The official announcement of the new Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus was today and while it will be available from the carriers on April 21st, Best Buy already has its informational page up for both devices for sale on May 9th, though it seems that the pages for the listings have now been removed. These unlocked models can be used on any US network, although, in the past Samsung has been slow to issue upgrades to the unlocked models, but that may change with the new Galaxy S8. The Galaxy S8 will cost you $724.99 and the Galaxy S8 Plus will run you $824.99 – these prices include a $25 discount over what you would pay through a carrier. Some people prefer unlocked models to ones purchased through the carrier as Verizon or AT&T will add a lot of bloatware that is carrier related. The buyer may never use many of those apps but you are unable to remove most of them and the most you can do is turn them off.
Currently, you can only ask to be notified when the status will change to pre-order, although the websites tells you that pre-orders will start on Thursday. It also appears that Midnight Black will be the only color option for the unlocked model. The new Galaxy S8 models are giving out great first impressions. The new Infinity Display is similar to the old curved edge display, but truly looks quite different. They are taller and more narrow with an 18.5:9 aspect ratio and the near bezel-less screen seems to melt into the sides and glass backing. Holding it is a pleasure and when it is in your hand, the display appears to look much larger, possibly from the boundaries that your hands provide. While the side bezels are non-existent, even the top and bottom bezels are tiny – gone is the old Samsung physical Home button that used to occupy the bottom bezel.
The Home button is now pressure sensitive on the display and all you need to do is apply pressure in that area and the Home button, along with a customizable Back key and App key will appear. The Galaxy S8 sports a 5.8-inch display and the Galaxy S8 Plus has a 6.2-inch display. The new Snapdragon 835 processor provides the power and the Adreno 540 handles the graphics in the US model. It packs 4GB of DDR4 RAM and 64GB of expandable memory. It features a 12-megapixel dual Pixel camera with improved functionality and a larger 8-megapixel front-facing camera (FFC) with autofocus for selfies and video chatting. The Galaxy S8 packs a 3000mAh battery and the S8 Plus uses a 3500mAh battery, both are non-removable, but feature Quick Charge and wireless charging.