14 DAY TRIAL // Samsung’s latest flagship smartphone will release next week, but it seems that at least one US carrier intends to ship pre-ordered units early. T-Mobile has just informed its customers that they can expect to receive their pre-ordered Galaxy S8 and S8+ units starting April 19.
Pre-orders for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ at T-Mobile went live late last month, while the two smartphones will be released in the US on April 21. Three days prior to that, T-Mobile customers can expect to receive their orders.
T-Mobile has stated that it has already started packing customer orders and some can even see their credit cards being charged. The carrier is rushing to be the first mobile operator in the US to place the Galaxy S8 in the pockets of customers, at least two days after the official release.
T-Mobile delivered the Galaxy S7 early last year
This isn’t the first time that T-Mobile pulls such a move. The US carrier also delivered pre-orders for the Galaxy S7 one week before the release date last year. A recent report also revealed that Galaxy S8 customers in Canada would receive their pre-orders as early as April 17. Canadians who pre-ordered Samsung’s latest flagship from Telus, Rogers, Videotron and Bell can expect to receive the device earlier than others.
While the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ will arrive early in the US, they won’t feature voice command features for virtual assistant Bixby. Samsung announced that Bixby’s Voice launch was delayed, possibly because of English-related voice recognition issues.
As it turns out, Bixby’s performance in English isn’t satisfactory, as the virtual assistant seems to lag behind the Korean version. Although voice commands won’t be available, users will still be able to enjoy Home, Vision and Reminder tools. Bixby Voice will be available in the US on the Galaxy S8 later this spring, which means that it should arrive before the start of June. Thus, Samsung delayed the launch by up to one month.
