The creator of the S8 said, “We baked it like pottery.”

It was a point where they mentioned testing over 100,000 units to avoid repeating the mistakes of the previous model, the Note 7. On the 13th, Samsung Electronics held a media day at its Seocho headquarters and officially introduced the Galaxy S8. The number of pre-orders in Korea revealed by Samsung on this day was 728,000 units. We took a closer look at the 'Galaxy S8,' which over 700,000 people had already set their sights on.

(Left Galaxy S8+, Right Galaxy S8)

(In one-hand operation mode, you can move the screen according to the direction of the arrow.)

No one knows how much smarter Bixby will become.
Bixby can learn based on user patterns. Starting with the voice features unveiled with the launch in April, it will continuously learn and improve, and is scheduled to 'connect' with IoT devices. The employee answered with a smile at the end of the reporter's question about the features of Bixby. No one knows how much smarter Bixby will become.

I asked Bixby and Siri.

"Tell me the Korean baseball results"
Bixby : “That’s an inspiring question!” It hasn’t been introduced yet.
Siri : Recognized 'baseball' and displayed MLB results. Korean baseball was linked to the Korean Professional Baseball broadcasting site, so it could be viewed after two connections.

Show me the way to Gangnam Station
Bixby : Does not recognize Gangnam Station as a location.
Siri : " No place found matching 'Gangnam Station'." Web search available. Or suggested a list of places within 10km.
Since it uses iOS-based maps, navigation is supported, but public transportation must be accessed via an additional app.

Find me some good restaurants nearby
Bixby : A feature not yet activated. When activated, it provides information from the location-based social network 'Foursquare'.
According to an employee, as you walk past places like augmented reality, signs related to restaurants, tourism, and shopping appear, allowing you to learn information.
Siri : It showed results for about a dozen restaurants. However, it is impossible to know where the restaurant information is sourced from or the criteria for the recommendations.

Send the photo you took yesterday to your friend.
Bixby : You can show a photo taken yesterday, select it, and then issue a connection command saying, "Send it to Hong Gil-dong."
Siri : Shows a photo taken yesterday. The choice and transmission of photos are up to the individual.

Show your friend the photo you took in Hawaii.
Bixby : Photos can be sorted by location and date.
Siri : As expected, it does not connect to transmission and cannot sort photos by location.

(Bixby promotional screen displayed at the experience center)

Translate this for me
Bixby : Although it does not connect via voice command, clicking the icon in the bottom left corner of the camera allows you to select text extraction, translation, and shopping location recognition features.
When extracting, convert to text. The accuracy is as follows.

Text translation requires taking a photo and selecting the text. The feature of having to scroll through and select text one by one brought back memories of the inconvenience experienced when sending photos in the early days of KakaoTalk. Image and location recognition are based on information from Pinterest.

Siri : “I can’t translate, but I’ll recommend this place. ” Suggests Naver Translate and Google Translate as search results.

Biometric authentication systems (face, iris, fingerprint)

I 'entered' my face. After pressing the lock button, I slightly lifted the S8 and it unlocked. When I held it up to someone to test it, it recognized my face as it briefly brushed past and unlocked. It happened in the blink of an eye.

Next, the iris was 'input'. A red light illuminates next to the front camera, and two eyes appear on the screen. The iris recognition feature can be used as an accredited certificate through cooperation with the Korea Internet & Security Agency and certification authorities. Samsung Electronics plans to expand usability in the future by integrating Samsung Pay with financial services such as securities, credit card, and insurance subscriptions, as well as identity verification services, medical record lookup, and online shopping.

With the removal of the home button, the fingerprint sensor was moved to the back. They are positioned side by side from left to right, in the order of flash, camera, and fingerprint sensor. While it was possible to use it without difficulty with an index finger on the S8, the finger length was insufficient on the S8 Plus. Because it is close to the camera, fingerprints were sometimes left on the camera lens.

camera

Decoration features have been added to existing Galaxy filters. Filters, stamps, and mask functions from photo apps 'CandyCam', 'SweetSelfie', and 'B612' have been integrated into the existing filters. The mask function can be used without installing the app.

Samsung Dex

I sat down in front of DeX, which can be used as a desktop. I opened Excel. Since I wasn't a Microsoft subscriber, it opened in read-only mode. Visually, there was no difference from a PC. I opened Lineage 2 Revolution. Thanks to a partnership with Netmarble, PC-like gameplay was possible. Supported apps include Microsoft Office, Hancom Office, Skype, Photoshop, CAD, and Lineage.

(I connected to DeX and launched Lineage. I recreated a PC environment complete with a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and speakers.)

During the media day, reporters continued to ask questions regarding battery safety. In response, President Koh Dong-jin expressed confidence, stating, "We have tested over 100,000 batteries, making them safer than ever." Will President Koh’s sincerity—that he worked hard to create these devices after the heartache caused by the Galaxy Note 7—resonate with customers? Official sales of the Galaxy S8 and S8+ begin on April 21.