Days after some leaks and rumours, Samsung has finally unveiled the Galaxy S8 Active as its next-generation rugged smartphone. The new handset is initially available in the US market on a carrier contract with telco giant AT&T and is designed to make smartness closer to a durable build.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, which is the fifth in the company's Galaxy Active series that was debuted back in June 2013 with the launch of the Galaxy S4 Active, is touted to be designed with "military-grade" materials. While the front of the handset has a shatter-resistant glass protection that can bear a drop from up to five feet onto a flat surface, its back has a tough, textured cover. The South Korean company has additionally used a metal frame and a bumper on its top to protect the internal components from shock, abrasion, tilting and twisting. Also, there is resistance to survive in up to five feet of water for up to 30 minutes.
Samsung has developed the body of the smarthpone with IP68 certification. The device is also MIL-STD-810G compliant that ensures a flawless experience in salt, dust, humidit, rain and solar radiation.
"Our new Samsung Galaxy S8 Active is designed with tested durability and strength to address the needs of consumers who need a more rugged device for their lifestyle," said Tim Baxter, president and CEO, Samsung Electronics North America, in a press statement.
Despite being a sturdy option, the Galaxy S8 Active is as smart as the flagship Galaxy S8 and S8+. It comes with a Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 chipset that has octa-core processing power and 4GB of RAM. The smartphone also has 64GB onboard storage along with a microSD card support.
No Infinity Display...
However, Samsung hasn't provided its iconic, Infinity Display technology. The new Galaxy handset, thus, has a 5.8-inch Super AMOLED display with QHD (2560x1440pixel) resolution.
The optics of the smartphone include a 12-megapixel camera sensor on the rear with f/1.7 lens and an 8-megapixel frontal sensor.
...but a larger battery!
While Samsung has missed the premium display experience of the Galaxy S8, the company has compensated by offering a large battery pack on the Active handset. There is a 4,000mAh battery which has 1,000mAh more capacity than the battery of the flagship offering. More battery capacity makes the new smartphone a perfect option for corporates, athletes, outdoor enthusiasts and hard-working parents -- at whom the Galaxy maker is mainly targeting its latest offering.
Google's Android 7.0 Nougat powers the software experience on the Galaxy S8 Active. Moreover, there are goodies such as Bixby assistant and Samsung Pay.
Fresh colour options
One of the most notable characteristics of the Galaxy S8 Active is its unique colour options that include Meteor Gray and Titanium Gold paint jobs. These are distinguished from Midnight Black, Orchid Gray, Arctic Silver, Coral Blue and Maple Gold of the original Galaxy S8.
The Galaxy S8 Active will go on sale in the US market from August 11. It will be available with a price tag of US$849 (approximately S$1,158).
