Samsung Galaxy S8: Five things we want
By Robin-Leigh Chetty 28 March 2017 | Categories: newsWhen last year's Galaxy Note 7 battery fiasco prompted Samsung to delay the release of the Galaxy S8, the proverbial sharks began to circle to try and claim the South Korean manufacturer's crown among Android phone makers. Unfortunately for competitors though, none of them made a definitive enough impression at MWC 17 this year, which has once again given Samsung the opportunity to impress with the Galaxy S8.
Much of the phone's features, such as a lack of physical home button, moving the fingerprint scanner to the rear and a larger edge-to-edge screen have already been detailed, but here's five things we'd like to see in the Galaxy S8.
1. Make it right
When Samsung unveil the new Galaxy S flagship tomorrow, no matter how impressive it looks, the one lingering question many will have is the quality control amid fears of another exploding battery disaster. In the months following the Note 7's shortcomings, Samsung has increased control checks for its batteries in particular.
While a nice looking video (pasted below) is good for some, we'd prefer a few assurances from Samsung. Ti that end, we're hoping to hear what Samsung Mobile South Africa has planned should anything go wrong with the Galaxy S8 and S8+ when it launches locally.
2. Less bloatware
When it comes to user interfaces, the one on Samsung devices has always been a little hit and miss in our opinion, particularly when it comes to the abundance of bloatware present of the phone. In the case of the last year's impressive Galaxy S7 edge, Samsung's Galaxy Essentials plus the duplication of specific apps like Mail, Photos and Gallery left things feeling a little cluttered.
As such, a Galaxy S8 that takes cues from the HTC 10 or indeed Nokia's new lineup of smartphones, which features a pure version of Android, would certainly increase our desire to use the phone. This is likely wishful thinking though, but hopefully superfluous applications and duplication has been done away with on the S8.
3. Use the edges
The curved edges that Samsung has introduced of late to the screen and frame of the Galaxy S devices has gone down a treat in terms of design. They are not, however, being made the most of in terms of functionality and applications.
At the moment, Samsung has used virtual tabs on the edges of its Galaxy S devices to pull open contact and frequently used app lists. This is a handy feature at times, but is not any quicker than a few taps on the screen to bring up the same information.
4. Create function area
One of the big talking points surrounding the Galaxy S8 is the edge to edge display, which is reportedly doing away with the physical home button too. Whether or not Samsung is simply doing so to increase screen real estate remains to be seen.
We are hoping for a virtual home button, and perhaps a few other widgets for quickly launching most frequent apps. Or maybe Samsung should consider having a different setup in a touch-enabled function area depending on the application one is in, much like Apple's Touch Bar on the latest MacBook. Such a feature should definitely get people talking and improve functionality.
5. Note-esque capacity
Say what you will about the Galaxy Note series, but the devices were very good at multitasking. With pop up windows for jotting down quick notes, as well as annotating documents and images, the Note phablet could do a handy myriad of things.
The Galaxy S flagships by comparison are not inept, but when you wanted a true multitasking device, you often turned to the Note. If Samsung adding some of that functionality to the Galaxy S8 and 8+, it could further enhance users' abilities to get things done.
Follow us
To see what Samsung has in store, the company will be live streaming its Galaxy Unpacked event on 29 March at 17:00 (SAST) on its YouTube channel. We'll be covering the live stream on @TechSmartMag, so be sure to follow. Hopefully we'll be getting hands-on with the Galaxy S8 and S8+, and serving up our first impressions.
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