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Galaxy S8 gets top performance rating

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By Kang Seung-woo

The Samsung Galaxy S8
The Samsung Galaxy S8
Samsung Electronics' flagship smartphone Galaxy S8 is still regarded as the best-performing smartphone in the second half of the year ahead of its competitors, according to a U.S. industry tracker, Tuesday.

Consumer Reports said that the Galaxy S8 and its larger sibling S8 Plus scored 81 points to take the top spots in its smartphone ratings. The industry tracker tested all smartphones available in the U.S. market, including Apple's iPhone 8 and 8 Plus as well as Samsung's latest device — the Galaxy Note 8.

The achievement carries extra weight given that the S8 phones are not the latest products of the world's largest smartphone marker. They were unveiled in March after Samsung had to kill off the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7 due to faulty batteries last year.

The 5.8-inch S8 came up with a rare 18.5:9 infinity display and a nearly all screen design — a feature Consumer Reports described as "most striking."

"The Galaxy S8 has an unusual shape — a proprietary new digital assistant, improved cameras, and a clear mission: To replace the successful S7 models as one of the premier smartphones on the market," it said in its latest report.

"In addition to the new design innovations, Samsung showed off Bixby, an intelligent interface that it believes will help users get more out of their phone."

As for the 6.2-inch S8 Plus, the industry tracker said this shape allows Samsung to give the phone more screen area without it being too wide to operate comfortably with one hand.

Plus, the two phones received rave reviews on battery life, easing concerns over the battery issue.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 released in the first half of last year came in third and had to work overtime to fill the void left by the Note 7 recall.

Samsung's latest high-end phone, the Galaxy Note 8, notched 80 points, as well.

The new jumbo phone is Samsung's first smartphone to feature a dual camera that enables wide-angle and normal shots.

"For the first time on a Samsung phone, the camera is equipped with a second 2x optical zoom lens for a nice portrait (blurred background) mode and better zoom quality than the digital zoom on its other cameras," the report said.

In addition, its enhanced S Pen stylus also gained recognition. The stylus pen has been a signature accessory of the Note phone series since its 2011 inception.

"The handwriting recognition works very well with the stylus. With the stylus you can write a note, select a section of the screen to capture, write directly on the screen, create a Live Message and translate a highlighted section," it said.

Apple's iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus that are currently plagued by battery expansion issues scored 80 points.

Kang Seung-woo ksw@koreatimes.co.kr


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