Samsung Galaxy S8

Alphr | Jonathan Bray and Alan Martin

The Samsung Galaxy S8 is the best of the best of the best – but it comes at a price. The question is: do you need this much phone? For most people, probably not – the price is very high, and the gap between what budget and top-end smartphones can do is shrinking by the month.

What Hi-Fi?

The world's most beautiful smartphone is also one of the best. The S8 is Samsung's comeback king.

Pocket-lint | Mike Lowe

The Samsung Galaxy S8 is the flagship to rule all flagships. In short: the Samsung Galaxy S8 is a masterpiece; one with a few brush-strokes out of place, but a masterpiece nonetheless.

Ubergizmo | Hubert Nguyen

The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ have officially arrived, and everything indicates that it was worth the wait. The Galaxy S8/S8+ is a technological marvel inside an amazing industrial design.

IT PRO | Adam Shepherd, Zach Marzouk

The Galaxy S8 is a thing of absolute beauty. Pairing speed and power with a sophisticated and attractive design, it runs rings around its competition in almost every arena. Not only is it the the peak of Samsung's smartphone design, it's set a new bar for all future flagship devices.

Stuff | Elissa Loi

The S8 is close to perfect, from its gorgeous, slim bezel design to its superb camera. What you're left with here is a brilliant smartphone experience, wrapped in one of the sleekest designs ever. If you're looking for a smartphone that nails every aspect of everything you could want in the palm of your hand, this is it.

Expert Reviews | Jonathan Bray

So yes, the Samsung Galaxy S8 is the fastest phone around. It's definitely the sexiest and the camera is better than it was last year, too. But is it worth its price? I'm not so sure.

Phone Scoop | Eric M. Zeman

If you're ready to upgrade from an older Galaxy phone the S8 is The One you've been waiting for. Yes, it's that good. Go buy this phone now.

S21

The Galaxy S8 is the best-looking and arguably the best-equipped phone on the market in 2017, but it has a price to match.

Recombu | Alex Todd

There's something special about the S8, enough so that it perhaps justifies its high price tag more readily than Apple or even LG does with their current top dogs.

Trusted Reviews | Max Parker

Easily the best phone around right now. The Galaxy S8 feels like the future.

The Telegraph | James Titcomb

Samsung has been ambitious with the Galaxy S8. After the nightmare that was the Note 7, it had to be. The result is a brilliantly-designed phone that sets a new standard for what phones should look like in 2017. Unless you're a Google purist, I'm minded to recommend the S8 over the Pixel, and call it the best Android phone you can buy.

The Mirror | Sophie Curtis

All in all, the Galaxy S8 is hard to fault. It looks great, it's a powerhouse of a device, and it offers every type of biometric authentication going - from fingerprints to iris scanning and facial recognition. The best Android smartphone of 2017 so far.

What Mobile | Thomas Wellburn

The Samsung Galaxy S8+ is a masterpiece of design and just about the best flagship smartphone that money can buy right now.

NotebookCheck | Marcus Herbrich, Daniel Schmidt

Samsung has managed to upgrade its premium smartphone very well with its Galaxy S8. Nevertheless, Samsung's Galaxy S8 has to accept some criticism, although it is an outstanding smartphone.

Engadget | Chris Velazco

For the most part, Samsung's Galaxy S8 is a slam dunk. That's all most people will need, and our gripes are minor. It's too bad Bixby is still incomplete. Long story short, if you're looking for a new phone, this should be at the top of your list.

ZDNet | Jason Cipriani

The Note line has long been designed for creative and business users, and the Note 8 is the epitome of both. Still, it's tough to justify spending that much on a phone.

AnandTech | Matt Humrick

If you're upgrading from a previous Android or Galaxy phone, especially one that predates the S7, the Galaxy S8's performance and battery life will not disappoint, no matter which SoC is used. Between these two, however, across all of the tests I've run, the S835 model is certainly the better of the two in terms of those metrics.

phoneArena | Ray S.

The GS8+ doesn't have to be the best phone in order to be a great phone. If you want an Android phablet that screams premium, offers almost every possible feature there is, and handles every task with an impressive degree of excellence, you don't need to look elsewhere, because the Galaxy S8+ is right here, and it gives you all that.

Neowin | Robbie Khan

For now, the Galaxy S8+ stands on its own if you want the best display experience of any phone currently available. It is not perfect, but it is the closest a Galaxy has ever been.

AVForums | David Phelan

The Galaxy S8 is the best phone Samsung has made. Well, you'd expect that. But it's genuinely one of the best phones I've ever seen, and easily the most accomplished, elegant Android phone.

YourTechExplained | Jason England

Regardless of how expensive the price tag you are getting more features than any other phone on the market. No phone is perfect and there are always things to love and hate about each one. Despite any flaws, it is a fantastic phone and it is one that will please most people.

pocketnow | Jaime Rivera

This smartphone is unlike any other, and a true showcase for what technology can do in 2017. Like all products, this device is not perfect, and at times also ahead of its time. I applaud Samsung for doing a great job in nailing the basics, and hope that the software fixes needed will be ironed out by the time we re-visit this phone for our After The Buzz.

