Samsung Galaxy S8, S8 Plus launched in India; starting price Rs 57,900

For all you Samsung loyalists- the much awaited Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus have finally hit the Indian shores. The Samsung Galaxy S8 is priced at Rs 57,900 while the S8 Plus is priced at Rs 64,900 and the smartphones are available in two colour variants – Midnight Black and Maple Gold – starting from May 5. The S8 Plus also comes in Coral Blue colour variant.

As expected, the company has launched the devices with the octa-core Exynos 8895 processor in India instead of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 variant launched in the US. The South Korean tech giant has also launched an introductory offer. Those who pre-book the Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+ will get a wireless charging accessory worth Rs 4,499 free with their handset.

"The stunning Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ come with new design innovations alongside cutting-edge technology that includes a revolutionary camera, the industry’s first 10nm processor, Bixby and robust Phone+ offerings. These devices will offer our consumers a gateway to a new mobile life where the power of innovation will carry them beyond barriers," said Asim Warsi, Senior Vice President, Mobile Business, Samsung India.

First launched on 29th May, the flagship devices come with ‘Infinity Display’ and sports Quad HD+ Super AMOLED curved display. The display comes with a 1440x2960 pixel resolution and an 18:9 aspect ratio.

Both the Galaxy S8 as well as the Plus model pack 4GB of RAM and come with 64GB inbuilt storage while also supporting expandable storage via microSD card up to 256GB. As far as the camera is concerned, the flagship devices are equipped with an advanced 8MP F1.7 Smart autofocus front camera and 12MP F1.7 Dual Pixel rear camera with impressive low-light, zoom, and anti-blur photos with enhanced image processing.

Additionally, the duo offers a wide array of biometric technologies including iris scanner, facial recognition, and regular PIN or pattern lock. A fingerprint scanner has also been embedded in the back panel next to the camera, adding to its bezel-less smartphone experience.

The sensors on board include an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, barometer, gyroscope, heart rate sensor, magnetometer, and proximity sensor as well. Calling on the connectivity features, these handsets offer 4G LTE (Cat. 16), Wi-Fi 802.11ac (2.4GHz, 5GHz), Bluetooth v5.0, USB Type-C, NFC, and GPS. Although USB Type-C support is available on the flagships, both devices support wireless charging packed with fast charging technology.

The last but not the least, Samsung's Bixby virtual assistant that is making its debut on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus. Bixby will offer contextual information based on users' habits. The Galaxy S8 also comes with a dedicated hardware button for Bixby, though the voice-based features of Bixby will be pushed out to the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ at a later date.

While the devices will be available across offline retail stores, Samsung has partnered with Flipkart to sell them online.