The Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus that Samsung just announced in New York City are capable of simultaneously playing audio to two pairs of headphones or two speakers, the company revealed. The dual audio support was likely developed on the back of Bluetooth 5.0 support that Samsung’s new flagship duo also features. The new Bluetooth standard is approximately twice as fast as Bluetooth 4.0 and can cover four times more space, in addition to having a significantly wider throughput capacity and being more energy efficient. All of this allowed Samsung to develop dual audio support for the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus that won’t stop at only being able to send audio to two wireless devices simultaneously. Instead, both clients connected to either variant of the Galaxy S8 will also have access to separate audio controls.
It’s currently unclear whether dual audio Bluetooth support will be able to work in conjunction with a wired pair of earphones or headphones, but more details on the feature should be revealed in the coming days. Regarding other audio-related capabilities of the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus, both phones were audio tuned by Austrian company AKG and will be bundled with a pair of AKG earphones that will also be sold individually for $99, Samsung confirmed. The devices are said to offer a premium audio experience to consumers, and the aforementioned dual audio Bluetooth support will likely only help them impress you in the audio department even further.
The newly revealed feature would have hardly been made possible if it wasn’t for Bluetooth 5.0 support, something that Samsung is proud to highlight seeing how the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus are the first commercial smartphones compatible with this standard. Apart from the benefits outlined above, Bluetooth 5.0 is also said to provide an 800-percent increase in broadcasting message capacity, all while consuming less energy. The support for this standard means the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus are future-proof in terms of Bluetooth connectivity and — consequently — the advancements in the Internet of Things (IoT) segment. Samsung’s upcoming flagship duo is scheduled to launch on April 21, with prices starting at around $750 for the smaller model and $850 for the larger one, depending on the territory.