You've probably already read a bunch of reviews. Samsung Galaxy S8 and you know literally everything about a smartphone. However how the Samsung Galaxy S8 differs from the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge? Is it worth spending 50 thousand rubles on a new flagship or will you stay with the old one, saving a lot of money. Now I'll tell you about everything.

Why am I comparing the new product with the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge?

Firstly, the Galaxy S7, although a top-end gadget, looks sluggish against the background of its curved brother. A matter of taste, of course, but the Edge has a special feature - a curved screen. And it takes the device to a different technical level.

Secondly, it is the S7 Edge and the regular S8 that are more or less close in size. The Plus version is quite healthy and it is logical to compare it with some Note. But there is no actual device from this line now.

However, what are the differences between Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S7 Edge? About this in today's review.

The convenience of use

I say right away - there is no clear leader here. Every smartphone has its pros and cons. Let everyone decide for himself what is more important for him, but for now I will list all the nuances of using both devices.

Are you narrower or wider?

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge - a wide smartphone and it is a double-edged stick. On the one hand, the "edge" is not suitable for everyone, you need a wide enough palm to comfortably hold the device in your hand.

Against him Samsung Galaxy S8 - a model from the category of fitness. It is narrow and gorgeous in any hand. Perhaps even fans of the compact 4.7-inch iPhone 7 will appreciate the excellent ergonomics.

However, the wide Edge has one major advantage. In a standard keyboard, I type with almost no errors. The edge display is wider, the virtual buttons are larger, making them easier to hit.

To stuff characters on the S8 is a living hell for me!

The S8 not only has a narrower display, but also rounded edges cut off part of the usable area. As a result, typing is a real torment. By the way, with the Google keyboard, the number of errors decreased, but the typing quality still left much to be desired. It takes some getting used to. Long.

An eight is much more suitable for watching films. All Hollywood films are displayed with little or no black bars at the top and bottom. And if you click on the zoom button, then the player stretches the image to rounded corners as well. Sheer delight!

Against this background, the S7 Edge looks like an old "Ruby" next to a plasma (S8).

Accidental taps on the S7 Edge screen are just killing me. And if you are lying in bed with your phone, then it is simply impossible to use it normally.

The S8 doesn't have such problems. No accidental clicks in any position. But why?

Firstly, the screen is not bent so much.

Secondly, some software algorithms work that can cut off accidental clicks.

Well, the last difference. SG S7 Edge looks very cheerful even in 2017. Nice, curved and expensive design. And the SG S8 looks even cooler! Against its background, in general, all smartphones existing on the market are some kind of gramophones, hopelessly behind by 3-4 years.

Housing

The S7 Edge has sharp side edges, slightly digging into the palm. The S8 has neatly rounded sides for a more pleasant feel. We write in a plus.

The rear camera practically does not protrude in the new product. This is good as the lens trim will not peel off. Although this is a moot point, time must be given.

Eight is perceived thinner than its last year's competitor. And this despite the fact that it is actually thinner than the S7 Edge - by 0.7 mm!

	Length	Width	Thickness	Weight
Samsung Galaxy S8 (5.8 '')	148,9	68,1
Samsung Galaxy S8 + (6.2 '')	159,5	73,4
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge (5.5 '')	150,9	72,6
iPhone 7 (4.7 '')	138,3	67,1
iPhone 7 Plus (5.5 '')	158,2	77,9

Everyone criticizes the location of the fingerprint scanner in the new product. And rightly so.

At first I thought I would get used to it, but after three days of use, I realized that I would not. Each time you have to turn the smartphone over to see where the sensor is, and only then apply your finger.

Perhaps this is the biggest inconvenience after typing on a narrow screen. Both this and that will take some getting used to. You buy a phone for 55 thousand rubles and be so kind as to get used to it. Like this?

Moreover, I would not say the scanner is fast and accurate. The finger must be applied vertically; in the horizontal position, it is not always possible to unlock the device. In terms of unlocking speed, there is also nothing outstanding here. Both generations of Samsungs are far from the record holder.

The S8 has an oleophobic coating on all sides. It is very high quality, no questions asked. But the "Edge" was lucky with this only from the front. Behind it is weak, prints are willingly collected here.

"Olephobic" is not only pleasant, it is also dangerous. Dropping the S8 is a trivial matter. Furthermore! If you put the device on an uneven and smooth surface, then it will slide off of it to meet the floor. You have to be very careful with this!

The seven have no such problems. Its body is more hooked.

Display

The difference is not only in resolution (2960 x 1440 pixels versus 2560 x 1440 or Quad HD + versus Quad HD). The colors on the S8 are slightly softer, but at the same time slightly richer. All this is noticeable only when comparing head to head. Individually, both panels are excellent. Super AMOLED, if that.