The Inquirer | Basil Kronfili

It looks incredible, it performs like a dream. The fact that, by comparison, most other flagships feel nothing short of dated next to the S8+ is perhaps the biggest reason to pick it up.

PC Mag | Sascha Segan

The Samsung Galaxy S8 is a gorgeous big-screen phone with a comfortable single-handed feel. And it's packed with top-notch components and promising new software.

news.com.au | Matthew Dunn

SHOULD YOU BUY IT Short answer: Duck yes!

NDTV Gadgets | Jamshed Avari

Performance is phenomenal, and the cameras are right up there with the iPhone 7 Plus and Google Pixel XL, if not better. This is how you stand out in 2017, and this is what you need to feel like you're on top of the world.

Android Headlines | Nick Sutrich

This is truly the cornerstone of future smartphones, and the synergy of hardware and software design we see here shows the love and care Samsung has put into every tiny little corner of the device. Simply put, if you're in the market for a device right now, it's almost impossible not to love what Samsung has crafted.

PC Advisor | Chris Martin

Samsung has taken the best phone around and made it even better with an impressive screen and design. It ticks a shed load of boxes you'd want a flagship to do. It's the best phone of 2017 so far but it is expensive and the biometrics are a let down.

Forbes | Gordon Kelly

Make no mistake, the Galaxy S8 is probably the best smartphone on the market (the height of the Galaxy S8 Plus will polarise opinion) but with looks like this it should've won by a mile… Just look at it.

TechnoBuffalo | Brandon Russell

Despite its few shortcomings, it's hard not to love the Galaxy S8. I can't help but marvel every time I pick it up. The closest thing to perfect.

T3 | Dan Grabham

The S7 Edge evolves into the S8 to create a sublime smartphone, even if there are one or two compromises. A truly wonderful phone that you'll want to own, but the fingerprint reader frustrates.

TechRadar | Gareth Beavis

Apart from the irritating performance of the biometrics and the high price, the Galaxy S8 is a phone that offers an exceptional experience for any user. It commands a premium price, but make no mistake: this is a truly premium phone.

International Business Times | Alistair Charlton

The Samsung Galaxy S8 is a landmark moment for the smartphone. Samsung has created a handset which finally breaks the smartphone mould and ends years of design stagnation.

V3 | Carly Page

The Samsung Galaxy S8 is the only smartphone to have ever made us look at our iPhone's Retina display with disgust. Yes, it's expensive, but it's also undoubtedly the best smartphone on the market right now. Assuming it isn't prone to bursting into flames, Samsung's onto a winner, and Apple should be pretty worried about it.

Wired UK | Mark Walton

In spite of its numerous flaws, such as the launch version of the Bixby AI assistant, Samsung has somehow produced the best phone on the market right now.

CNET UK | Jessica Dolcourt

The Samsung Galaxy S8's fast speeds and fantastic curved screen make it a top phone for 2017, but the annoying fingerprint reader could sour your experience.

Android Central | Daniel Bader

The Galaxy S8 isn't quite as revolutionary as its Infinity Display lets on, but the phone, and its larger Galaxy S8+ counterpart, is a definitive statement of Samsung's dominance in the mobile space. In either size, the Galaxy S8 is probably the best Android phone you can buy right now.

SlashGear | Chris Davies

The Galaxy S8 is easily the best Android smartphone on the market today, and in several ways it ousts the iPhone 7 too.

Mobile Syrup | Patrick O'Rourke

Samsung's S8 and S8+ feel like phones from the future. The smartphone is, however, not without faults.

The Verge | Dan Seifert

Luckily for Samsung, the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus are excellent devices to begin the work of rehabilitating its image. They are the best Android phones you can buy right now, with stunning displays, beautiful design, and great performance.

Coolsmartphone | Leigh Geary

Yet another Samsung barnstormer that totally erases any memories of exploding phones. Sexy, powerful, well-equipped. Pricey though, and with a questionable fingerprint sensor.

Tom's Guide | Caitlin McGarry

The Galaxy S8 goes rugged with a water-resistant body and a screen that won't crack.

Eurogamer | Damien McFerran

Samsung needed something pretty special to come back from the fiery debacle that was the canned Note 7, and the Galaxy S8 is indeed a very special phone. It's a shame then that the false-start of the Bixby assistant and the rather weak battery take the shine off proceedings.

The Guardian | Samuel Gibbs

There are two reasons to buy the Galaxy S8+ – an epic screen and solid battery life. Everything else is pretty much the same as the smaller S8, but it's more awkward to hold and carry. The S8+ is the king of massive phones, but it's just not quite the best smartphone available.

Digital Trends | Julian Chokkatu

Samsung's Galaxy S8 is mesmerizingly close to perfection with its fantastic display, useful interface, and eye-catching design. It will drain your wallet, but it's worth every penny.

GSMArena

What's the most troubling bit about the S8s, big or small, is that they're not all that different compared to last year's models. If the sexy new design isn't top on your priorities list, the Galaxy S7 will do just as well 95% of the time, and you can even treat yourself to some curves with the S7 edge, while saving some cash either way.

Gadget Speak | paul_smart

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Ars Technica | Ron Amadeo

Gorgeous new hardware, same Samsung gimmicks. First flagship since the Note 7 mess doesn't always put its best foot forward.