Galaxy S8 vs. Galaxy S6: Should You Upgrade?

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Samsung's big launch is over and the

The Galaxy S8 is official

But where does that leave Galaxy S6 owners who are now coming to the end of their two-year contracts? Is the Galaxy S8 a worthy upgrade or all style and no substance?

Here's the full breakdown:

Galaxy S8 (left) vs Galaxy S6 (right) - there's no comparison when it comes to style

Samsung

Display - Big is Better

Let's cut to the chase: the main reason the Galaxy S8 will grab your attention is its stunning display:

Galaxy S8 - 5.8-inch Super AMOLED, 1440 x 2960 pixels (570 ppi pixel density), 83.6% screen-to-body ratio, Corning Gorilla Glass 5

Galaxy S6 - 5.1-inch Super AMOLED, 1440 x 2560 pixels (577 ppi pixel density), 70.7% screen-to-body ratio, Corning Gorilla Glass 4

Yes, the standard Galaxy S8 now has a screen that's bigger than the Galaxy S6 Edge+ 'phablet', that's a statement of intent. Plus, the incredible 83.6% screen-to-body ratio means that it is not an oversized monster (later).

Beyond that, the Galaxy S8 also has the best smartphone display ever and is the first to achieve Mobile HDR Premium certification thanks to improved brightness and contrast ratios. If you drop it, Gorilla Glass 5 of the Galaxy S8 is also better at surviving drops than the Galaxy S6's Gorilla Glass 4 (though there's not much to it).

The Galaxy S8 running high-quality video at full resolution is a stunning sight

Gordon Kelly

It's worth pointing out that Samsung ships the Galaxy S8 with a lower resolution of 2220 x 1080 by default. It will still look great (and you can change it), but the reasoning behind this downgrade has implications when we discuss battery life.

Design - Compact and more convenient

And it's here that the Galaxy S8's screen-to-body ratio should really catch your eye:

Galaxy S8 - 148.9 x 68.1 x 8.0mm (5.86 x 2.68 x 0.31in), 155g (5.36oz)

Galaxy S6 - 143.4 x 70.5 x 6.8mm (5.65 x 2.78 x 0.27in), 138g (4.87oz)

Yes, you're looking at a device with a 5.8-inch display that weighs just 17g (0.59oz) more than the Galaxy S8 while being slightly narrower. This is achieved by significantly reducing the top and bottom bezels and eliminating side bezels altogether in favor of curved edges. Samsung calls it the “Infinity Display” and, for once, the marketing isn't overdone.

Galaxy S8 bezels are incredibly thin

Gordon Kelly

Despite this beauty, the Galaxy S8 has practical aspects that also make it a very attractive upgrade: it is IP68 dust and water resistant and withstands total immersion in up to 1.5 meters of water for 30 minutes, as well as expandable microSD storage (support cards up to 256GB). These features were greatly missed on the Galaxy S6 and their return from the Galaxy S7 is a welcome one.

A possible downside is that Galaxy S6 owners will have to get used to not having a home button as there simply wasn't space to install one on the Galaxy S8. do the job now but a side effect is that Samsung has moved the fingerprint sensor and it has (oddly) been moved to the right side of the rear camera. your camera lens every time.

The Galaxy S8 fingerprint sensor is incorrectly positioned

Gordon Kelly

To compensate, Samsung gave the Galaxy S8 iris (great) and face (garbage) recognition that work quickly, but since you have to point your phone at your face, it's a visible way to unlock.

Cameras - Incremental Game Changer Vs Vs

The Galaxy S6's camera was a game-changer and saw Samsung eclipse Apple's iPhone for now. Since then, Samsung has maintained that lead, but the Galaxy S7 and now the Galaxy S8 are just incremental improvements. of this smartphone legend.

As such, you'll find a virtually identical 12-megapixel, f/1.7 aperture rear shooter to the Galaxy S7 with optical image stabilization (OIS) and 4K video recording compared to the 16-megapixel, f/1.9 aperture. , 4K compatible on the Galaxy S6 . In good conditions, the higher resolution of the Galaxy S6 can actually produce more detail, but the Galaxy S8 is faster and better in low light.

The Galaxy S8 camera is just a minor upgrade from the Galaxy S7

Gordon Kelly

Where the Galaxy S8 has a bigger advantage, however, is on the front with an all-new 8MP, f/1.7 aperture camera that's a step up from the 5MP, f/1.9 and f/1.8 modules. of the Galaxy S6. and Galaxy S7 respectively. If you are a selfie fan, this is great news.

But will the Galaxy S8 regain its position as the 2016 champion's class leader on

Google Pixel

?Based on the early evidence in the comparison photo below, I'm not convinced:

Galaxy S8 (left) vs Google Pixel XL (right) shows the latter coming out on top, but more testing is

... [+]

necessary

Gordon Kelly

Performance - On paper vs in practice

While the Galaxy S8 isn't a big step up from the Galaxy S7 (10% faster CPU, 21% faster GPU), it adds up when you consider that the Galaxy S7 had a 30% faster CPU. fast and a 64% faster GPU than the Galaxy S6. There's also an extra gigabyte of RAM (4GB vs. 3GB) making Samsung's new flagship a solid upgrade.