If we compare the rendering of individual colors, the S8 is already noticeably ahead of its predecessor. While the white of the S7 Edge has a slight metallic tone, the younger rival has nothing of the kind.

The S8 has only one nuance - at some angles it is very pink. Not always noticeable, but the problem still remains and the software patches do not help yet. I don't think they will help.

At extreme angles, there is practically no inversion. In both devices a slight greenish tint appears (thanks to AMOLED), in the 7 it is a little more pronounced. However, this is not the same crime as it used to be.

There is no PenTile in any device. Samsung got rid of it in its displays back in the days of the S6, so those who fear ghosts from the past can relax.

The Edge sidebar hasn't changed in terms of functionality. We saw all the same in the seven. This is strange, because manufacturers often want to justify the purchase of a more recent device with new software chips. But not in this case.

Technical characteristics and differences in "hardware"

Compare the characteristics of both models in the table. This is clearer.

	Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge	Samsung Galaxy S8
Screen	5.5 '', 2560 x 1440, Super AMOLED, 534 ppi, Gorilla Glass 4	5.8 '', 2960 x 1440, Super AMOLED, 570 ppi, Gorilla Glass 5
CPU	Exynos 8 8890 (8 cores, two clusters each: 2.3 and 1.6 GHz, 14 nm)	Exynos 8895 (8 cores with two clusters: 2.3 and 1.7 GHz, 10 nm)
Graphics accelerator	Mali-T880 MP12	Mali-T71 MP20
Operational memory	4 GB LPDDR4	4 GB LPDDR4x
Data store	32 (24.3 GB actually available), 64 or 128 GB UFS 2.0	64 GB (52.3 GB actually available) UFS 2.1
Memory cards	Yes, up to 256 GB (combined slot)
Battery	3 600 mAh (Adaptive Fast Charging, wireless charging)	3,000 mAh (Adaptive Fast Charging, Wireless Charging)
Main camera	12 MP (f / 1.7, lens, sensor size 1 / 2.5 '', 25mm, Dual Pixel focusing, pixel size 1.4 μm, OIS, 4K recording, shooting in RAW)
Front-camera	5 MP (f / 1.7, no autofocus, 2K video recording)	8 MP (f / 1.7, autofocus, 2K video recording)
OC	Android 7.0
Connectors	Micro USB 2.0 (OTG available), 3.5mm output	USB Type-C 3.1 (OTG works, 3.5mm audio out)
Sensors	Accelerometer, gyroscope, light and distance sensor, digital compass, Hall sensor, heart rate sensor, fingerprint scanner, barometer	Same thing + iris and pressure sensor
Networks	4G, LTE Cat 12/13 (bands: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 38, 39, 40, 41)	4G LTE Cat 16 (all the same frequencies plus 32, 66)
SIM card	Dual Nano SIM
Interfaces	Wi-Fi (802.11 ac, 2.4 and 5 GHz), ANT +, MU-MIMO, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC	Wi-Fi (802.11 ac, 2.4 and 5 GHz), ANT +, MU-MIMO, Bluetooth 5, NFC
Navigation	GPS, Glonass, BeiDou	GPS, Glonass, BeiDou, Galileo
Water and dust resistant	IP68

The new processor provides slightly more performance, but so far there is nowhere to use it. The situation is actually quite funny. Every year, hardware manufacturers raise the bar for performance, and we don't see normal, cool games.

There is World of Tanks Blitz, port in the face Grand theft Auto: San andreas, a couple of 3D shooters, but no quality breakthrough. As many as 20 computing cores in the Mali-T71 graphics accelerator simply have nowhere to use.

The thing is cool and works quite well, but you need good lighting and a number of unnecessary gestures. That is, if the phone is lying on the table away from you, you need to get up every time and stick your face in the sensor's field of view, while still pressing some button to light up the screen. But why do we need so many unnecessary movements when in the same "edge" the fingerprint sensor in front - stretched out his finger and you're done.

In general, the fingerprint scanner on the front side is convenient, aesthetically pleasing, harmonious and does not fill the figure. There is no need to invent anything.

Smartphone equipment

Performance

It looks like there are two crazy flagships on hand, but I would not say that interface animation always works reactively.

We set the maximum resolution for each and get subtle, but still present lags. How can this be on a phone for 55,000 rubles? How?!

S7 Edge on the latest Android 7 is generally sad. Each time after unlocking, it was as if I got him out of bed at the wrong time, but forgot to wake him up. Well, sorry! The animation slows down, the lists are scrolled with a frieze. In general, this is not the case.

