Articles about Galaxy S8

Samsung kicked off the Android Oreo roll-out for the Galaxy S8 early this month, making the much-awaited update available to folks who've been part of the beta program first, with a wider rollout expected to take place shortly after.

However, due to a problem that caused unexpected reboots, Samsung pulled it a week ago. The good news is that the roll-out is back on track, with a new version now set to reach Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ users.

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It's only a week since Samsung started to roll out Android 8.0 Oreo to the Galaxy S8 and S8+, and now the company has paused the update.

A "limited number" of handsets receiving the update have been experiencing reboot problems after installing Oreo. While Samsung investigates the matter, the rollout has been paused and a new version of the update is being worked on.

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Samsung has kicked off the Android Oreo roll-out for the Galaxy S8, three months after introducing a public beta program. The first to get it are the testers who enrolled, starting with those in Germany.

What's interesting is that, even though version 8.1 exists, Samsung is pushing Android 8.0 Oreo. That's pretty much what happened last time round with the Galaxy S7, which received Android 7.0 Nougat, when 7.1 was available.

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Samsung will release the Android Oreo update for a significant number of devices, and, just like last year, the latest flagships in the Galaxy S range are the first to receive this treatment.

Android Oreo will initially be offered on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ through the Samsung Experience 9.0 beta program, which opens today, November 2, for users in US, UK and South Korea. Here is what you need to know.

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I have to admit that when I wrote the April Fools piece Bill Gates loves his new iPhone 5s, can now beat Bono at Candy Crush a few years ago, I did not expect the former Microsoft CEO to actually abandon Windows Phone for a rival platform. But, it happened -- though I was only half right.

Bill Gates did not switch to the iPhone (although the new iPhone line is pretty cool), going with an Android smartphone "with a lot of Microsoft software" instead. This is huge, if you think about it, as Gates basically acknowledged that Windows 10 Mobile just isn't good enough for him.

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If you look at the iPhone 7 and the Galaxy S8 and compare them to their predecessors, there is no denying that Samsung's flagship has made a bigger leap forward. It is arguably the more interesting smartphone of the two as a result. But, as always, that does not automatically translate into better sales.

The iPhone, for all the minor upgrades it has received over the years, has rarely been dethroned by its rivals, and that was again the case in the second quarter of 2017, when it basically wiped the floor with the Galaxy S8 in terms of sales.

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Strong sales of its latest Galaxy S8 smartphone and increased demand for its memory have led Samsung to have a record second quarter.

The company released its financials for Q2 today and the company earned $54.8 billion total with $12.6 billion in profit. All of Samsung's products performed exceptionally well with its smartphone and memory divisions leading the charge.

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The day has, at long last, arrived for Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ owners: Bixby voice capabilities for US English is now available in the United States and South Korea.

A quick software update is all it takes to bring the long-awaited voice assistant to Samsung flagship smartphones. The update means that the hitherto useless hardware Bixby button now has a purpose, and Galaxy S8 and S8+ users can start to enjoy the benefits of taking control of their phones with their voices.

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Samsung is entering into an "extended partnership" with PayPal to bring PayPal support to Samsung Pay. To start with, PayPal will be available as a payment method in the US first, but it will expand to other countries in the future.

It means that not only can PayPal be used as a source to fund Samsung Pay for POS purchases, but Samsung's Braintree merchants will also be able to accept PayPal payments for online and in-app purchases.

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When I dream of being rich, the one thing that I never imagine buying is a luxury smartphone. It just doesn't make sense to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a device that, realistically speaking, isn't better than an iPhone or Galaxy S flagship. I have not conducted a scientific study to back this up, but I suspect that people who are actually wealthy would agree.

A luxury item, at least from my perspective, has to stand the test of time. It has to be just as attractive today as it was yesterday. A Rolex Submariner from 10 years ago isn't looked down upon now or perceived as worse compared to the latest model. But a phone, that's different. It actually becomes less appealing as time goes by, because its core functionality becomes less and less attractive to the owner when new generations hit the market.

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Samsung nailed it with the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. The two flagship smartphones are a huge hit, as the strong sales and raving reviews prove -- and that is in no small part due to their cutting edge hardware and attractive software. In fact, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are so good that Consumer Reports thinks they're the best smartphones that you can get today.

As in any ranking, there has to be a winner and the bigger Galaxy S8+ takes first place in Consumer Reports' ratings. The Galaxy S8 is a close second though, being different basically only in terms of display and battery size.

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The launch of the Samsung Galaxy S8 was slightly marred by the absence of the promised virtual assistant, Bixby. We may now be in June, but it looks like it's still going to be a few weeks until Samsung's assistant arrives in the US. The problem? It's having trouble understanding English syntax and grammar.

So far Bixby has emerged with Korean support, but the Wall Street Journal reports that the English-language version is still weeks away from completion. The news comes from "people familiar with the matter," but Samsung has responded to the claims, adding weight to their veracity.

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Samsung has released a new app which is designed to give users more control over the audio on their Galaxy devices. It's called SoundAssistant and it is compatible with the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S7 lines as well as other handsets running the latest version of Android.

There are three main features in SoundAssistant that are worth your attention. First is the option to change the behavior of the volume keys which, by default, will raise or decrease the volume for the ringtone.

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Biometric authentication may be more convenient than a PIN or password, but it is not as secure as you might be lead to believe. The iris scanner on the Galaxy S8 can be defeated with a photo and contact lens, despite Samsung's claims that it offers "airtight security" and provides "one of the safest ways to keep your phone locked and the contents private."

If this has you worried, Samsung says that it is "difficult for the whole scenario to happen in reality," even though the hack "appears simple." The company believes that having the right tools in the first place can prove to be problematic for anyone attempting to defeat the iris scanner.

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If you want to secure your Samsung Galaxy S8, relying on the iris scanner to keep it locked is not the best idea. That's because it can be easily fooled using just a printed photo and a contact lens.

This reinforces the belief that biometric authentication is -- at least for now -- less secure than traditional options, like PINs and passwords, which have the advantage of not being tied to a physical trait that can be easily exploited by hackers, thieves or the authorities.

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