Samsung launched its next flagship smartphone today, the Galaxy S8 – to the surprise of no-one, following a series of leaks.
It’ll come in two versions, the S8 and S8+, both of which are huge and very expensive. The former comes in at an RSI-inducing 5.8 inches and costs £689, while the latter is a positively mutant 6.2 inches, with a pricetag of £779 and specs to match.
The South Korean firm has a lot resting on the release of the S8; it was dogged for most of 2016 by repeated reports that its previous flagship phone, the Galaxy Note S7, was occasionally liable to spontaneously combust. It was eventually forced to recall the phones twice, after one expensive refurbishment programme didn’t work. The batteries exploded in more than three dozen of the 2.5 million units it had shipped, causing a handful of serious injuries and a major hit to its stock prices.
The electronics giant has also been embroiled in the political scandal engulfing its homeland, which has so far forced president Park Geun-hye to step down. Its boss Lee Jae-yong, was arrested in February, after he was alleged to have paid £30 million in bribes to an associate of president Park
The phones themselves are kitted out with ultra-powerful 2.3GHz octa-core processors, 64GB of storage and 4GB of RAM, as well as one 8MP and one 12MP camera each and some slinky beveled edges that you better hope aren’t susceptible to shattering when they’re dropped.
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