14 DAY TRIAL // Today, Samsung announced the commercial launch of its Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ flagships in select markets around the world, including the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Korea. The premium phones will make their way to other countries in the days and weeks to come.
With a stunning design featuring bezel-less Infinity Display and powerful specs inside, the Galaxy S8 has all it takes to become the best smartphone of 2017, or at least until a worthy competitor shows up, possibly the iPhone 8.
Samsung has put high emphasis on the Galaxy S8's design, especially its dual-curved display and sleek shape that makes it easy to hold the phone and operate it with one hand. The glossy back panel houses the relocated fingerprint scanner, main camera and flash, together with the Samsung branding and Galaxy S8 or S8+ moniker.
No carrier branding on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+
Fortunately, there won’t be any carrier branding on the back of Samsung’s newest smartphones, according to a report. The front panel is also free of logos, while the back won’t be carrying the moniker belonging to one of the four big US carriers in the country. T-Mobile and Sprint have refrained from slapping their logos on Samsung’s recent flagships and it seems that AT&T and Verizon are ready to follow suit.
LG’s premium smartphone, the G6, wasn’t so lucky, as AT&T’s logo is almost as big as the fingerprint sensor. A carrier logo would certainly overcrowd the Galaxy S8’s glossy back side, partly reducing the phone's appeal.
Aside from Samsung’s Bixby, Connect, Health and Pay services, the new phones will come with carrier bloatware. Sadly, there’s no way of avoiding them, and depending on the carrier, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ will feature pre-installed carrier apps.
Samsung has certainly come a long way since the days of the Galaxy Note II, as the phablet featured not one, but two carrier logos. The Verizon logo was imprinted in large on the back panel, as well as on the front physical home button.