Samsung Galaxy S8 Active

Samsung Electronics

Industry	Consumer electronics
Founded	January 13, 1969 (1969-01-13) in Suwon, South Korea
Headquarters	Suwon , South Korea
Products	Smartphones, tablets, televisions, semiconductors, home appliances
Owner	Samsung Group
Website	www.samsung.com

Not to be confused with Samsung Galaxy Tab S8.

The Samsung Galaxy S8, along with the Samsung Galaxy S8+, represents Samsung Electronics' eighth generation in their flagship Galaxy S smartphone lineup running on Android OS. Officially revealed on March 29, 2017, these devices succeeded the previous models—the Galaxy S7 and its Edge variant—and became available in North America starting April 21, followed by a global launch throughout April and May of that year. Later on August 11, the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, a ruggedized variant exclusive to select US carriers, was introduced.

Compared to the preceding Galaxy S7 series, both the Galaxy S8 and S8+ feature significant hardware enhancements alongside notable design revisions such as taller aspect ratio displays with curved edges present on both screen sizes. They incorporate biometric security through iris scanning and facial recognition technologies, introduce Samsung's virtual assistant Bixby accompanied by a dedicated hardware button for activation, replace the Micro-USB port with USB-C for charging purposes, and offer compatibility with Samsung DeX—a docking accessory enabling desktop-like experiences with keyboard and mouse support. The ruggedized S8 Active distinguishes itself by employing reinforced materials that improve resistance against impacts, water ingress, dust exposure, while featuring a metal frame combined with textured surfaces for enhanced handling comfort; its display matches the standard model's size but omits curved edges in favor of durability.

Upon release, the Galaxy S8 and S8+ garnered favorable critiques praising their sleek design aesthetics, vibrant display quality, ergonomic form factor as well as advancements in software features and camera performance optimizations. However, some reviewers noted drawbacks including redundant pre-installed applications, limited functionality of Bixby at launch time, along with inconvenient placement of the fingerprint sensor adjacent to the rear camera module. Additionally, post-launch demonstrations revealed that both facial recognition and iris scanning security measures could be circumvented using high-quality photographs.

Demand for these smartphones was robust initially—pre-orders in South Korea alone surpassed one million units setting new records—with overall sales increasing by approximately thirty percent compared to the prior generation's figures during early availability periods. Nevertheless, reports from May indicated that first-month sales tallied just over five million units worldwide—a figure lower than those achieved by earlier models in the Galaxy S series.

On March 11, 2018, Samsung unveiled the next iteration in this lineup—the Samsung Galaxy S9.

History

Prior to the official launch, various media sources circulated rumours and insider information regarding the device. In December 2016, SamMobile claimed that the Galaxy S8 would omit the 3.5 mm (0.14 in) headphone jack, a report later disproven. By January 2017, The Guardian revealed expectations of larger displays for both models, featuring edge-to-edge "infinity" screens with minimal bezels and an iris scanner. The same source also indicated that the phones would include 64 gigabytes of internal storage, expandable via microSD cards, utilize USB-C ports, and incorporate a "Bixby" AI assistant. Shortly thereafter, VentureBeat published images and further specifications, highlighting the removal of physical navigation and home buttons, with the fingerprint sensor relocated to the rear. In mid-March, Evan Blass shared information on available color variants via Twitter.

The Galaxy S8 and S8+ were formally introduced on 29 March 2017, with pre-orders commencing the following day and official release in the United States on 21 April 2017. After listings appeared at Best Buy in March, Samsung began accepting pre-orders for unlocked versions in the U.S. on 9 May 2017, with shipments starting 31 May.

Internationally, the devices launched in South Korea on 21 April 2017, followed by availability in Canada, and Taiwan. On 28 April, they reached markets including the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, and Russia. Singapore received them on 29 April, with Malaysia following on 5 May. Additional releases occurred in New Zealand, Pakistan, India, the Philippines, and Thailand. Brazil saw a launch on 12 May, while China and Hong Kong began sales on 25 May. Japan's release took place on 8 June.

In July 2017, images of the Galaxy S8 Active surfaced on Reddit, and in August, AT&T inadvertently confirmed its existence through promotional materials. The device became available for pre-order exclusively via AT&T on 8 August 2017, with retail availability starting 11 August. Later reports from VentureBeat in September indicated that T-Mobile would offer the model starting November, with Samsung officially announcing distribution through both T-Mobile and Sprint in early November.

Display

Both the Galaxy S8 and S8+ are equipped with 1440p OLED screens, featuring an elongated 18.5:9 (37:18) aspect ratio, which is taller compared to the conventional 16:9 ratio found on most smartphones prior to their release. The S8 offers a 5.8-inch display, whereas the S8+ is fitted with a larger 6.2-inch screen. These displays curve elegantly along the side bezels, minimizing frame size—a design Samsung refers to as the "infinity display"—and the panels themselves have smoothly rounded corners. The screens utilize DCI-P3 color space, and according to the screen evaluation site DisplayMate, they provide the widest native color gamut, highest peak brightness, top contrast rating under ambient lighting, superior resolution, lowest reflectance, and best contrast ratio available.

