Samsung-Galaxy-S8

Samsung has officially unveiled its latest flagship phone, the Galaxy S8, in its battle against the iPhone.

The Korean company is counting on the phone to boost its recovery from the scandal caused by its exploding Galaxy Note 7. The decision to recall and stop production of that model cost the company an estimated profit loss of £2.4m.

The new phone comes in two sizes, with the S8 featuring a 5.8-inch screen and the S8+ featuring a 6.2-inch screen. The radical redesign of the phone allows the massive screens to fit into a body with a relatively small footprint — the 6.2-inch screen of the S8+ has the same size body as the 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus.

Both models feature a new screen design that Samsung calls the “infinity display.” The curved screen wraps around the device, covering almost the entire face of the phone and reaching around the edges. The phone does not have a home button displayed on its face but instead features a pressure-sensitive home button tucked under the bottom of the screen.

Other key upgrades include relocating the fingerprint scanner to the back of the phone and incorporating face-tracking technology that allows users to unlock the phone by looking at its front camera.

The enhanced front camera features multi-frame imaging processing. The camera takes three images simultaneously, thereby reducing blurring and enhancing sharpness and clarity. Samsung will introduce a new voice-controlled virtual assistant named Bixby later in the year.

The new phones will be available at retail outlets from 28 April, with a full retail cost of £689 for the S8 and £779 for the S8+. Synergy Mobile is now taking pre-orders for both handsets.