Want perfect smoothness? I recommend converting the resolution for the S7 Edge to FHD, and for the S8 down to FHD + (2220 x 1080). Believe me, the maximum values \u200b\u200bin everyday life are not needed at all (only for VR). The picture looks perfect anyway. In addition, energy consumption is reduced by at least one fifth, and this, believe me, is critical for both of our devices.

In order to test the gaming performance, I launched everyone's favorite Tanks. There are practically no drawdowns in the new galaxy. Usually it is 58-60 FPS, but occasionally the frequency dropped to 54, no lower. S7 Edge can no longer boast of such power. In active scenes, the frequency drops to 31-34 FPS, but usually spins around 50 frames per second.

The situation in the benchmarks is as follows (on the left is the predecessor, on the right is a young and arrogant upstart "es-eight"):

By the way, the benchmarks are different depending on the resolution. Not sure why, but at HD + the results are the lowest.

And now the "parrots" that my "seven" can boast of. The lag in synthetics is on the face.

Main camera

The new generation of flagships is getting new sensors. How could it be otherwise?

So, Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 + come with either a Sony IMX333 matrix or S5K2L2 from System LSI on the back. The predecessor could boast of either the Sony IMX260 or S5K2L1 module. The last option was installed in my "edge". And now to business!

Daytime shooting

I peered at the photos as best I could. As a result, I found practically no differences.

An exception is the temperature of flowers. The S7 Edge often makes the picture warm, and the S8 makes it colder. Below are examples. Left footage captured on the S7 Edge, right footage from the S8 camera - from now on.

I will not write it down as a plus for the S8, because you can always adjust the white balance manually and on the 7. Move on.

Macro

Here I expected to see deeper and better processing of photos from the S8: less noise, better detail, and so on. Did not work out.

It feels like I was comparing two photos from the same camera - no difference.

Bad light

This is where the fun begins. At least that's how it seemed to me. I took several shots, compared them with each other, sprinkled them and ... did not find any differences.

Can you see anything? Me not.

Night

When there is plenty of light, many smartphones shoot well and are more or less identical. But night photography is a real challenge for anyone. mobile device... And then the developers had to show all their skills in order to reduce noise, not turn the photo into watercolor, and so on.

And yes, it happened! I finally found the differences. The S8 takes pictures a little more detail and with less noise.

True, the difference is so small that you can only notice it by comparing the cameras directly, with the same subjects and shooting conditions.

By the way, protective glass on both smartphones glare. And these highlights end up in the photographs.

Frankly speaking, this is the first time I've noticed this on mobile devices.

By the way, we take the archive with all the originals at this link.

Front-camera

The front camera in the S8 has really been updated: autofocus has appeared and the resolution has grown: from 5 to 8 megapixels. All this economy is represented by the Sony IMX320 or ISOCELL S5K3H1 matrix - depending on the modification. At the same time, S7 Edge is equipped with a 5-megapixel S5K4E6 module.

Of course, all this had a positive effect on the result. Now the photos have become more detailed, and the background has received a small, but still blur. Previously, everything was in focus and there was not much creativity in this kind of photography.

There is also a minus - the viewing angle of the G8 has noticeably decreased.

Filming

In terms of filming, nothing has changed at all. Both smartphones still shoot in 4K resolution at 30fps and high bitrate 48Mbps. See example below.

Nothing interesting happened with the Slow Motion mode either. So far, there are only two devices on the market that pay more attention to this moment: (1080p at 120 FPS), and, which very seriously slows everything down - right up to 960 FPS.

Samsung S8 kindly agreed to give me David with Arstayl Youtube channel ... Thank him for that!

The result was the following conclusion.

If there are no problems with money, and you do not need to take out a loan in order to buy a new product in the person of S8, then you should take it. There is a whole bunch of all sorts of improved little things, but there are also two significant advantages: unique for the market and very beautiful design, as well as improved ergonomics in comparison with the same "edge". All this is definitely worth it to overpay 15 thousand rubles.

If 50 thousand rubles (plus or minus) is a little expensive for you, but you still want a top-end gadget, then we do not bother ourselves. We take the Galaxy S7 Edge and enjoy life, since there is nothing truly revolutionary in the new product (except for the design). There is moisture protection, Samsung Pay works to its fullest, cameras are identical in quality.

If you're not yet Samsung, the S7 Edge and S8 are two great reasons to get involved. And no, nobody paid me for advertising. It's just that the first smartphone is a chic option in 2017 to get an uncompromising device for relatively little money. And the second one is just a top-end top.

Personally, I only care about two competitors, about which little is known yet. The first - HTC U11 and what's wrong with it. The smartphone should come to me in the next month, so there will be a review. The second device is OnePlus 5, which has not yet been announced. What if the legendary Chinese will be able to make a monster for 400-500 bucks? Then the Samsung will have a worthy competitor for less money.