Again, you'll still find the familiar Samsung software flaws of occasional lag and dropped animation frames in the heavily customized TouchWiz UI. At this point, this is purely down to coding inefficiency. The Google Pixel runs Android like silk on older hardware and there's no good reason why Samsung can't assemble its game by 2017. Hope the software updates fix the issues I'm having found on a pre-release model.

When it comes to connectivity, however, the Galaxy S8 has a lot to offer. Out came the Galaxy S6's micro-USB 2.0 power port, a Bluetooth 4.1 modem, and 450 Mbit for USB 3.1 Type-C, Bluetooth 5.0 (speed 2x, 4x range) and a future-proof gigabit modem. That's a lot to love.

Galaxy S8 vs. Galaxy S6: Should You Upgrade?

Read more - Galaxy S8 vs Galaxy S8 Plus: what's the difference?

Software - Exclusives that remain exclusive?

Samsung has yet to say if all of the new Galaxy S8 software features will make it to the Galaxy S6, but there's a good chance they'll come to the Galaxy S7. Still, for now you'll find the big differences. /the following Google likenesses:

Bixby

- a Google Now/Google Assistant/Google Goggles hybrid displaying contextually relevant information (travel times, flights, news, etc.)

Bixby's info screen is a clear copy of Google Now

Gordon Kelly

Samsung Login

- a Google Home/Apple Home alternative to control your IoT devices

Dex

- you'll need a $150 dock to access it, but pair it with a keyboard, mouse, and monitor and you've got a barebones PC with a desktop-friendly custom version of Android that runs Android apps , Amazon Workspaces and Citrix Receiver. Whether you need a barebone PC is up to you.

When paired with the DeX dock, the Galaxy S8 can create a basic multi-window desktop environment

... [+]

that runs android apps

Gordon Kelly

But you'll also find all the usual bloatware: two app stores, two calculators, two web browsers, two email clients, two mobile payment services, two clocks, and more. If you want Samsung hardware, you have to accept Samsung software - for better or for worse.

Note: The Galaxy S8 will only ship with Android 7.0, although Android 7.1 is a) a major upgrade and b) almost six months old. But you'll probably get this upgrade before Samsung releases it for the Galaxy S6.

Battery life - Beating a low bar

Samsung took a risk with the Galaxy S8: it equipped it with the same 3000 mAh battery as the Galaxy S7, despite the big increase in screen size, so it remains to be seen if it can match the resistance of its predecessor. Again, if you own a Galaxy S6, you'll know that battery life was its biggest Achilles heel with the 2550mAh battery just not doing the job - especially by compared to the Galaxy S5.

The Galaxy S8 is very thin, but should it have been thicker with a bigger battery?

Gordon Kelly

Also, where the Galaxy S6 excels, the Galaxy S8 beats it: charging. Fast wired charging is even faster and there's wireless fast charging whereas the Galaxy S6 took forever to fill up via this method .

You should also find a safe battery inside the Galaxy S8 thanks to Samsung's new '8-point quality check', as well as improved cycle longevity, which means it will only lose 5% of its capacity. after a year.Samsung claims that previous Galaxy phones could lose almost 20% of their battery capacity in the first year.

Price and storage - increases all around

Needless to say, if you want to upgrade to the Galaxy S8, it won't be cheap, but you might be surprised to find that it's about $100 more than what you paid for the Galaxy S6 when it was first released. launch :

Galaxy S8 - 64GB - $750 / €799 / £689

Another disappointment: while the Galaxy S6 was available in 32 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB, the Galaxy S8 is only available in 64 GB. The microSD slot partially solves this problem, but the internal storage is significantly faster ( especially the UFS 2.1 storage in the Galaxy S8), so it's frustrating to see Samsung going that route - especially since it's also a storage manufacturer.

The Galaxy S8 will win over customers on looks alone, but it's not as different from the Galaxy S7 as

... [+]

you might expect

Gordon Kelly

Early verdict

If your Galaxy S6 contract is about to expire, there's no doubt that the Galaxy S8 is a very solid upgrade option. Yes, the familiar software weaknesses still exist compared to stock Android (and this fingerprint sensor position is ridiculous), but you get a standout design, a jaw-dropping display, and two generations of performance and connectivity upgrades.

As such, the only question is whether you'd rather get the Galaxy S7 which, screen aside, is quite similar to the Galaxy S8 and at a bargain price these days or bend your wallet for the 2017 head turner. .

If you can afford it, I suggest you go for the Galaxy S8 because it will put a smile on your face every time you turn on that screen. price quality.

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