Samsung Galaxy S8 Active Review

samsung galaxy s8 active Review

INTRODUCTION

by now, we've come to expect an "Active" 

Version of the latest Samsung SX device. Also By

 now, we've mostly come to 

Terms with the fact that it still isn't commercially

 Available in other markets Outside the US. 

That aside, the Galaxy S8 Active is a ruggedized version of the 
Samsung Galaxy S8. It also does not water down specs 

Or skimp on features over The standard model.

Here, you'll find the same camera, CPU, and even

The same HDR-compliant Display from 

The Galaxy S8. One thing worth noting is 

The screen is the same Aspect ratio and 

size as the Galaxy S8, though the main 

Difference is the Active Isn't curved.

The Active variant is a device that's targeted at those
 who have physically demanding professions or just enjoy
 the outdoors and would like to have the extra peace of mind 
about their phone.

In the past, the Active model even had an extra key, one that
 could open the 'Activity Zone' app (exclusive to the 'Active' variant)
 or whatever you wanted to program it to do. Well, Samsung has 
bumped the "Activity Key" down to "Bixby Key" status.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Active key features

Body: Rugged design with metal frame, protected by 
dense rubber bumpers with grip-textured back plate. 
IP68 water resistant, as well as shock resistant and
 shatter-resistant glass display. MIL-STD-810G compliant.
 Display: 5.8" Super AMOLED display QHD+ (2,960x1440px) 
18.5:9 aspect ratio (2.06:1), 568 ppi, Gorilla Glass 5, HDR 
support. Rear camera: 12MP f/1.7 aperture, dual pixel phase
 detection autofocus, OIS; face/smile detection, palm or voice
 shutter, Multi-Frame Image Processing; 2160p/30fps video
 recording. Front camera: 8MP, f/1.7 aperture, autofocus; 
1440p/30fps video recording. OS/Software: Android 7.0 Nougat;
 Samsung Grace UX; Bixby virtual assistant; Smart Connect, 
Smart Connect Home Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 
octa-core CPU (4x2.35GHz Kryo 280 & 4x1.8GHz Kryo 280), 
Adreno 540 GPU. Memory: 4GB of RAM, 64GB of expandable
 storage; microSD card slot for cards up to 256GB, UFS card
 support. Battery: 4,000 Li-Po (sealed); Adaptive Fast Charging
 (QC 2.0 compatible)l WPC (Qi) & PMA wireless charging. 
Connectivity: Single-SIM (Exclusive to AT&T in the US) - 4-
Band/5-Band carrier aggregation, Cat.16/13 (1Gbps/150Mbps); 
USB-Type-C (v3.1); Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac MU-MIMO; GPS; NFC; 
Bluetooth 5.1 Misc: Barometer; Samsung Pay; fingerprint 
scanner; iris scanner, DeX dock compatible; Main shortcomings 
Programmable Activity Key is now Bixby Key No bundled earbuds 
No Gear VR compatibility Verizon and International availability not 
yet expected In the past, the 'Active' version of Samsung's flagships
 were slower to receive official updates, particularly since the phone 
is only available through a single US carrier, which have been 
notorious for delaying official software updates in the past. Though,
 things have been improving slowly, but surely, with Samsung's 
update frequency ever since Google started released monthly 
security updates.

If You're on AT&T in the US, you have three

  

competing Galaxy S8 options: the standard model goes

 for $750, while the Active and Galaxy S8+ 

go for $100 more at $849. So you could either 

get a larger screen and larger battery, or 

a ruggedized Galaxy S8 at regular size, with a much

 larger battery (33% more than the Galaxy S8).

One other tidbit that may be worth mentioning, the 

Galaxy S7 active from last year had the "active" 

branding in all-lowercase letters, as well as the 

Galaxy S6 active before it. Not sure what 

Samsung was trying to do with all-lowercase 

branding (which did throw us off, to be honest), 

but Samsung has capitalized the "A" in "Active" here.

Now that our OCD is out of the way, the question

 remains: is the Galaxy S8 Active the right phone f

or you? Let's find out together, starting with the unboxing
 on the next page.