Chipsets

The Galaxy S8 is powered by an octa-core Exynos 8895 processor paired with 4 GB of RAM; however, North American and East Asian editions employ the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset instead. Both processors are fabricated by Samsung using a 10 nm manufacturing technology. Each device includes 64 GB of built-in storage, which can be expanded through a microSD card slot.

Design

In the U.S. market, the S8 and S8+ are offered in Midnight Black, Orchid Gray, and Arctic Silver shades, while gold and blue finishes are available internationally. The blue variant was introduced to U.S. consumers in July 2017.

Departing from previous Galaxy S models, the S8 series eliminates physical navigation buttons in favor of on-screen controls. Nevertheless, unlike other virtual key implementations, the home button remains functional even when hidden or when the screen is off. The display incorporates pressure sensitivity exclusively for the home button area. To mitigate potential burn-in damage, the home button’s position subtly shifts over time.

The Galaxy S8 Active adopts a ruggedized construction using more durable materials to enhance resistance against shocks, drops, water, and dust. It features a larger 4000 mAh battery compared to standard models. Unlike earlier Active versions, it lacks physical buttons and uses onscreen navigation keys similar to the regular S8 variants. Additionally, it does not include a dedicated action button for customizable shortcuts; instead, that function has been replaced by the Bixby button. The "infinity" edge display characteristic of standard models is substituted with a robust metal frame and reinforced corner bumpers designed to absorb impacts. The rear panel has a textured finish aimed at improving grip security. Its screen size matches the standard S8 at 5.8 inches with quad HD Super AMOLED resolution and an 18.5:9 aspect ratio. The S8 Active comes in Meteor Gray, with AT&T offering an exclusive Titanium Gold color option.

Camera

Although The Verge suggests that the S8 employs the same 12-megapixel rear camera sensor as its predecessor, the S7, enhanced with software refinements, a PhoneArena article indicates that these devices are equipped with newly designed, proprietary camera modules. Additionally, the S8 introduces a Pro Mode that mimics DSLR functionality by allowing manual adjustments of shutter speed, ISO, and colour balance. It also supports capturing images in the raw format Digital Negative. The front camera received an upgrade to an 8-megapixel sensor featuring autofocus. With the removal of the physical home button, the fingerprint sensor was repositioned to the back of the device, adjacent to the left side of the camera. Besides the fingerprint scanner, the S8 includes an iris scanner and offers face-scanning as an alternative unlocking method. Samsung had already incorporated face recognition technology in earlier models starting with the Galaxy S III.

Batteries

The Galaxy S8 and S8+ are equipped with fixed 3000 mAh and 3500 mAh Lithium-Ion batteries respectively, compared to the 3000 mAh and 3600 mAh capacities found in the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. Samsung emphasized that these batteries were engineered to maintain their charge capacity for a longer duration than earlier versions.

Both models are compatible with wireless charging standards including AirFuel Inductive (previously known as PMA) and Qi. Following the battery recall issues faced by the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, Samsung announced stricter quality assurance protocols and safety evaluations for all forthcoming products during a press briefing.

Charging through a standard USB port occurs at 9 watts (5 volts, 1.8 amperes), while utilizing USB-C power delivery allows for up to 12.5 watts (5 volts, 2.5 amperes). Qualcomm's Quick Charge 2.0 technology enables charging speeds exceeding 15 watts (9 volts, 1.67 amperes), though fast charging is automatically disabled when the device is in use (screen active), reducing charging speed to less than half regardless of temperature conditions.

Storage

Samsung introduced a Galaxy S8+ model featuring 128 GB of internal memory and 6 GB of RAM, available exclusively in China and South Korea. In these markets, a promotional package includes this special edition alongside the Samsung DeX docking station. This particular variant was subsequently launched in India in June 2017.

Connectivity

The T-Mobile US edition of the S8 Active supports the carrier's emerging 600 MHz LTE network, which was being deployed around the time of the device's announcement.

Keyboard Cover

The Samsung Galaxy S8 Keyboard Cover is an accessory designed for the 2017 Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ smartphones. Released early in 2017 with a retail price of $59.99, it provides a physical keyboard option for users. A common critique of this accessory is that the navigation buttons reset to their default configuration each time the cover is used. Additionally, the keyboard defaults to a QWERTY layout.

