AT&T accidentally confirmed the existence of the Galaxy S8 Active, Samsung’s upcoming revision of the Galaxy S8 flagship which the company introduced this spring. The new promotion announced by the second largest mobile service provider in the United States mentions the Galaxy S8 Active in its legal section, noting how anyone who purchases the Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8 Plus, or the upcoming rugged variant of the former on AT&T Next is eligible to receive a $500 discount on their purchase of a new Samsung TV.
Given how the Dallas, Texas-based wireless carrier is only running its new promotion until the end of the month, the company should officially announce the Galaxy S8 Active much sooner than August 31. The device itself is essentially a reinforced version of the Galaxy S8 without a curved screen, with recent reports indicating that the handset will boast MIL-STD-810G certification that should guarantee it can remain operational in harsh weather conditions and survive a degree of mechanical and shock damage. Other than that, the smartphone should be mostly identical to the Galaxy S8, being powered by the Qualcomm-made Snapdragon 835 system-on-chip (SoC) and 4GB of RAM, in addition to featuring 64GB of internal flash memory expandable via a microSD card slot. The physical Bixby button is also present on this variant of the Galaxy S8, but unlike its predecessors, the device won’t have an Active key, according to all of its previous sightings. The final difference between the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Active pertains to their batteries, with the latter shipping with a 4,000mAh unit as opposed to a 3,000mAh one.
The Galaxy S8 Active is expected to be sold as an AT&T exclusive in the United States, though it’s currently unclear whether Samsung has any intention of releasing an international version of the handset. It the company’s previous product practices related to this smartphone lineup are any indication, the Galaxy S8 Active won’t be making its way to any other markets. Samsung’s Galaxy S8 lineup is currently the best-selling Android phone series in 2017, with the Korean tech giant already shipping more than 20 million units worldwide, according to recent estimates.