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After the new flagship goes on sale, I certainly want to compare the Galaxy S8 with the Galaxy S7. Since everyone specifications iterations are known to us, then you can compare them and find out how the Samsung Galaxy S8 differs from the S7.

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The nearly bezel-less display that Samsung has taken from the Galaxy S7 Edge and optimized makes a strong impression. However, Galaxy S7 Edge users shouldn't be too upset, because apart from this impressive feature, there are no innovations that justify the transition to a new generation model.

Galaxy S8 vs Galaxy S7: the display makes the difference

“Wow!” Is probably the first word that comes to mind for many of those who look at the Galaxy S8 after the Galaxy S7. In the new flagship model Samsung immediately catches the eye, first of all, one thing: a huge wonderful display.

To optimize the surface of the image towards the front, this time the manufacturer also uses a rounded edge display in the “standard” version, and also noticeably reduces the width of the frame at the top and bottom. The Home button is now in the form of a pressure sensor below the S8 screen.

All this looks quite futuristic (however, the design of Xiaomi Mi is partly even more radical). However, those who aren't overly enthusiastic about the curved display of the S7 Edge won't be too happy with it in the S8 either, so they should take a closer look at the LG G6.

A clear advantage over the S8: the display is much larger here

Galaxy S7 is slightly more user-friendly

Galaxy S7, in which the representative of an older generation is quite clearly guessed, on its side has a slight advantage in ease of operation. Thanks to the wider bezel, it is more comfortable to hold it, so you can avoid unintentional touching the display.

In addition, the fingerprint reader is located on the front under the Home button here. Thus, it is possible to unlock the device while it is lying on the table. But for S8 users, an iris scanner is available for use.

The rest of the models do not differ so much. Both have excellent workmanship, chic back panel glass (which is really greasy very quickly), and both are waterproof.

The S8, like the S7, takes photos at 12 megapixels

Camera with minor improvements

Samsung's decision to technically not change anything in the S8's 12-megapixel camera over its predecessor can be called bold - which is at least surprising given the fact that other competitors are trying to outperform each other with various innovations such as dual cameras, etc.

Even if such samsung solution seems boring to you, the S7 offers excellent photo quality and lightning-fast response, and the S8 certainly won't fall behind in this regard. In addition, the manufacturer even promises to improve the quality of the image, as the S8 camera takes three shots at once and combines them to minimize the blurring of the picture.

S7 has a fingerprint reader on the front panel

Performance and equipment

Also, for us personally, neither a faster processor nor support for such a new standard would become a serious reason for updating the smartphone. mobile communicationlike gigabit LTE. For example, the latter has not yet been launched in Russia, and even the Galaxy S7 processor during our testing was already quite convincing with its high performance and short response time to commands.

And the Bluetooth 5 standard that enhances throughput and the range of the connection, allowing you to work even with two devices at the same time - this is "nice to have" for us, but nothing more, since for the majority of smartphone users this does not yet open up practically any new possibilities for their use.

Galaxy S8 with USB Typ-C and large storage

The new USB Typ-C port on the Galaxy S8 is kink-proof, making it more convenient to use the cable than the microUSB port on the Galaxy S7. In addition, the new interface operates in accordance with the 3.1 protocol, which increases the theoretically possible data transfer rate up to 800 Mbps. How high it will be in practice, we can only check a little later. In any case, the old charging cable can no longer be used.

Samsung meets the requirements of technical progress by increasing the amount of internal memory. There is now 64GB of high-speed memory in place of the previous 32GB - however, given the high cost of the S8, we would like to have 128GB. However, as with the predecessor model, the S8's onboard storage can be expanded with memory cards.

Finally here, too: USB Typ-C in S8 delivers faster data transfer speeds and easier cable connections

Bixby is not an option

One more word about the new Bixby voice assistant from Samsung: since this service does not yet understand Russian, and the manufacturer does not even name the timeframe when support for our language will appear, this competitor to Siri and Cortana is clearly not a reason for purchasing the Galaxy S8.

During the first meeting, the voice bixby assistant did not seem convincing to us

Harsh price difference between S7 and Galaxy S8

Thus, summing up, we see no significant reason to change the S7 to the S8. And those who are not thinking about upgrading, but about buying a new smartphone, in practice are unlikely to be dissatisfied with the Galaxy S7 - in fact, he will only have to give up a huge display.

On the other hand, S7 customers save a lot of money, since they will have to pay about 30,000 rubles, and the Galaxy S8 will cost about 55,000 rubles. S7 has a significant advantage on this point.