Unlike Bluetooth keyboards, this cover connects without wireless technology, thereby conserving battery power. When attached, the visible screen area decreases; however, on-screen word prediction functionality remains active. In March 2017, information about the Samsung DeX station, the official Samsung Qi wireless charger, and the Keyboard Cover surfaced through leaks ahead of their official release.

Background

At the time, the S8 and S8+ were among the rare smartphone models that included native support for a physical keyboard, directly challenging a market predominantly dominated by BlackBerry. Samsung provided a specialized plastic case for these devices, equipped with an attachable QWERTY keyboard that users could easily add or remove as needed. When not in use, this keyboard could be secured to the rear of the case. Upon attachment, the operating system automatically recognized the keyboard and adjusted the display’s dimensions and layout to ensure seamless operation of other applications. The keyboard accessory was identified by model numbers EJ-CG950BBEGWW for the S8 and EJ-CG955BBEGWW for the S8+.

The Galaxy S8 was among the earliest smartphones to incorporate Bluetooth 5, enabling features such as simultaneous connection to two wireless headphones. Both models came packaged with Harman AKG-branded earbuds. These smartphones also enhanced their satellite navigation capabilities compared to their predecessors by integrating receivers compatible with the Galileo system.

Software

Upon release, the Galaxy S8 operated on Android 7.0 "Nougat" paired with Samsung’s proprietary interface and software collection known as Samsung Experience (previously called TouchWiz). A prominent feature of this software suite was an intelligent assistant called "Bixby", designed primarily to interact with Samsung’s own applications and other supported platforms. Bixby enabled voice command functionality for various phone operations, generated contextual cards on a dedicated home screen page (replacing the earlier Flipboard integration), and performed visual searches through object recognition using the device’s camera. The devices were supported with two years of major Android OS updates plus an additional two years of security patches, totaling four years of software maintenance.

Bixby allowed integration with third-party applications through an available SDK. The S8 also supported Samsung DeX, a docking solution that transformed the phone into a desktop-like environment when connected to an external monitor, complete with mouse and keyboard support. On 21 April 2017, coinciding with the phone’s retail launch, it was announced that Google Play Music would serve as the default music player on the Galaxy S8—continuing a trend initiated by the Galaxy S7 in 2016. Samsung collaborated with Google to add exclusive features to this app, including an increased cloud upload limit of up to 100,000 tracks (double the standard allowance). New subscribers also received a complimentary three-month trial of Google Play Music, matching offers extended to owners of Google’s own Pixel devices. Google confirmed plans to introduce further Samsung-exclusive enhancements and Bixby integration within the app. Bixby replaced Samsung’s previous voice assistant technology known as S Voice.

In May 2017, Google revealed that following a mid-year software update from Samsung, both Galaxy S8 models would gain compatibility with its Daydream virtual reality platform. By July 2017, Verizon began distributing an update enabling Daydream support on its Galaxy S8 units. Additionally, the Galaxy S8 was among the first Android smartphones to support ARCore, Google's augmented reality development platform.

The official rollout of the Android 8.0 "Oreo" update for all Galaxy S8 variants commenced in February 2018. One year later, in February 2019, Samsung released the official Android 9 "Pie" update for this device lineup.

Through unofficial third-party solutions, it became possible to upgrade the Galaxy S8 to One UI 3.1, which is based on Android 11, although this method is not officially supported.

The Galaxy S8 and S8+ reached their end-of-life status in May 2021 following the April 2021 security patch release. Meanwhile, the S8 Active model continued receiving monthly security updates for an additional six months beyond this date.

Reception

The S8 Active, launched in August 2017, represents a durable variant of the S8. This particular model is shown with a protective case and screen protector applied.

Dan Seifert from The Verge lauded the Galaxy S8's design, calling it a "visually striking device to behold and handle" that was "meticulously crafted and polished to a gleaming finish," further noting that it "stands apart from any phone you've likely used before." He described the device’s hardware as "nearly impeccable." Seifert also expressed approval of the updated software, stating that "Samsung is typically associated with clunky interfaces rather than refinement. In a welcome shift, the S8’s software is, dare I say, impressive [sic]." Nevertheless, he criticized Bixby’s assistant capabilities, observing that "in its present form, it offers very limited functionality," and took issue with the abundance of redundant applications. On performance, he remarked that the S8 was "swift and responsive, though this is true for almost all flagship phones available; it does not outperform models like the Google Pixel, LG G6, or iPhone 7 in any noticeable way." Fellow Verge journalist Vlad Savov found the fingerprint sensor placement to be "a puzzling choice if viewed as intentional design," but referenced Korean sources suggesting Samsung had initially aimed to integrate the fingerprint reader beneath the display but could not finalize this feature before launch. The Verge further commented that "Samsung’s six-month-old S8 boasts state-of-the-art features and design with fewer issues compared to other Android devices such as the Google Pixel 2 and LG V30. Its OLED screen extends to the edges and curves fluidly along the sides, maintaining a fresh appearance since its debut," while emphasizing that its market success and carrier backing ensured a wide range of third-party accessories.

