Your Galaxy S8 will remind you to clean finger grease off its camera lens

Once you add a fingerprint, your GS8 will warn you to de-gunk your lens regularly.

The Galaxy S8’s fingerprint sensor location has been one of the more controversial elements of the phone’s design, with concerns being raised over reachability, and the potential for fingerprint smudges to accumulate around that rear camera lens. And it appears Samsung, too, is aware of the potential for picture-smudging grease to build up back there.

Once you set up fingerprint authentication — but not before you take this step — the GS8’s camera app will tell you to regularly clean your lens at launch, via a pop-up message.

A clean lens makes for better shots.Clean your camera lens to keep taking better pictures.

In our brief time with the Galaxy S8 at the launch event today, we were only able to get the message to appear once, the first time you start the camera app after first setting up a fingerprint. Nevertheless, the fact that it’s there at all is revealing, showing Samsung is aware of potential side-effects of relocating the fingerprint scanner so close to the lens.

We don’t yet know how big of an issue lens cleaning will be in the GS8, but if you plan on picking one up, it’s worth heeding Samsung’s advice.

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+

• Galaxy S8 and S8+ hands-on preview!
• Galaxy S8 and S8+ specs
• Everything you need to know about the Galaxy S8’s cameras
• Get to know Samsung Bixby
• Join our Galaxy S8 forums

What color Galaxy S8 or S8+ should I buy — black, silver, or orchid gray?

The Galaxy S8 and S8+ will be on sale soon. Time to figure out which of its color options defines you.

Did you hear? The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ are coming, and they’ll be available in three stunning color choices once they’re on sale April 21. You’ll be able to choose from Arctic Silver, Midnight Black, and Orchid Gray.

Samsung fans overseas will have access to an additional Coral Blue and Maple Gold version of the flagship in either size. It’s a bummer we won’t be seeing those two options stateside, but perhaps the Orchid Gray will be enough to tide over those of you looking for a smartphone that’s just a bit different from the status quo.

Galaxy S8 in black

Black car, black sunglasses, black three-piece suit — all you need to finish out accessorizing that outfit is a black Galaxy S8 or S8+. Yeah, it’s a pretty basic color, but there’s a reason so many manufacturers produce their smartphones in black — it goes with everything. A black chassis also means scratches and nicks will be less obvious in the long run.

Samsung’s really keen on the bezel-less smartphone life, and those lack of bezels are specially apparent on the all-black Galaxy S8 and S8+. You won’t see the rounded corners unless the screen is on, and the effect makes it appear as if the screen really is an infinity display.

Who is it for?

Anyone who wants to keep it simple, as well as anyone who really doesn’t like the reflectiveness of the other Galaxy S8 and S8+ color combinations.

Galaxy S8 in silver

The Galaxy S8 and S8+ in Arctic Silver are definitely cool looking, but that depends on how much you enjoy seeing your reflection every time you pick up the phone. Who asked for the built-in mirror?!

Regardless, even though the Arctic Silver variant is hyper-reflective and hyper-distracting, it’s still an attractive offering. If you end up choosing this variation, you may find it’s safer inside a case. Scratches and fingerprints become grossly obvious against this kind of sheen.

Who is it for?

Anyone who doesn’t care what color their carrier representative grabs for them from the stock room.

Galaxy S8 in orchid gray

Finally — a little something different from Samsung. Rather than launch the standard gold, silver, and black trio of devices, the company opted for this attractive, lilac-toned gray hue in lieu of gold. It’s called Orchid Gray, and like a real life orchid, it’s just as rewarding to look at as it is to take care of it. You’ll definitely want to wrap this up in some sort of case. It’s too pretty to scratch up.

It’s also nice to see a typically feminine color skew a bit toward the masculine. Orchid Gray works for anyone, and it’s a nice addition to Galaxy S8 color lineup.

Who is it for?

Orchid Gray is for anyone who wants to stand out. You’ll want to hold out for this one if you’re looking for something special.

The colors you won’t see in the U.S.

Remember that gorgeous Coral Blue Galaxy Note 7 that was offered overseas before the whole battery fiasco recalled it? It’s back on the Galaxy S8, though it’s still limited to certain markets. It’s a bummer, too, because the pigment in the coral blue variation of the Galaxy S8 and S8+ is truly impressive. Hopefully, the future of smartphones means brighter, bolder colors. Maple Gold is also an offering for Galaxy S8 fans overseas, and it’s similiar to the gold variation of last year’s Galaxy S7.

The Galaxy S8 and S8+ will launch on April 21.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ will have 646 new emoji

The newly launched Galaxy smartphones are shipping with Nougat, making them the first Samsung smartphones to include the new Emoji 4.0 right out of the box.

