby, which is a direct competitor to both Siri and Google Assistant, which, by the way, remained in place. As conceived by the developers, Bixby will be able not only to answer questions by collecting information on the Web, but also to identify a product using a camera and search for it on Amazon, translate texts in real time, and recognize landmarks. But the functions that will allow you to fully control the smartphone through voice commands are not yet available and will appear later.
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As already mentioned, the smartphone's camera is connected to the Bixby intelligent assistant, which is supposed to recognize objects of shooting, find places and translate texts from the screen. True, in practice, for the Russian realities, all this is still difficult for him. Even if the main language of the device is Russian, the program will persistently offer to translate from any other language, but not from Russian. The assistant also does not know everything yet. At the same time, there were no problems with the translation from English into Russian.
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There are very few additional programs, and those that exist are represented mainly by a set of Microsoft applications. Of particular note is Game Launcher, a handy game aggregator that automatically collects all installed game applications in one place, and also provides additional functions related to this. For example, it is possible to start recording the gameplay from the screen right during the game, with its further broadcast on the network. You can also use Game Launcher to improve system performance when launching selected games to enhance your gaming experience.
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To listen to music, only a regular Google Play Music player is provided, supplemented by a powerful set of manual settings and equalizer presets, as well as Adapt sound technology for headphones. The set with the smartphone comes with two-driver AKG headphones with a very good sound quality for their level. But if everything is fine with the sound in the headphones, then the main speaker of the smartphone is not so impressive. It produces a rather monotonous and flat sound, without noticeable depth and saturation, although there are no complaints about the purity and volume reserve.
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Performance
The hardware platform of the Samsung Galaxy S8 + is built on the Samsung Exynos 8895 Octa SoC with 8 cores in two clusters: 4 Exynos M1 cores up to 2.3 GHz and 4 ARM Cortex-A53 cores up to 1.7 GHz. This SoC is made using the latest 10nm process technology. Responsible for graphics processing is the Mali-G71 video accelerator with support for the Vulkan graphics API. The amount of RAM is 4 GB, and the internal memory is 64 GB, of which about 1.6 GB of RAM and 52.5 GB of ROM are initially free.
It should be noted that traditionally for Samsung Galaxy devices can be based on different SoCs: in this case, it is Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 or Exynos 8895. As always, the question of supply of this or that modification will depend on the region. The smartphone we received for tests ran on the Samsung Exynos 8895 platform.
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According to the results of all SoC tests, without exception, Samsung Exynos 8895 showed the maximum results, it is the most powerful mobile platform at the moment of all we tested. Accordingly, the Samsung Galaxy S8 + is one of the most powerful smartphones available today and has a significant headroom for future updates. The smartphone confidently copes with any tasks in real scenarios, and thanks to the powerful video accelerator, it behaves perfectly even in the most demanding games. These videos of the gameplay in Modern Combat 5 and in Mortal Kombat X were recorded by the built-in means of the smartphone itself using the Game Launcher application.
Benchmarking AnTuTu and GeekBench:
All the results obtained by us when testing the smartphone in the most recent versions of popular benchmarks, we have summarized in tables for convenience. Several other devices from different segments are usually added to the table, also tested on similar latest versions of benchmarks (this is done only for a visual assessment of the obtained dry numbers). Unfortunately, within the framework of one comparison, it is impossible to present the results from different versions of benchmarks, so many worthy and relevant models remain "behind the scenes" - due to the fact that they once passed the "obstacle course" on previous versions of test programs.
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Testing the graphics subsystem in game tests 3DMark, GFXBenchmark and Bonsai Benchmark:
When testing in 3DMark for the most productive smartphones, it is now possible to run the application in Unlimited mode, where the rendering resolution is fixed at 720p and VSync is disabled (which can cause the speed to rise above 60 fps).
