UPDATE:
Netflix reached out to Android Headlines to clarify that HDR support for the LG G6 “is coming soon,” in accordance to what the company announced when it debuted HDR streaming support for smartphones back in February. However, there are currently no plans for bringing the functionality to the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus, according to Marlee Tart, the company’s Manager of Corporate Communications. The original story follows below.
The upcoming LG G6, Samsung Galaxy S8, and the Galaxy S8 Plus won’t support streaming of UHD content on Netflix at launch, the popular streaming service told Phone Arena. A Netflix customer service official revealed that while neither of the three flagships will be certified for streaming UHD content on Netflix at the time they’re released, the company is apparently collaborating with both Samsung and LG to include the feature at a later date. Devices that are certified for streaming Ultra HD content by Netflix have a lot of overlapping features with Mobile HDR Premium certificates boasted by the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus, but that isn’t to say the two certificates are identical, Netflix explained, meaning it will take a while before either device can stream UHD content using the popular video service. It’s currently unclear how long the feature will be in the works, but more details on the matter will hopefully be available shortly.
In the meantime, it’s fair to presume that the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus will likely receive support for UHD Netflix streaming before the LG G6 does seeing how the Dolby Vision screen of the latter doesn’t fulfill the ideal requirements for such streaming and may require more effort before the functionality is implemented. Regardless, all three devices are certainly capable of displaying content that has a higher dynamic range than what regular smartphones can handle, though it remains to be seen how well they’ll support Netflix’s library in the future. The Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus will also be missing another minor feature at launch seeing how the Bixby artificial intelligence (AI) assistant that’s shipping with them will only support American English and Korean by the time both smartphones hit the market, with Samsung only saying that support for British English and other languages will be added to the voice-enabled companion at a later date.
Regardless of some features missing at launch, none of them are expected to heavily impact the sales of the LG G6 and Samsung’s upcoming pair of flagship Android devices. LG’s latest high-end smartphone is launching in the United States on Friday, while the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus are scheduled to be released globally on April 21.