It’s always fun to see the way different companies design their version of emoji. Google may have announced new and additional emoji for Android Nougat last year, but Samsung was slow to keep up. The Galaxy S8 and S8+ are the first to ship with the new emoji right out of the box.

A total of 646 new emojis will be available on Samsung’s new smartphones. If you already happen to have the Galaxy Tab S3 in your hands, you have access to these new emoji right now, since it’s also running on Android 7.0,

A total of 646 new emojis will be available on Samsung’s new smartphones, which ship with the Nougat.

Every male emoji now has a female equivalent and vice versa. You’ll also have options for a scientist, judge, pilot, and teacher emoji, as well as laptop-wielding technologist emojis. Samsung’s version of this seemingly niche profession features people in front of a Samsung laptop, naturally, in the same vein that Apple presents those particular emoji on iOS and macOS plopped in front of MacBooks. To change the skin color of the individual emoji, you can press and hold in the keyboard app to choose from the other variations.

A few emoji have also been tweaked. For instance, the Children Crossing emoji now looks like a regular street sign rather than some symbols slathered on top of Samsung’s old blue-hued skeuomorphic color scheme. Flashbacks!

The Galaxy S8 is the first smartphone from Samsung that will have the new emoji right out of the box. Those with Nougat on their older Samsung smartphones may see that they also have access to the new library of emoji. You can check out the full Galaxy S8 emoji changelog at Emojipedia.

Galaxy S8’s most powerful Bixby feature won’t be in Europe at launch

Bixby voice recognition will only support U.S. English and Korean later in the year.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 arrives in Europe on April 28, but when the phone hits European shores it’ll be missing one of the key features in Samsung’s Bixby AI platform.

Bixby needs a little more time to understand British accents, and learn some new languages.

Announcing the Galaxy S8 and S8+ at its European satellite event in London today, Samsung revealed that Bixby’s much-hyped voice recognition feature will support Korean and American English initially, with British English and other European languages being added in the months following release. In supported apps (only 10 Samsung apps at launch) Bixby’s voice comments let you do just about anything you’d be able to do via touch — but it’ll be exclusive to these two languages immediately at launch. Other Bixby features like vision (through the camera app) and Bixby home are supported on European devices, it’s just the voice interaction stuff that’ll have to wait. (Though admittedly that’s a significant part of the Bixby experience.)

The omission leaves the Bixby button on European GS8s largely working as a secondary home button, only one that takes you straight to the Bixby home app as opposed to your main home screen. It’s still early days for Bixby right now, and it’s clear Samsung plans to build out the AI throughout its entire portfolio of connected devices, not just phones. Nevertheless, launching a major new product with a missing feature is less than ideal — whether it’s Samsung with Bixby in Europe, or Apple with portrait mode on the iPhone 7 Plus.

If you’re considering buying a GS8 in Europe, hit the comments and let us know whether having to wait a few months for a complete Bixby experience might sway your buying decision.

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+

• Galaxy S8 and S8+ hands-on preview!
• Galaxy S8 and S8+ specs
• Everything you need to know about the Galaxy S8’s cameras
• Get to know Samsung Bixby
• Join our Galaxy S8 forums

We have a Galaxy S8 — Come discuss it in the forums!

The Galaxy S8 is here, so we want to know your questions!

It’s a good day, because there’s a very nice new phone in our hands, and it’s one of the most important releases of the year. This is the Galaxy S8 in orchid grey.

Daniel Bader
03-29-2017 03:14 PM

“

Hey everyone, for the next couple of days I have a Galaxy S8 to put through its paces. The hardware is pre-production, and the software isn’t final (though it’s close) so I thought I’d get a discussion going.

This is, specifically, the SM-G950W, which has a Snapdragon 835 processor along with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage.

At first glance, this is a very nice phone. The smaller…

Reply

We’re discussing this new phone in the forums, so join us if you want to learn the things that we didn’t know about during the preview period. There are some really interesting hidden features to the phone, including the fact that iris scanning and face scanning are two separate features — one aimed at security, the other at speed.

Join us in the Android Central forums

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+

• Galaxy S8 and S8+ hands-on preview!
• Galaxy S8 and S8+ specs
• Everything you need to know about the Galaxy S8’s cameras
• Get to know Samsung Bixby
• Join our Galaxy S8 forums

You probably don’t need to upgrade your Gear VR for the Galaxy S8

About that “New Gear VR” Samsung unveiled with the Galaxy S8.

