Samsung’s new Galaxy S8 (5.8-inch) and S8+ (6.2-inch) have just launched in South Africa and they’re the company’s first new handsets since the Note 7.

Not only is the S8 Samsung’s new flagship, it’s also easily one of the top contenders for phone of the year.

“The Samsung Galaxy S8 ushers in a new era of smartphone design and fantastic new services, opening up new ways to experience the world,” said DJ Koh, President of Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics. “The Galaxy S8 is our testament to regaining your trust by redefining what’s possible in safety and marks a new milestone in Samsung’s smartphone legacy.”

Both the S8 and S8+ have an 83% body-to-screen ratio meaning that the front of the device is pretty much just an amazing display and not much else.

Galaxy S8

The S8 and S8+ are more than just smartphones with impressive displays, they’re also the focal point of Samsung’s 2017 mobile device ecosystem which includes a new 360 camera, a new Gear VR and DeX.

Some of the highlights of the S8 and S8+ are:

  • Camera: The Galaxy S8 / S8+ has an 8MP f/1.7 Smart autofocus front camera and 12MP f1.7 Dual Pixel rear camera for what Samsung claims is the best low-light, zoom and anti-blur photos with enhanced image processing.
  • Performance: Packing powerful performance and connectivity, the Galaxy S8 features the industry’s first 10nm processor, enabling heightened speed and efficiency. It is also gigabit LTE and gigabit Wi-Fi ready with support for up to 1 Gbps.
  • Entertainment: The Galaxy S8/S8+ is the world’s first mobile device certified by the UHD Alliance as mobile HDR premium.
  • Mobile Security: The Galaxy S8 is built on Samsung Knox, a defense-grade security platform. The S8 also offers a wide selection of biometric technologies including a fingerprint scanner, iris scanner and facial recognition so users can select a secure biometric authentication method that works best for them.
  • Design: The S8 and S8+ build on the impressive design first debuted with the S6 and S6 Edge but bring an even better sense of refinement than ever before.
  • Bixby: Samsung’s new intelligent interface, named Bixby, functions much like Apple’s Siri or Google’s Assistant. Bixby lets you navigate through services and apps by using either voice, touch and text commands. Samsung says that at launch, Bixby’s Voice function will integrate with several Samsung native apps and features including Camera, Contacts, Gallery, Messages and Settings, with the plan to expand its capabilities to include more Samsung and third-party apps in the near future. Contextual awareness capabilities enable Bixby to offer personalized help based on what it continues to learn about the user’s interests, situation and location. You’ll also be able to shop, search for images and get details about nearby places with Bixby’s image recognition technology.
  • IP68 water and dust resistance
  • MicroSD support up to 256GB
  • Always-on display
  • Both handsets have a 3.5mm headphone jack

Overall, Samsung’s new flagship handsets standout in all the right ways thanks to its fantastic design and impressive features, however the placement of the fingerprint scanner – next to the camera – will annoy some people.

If you’re looking for a high-end smartphone then the Galaxy S8 and S8+ are two of the best Android smartphones currently on the market.

The Galaxy S8 is available from R12 999.00 and the S8+ is available from R14 999.00