Chris Velazco of Engadget echoed praise for the design, describing it as featuring "rounded edges and precisely engineered metal-and-glass construction, resembling smaller, sleeker iterations of the Galaxy Note 7," while also commending the display as simply "exceptional." He appreciated Samsung’s software enhancements, labeling their interface additions as "subtle and thoughtfully designed." Although noting that Bixby was not fully ready at launch, Velazco acknowledged its intended voice functions as more detailed than those found in Siri or Google Assistant, commenting that "Given this complexity, it’s understandable why development isn’t complete yet." He also complimented overall performance and camera quality, pointing out that "The 12-megapixel rear sensors remain largely unchanged from last year—a positive since they were already excellent," concluding that these devices "aren’t flawless but represent Samsung’s most refined effort to date." Conversely, Brandon Russell from TechnoBuffalo argued that the camera did not surpass Google's Pixel smartphone.

Ron Amadeo of Ars Technica highlighted that the phone’s unusual aspect ratio caused pillarboxing when viewing 16:9 videos unless zoomed or stretched. He praised the tactile experience of the S8 as "perfected" but criticized its glass back for being "more vulnerable," adding that "Glossy glass feels less secure in hand compared to metal. For a premium-priced device, Samsung should have invested effort into using a metal rear." He expressed dissatisfaction with biometric unlocking methods stating, "The iris scanner, fingerprint sensor, and face unlock are all flawed," and also condemned duplicate applications for being mostly non-removable and unappealing. Additionally, Amadeo described Bixby as "a strange inclusion given the phone already features Google Assistant."

Prior to official unveiling, reports indicated Bixby would support "7-8 languages" upon release. Subsequent updates clarified that only Korean and American English would be available at launch, with additional languages planned for future updates. In mid-April, The Wall Street Journal revealed that Bixby would debut without American English support. On 19 July 2017, Samsung announced Bixby voice support began rolling out to Galaxy S8 users in the United States.

Sales

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ achieved record-breaking pre-order numbers in South Korea, surpassing 720,000 units within the initial week. This represented a significant rise compared to the Galaxy S7’s 100,000 and the Note 7’s 200,000 pre-orders. By mid-April, pre-orders had climbed to one million units. On April 24, 2017, Samsung declared that the Galaxy S8’s sales performance was their "best ever." While exact sales figures were not disclosed, the company reported a 30% increase in sales compared to the Galaxy S7 from the previous year. Later reports in May revealed that over five million units had been sold globally. Jon Fingas of Engadget noted that although Samsung highlighted its record-setting pre-order numbers, direct comparisons with other smartphones were challenging due to undisclosed sales data.

White balance

Before the Galaxy S8's official launch, there were reports indicating that certain units displayed an incorrect white balance, resulting in a noticeable reddish hue. Samsung explained that the Galaxy S8 features an adaptive display designed to optimize color range, saturation, and sharpness based on ambient conditions. However, the operating system also includes options allowing users to manually adjust the screen’s color settings and white balance. On 21 April, Samsung confirmed that the red tint was caused by a software-related problem and assured users that a fix would be delivered through a future update. According to The Investor, if the software patch failed to resolve the issue, Samsung planned to replace affected devices. Starting in early May, updates addressing the red tint began rolling out across multiple regions, effectively correcting the display color anomaly.

Unexpected reboots

Towards the end of April 2017, there were reports indicating that certain Galaxy S8 units were experiencing spontaneous restarts. Samsung had not issued any official response regarding this matter at that time.

Vulnerabilities in facial recognition

Facial recognition screen

Shortly after the Galaxy S8 was introduced, several bloggers demonstrated through a video that the device's facial recognition feature could be bypassed by simply presenting a photograph of the owner to the sensor. In response, a Samsung representative told Business Insider that facial recognition serves as a convenient unlocking method, comparable to swiping to unlock. The company emphasized that their most secure biometric options remain fingerprint and iris scanning, which are used to secure access to Samsung Pay and the Secure Folder.

Iris recognition security flaws

In May 2017, members of the Chaos Computer Club released a video revealing that the Galaxy S8's iris scanning technology could be compromised using an ordinary contact lens combined with an appropriate eye image. Samsung acknowledged awareness of this vulnerability in a statement to BBC News, assuring that if any security weaknesses or new threats arise, they will act promptly to address and fix the issue.

Issues with SMS message delivery

In October 2017, users of the Galaxy S8 took to Reddit to report problems receiving SMS messages. At that time, no solution had been provided, and Samsung had yet to address the issue publicly.

See also

• Comparison of Samsung Galaxy S smartphones
• Comparison of smartphones
• Samsung Galaxy S series

References

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