The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ took the mobile phone realm by storm on Wednesday, March 29 when the highly anticipated smartphones were finally launched. As the dust settles and reviews centering on the features they offer, and their cosmetic appearance start pouring in from all corners, one central question remains, are these devices worth your money.

With the Galaxy S8 and its larger sibling, the Galaxy S8+, the Korean handset maker has taken its best shot in the bid to amend its rundown reputation, thanks to the now-defunct Note 7, and lure back customers who have abandoned the controversy-plagued brand. Thus, it's hardly surprising that the recently announced handsets pack an array of nothing less than jaw-dropping specs, features, and design.

Both, the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+ are scheduled to hit the store shelves on April 21 in the United States with a starting price of $720. Aside from an iris scanner, the smartphones will feature a new digital assistant called Bixby. Here's a rundown of the smartphones' hits and fails in terms of specifications and features.

The Traditional Home Button

In order to give more space for the display, Samsung has moved the standard Home Button, placing it under the screen alongside the navigation controls.

Bixby: A New Digital Assistant

Samsung Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+ now features a new digital assistant dubbed as Bixby. To bring up the assistant, users just need to press a button placed on the side of the device.

The newfangled assistant understand what a user is doing on the phone, the app he/she has open and taking that as frame of reference, it offers help within that specific app to not only navigate but also expedite tasks by ferreting out trends in a user's behaviour, according to Forbes contributor, Jay McGregor.

For instance, a user can send a picture he/she is looking at to a friend without even leaving the Gallery app.

New Levels Of Security

The Galaxy S8 could be one of the most secure devices currently available in the market. Following in footsteps of Windows Hello, the smartphone can first take scans of a user's iris and then later use it as a password to unlock the smartphone. A user simply has to look fixedly at his/her device.
Interestingly, Samsung did not dump the fingerprint scanner which is placed at the back, HindustanTimes reported.

Adaptive Fast Charging

To ensure the Galaxy S8 does not run out of juice and operates uninterruptedly, Samsung has equipped the device with adaptive fast charging. The device packs a battery capacity of 3000mAh for the Galaxy S8 and 3500mAh for the bigger, Galaxy S8+, Gadgets360 reported.

Bigger, Better Display

Samsung has introduced a continuous display with a dual curve at the edges in a bid to make the display better and bigger.

Bluetooth Module 5.0

The Galaxy S8 is the first smartphone to feature Bluetooth module 5.0, which enables the phone to connect or stream to two devices simultaneously.

Samsung DeX

Users can connect the new Galaxy S8 smartphone to a monitor, mouse, and keyboard thanks to a new Windows Continuum-like productivity service called, Dex.

High-End Processor But Not For Everyone

The Samsung Galaxy S8 will hit the store shelves in the US packing the Snapdragon 835; however, other countries will have to settle for the Exynos processor. In other words, several users will not be able to experience the power of the 835 chipsets.

Single Camera

Contrary to using a dual rear camera setup, which is the industry standard now, Samsung has added a single camera with a 12-megapixel sensor on the Galaxy S8 smartphone. This implies there will no Bokeh effect photos on the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+.