Comparison of smartphones

models:	Samsung Galaxy S8	Samsung Galaxy S7
system	Android 7.0	Android 7.0
display	5.8-inch, 2960x1440 dpi, 570 ppi, HDR	5.1-inch, 2560 x 1440 dpi, 577 ppi
dimensions, weight	149 x 68 x 8mm, 152g	142 x 70 x 8mm, 152g
camera	12MP OIS (F1.7), front: 8MP (F1.7)	12MP OIS (F1.7) front: 5MP (F1.7)
battery		3000 mAh, fast charging and standard via cable
rAM	4 GB RAM, 64 GB built-in flash drive	4 GB RAM, 32 GB built-in flash drive
cPU	4 + 4 cores Exynos 8895 (up to 2.3 GHz)	4 + 4 cores Exynos 8890 (up to 2.3 GHz)
wireless interfaces	Wi-Fi 802.11 AC, Bluetooth 5.0, USB Type-C, LTE Cat. 16 (up to 1,000 Mbps)	802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.2, MicroUSB, LTE Cat. nine (up to 450 Mbps)
features	IP68, MicroSD	IP68, MicroSD
price:	about 55,000 rubles. (pre-order)	about 30,000 rubles.

Photo: manufacturing companies

We present the most complete picture of changes Samsung Galaxy S8 versus Samsung Galaxy S7after an annual life cycle of the last flagship and misfortunes with the phablet Galaxy Note 7 from exploding batteries.

date samsung release Galaxy S8 slated for April 21, 2017, priced at $ 749 and $ 849 for S8 and S8 +

The improvements in the Galaxy S8 over the Samsung Galaxy S7 are noted in:

Premium conversions design,

Improving Korean mobile technology displays,

Notable innovations in software,

Cardinal superiority cameras,

Increased autonomy,

Many other evolutionary transformations.

Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S7 design

Unlike Samsung Galaxy S7 the new flagship Galaxy S8 no front button - the smartphone turned into “ screenphone”, Where the display occupies almost the entire area of \u200b\u200bthe front panel. In this regard, the fingerprint sensor migrated to the rear side close to the camera.

IN Galaxy S8 survived protection from dust, dirt and moisture as standard IP68... The general concept, as before, seeks to create the image of the futuristic smartphone in the world, as if you are holding a window to the virtual world in your hand Android with interface TouchWiz.

Samsung Galaxy S8 is larger than Galaxy S7:

Thickness 8.1 mm against 7.7 mm the predecessor;

Height 148.9 mm against 142.4 mm;

Width 68.1 mm against 69.6 mm.

Same with the dimensions of the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus and Galaxy S7 edge:

Thickness 8.1 mm against 7.7 mm the predecessor;

Height 159.5 mm against 150.9 mm;

Width 73.4 mm against 72.6 mm.

Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S7 display

Barely noticeable lengthening of smartphones Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 + (plus) versus Galaxy S7and Galaxy S7 edge surprisingly hides a significant increase in display area.

Company Samsung decided to use Super AMOLED matrices with HDR 10 in the new Galaxy c8:

5.8 2960 x 1440 pixels;

6.2 2960 x 1440 pixels;

With aspect ratio 18,5:9 (almost like Lg g6).

Accordingly, simple Super AMOLED displays were used for Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Age:

5.1 2560 x 1440 pixels;

5.5 2560 x 1440 pixels;

With aspect ratio 16:9 .

The hardware power of the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S7

CPU Galaxy S8 based on 64-bit 10nm architecture in eight cores with a frequency 2.3 GHz or 2.35 GHz (using Snapdragon or Exynos depends on the region). On board Samsung Galaxy S7 was 64-bit 14nmocta-core clock speed processor 2.3 GHzor 2.15 GHz quad-core.

Galaxy S8 performance is improved and power consumption is reduced

Volume random access memory in Galaxy S8 preserved in the same form as in Galaxy S7 - 4 GB... File storage capacity in 64 GB (previously offered a version on 32 GB) is now based on technology UFS 2.1 instead UFS 2.0... Once again there is support microSD.

Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S7 software

Launch platform instead of " sixth Android» - Android 7.0 Nougat with sheath TouchWiz and an innovative voice assistant with artificial intelligence functionality Bixbysimilar to Google Assistant.

Camera Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S7

Modernization Galaxy S8did not bring significant changes to Dual Pixel cameras. IN Samsung decided to significantly improve and optimize work software and hardware of the main 12 megapixel module for shooting video and photos. As a result we got the best responsiveness and quality.

For the front camera, however, the changes were more significant. Instead 5 megapixelblock Samsung Galaxy S7 for Galaxy S8selected 8 megapixel powerful "Selfie" camerawith autofocus.

Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S7 battery

New chipsets and optimization of the software shell had a positive effect on the auto\u003e Samsung Galaxy S8... Therefore, the manufacturer did not have the need to sacrifice the dimensions of the case for the sake of a larger battery capacity. For the basic version, the same value has been preserved Galaxy S7- 3000 mAh... Have Galaxy S8 + it's even on 100 mAh less than Galaxy S7 edge - 3500 mAh.