| Samsung Galaxy S8 + (Samsung Exynos 8895 Octa) |
Lg g6 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 821) |
Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe (Qualcomm Snapdragon 820) |
Honor 8 Pro (HiSilicon Kirin 960) |
Meizu Pro 6 Plus (Samsung Exynos 8890 Octa) |
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| 3DMark Ice Storm Sling Shot ES 3.1 (more is better) |
2628 | 2409 | 2676 | 1417 | 1869 |
| GFXBenchmark Manhattan ES 3.1 (Onscreen, fps) | 19 | 12 | 31 | 18 | 13 |
| GFXBenchmark Manhattan ES 3.1 (1080p Offscreen, fps) | 36 | 24 | 32 | 21 | 24 |
| GFXBenchmark T-Rex (Onscreen, fps) | 57 | 38 | 59 | 46 | 52 |
| GFXBenchmark T-Rex (1080p Offscreen, fps) | 103 | 61 | 92 | 57 | 71 |
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Browser cross-platform tests:
As for benchmarks for evaluating the speed of the javascript engine, you should always make allowances for the fact that the results in them significantly depend on the browser in which they are launched, so that the comparison can be truly correct only on the same OS and browsers, and this possibility is available when testing not always. In the case of Android OS, we always try to use Google Chrome.
| Samsung Galaxy S8 + (Samsung Exynos 8895 Octa) |
Lg g6 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 821) |
Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe (Qualcomm Snapdragon 820) |
Honor 8 Pro (HiSilicon Kirin 960) |
Meizu Pro 6 Plus (Samsung Exynos 8890 Octa) |
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| Mozilla kraken (ms, less is better) |
2535 | 2494 | 2931 | 3139 | 13047 |
| Google octane 2 (more is better) |
9905 | 10036 | 9287 | 10155 | 3116 |
| SunSpider (ms, less is better) |
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Testing has traditionally been conducted at typical power consumption levels without using power saving features. In the settings of the Samsung Galaxy S8 +, you can find operating modes from high-performance to economy, the choice of which will affect a lot, right down to the brightness and even the screen resolution.
Continuous reading in the Moon + Reader program (with a standard, light theme) at the minimum comfortable brightness level (the brightness was set to 100 cd / m2) with auto scrolling lasted 21.5 hours until the battery was fully discharged, and with continuous high quality video viewing (720p ) with the same brightness level via a home Wi-Fi network, the device operates up to 14.5 hours. In 3D games mode, the smartphone can work for more than 5 hours.
The smartphone should support fast charging, but we were not able to test this, since at the time of writing this review, the test unit did not come with an AC adapter. However, from a conventional charger (5 V 2 A) the device charges quite quickly, within about an hour and a half with a current of 1.75 A at a voltage of 5 V. Wireless charging is also supported (WPC and PMA).
Outcome
The prices for the Russian market are as follows: On April 28, the Galaxy S8 and S8 + smartphones went on sale in Russia at a suggested retail price of 54,990 and 59,990, respectively. It is not entirely clear why the difference in the cost of devices of the same functionality with a slight difference only in the size of the display and the battery is as much as 5 thousand. Be that as it may, in the case of the Samsung Galaxy S8 + for 60 thousand, the manufacturer offers one of the best smartphones in many respects, including the quality of the camera, the performance of the hardware platform and very advanced communication capabilities, in an attractive and very unusual case, as well as with a lot of additional functions, many of which, however, were available in the previous models of the series.
At the same time, it cannot be said that the smartphone has become some kind of breakthrough, a new word in the creation of mobile devices and is completely devoid of disadvantages. A single main camera, although it is one of the best on the market, still looks rather strange against the background of the general movement towards increasing the number of modules. Also, one cannot praise the sound of the main speaker: in terms of sound, the device is clearly inferior to the flagship smartphones Apple and Huawei. The decision to move the fingerprint scanner to the back, and even to such an unfortunate location, was also highly questionable. Well, one cannot but recall the recent problems with the ignition of the batteries of Samsung mobile devices, against the background of which users can now be wary of paying a very high price, which the manufacturer asked for their mobile novelties, right away. And nevertheless, interest in the flagship devices of the Korean company has not weakened, it can be seen. Even those who were not going to shell out 60 thousand rubles for a smartphone are now eagerly discussing its capabilities on the Internet. However, something in the testing process remained undisclosed for us as well, since we did not have the final commercial sample in our hands. Most likely, we are still waiting, at least, a meeting with the brought to mind Bixby assistant, as well as with camera firmware updates, which may well expand its already remarkable capabilities.
In conclusion, we suggest watching our video review of the Samsung Galaxy S8 + smartphone:
We also suggest watching our video review comparing smartphones Samsung Galaxy S8 + and Galaxy S7 Edge:
