IPhone 8 Plus Review

Another year, another iPhone. Except this year, the 8 and 8 Plus aren’t the stars of the show - they were overshadowed at their own launch event by their bezel-less brother, the iPhone X.

Compared to the X, with its fairly radical redesign, the 8 and 8 Plus run the risk of looking a little dull, a bit been-there-done-that. But is that a fair assessment of Apple’s lasted iPhone iteration, or is X-envy masking a solid step forward for Cupertino?

Find out in our iPhone 8 Plus review.

IPHONE 8 PLUS: PRICE & AVAILABILITY

Unlike previous iPhones, even just over a week after launch the iPhone 8 Plus is still pretty easy to get hold of - Apple’s own site promises units will dispatch in 3-5 days for UK buyers, though in the US there’s still a 1-2 week wait.

If you buy SIM-free, the 8 Plus will set you back £799/$799 for a 64GB model, or £949/$949 for an arguably gratuitous 256GB storage - that's £100 more than the smaller iPhone 8, for reference.

Contracts vary, but in the UK you can expect to pay around £50 per month with £100-200 upfront cost - right now the lowest upfront cost from Carphone Warehouse is £39.99, with £64 per month over two years.

The point is, whatever way you look at it, this is an expensive phone. It’s in the same price range as Samsung’s flagships - the Galaxy S8 Plus would officially set you back £779 for 64GB, while the Note 8 is £869 for the same storage - though Samsung’s prices tend to drop faster than Apple’s.

For example, you can grab an S8 Plus for just £629.99/$734.99 from Amazon - or you could get the regular S8 for even less and get a similar-sized display to the 8 Plus in a smaller body.

Other top-spec Android devices typically cost even less - check out our best phones chart and you’ll find plenty of great phones well below the £600/$600 line.

IPHONE 8 PLUS: DESIGN & BUILD

Design is an area where Apple normally enjoys a solid lead over much of its competition, but in recent years Android rivals have slowly refined their design language, while Apple, well, hasn’t.

That’s because the iPhone 8 Plus looks almost exactly the same as the iPhone 7 Plus. And the 6s Plus. And the 6 Plus. You’ve actually got to go all the way back to the iPhone 5s in 2013 (!) to find the last Apple flagship with a substantially different build.

Still, what does that actually mean? You’ve got the same bezelled front, with the iPhone 7 static home button at the bottom. The only available port is Lightning - the 3.5mm headphone jack isn’t coming back, folks - and the dual rear cameras still noticeably protrude from the body. IP67 water-resistance also makes a return.

The colour selection is slightly different though. The 8 and 8 Plus are only available in Gold, Silver, or Space Grey, though the new Gold finish sits somewhere between the previous Gold and Rose Gold in shade.

The back is where we find the only significant design change: the rear of the body is glass rather than metal, a shift made mostly for technical rather than aesthetic reasons: it allows Apple to introduce wireless charging for the first time in an iPhone. More on that later.

Luckily, the glass is a welcome change - it adds to the already premium feel of the design (even four years in, it still holds up), and is somehow less slick and slippy than some other glass-backed phones.

Processor and memory

This is where the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus have arguably seen the biggest improvement from the 7 range, thanks to the introduction of the latest Apple processor: the A11 Bionic.

Naturally, Apple has made all sorts of claims about how it’s refined and improved its chip design, but there are only really two things that matter here: how it fares in benchmarks, and how it fares in day-to-day usage.

When it comes to the benchmarks, it’s probably fair to say that the 8 Plus absolutely smashes it. Paired with 3GB of RAM (according to a few teardown reports), the A11 Bionic demolished its closest rivals, with single-core scores that doubled the likes of the Galaxy S8.

The Jetstream browser scores were similarly impressive, though the gap narrows dramatically on the graphical tests. There’s also a marked improvement over the scores of last year’s 7 Plus, showing that the A11 offers a genuine performance boost from last year’s 

SAMSUNG GALAXY S8+ REVIEW

WHAT IS THE SAMSUNG GALAXY S8+?

If you’re yet to decide between the Samsung Galaxy S8 or the Galaxy S8+, then there’s only one thing you need consider: how big do you want your phone?

For most people, the smaller 5.5-inch S8 will be best. It’s more manageable in one hand, and will comfortably fit in your pocket. But if you’re accustomed to larger handsets such as the iPhone 7 Plus, Google Pixel XL or Nexus 6P then I'd suggest opting for the S8+.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S8+ – DESIGN

The Samsung Galaxy S8+ is stunning from every angle. It’s easily the slickest Android phone I've ever held, and makes the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus feel old-fashioned in comparison. It’s futuristic – but it doesn’t sacrifice usability for style.

The 6.2-inch screen size sounds huge, especially since the majority of larger handsets stick to screen sizes between 5.5 and 5.7 inches. The last flagship phone I can remember to sport a 6-inch display was the Motorola-built Nexus 6 – and that was a nightmare to use. But it’s a different story here. This is a big-screened phone that feels great, and credit has to be given to Samsung for crafting a phone that feels this good.

The curved front and back help it to nestle in your hand, and the narrow design means your palm isn’t stretched quite so much as it is when holding an iPhone 7 Plus. It’s actually about the size as an iPhone 7 Plus – although that has only a 5.5-inch display – and it’s shorter than the hulking Sony Xperia XZ Premium .

As a result of the tall screen, I've found myself struggling to move my thumb comfortably from the bottom to the top of the display in a single motion, leading to me gripping the device with two hands. However, the biggest issue with the size is the placement of the fingerprint scanner. In a move that screams of running out of time to embed it directly into the display, the S8+ sensor is tiny and crammed next to the camera. It’s hard enough to reach on the smaller S8, but here it’s virtually impossible without dislocating your thumb.

Along the sides of the device sit your typical volume rocker and standby buttons, but they’ve been joined by a dedicated Bixby key for quick access to Samsung's new voice assistant. Considering how limited Bixby is, it seems a waste of space giving it its own button. Thankfully, you can easily disregard it – unless you accidentally hit it when you’re trying to lower the volume. There’s a SIM and microSD card slot along the top of the phone, and a headphone jack and mono-speaker flanking the USB Type-C port on the bottom.

Just like the S7, the S8+ is IP68 rated for water-resistance and can be submerged in 1m of water for about 30 minutes. Unlike the S7, however, Samsung has ditched those hardware buttons and gone virtual. The home button even features a haptic response and can be accessed from anywhere by just pushing down on the lower portion of the display.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S8+ – SCREEN

The display is arguably the most striking part of the Galaxy S8+, and it’s the feature that really sets this device apart from the competition. In my review of the Galaxy S8, I said the handset made me feel excited by phones again – and that’s mostly down to the display.

There’s no Edge variation this year, and that’s because both the S8 and S8+ sport those eye-catching curved sides. They’re not as steep as before, though, and as such are more of a design trait than a practical feature. If you were put off by the edges on the S7 Edge, don’t let that sway you here.

Samsung has also further optimised its software to do a better job at rejecting accidental touches along those edge portions of the handset, something that was needed.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Review

WHAT IS THE SAMSUNG GALAXY S8?

Phones have become a little stale. Whether it's an iPhone 7, Huawei P10, Sony Xperia XZ Premium or any other flagship phone, they all look and feel the same. But just when I thought a phone couldn't surprise and delight me any more, the Samsung Galaxy S8 has proved me wrong.

From the moment I picked up the S8 – and its larger, 6.2-inch sibling the Galaxy S8+ – I realised it was even more special than I expected. This is a phone that feels innovative, a phone that I can’t help but recommend – even if it will set you back £689/$720.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S8 – DESIGN

Nothing comes close to the Galaxy S8 design-wise. It's the best-looking phone I've ever seen, leaving every other handset trailing in its wake.

The curved rear, as seen on the Galaxy S7, nestles perfectly in your palm, while the glass shimmers as the light hits it. The device is available in three colours – a dark black, bright silver and a grey with a blueish tinge – with no ugly white front plate in sight.

My review unit is the black option, and it’s properly black all over, with shiny sides that blend into the display. It feels like one complete piece, with the glass, screen and metal combining all together.