How much better is the Samsung Galaxy S8 than the Galaxy S7?

In general, all experts admit one thing: the change of generations of flagship smartphones Samsung in 2017 year turned out to be much more interesting than in 2016-mat Apple iPhone ... And before the American "apple" producer answers the Korean competitor, we will have time to get enough of unique abilities and technologies. Galaxy S8... After all, the device turned out to be really innovative and attractive.

We have prepared a video review with a comparison samsung smartphones Galaxy S8 + and Galaxy S7 Edge:

With the naked eye, you can see that the widths of these smartphones are almost identical, but the Galaxy S8 + has a more elongated screen with a non-standard aspect ratio. This allows for more screen real estate, and as a result, the Galaxy S8 + with a 6.2-inch screen sits as comfortably in the palm of your hand as the Galaxy S7 Edge with a 5.5-inch screen.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 + has the following advantages over the Galaxy S7 Edge:

1. The sides of the case have become less slippery due to the increased width of the metal frame: the curved edges of the screen on the Galaxy S8 + have been reduced, the frame is now exactly in the middle between the front and rear panels.
2. The presence of an iris scanner, which allows you to unlock the Galaxy S8 + without a fingerprint scanner without compromising security. This method is suitable for use with Samsung Pay or with applications that require the degree of protection of the smartphone against tampering.
3. The lack of a mechanical Home button, which is often accidentally bumped in the Galaxy S7 Edge when waking up the smartphone.
4. If there is no need for a high degree of information security, then you can use the owner's face recognition to unlock the smartphone. However, you cannot use Samsung Pay and applications like Sberbank Online with this protection method.
5. The fingerprint scanner works accurately and very quickly, it is possible to unlock the smartphone directly from a sleeping state without additional action.
6. Flash storage capacity has been doubled: 64 GB versus 32 GB.

However, the Galaxy S8 + has some drawbacks compared to the Galaxy S7 Edge:

1. For the iris scanner to work correctly, you need to place the smartphone in front of your eyes at a distance of about 30 cm, and without proper skill, there may be delays for a new unlock attempt.
2. The screen on some Galaxy S8 + may have a red shift. Samsung recognizes the possibility of the problem and recommends that users adjust the red saturation themselves or wait for a firmware update to be fixed by the manufacturer.
3. The fingerprint scanner has moved to the back of the smartphone and can be inconvenient for left-handed people. All users have to grip the smartphone in their palm so that their fingers reach the scanner. During manipulations, accidental clicks on the call button of the Bixby assistant are possible.
4. If you're using wireless charging, you won't be able to unlock your Galaxy S8 + with a fingerprint sensor without interrupting the charging process. To use iris unlock, you have to bend over your smartphone.
5. Due to the non-standard aspect ratio galaxy screen S8 + in unadapted games and when watching videos will have black bars on the sides (of course, in landscape orientation).

Both the Galaxy S7 Edge and Galaxy S8 + use a dual-SIM combo slot, which can be replaced with a microSD card instead.

Whether it is worth changing your Galaxy S7 Edge or another smartphone to the Galaxy S8 +, everyone will decide for himself, but since individual design changes did not go for the new smartphone, we strongly recommend that you twist it in your hands before buying and pay special attention to the location of the fingerprint scanner ...

Comparison: Samsung Galaxy S7 (bottom left), Samsung Galaxy Note 5 (top left), Huawei Nova (top right; selfies only), Samsung Galaxy S6 (bottom right), Samsung Galaxy S8 (center).

Good day. I've been writing about smartphones for a long time, and the main thing for me is their photo capabilities. I wondered how cameras are developing at one of the market leaders. After I got my hands on the Galaxy S8, I decided to compare the pictures in the same conditions on the flagships over the past three years. And, I tell you, there is something to see.

Let me make a small digression about the mobile photo capability. A camera in a smartphone for me (and indeed a digital camera) is not just a hole in the body, but a person's attempt to recreate an eye, one of the most complex organs of perception in the world. A camera in a smartphone is a mutual and simultaneous operation within a few milliseconds of a matrix, optics, processor, memory, ISP-chip, focusing, stabilization elements, etc. And, of course, the operation of the software.

If in hardware terms, the development of the camera in a smartphone is limited due to its compactness, then on the software front, things are much better. A lot of developers are constantly working on perfecting the processing of photos in a smartphone and you got a good result at the end.

An interesting fact is that with relatively the same hardware, different smartphones can shoot with completely different quality. This is the merit of the software part, which Samsung has at a high level.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 became one of the best camera phones in the history of smartphone manufacturing in 2016 and remains so to this day. Will the next one flagship Galaxy S8 to surpass its predecessor, and how the pictures from the previous top-end devices of the Korean company look against them, we will find out in this material.