Alongside the launch of the new Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, Samsung unveiled what they called the New Gear VR with Controller. It’s available for free to anyone that pre-orders the Galaxy S8 from just about anywhere, and after the phone has launched this bundle will be available for $129. Since the previous Gear VR was priced at $99, and the Gear VR Controller will be available separately for $39, it sounds like this new bundle will be a pretty good deal for future Samsung phone owners.

But when we started digging into what was actually new about this new Gear VR, that deal started to sound less and less like a good thing.

Read More at VR Heads!

Google makes sure developers know how to build an app that looks good on the Galaxy S8 and LG G6

“Super widescreen” phones need some special attention if you want your app to look great.

The age of larger display format phones is here. LG’s G6 sports an 18:9 screen aspect ratio and the Galaxy S8 brought an 18.5:9 display to the party. Since those two phones will be the most popular high-end Android models for 2017, Google has posted a quickie on the Android Developers blog to make sure everyone building an app knows how to take advantage of all the screen, all the time.

This isn’t anything new. For better or worse, Android apps support scaling and resizing really well and it only takes a few lines of code to make sure an app uses the screen without being squished, stretched or sporting the dreaded black bars of nothingness.

First, you need to make sure the maximum aspect ratio is expressed as a floating-point number instead of an integer in the app’s <application> element. Then make sure your app supports an aspect ratio of 2.1 or higher. Set this in the <application> element, too. You’ll find complete instructions and a bit of demo code at the Android Developers site.

These two small changes will make a world of difference for everyone who uses a phone with a large-format aspect ratio and we expect to see more phones adopt it and join the “super widescreen” world.

What is Samsung Connect Home and how does it work?

Our homes are filled with connected devices, and yet, many people lack basic connectivity while at home.

To address this problem, Samsung introduced a new product: Samsung Connect Home. While at its special Galaxy Unpacked event in March, Samsung described Samsung Connect Home as a “premium router and IoT hub in one”. The company has essentially entered the mesh Wi-Fi router space, just like Google recently did with Google Wifi. Here’s everything you need to know about how Samsung’s offering works.

• Samsung Galaxy S8: The 5.8-incher that’s small enough for everyone
• Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus: 6-inches plus, but perfectly manageable

What is Samsung Connect Home?

At its core, Samsung Connect Home provides mesh-based Wi-Fi to boost your connectivity at home. With a mesh router, you can get online anywhere in your house. There will be no more spots where connectivity is slowed or just doesn’t reach. Imagine being able to stream in the living room and kitchen while someone else games in the basement – all without any contest for bandwidth or Wi-Fi congestion.

Another unique aspect of Samsung Connect Home is that it doubles as an Internet of Things Hub, meaning it allows different connected devices from different manufacturers to communicate with each other, and you can control them all through a smartphone app. Keep in mind Samsung bought the SmartThings home automation firm in 2014, and it makes a SmartThings IoT hub. The new Samsung Connect Home router basically has a built-in SmartThings hub, which removes the need to purchase a separate hub.

How does Samsung Connect Home work?

Mesh Wi-Fi

Samsung Connect Home is designed to be expandable. It will be sold on its own or in a three-pack, just like Google Wifi, so you can put several of these routers around your home to boost your entire network. You will get Wi-Fi signal everywhere, from your bathroom to your basement. So, instead of one router, multiple routers work together to create a mesh network that delivers fast input throughout your house.

You’ll use one Samsung Connect Home as a base to broadcast your signal and then use the other two in the bundle to extend that network throughout your house. Samsung said that each individual unit can cover up to 1,500 square feet, which is what Google Wifi also promises. Each unit also comes with 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage. However, there are two versions of the Samsung Connect Home.

The “standard” Samsung Connect Home has a 2 x 2 MU-MIMO antenna array and a slower 710MHz quad-core processor at AC1300 (capped speeds of 866Mbps in the 5GHz spectrum), while the “Pro” version has a 4 x 4 antenna and a faster 1.7GHz dual-core chip. It supports quad-band 802.11ac at AC2600 (capped speeds of 1.7Gbps). The Pro offers 1,500-square feet coverage but doesn’t come in a three-pack.

Both versions also have two RJ-45 Ethernet ports on the back.

IoT hub

Samsung Connect Home removes the need for Samsung’s separate SmartThings Hub. Because Samsung Connect Home has a SmartThings hub built in, it can directly communicate with connected gadgets over Bluetooth 4.1, Wi-Fi, Zigbee, or Z-wave. These gadgets include things like Philips Hue lights, Netgear Arlo security cameras, and Samsung appliances. Once set up, you can control all these with a mobile app.

Does Samsung Connect Home have an app?