The volume rocker and standby switch are joined by a new button on the side. This is a dedicated Bixby button – which I'll cover in more detail in the Software section – and while it shows Samsung is taking its new virtual assistant seriously, it feels too much for Bixby to have its own button.

The S8 is thin and incredibly light at 155g, but it feels sturdy and precisely made. The last time Samsung opted for a huge change of direction with its flagship, many of the basic features were lost in the transition. Thankfully, this isn’t the case here. A microSD slot continues to sit tucked away with the nano-SIM, the criminally underrated Qi wireless charging is also present, and the device is IP68 water- and dust-resistant too, so it will survive a dunk in water for 30 minutes to depths of 1.5 metres.

Samsung has also retained the headphone jack; I'd be very surprised to hear that anyone thinks that’s a bad idea. Apple’s decision to remove a physical headphone connection looked like it might signal the demise of the 3.5mm jack, but Samsung has gone in the other direction, by including a pair of very good AKG wired buds in the box.

Like the recently launched LG G6, the front of the Samsung Galaxy S8 is almost all screen – and it's this that really makes the S8 stand out. Unlike with the G6, though, the display here melts into the sturdy metal rim

Samsung Galaxy S8  price and release date

• $35 a month on-contract in the US, $825 unlocked
• US Galaxy S8 unlocked pre-orders ship on May 31
• £779.99 in the UK and AU$1,349 in Australia
• Bundled accessories are still available in some instances

You won’t find many Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus deals because this phone just launched in the US and isn't even out in the UK yet – it's incredibly expensive, in line with its specs and features. You will find accessories bonuses, though.

In the US it’s now available at about $35 a month with a 24-month contract through carriers. Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile are all selling the new phone on-contract. It launched on Friday, April 21.

Looking for that elusive unlocked Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus in the US? It costs $824.99 and pre-orders began on May 9 via Samsung and Best Buy, but you'll have to wait until May 31 for the phone to ship. Sorry, early adopters who want the absolute best right now.

The SIM-free Samsung Galaxy S8 UK price is £779.99, or you can get it on-contract through a carrier for £45-£50 a month with £0 cost upfront. In Australia it tops out at AU$1,349. It launched on April 28 in both regions.

Samsung galaxy A5 Review

Smartphone fans across the globe are salivating at the mouth at the prospect of getting their hands on the imminent Samsung Galaxy S8, but in the interim, the company has released two phones a little lower down the price scale. The Samsung Galaxy A5 is the larger of the pair (the other is the Samsung Galaxy A3), and we’ve had the chance to go hands-on in advance of receiving a full review sample in a few days.

First impressions are good – in fact so good that I wouldn’t hesitate to put the A5 in the same bracket design-wise as the Galaxy S7. Although the price is set at below £400, the A5 has more in common with phones far more expensive, clad as it is in glass at the front and metal wrapping around the sides and the rear.

Four colours are available – Black Sky, Gold Sand, Blue Mist and Peach Cloud – and although I’m not a big fan of the blue colour, but the rest look suitably handsome.

As for size, the A5 comes with a manageable 5.2in display using an AMOLED panel with a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080. That gives you a pixel density of 424ppi, which isn’t sharp enough to use with the Samsung Gear VR (according to Samsung), but it’s plenty sharp for everyday use; you’ll have to look close to see any kind of pixel structure.

I’ve never had a problem with the protruding camera lens on recent Samsung phones, but if you did, you’ll be pleased to find that the lens protrusion is no more on the Galaxy A5 – it’s completely flush to the rear of the phone. And from the specifications, it looks as if it could be a decent snapper, too.

The resolution is 16 megapixels, which should produce detailed enough shots for most purposes, and there’s a bright, wide f/1.9 aperture that should ensure decent-quality images in low light. There’s no OIS, though, which is one sacrifice you’ll have to put up with.

Either way, the snaps I was able to grab during the event looked pretty good, and it’s also good to see that Samsung has made an effort to improve the camera software. The different shooting modes can now be accessed by swiping across the screen left and right, and the onscreen shutter button can be relocated to a location you’re comfortable with.