In each story I will award points (from 1 to 4) and eventually I will find the winner. There you will also find a link to the originals of the photos at the end of this article.

Samsung Galaxy S7

Overall plan

In the photo below, the sun is opposite but out of frame. Such conditions are not ideal for a smartphone, but they are not critical either.

The Samsung Galaxy S6 and Note 5, the flagships of 2015, performed the worst and at about the same level. The color rendition is lame due to the sun opposite, and the colors are muted. The Note 5 completely displayed a beam, illuminating an area of \u200b\u200bthe image. I guess this problem is due to optics.

Galaxy S7 and S8, 2016 and 2017, are doing much better. The colors are saturated, the dynamic range is wide, which is clearly indicated by the blue sky, which was completely blown out by previous opponents.

Let's take a closer look at this photo.

The Galaxy S6 and Note 5 smartphones show sharper images, and this is not surprising. After all, they have a 16 megapixel matrix, unlike the 12 megapixel in the Galaxy S8 and S7. But as the general plan showed, this does not give them an advantage.

The fact is that the number of pixels plays an indirect role in the overall quality of a photo. As a photo, the size of these pixels, the size of the matrix itself and the aperture play an important role. The diaphragm or aperture is the opening of the camera itself through which light enters the sensor. The wider it is, the more light enters the matrix, as a result of which a larger light range can be covered by the camera, in more difficult conditions for shooting a good picture will be taken (light drops or poor lighting). Accordingly, the larger the pixel, the more correct color it can absorb in a shorter period of time.

Samsung Galaxy S8

The other side of the coin is that the larger the pixel, the fewer pixels will fit on the matrix, since its size in smartphones is limited. As a result, the picture will be less detailed when enlarged.

It's time to compare the characteristics of the cameras of the monitored smartphones:

Well, let's summarize the results of the first production. If you need a smartphone that will take photographs of objects from afar, and for the best picture clarity at high magnification, then the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Note 5 are your choice. But such a scenario is not useful to anyone, right?

If you want to see a better overall shot with color rendition and contrast, then the S7 and S8 won't let you down.

The points were distributed as follows (remember, the more the better):

1. Samsung Galaxy S8 - 4 Korean carrots;
2. Samsung Galaxy S7 - 3 Korean carrots;
3. Samsung Galaxy S6 - 2 Korean carrots;
4. Samsung Galaxy Note 5 - 1 Korean carrot.

Product photography (macro)

Here the result surprised me, and the flagship 2015 Note 5 phablet showed more detail and correct color reproduction. We figured out the details in the last section, but it surpassed both the S6 with the same number of pixels, and the newer and more advanced Galaxy S7 with S8.

Maybe this is a matter of chance, but we have what we have. Galaxy S6 completely fell into darkness, unable to rebuild the exposure, even its detail is noticeably lower than the others. Galaxy S7 overexposed, and in the shadow of the leaf noise is slightly visible. Details are slightly better than the S6.

The new 2017 (S8) showed good detail and color reproduction, but still fell a step behind the Note 7.

Why did it happen? I confess that this is a difficult question for me. But I believe that software played a big role here - the software that is responsible for processing the image.

If you need a camera phone for macro and subject shooting in good lighting (!), Then the Note 5 should not let you down. Of course, we can say that the S8 has a new processor, and an update has not yet arrived that will make the camera better. But you see, this is far from a fact, and it is not known how long it will take for this to happen, and whether it will happen at all.

Samsung Galaxy S6

Back to the carrots:

1. Galaxy Note 5 - 4;
2. Galaxy S8 - 3;
3. Galaxy S7 - 2;
4. Galaxy S6 - 1.

And now we got directly to the camera software.

Shooting in HDR mode

I will not explain for a long time how it works and what is HDR mode in a smartphone. I will say that this mode directly reflects the quality of the software with semiconductors responsible for shooting.

Shooting with the sun in the frame is difficult conditions for any camera. Let's see how the software of smartphones was able to cope with this task.

I am increasingly inclined to believe that buying a Galaxy S8 just for the camera is not worth it. If the update fixes the situation for the better, then I don't think that much. The Galaxy S7 is my favorite.

The points were distributed as follows:

1. S7 - 4;
2. S6 - 3;
3. Note 5 - 2;
4. S8 - 1.

Samsung Galaxy Note 5

Landscape

The following shooting conditions can be called the most ideal, only the clouds are missing. But the weather was like that. Any device, even a budget one, will cope well with landscapes in good lighting. But when comparing, someone may have a limp in color rendition or detail.

