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It looks like Samsung may have a hot little number on its hands. No, not the ill-fated Note7 the company hopes everyone will soon forget. We're talking about the all-new, state-of-the-art Galaxy S8 and S8+ smartphones, due in buyers' hands on April 21.
Samsung The Samsung Galaxy S8+
Samsung, burned by the controversy surrounding the Note7 last fall -- that device had a tendency to overheat and catch fire while charging, something that did not endear it to users -- clearly hopes it turned the page this week.
And given the early reviews on the new S8 and its bigger sibling, the S8+, it may well be able to do just that. Look at what the new smartphones offer: Facial recognition, an intelligent agent called Bixby and Samsung Pass for secure mobile payments. They also sport larger displays than the S7 -- both have an edge-to-edge, near-bezel-less screen enclosure called an Infinity display.
Take that, Apple.
Still, when D.J. Koh, the president of Samsung Electronics' mobile communications business, spoke at the launch event Wednesday, he couldn't help but look back. "As you all know, it has been a challenging year for Samsung [with] valuable lessons and important new beginnings," he said. (He did not mention the the Note7 by name, nor did he mention recent plans to re-sell refurbished Note7s.)
"We're humble enough to learn from our mistakes," Koh added near the end of the one-hour event. "This is how new doors are opened; the impossible becomes possible."
Patrick Moorhead, an analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, was downright bullish on the S8 and S8+. The 5.8-in. display of the S8 and 6.2-in. display S8+, with their curved glass and high resolution, "are stunning." He likened them to the concept phones of a decade ago that looked like hi-tech slabs of glass.
Given the fast processors, new services and features being offered, Samsung's "value proposition is very strong.... It appears Samsung has a winner on its hands," Moorhead said.
Get the rest of the lowdown here:
- What's in Samsung's Galaxy S8 and S8+ smartphones?
- Samsung announces DeX dock for new Galaxy S8 and S8+ smartphones
- Samsung has a lot to prove with the new Galaxy S8