There’s a new food filter, too, for those keen to show off their culinary credentials. This applies a depth-of-field effect and ups the saturation in an effort to avoid the dreaded brown-plate-of-sick effect.

As with most modern smartphones, both budget and premium, the Samsung Galaxy A5 I tried at the launch event felt suitably snappy and responsive. It’s powered by an octa-core Exynos 7880 clocked at 1.9GHz, and this is backed up by 3GB of RAM, so it won’t be on a level playing field with the £400 OnePlus 3T, but it could prove to be a close match with the Moto Z Play, which has an octa-core 2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 625.

One area where the Samsung Galaxy A5 may not compete with the Moto is battery life. The phone comes with a 3,000mAh power pack, which is 510mAh smaller than its rival, although the A5’s smaller screen means the disparity shouldn’t be too huge. Samsung claims up to 16 hours of talk time, and once the battery is run down it should be quick to charge, with support for fast charging via the phone’s USB Type-C socket.

Samsung Galaxy S6 Review

In this unpredictable world, it’s the constants in life that I can count on. The sun rises in the East, Starbucks lattes always taste the same, and Apple’s iPhones are always better than Samsung’s Galaxy phones.

Since the dawn of the smartphone wars, there have been basic truths about Samsungs: They’re made of flimsy plastic, their cameras can’t keep up with the iPhone’s, and their modified Android software is ugly and intolerably cluttered.

With the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, which arrive at U.S. carriers on April 10, none of that is true anymore. I am not afraid to say it: I love Samsung’s new phones, maybe even more than my own iPhone 6. Like a child who just found out that Santa isn’t real, I have spent the past week questioning everything I know.

ENLARGE

The Galaxy S6’s 16-megapixel camera takes fantastic photos. PHOTO: JARRARD COLE/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

OK, maybe that’s a bit dramatic for smartphones, but I’m serious about how drastic the change is. Samsung has taken direct aim at Apple’s smartphone, this time even seeming to copy some of the iPhone’s design and features.

No, neither of the new Galaxys brings any original ideas to the evolution of the smartphone. If anything, Samsung has actually sucked out the differentiators, including the waterproof design and removable storage and battery. And Samsung still needs some schooling in the software department.

Yet with a series of improvements, the Galaxy now has a leg up on the hardware of other Android phones and the iPhone. It’s got me, a once extremely satisfied iPhone 6 owner, wishing for a better screen, sharper camera and faster charging.

Designed by…Samsung?

One reason I probably like the new Galaxys so much—especially the white models I’ve been testing—is that the design looks like a compilation of the iPhone’s greatest hits.

The screen’s glossy frame, the metal edges and the silver trim surrounding the home button look so very similar to my iPhone 6. Both Samsung phones even measure just 0.27-inch thick—just like the iPhone 6. With the speaker strip and ports on the bottom edge, Samsung doesn’t even try to hide its similarities to Apple’s work.

The back of the phone looks nothing like the iPhone 6. Covered entirely in a reflective piece of durable Gorilla Glass, it’s more similar to, you guessed it, the back of the iPhone 4.

The Galaxy S6 is a stunning device that is as equally pleasing to hold as it is to look at. If you had told me a year ago I would use the word “stunning” to describe a Galaxy phone, I would have called you crazy.

Here’s one thing my iPhone doesn’t have: a curved screen. The main difference between the S6 and the S6 Edge is that the Edge’s display slopes down on both sides. It also will cost you more—too much more. The 32GB version of the Galaxy S6 starts at $600 without a two-year contract (or about $25 a month with many of the carriers’ installment plans). The 32GB Edge starts around $700.

There is really no logical reason to buy the Edge. You can tap its side for notifications and other information when the main screen is off, but that wasn’t too helpful. Like with designer sunglasses, you’re mostly paying to look cooler.

Dream Screen, Fast Charging

Things appear even in the race with the iPhone, until you look at the Samsung phones’ 2560 x 1440-pixel, 5.1-inch screens, which have 577 pixels per inch, compared with the iPhone 6’s 4.7-inch display with 326 ppi. Translation: sharper photos, video and text. You can also see more on the screen, and using Samsung’s dual-app view, I find myself naturally putting two apps side by side.

