Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus variant with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal flash storage has reached Hong Kong, several weeks after the variant was made available in Samsung’s home country, South Korea. This announcement comes three weeks after the smartphone giant raised the possibility of launching the variant of Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus with increased RAM and internal storage in more markets if the market demand justifies shipping the variant. Samsung confirmed the availability of the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus variant with 6GB RAM at an event in Hong Kong where Samsung Pay was officially launched in the island territory, wherein it also added that the smartphones to be sold there are unlocked. Therefore, potential owners of the 6GB RAM variant of Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus do not need to worry about carrier compatibility.
Samsung has decided to launch a variant of the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus with additional RAM and internal flash storage in order to stay competitive in some of the largest Asian markets. China, which is one of the largest smartphone markets globally, are already seeing some devices with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal flash storage or even higher, like the Huawei Mate 9 and the recently launched Xiaomi Mi 6. In order to justify its premium price in a market flooded with affordable yet comparably powerful smartphones, Samsung has to match the specifications of the smartphone offerings of its competitors, which is important at a time where it is trailing behind the competition in the Chinese market.
Aside from the increased size of RAM and internal flash storage, the specifications of Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus sold in Hong Kong will be similar to those sold in North America. Samsung’s flagship smartphone sports either an Exynos 8895 or, in the case of Hong Kong, a Snapdragon 835 SoC which powers 6.2-inch 2960 x 1440 Super AMOLED display. The display has curved edges on both sides and an 18.5:9 aspect ratio, resulting in a taller screen, reduced bezels, and increased area of interaction with applications. Samsung’s newest flagship smartphone also takes advantage of the latest in wireless technologies, with the smartphone supporting gigabit LTE and Bluetooth 5. Samsung’s rear camera has a 12-megapixel dual pixel sensor, which is placed beside the fingerprint scanner. Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus, along with its smaller brother Samsung Galaxy S8, is currently available for pre-order and will hit the shelves on April 21st.