THURSDAY NIGHT, MAY 4.

 

So excited I can't sleep.

 

Even though my alarm goes off at 2:55AM, I can't stop thinking about it.

 

What a sad-arse. Such a geek. All this over a new phone. It arrives tomorrow...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mine's black. Sorry, "Midnight Black." And it actually is really black. My S7 Edge was only Black Onyx, and even then the edges (such as they are on a curvy-screened phone like this) were still a metallic aluminium kind of colour.

 

My new S8 is black, black, black - on the edges and everywhere. Definitely blacker. Definitely cooler. It also comes in Orchid Grey (lavender) and Maple Gold. There's no longer an option to NOT have a curvy screen which is as it should be. Who wants boring when they can have sexy? Admittedly, even though I've been using curvy screens for a while now, I don't actually use any of the features designed especially for them, I just like them because they look so bad-ass. Nothing feels quite like a curvy Samsung in your hand either. In fact, even my old S7 Edge feels like it's full of clunky sharp corners around the bezel compared to my super-smooth new S8.

 

This will mostly be about the main differences (or upgrades) between these two phones - why is this year's better than last year's? Especially when I confidently declared the S7 Edge to be the best phone I'd ever used.

 

Let's keep it physical for one more paragraph. In a Doctor Who-like stroke of design genius, Samsung have bent the laws of physics to put a larger display on a smaller phone. They achieved this with two neat tricks; for starters, the front of the phone is now pretty much all screen and nothing else. Secondly, they've done away with the physical home key and gone with on-screen navigation instead. This means a whole new, long and skinny profile which definitely has more advantages than drawbacks.

 

The first thing that'll freak out regular Galaxy users is because the home key has gone, the fingerprint sensor has moved round to the back of the S8 next to the camera lens. Calm down guys, other manufacturers have been putting theirs there for years and it's way more ergonomic when it comes to one-handed operation. You'll soon get used to it, then love it. The only downside is it really is right next to the camera lens, which means accidental fingerprints on the camera are pretty much inevitable. Underneath and in the middle next time please, Samsung. the good news is, the sensor is faster and more reliable than ever before.

 

If fingerprints aren't for you, there's now also the option of an iris scanner, and they've brought back facial recognition too, although as we've learned in the media, if someone has a good photo of you, this may not be the most secure way to secure your phone.

 

Once you're in, what really is the difference here? To be honest, if you've kept your previous Android phone up to date with the latest operating software, nothing's going to make your brain explode. I certainly found the connectivity to be more efficient than ever, be it WiFi, WiFi Direct, NFC or bluetooth. The S8 is definitely more proactive when it comes to power-saving options too, letting you know when it's shutting down background apps, while giving you the option to keep them running if they're important.

 

As a result, battery life is pretty off-the-hook - literally, because as usual, the S8 charges wirelessly which is something other brands seem unbelievably slow to jump on board with. Fast charging is now just standard, obviously. The IP68 waterproof thing (drop-in-the-loo-proof) is slightly more available these days, but wireless charging and water resistance are two very compelling reasons to choose the Galaxy S8 over any other kind of phone.

 

The cameras have been tweaked to be even more user-friendly than ever - 12MP at the back and a somewhat over-the-top 8MP for selfies. Last year's S7's were already outperfoming all other phone cameras when it came to low-light shots, the S8 is just that little bit better. There are also other new photo features including stamps, filters and beauty settings I'll probably never use, but they're there.

 

Time to address the elephant in the room, an elephant named Bixby. If you've heard anything about the S8, you'll know about Samsung's new personal assistant. There are 3 ways to use Bixby; press the Bixby button and a screen of cards appears, very like the Google cards you can already access if you have an account. Today's appointments, news, weather and other suggested links to general stuff you may be interested in.

 

Secondly, using the Bixby Vision option, you can take a photo of something and Bixby will try to find all there is to know about that thing. Bottles of wine seem to be the example everybody likes to use, but me being me, I've just tried it out on a bottle of Jim Beam Honey Bourbon. Bixby decided to show me lots of pictures of Ben and Jerry's ice cream in response. I'm thinking this is still definitely a work in progress, especially since the third method of using Bixby, Bixby Voice is still to come. Bixby Voice will be Samsung's version of Siri, allowing you to control apps, set reminders and appointments, find out who invented the internal combustion engine for that trivia quiz, that sort of thing. I can't tell you if it works, because it hasn't arrived yet - presumably Samsung's R&D department are slogging away tirelessly to ensure Bixby recognises the unique qualities of our sexy New Zealand accent.

 

The fact Bixby is a work in progress is either really embarrassing, or more likely, an exciting way of future-proofing the S8, like clearing a space on your bookshelf for the next Lee Child; it hasn't been written yet, but it's bound to be amazing once you get your hands on it. Bixby had better be amazing in the end, after all, Samsung have introduced a whole new button under the volume controls just to turn it on. I'm not complaining about it, moaning about an extra feature I didn't ask for would be like whinging about the quality of free samples at the supermarket.

 

Bixby aside, the S8 is faster, it looks even better and the big screen/little body equation means it fits more comfortably in my pocket. (That's why I didn't go with the S8+... essentially the same phone but bigger) This handset has undoubtedly achieved exactly what Samsung needed it to; the next logical step forward in the Galaxy succession, rightfully claiming its predecessor's mantle of the best phone in the world.

 

Just pick one up and hold it. You'll know what I mean.

 

Click here for more information and pricing details for the Samsung Galaxy S8