Yes, there is an app experience for Samsung Connect Home. It appears to be integrated into Samsung smartphones, working on the same system that you’d use to control devices connected to your phone, like Bluetooth headphones, or the same system you can use to connect to your Samsung TV. Whether Samsung will split this app experience out to other devices so that Samsung Connect Home isn’t dependent on using a Samsung smartphone, we don’t know.

Samsung also confirmed that there would be Bixby support, so you’ll be able to control everything connected to your Samsung Connect Home using your voice.

• What is Bixby? Samsung’s smart AI explained

We will keep you posted when we learn more.

How much is Samsung Connect Home?

Samsung didn’t announce pricing information.

When will Samsung Connect Home be available?

Samsung didn’t announce a release date or which markets will get Samsung Connect Home.

Does anyone actually want to use a phone as a desktop?

Samsung is entering an increasingly crowded club with its new Dex dock, which turns the Galaxy S8 into a pseudo-desktop replacement. It’s an idea most recently pushed by Microsoft with Windows Continuum (as seen in HP’s Elite X3 and the Lumia 950), but we’ve seen companies like Motorola experimenting with this sort of setup since the dawn of the smartphone age. The concept makes sense on paper: Our phones are getting more powerful, so why not figure out ways to turn them into full-fledged computers? But after seeing so many try and fail to do so, I have to wonder: Does anyone actually want this?

There’s certainly something to the idea of finding new ways to use our phones. But given that the entire computing market is moving toward laptops and other portable devices, the prospect of developing a new spin on desktops seems inexplicably backward. I’m far more intrigued by the idea of sliding my phone into an ultraportable laptop case, as we’ve seen with the Maxiss Mirabook. Even Apple is considering ways to power laptops with iPhones and iPads, according to a recent patent filing. And if your work demands a bigger screen, it wouldn’t be difficult to plug a laptop dock into a monitor or TV.

We’ve grown so used to bringing our computers everywhere, the mere idea of a desktop dock feels archaic. After all, doing so involves keeping a keyboard and mouse on hand to get any work done. And since most sane people won’t carry those accessories around, the docks will likely just sit in a single location next to a monitor. At that point, doesn’t it make more sense to invest in an actual inexpensive desktop? There are also plenty of viable mini-PC options on the market, like Intel’s Compute Stick (which now starts around $120!).

You likely won’t save much money by investing in the Dex dock, either. Samsung hasn’t revealed its final pricing yet, but leaked documents suggest it could land somewhere around $150, which practically dooms it to obscurity. It’d be another story entirely if Samsung included the Dex with every Galaxy S8 — the sort of risk gadget makers will have to take if they actually want this concept to succeed.

Our reviews editor Cherlynn Low was mostly pleased with the Galaxy S8’s performance in the Dex dock. It’s powered by a speedy Snapdragon 835 processor and 4GB of RAM, so it makes sense that it would keep up with basic multitasking. Samsung also worked together with Microsoft to make sure that its Android Office apps performed smoothly. At the end of the day, though, you’re still stuck with an Android desktop. You won’t be able to do nearly as much with the Galaxy S8 and Dex as you would with a full-fledged Windows PC.

In the end, the Dex dock seems like an intriguing first step for Samsung, but it doesn’t really do much more than earlier attempts. And the bigger problem? Like other companies entering this market, Samsung has failed to answer why, exactly, we need a phone that mimics the dying desktop computing experience.

Click here to catch all the latest news from Samsung’s Galaxy S8 launch event!

Xbox One’s faster, simpler interface is available to everyone

After no small amount of hype, the Xbox One’s big spring software refresh is finally rolling out to everyone. The March update centers around a redesigned interface that’s designed for speed above all else. It’s quicker to perform more than a few tasks, such as finding a group to join. The revamped Guide should be much quicker, too — it promises faster access to recent apps, background music controls and game recording. A few tweaks are designed with multitasking in mind, such as a brand new achievement tracker and a Cortana rework that puts the voice assistant into an overlay that won’t disrupt what you’re doing.

There is one immediate drawback to all this: the console’s signature Snap mode is going away. You may not miss it too much (how often do you run apps side by side on your TV?), but there’s a good chance you’ll notice.

OF course, it’s not just about the front end. The Xbox One now has built-in Beam streaming, letting you broadcast your gaming adventures using Microsoft’s in-house service instead of Twitch. Gameplay is also more accessible thanks to a Copilot feature that splits controls between controllers. Media junkies will like support for Blu-ray player bitstream passthrough (to have a receiver decode audio), and parents can set screen time for their kids through a web interface. While the Xbox One won’t feel like a brand new system after all these improvements, it’s clearly getting a breath of fresh air.

Source: Major Nelson