Here the winners are Samsung S6. Not only is clarity better, but the very orientation of the original is more suited to landscapes. If 12 megapixels in the seven and eight have an aspect ratio of 3 to 2, then the predecessors with their 16 megapixels have almost 2 to 1.

But not only that, I liked it more. Samsung Galaxy S6 has close-to-natural color rendering of sky and grass. The “seven” and “eight” are also doing well with colors, but the most noticeable oversharp (excess of contrast achieved by software), but the last flagship is less.

The Note 5 did a poor job of color reproduction, with the least visible gradient in the sky from clear at the top to gassy at the bottom. And the grass seems to be withered, which was not in reality. Therefore, I give him the lowest score.

So, a bunch of oriental delicacy was distributed like this:

1. Galaxy S6 - 4;
2. Galaxy S8 - 3;
3. Galaxy S7 - 2;
4. Note 5 - 1.

Low light shooting

Best of all, the quality of smartphone shooting can be determined in low light conditions in automatic mode. This kind of photography is actually the most popular, since most of us take pictures in the evening. In the dark, if the camera is good, the pictures are more interesting and mysterious. Some objects are emphasized by shadows, and others are highlighted. What can we say about sunsets or sunrises?

But for such a shoot you need a good photosensitive camera in your smartphone. This is exactly what the modules in the Galaxy S7 and S8 are on paper. They have a wide aperture and large pixels, but in practice, the latter did not work out smoothly.

In low light, the number of pixels this time did not save the flagships of 2015. Here, both the amount of noise and sharpness, and the Note 5's color rendition is completely useless. The Galaxy S6 showed the worst detail.

Not far from them, the S8 smartphone has also gone. There is a little bit of everything here, but the redness is not all over the picture, but more from the right edge, gradually aligning to the left. The picture blushed a little out of shame. But the S7 pleased me. Everything is as befits a flagship.

I consider this scenario to be the most important and indicative in this material, so I do x2 with points:

1. Galaxy S7 - 8;
2. Galaxy S8 - 6;
3. Galaxy S6 - 4;
4. Note 5 - 2.

Selfie camera

Selfie photography is very popular in the east, and in their markets, manufacturers (Oppo, Vivo, Huawei and others) pay front camera great attention. In our smartphones, in most cases, it is good. Just this year, Samsung began to focus on narcissistic natures, and introduced 16MP cameras in its A (2017) series earlier this year. There was little sense from this, since the pixels there are small, the aperture is small.

The Galaxy S7 also has noise, but much less. Samsung Galaxy S8 is the best of the four, and the result is obvious, literally. There are even details on the skin that are not in other pictures. Color rendition is excellent.

So, smartphones were distributed in the following hierarchy:

1. Galaxy S8 - 4;
2. Galaxy S7 - 3;
3. Galaxy S6 - 2;
4. Note 5 - 1.

You may have noticed that the article preview contains huawei smartphone Nova, and it's not there for symmetry. I have already done a comparative test of this smartphone before, and compared it with the closest competitors in the price category (about $ 400). It showed itself not badly, and the manufacturer figures this line as a smartphone with a good selfie camera.

That is why I decided to compare the Nova selfie camera with the flagships, but upon closer examination I see only software processing. The image turned out as painted with paints, without small details. Beautiful, you won't say anything, but not for real. Huawei Nova gets 1 point for a good try.

Determining the winner

We got to the fun part. I confess that I don't know the result myself yet, and it's wildly interesting. We consider:

1. Galaxy S7 - 22 points;
2. Galaxy S8 - 21 points;
3. Galaxy S6 - 16 points;
4. Note 5 - 11 points.

YES! This is exactly the result I wanted to see. Galaxy S8 not only shoots as well as S7, but worse in some scenarios.

I don’t want to argue that the software has not been optimized yet, and perhaps in the future the camera in the S8 will shoot better. If a company launches a smartphone on the market, then it should be regarded as a finished product, and not to give indulgences to any updates. And it's not a fact that they will appear.

My bottom line

As I said at the beginning of the article, the camera in a smartphone is the most important thing for me. Now the time has come when I'm looking at a new smartphone, and of my favorites at the moment are the Google Pixel, Galaxy S7 and the new HTC U11, which scored the highest in the test of the authoritative DxOMark laboratory. HTC has not yet gone on sale, but I have no reason not to trust the experts.

Why not the iPhone 7 Plus? I've done a Google Pixel vs iPhone 7 Plus comparison before, and the latter has lost the battle. Although it is difficult to call his camera bad.

The Galaxy S8 cannot be said to be a flop. The smartphone is actually good, but this is a story for a separate material, which was written by Alexander Navagin in his article.

These original photographs were used for comparison.

Choosing a camera phone? Ask your questions in the comments!