Samsung Galaxy S8 price, specs, release date & features: Samsung lets you unlock S8 with your face - but there's a problem

Samsung's smartphone launches are always highly anticipated events, but this year's Galaxy S8 launch is set to be even more interesting. The company has a lot to prove with its newest product, as it's the first device to be launched since the exploding Galaxy Note 7 grabbed headlines last year.

Still, we're expecting big things from the Korean giant. Its last few phones have been best-in-class devices - in fact, until it started exploding, the Note 7 was one of the best phones ever made. The company looks set to continue this trend and recent leaks look very promising indeed.

Main image credit: EvLeaks

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03/04/2017

Samsung lets you unlock S8 with your face - but there's a problem

Samsung has introduced a neat new way to unlock the Galaxy S8 - but it may leave your phone vulnerable to hackers.

When the S8 becomes widely available in the UK on 28 April, users will be able to choose between locking it with a password or with their fingerprint. But for a novel new method, Samsung will let users unlock the S8 with facial recognition.

The technology allows users to register their face on their phone, which only unlocks when it 'reads' that same face in the front-facing camera. Business Insider found that it was a quicker method than biometrics to unlock the device.

But a video surfaced on YouTube, in which MarcianoPhone, via iDeviceHelp, published a demonstrated that if a second person showed the S8 a photo of the user it recognised, it would still unlock to the homescreen.

IT Pro asked Samsung if it will patch the feature in time for the S8's official release, but it doesn't seem likely - the company said it doesn't consider the facial recognition unlock to be a security capability.

A spokesperson said: "The Galaxy S8 provides various levels of biometric authentication, with the highest level of authentication from the iris scanner and fingerprint reader. In addition, the Galaxy S8 provides users with multiple options to unlock their phones through both biometric security options, and convenient options such as swipe and facial recognition.

"It is important to reiterate that facial recognition, while convenient, can only be used for opening your Galaxy S8 and currently cannot be used to authenticate access to Samsung Pay or Secure Folder."

Release date

Samsung officially revealed the S8 and S8 Plus on 29 March. It opened pre-orders the same day, which last until 19 April, with orders fulfilled from 20 April.

While rumours pointed to 21 April as the device launch date, based on previous launches like the Galaxy S7 and Note 7, Samsung confirmed the S8 will become available from 28 April in the UK.

Price

Samsung generally prices its flagship Galaxy phones at around £550 inc VAT, with the fancier 'Edge' variants costing a little bit more, but sterling's weakness amid Brexit uncertainty appears to have pushed prices up. The S8 will cost £689 and the S8 Plus will cost £779.

Specs & hardware

Unsurprisingly, Samsung looks set to continue using its own Exynos CPUs in its smartphones, and reports indicate that the Galaxy S8's processor will be the Exynos 8895 - octa-core chips built with the company's 10nm FinFET architecture. 

Elsewhere, it's likely to have a minimum of 4GB of RAM, a figure lags behind the 6GB allocation which is rapidly becoming the standard for this year's crop of flagship devices. Don't expect the S8 to be a slouch in the performance department though - Samsung's phones are routinely among the fastest on the market.

As with the Galaxy Note 7, the S8 will come with 64GB of storage as standard, along with expandable storage via MicroSD card and IP68 waterproofing. 

Screen 

Rumours suggest that Samsung will return to a release strategy previously seen with the Galaxy S6, releasing both a Galaxy S8 and a larger Galaxy S8 Plus. Both devices will likely use a QHD+ display, rather than making the jump to a 4K panel, which would be an unnecessary drain on the battery. The two models are rumoured to have 5.8in and 6.2in screens respectively, but Samsung has supposedly managed to achieve this without making the device footprint any larger than the S7's.

It's apparently done this by abandoning the physical home button, opting instead to slash the S8's screen bezels down to the bone and use software buttons instead. Judging by the extensive leaks that have come courtesy of various case manufacturers, the S8 will be seriously eye-catching, with a front panel that's virtually all screen.

Battery & safety issues

When it launches, all eyes will be on the Galaxy S8's battery, following the unfortunate debacle which saw Samsung's last device explode in people's hands. Power management and safety are certain to be highlighted by Samsung, which will surely be eager to shake the stigma of having had to do a full product recall of all Note 7 units.

This could well result in the Galaxy S8 having a smaller and less powerful battery than previous Samsung devices in the name of safety. While that may disappoint consumers, the company could compensate with more power-efficient internal components, so how much battery life suffers - if at all - remains to be seen. As with all dual-model launches, the S8 Plus will undoubtedly have a larger battery.

Source: Samsung Galaxy S8 price, specs, release date & features: Samsung lets you unlock S8 with your face - but there's a problem