Unlocking the screen is also much faster with the vastly improved fingerprint sensor embedded inside the home button. It actually felt a hair faster than Apple’s Touch ID, and not once did I encounter any error messages. (Later this year, the company plans to update the phone with its Samsung Pay software.)

Despite the higher-res screen, the Galaxy S6 gets slightly better battery life than the iPhone 6. All of these phones should make it through the day, no problem. However, in our grueling battery test, which cycles through a series of websites with brightness set at about 75%, the S6 lasted just over seven hours (a little less than the Galaxy S5). The iPhone 6 conked out after 6½ hours; so did the Galaxy S6 Edge.

And there’s no more swappable battery, though Samsung tries to make up for that with faster charging. I was able to get a 50% charge within 30 minutes. Samsung will also sell a $50 wireless charging pad, but it’s up to you if you want to wait the three hours it takes to charge up the phones.

The IPhone 7 Plus Review

Apple broke with its tradition by keeping the 6/6s design for another year, opting instead to improve fundamental parts of the user experience. The iPhone 7 has a better battery than before, a more color-rich screen, a vastly improved camera and plenty ofhorsepowerthanks to its new A10 Fusion chipset. If you're looking for newfangled features (or a headphone jack, for that matter), you'll have to search elsewhere. While it's not thrilling enough to warrant an immediate upgrade from last year's 6s, the iPhone 7 is nonetheless an excellent smartphone.

Unless your hands can't accommodate it, the iPhone 7 Plus is probably the iPhone you're looking for. It takes the foundational improvements made to the iPhone 7 and packs them into a body with a crisper screen and beefier battery. While it might seem weird at first, the "zooming" afforded by the dual 12-megapixel cameras around back is handy too, though you'll wind up paying more for it.

You don't need me to tell you that this year's iPhones look an awful lot like last year's. Like it or not, Apple believed there was still room to improve the phone design we've been using for two years, so it focused on that instead of cooking up a brand-new aesthetic. It's tempting to say Apple's current design philosophy boils down to "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," but that's not really true either: The company actually fixed a lot this year.

Some changes are subtler than others. The 7 and 7 Plus's antenna bands swoop around the phones' curves instead of cutting across their backs. The iPhone's 12-megapixel camera (or cameras, in the case of the 7 Plus) is surrounded by an aluminum hump, rather than just jutting out like in the old days. Apple finally made 32GB the new storage baseline and gave the 7 and 7 Plus a seriously spacious 256GB option. Both models are the exact same size as the models that preceded them, but the 7 and 7 Plus have each shed a couple of grams here and there. The loss of a few paper clips' worth of weight isn't nothing, though, especially when we're talking about devices that we hardly ever put down.

From there, the list of changes starts to look more substantial. If you're lucky, you'll never need to know that the 7 and 7 Plus meet IP67 water-resistance standards. In other words, they're built to withstand dust ingress and, more important, submersion in up to a meter of water for 30 minutes. Apple's rivals have made big strides in making their smartphones more life-proof, so all I can really say is: It's. About. Time. Finally, we get iPhones that'll survive when you drop them in puddles, get caught in the rain or intentionally dunk them in beer. (Note: liquid damage still isn't covered by Apple's warranty.) Catching up to the competition has never been so welcome, or so tasty.

From there, the list of changes starts to look more substantial. If you're lucky, you'll never need to know that the 7 and 7 Plus meet IP67 water-resistance standards. In other words, they're built to withstand dust ingress and, more important, submersion in up to a meter of water for 30 minutes. Apple's rivals have made big strides in making their smartphones more life-proof, so all I can really say is: It's. About. Time. Finally, we get iPhones that'll survive when you drop them in puddles, get caught in the rain or intentionally dunk them in beer. (Note: liquid damage still isn't covered by Apple's warranty.) Catching up to the competition has never been so welcome, or so tasty.

for more detail subscripe us on our youtube channel :

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe8Fqg6jJHiGJL83miI4qVA