Samsung just barely took the wraps off its new Galaxy S8 and S8+ this morning, but famous YouTuber Casey Neistat already managed to get his hands on the sleek new devices. We gotta say, Samsung’s new smartphones make the iPhone look old.
In his new vlog, Neistat goes hands-on with the S8 and S8+ and compares them directly to Apple’s iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Neistat admits the review is a bit biased as he’s worked with Samsung in the past. However, in his side-by-side tests with the iPhone 7, it’s not hard to see that Samsung probably has a big hit on its hands.
Prepare to drool:
Casey’s not alone in his high praise for the S8. Other tech publications that attended the Samsung event this morning are raving about the hardware behind the curved screen smartphone.
Great hardware, bad software
“What was amazing to me is that even with such large screens, both phones felt easily manageable in my hand,” wrote ZDNet. “I fully expected the added height of either phone to make it feel top-heavy, forcing me to find a balance point in my hand. For most, the Galaxy S8 will be the sweet spot of size and screen real estate.”
While the hardware is top-notch, the software sounds a bit lackluster. Business Insider’s Steve Kovach says the new S8 comes with many of the same drawbacks as previous Galaxy phones.
“The software is loaded with Samsung-made extras that were built on top of Android, resulting in a needlessly bogged-down user interface when the stock version of Android is amazing on its own,” said Kovach in a blog post after his hands-on session. “And now Samsung is adding its digital assistant, Bixby, to the excellent Google Assistant that ships with all the latest Android phones.”
Switching from hardware buttons on the S7 to software buttons on the S8 is a rough transition, reports Fortune, which also called the new phones a “delight” to hold.
“I noticed that the controls are a little bit more fussy than previous Samsung models. I suspect that the reason for this is that they’re now on-screen buttons, rather than capacitive controls. The unlock button was one I had consistent trouble with.”
We’ll have to see if the new features are enough to make fans forget the disastrous Galaxy Note 7. The new Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ are set to launch in the United States on April 21.
