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In today’s world, the person who owns the prime TV is that guy who has installed an OLED TV set in his living room (or bedroom). If you know of such a guy, buy him (or her) a drink, as he is the guy who has bought two prime plots in the heart of Nairobi and put them right inside his bedroom – for entertainment purposes.


 LG however knows that not every human can afford to install two prime plots right inside their living rooms, so they came up with a product that is reasonably affordable and can somehow mimic the experience got from OLED television – the LG Super UHD TV sets.
LG Super UHD TV sets (drop the uper in Super and you get LG SUHD TV. Sounds familiar?) are LG’s top line nanotechnology television sets meant to allow TV viewers experience the world of 4K, HDR10 and Dolby Vision content at very affordable rates – and by affordable, at Nairobi Smartphones, you can get them from about Kshs 100,000/- to well over Kshs 1 million, depending on the size of the LG Super UHD tv you want to buy.



The LG Super UHD TVs are strong in four main areas, the 4K resolutions, HDR10 support, the Dolby Vision, and the presence of LG’s Colour Prime technology that offers Sony Triluminos and Samsung’s Active Crystal Color a run for their money. 4K resolution is basically what gives LG Super UHD TVs their name tags, as UHD (Ultra High Definition), is the industry’s cool way of referring to 4K.
HDR10 technology on the other hand is the industry standard that when deployed on TV screens allow the screens to display HDR videos, where HDR videos are those videos where one frame is a composite frame made of three or so frames of different exposures then combined to form one HDR frame. These frames thereafter make up the HDR video. Photographers have been familiar with HDR pictures for years, but now the technology is catching up with video content thanks to things like HDR10 standards.
Dolby Vision is an advanced form of HDR technology which allow the TV screens like LG Super UHD TVs to portray HDR content as accurately as possible. Think of HDR to be a set of static instructions (hardwired) that tell the TV screens how do display HDR content, but this instruction is global for the entire video, no matter the changes in scenes. Dolby Vision on the other hand instructs the TV screen how best to display a particular scene (e.g. indoor scene) and then how best to display another scene (e.g. an outdoor scene), as instructed by the content created using Dolby Vision technology.
Lastly on the hardware jargon, LG Super UHD TVs also has the superior LG’s  Colour Prime technology; which basically means the colour you’d see through LG Super UHD Screens are as real, or better than, the colours you’d see in real world. According to LG website, LG Colour Prime takes colour depth to a whole new level, where the colour palettes have been expanded to match what you would experience in today’s digital cinemas. What that means is that the same level of rich colour experience you’d enjoy at iMax is the same enjoyment you can obtain from when you install LG SUper UHD TV.
Interesting to note as I wind up this short intro to LG Super UHD TVs is that the described four technologies that set LG Super UHD TVs apart are the very technologies you’d find in LG’s OLED TVs. The only superiority therefore someone with an OLED TV will have is the OLED screen, as the Super UHD TVs are still using the normal LCD screens with LED backlighting otherwise known as LED screens.
Visit Nairobi Smartphones  today and secure your prime plot right into your bedroom today!
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The Tecno Spark was released a couple of hours ago in Kenya. The device currently sells exclusively on Kilimall and at a giveaway price. When you buy the Tecno Spark on Kilimall, you pay only Ksh 9,999 and you also stand a chance to win a selfie stick and a finger holder as a gift.
Tecno Spark
The Tecno Spark (otherwise known as the Tecno K7 or Tecno Spark K7) is the second device off the Spark series recently launched by Tecno Mobile. With the Spark series, Tecno aims to provide high quality devices at a budget price an average individual can afford.
And though, people have speculated that the specs of the Tecno Spark smartphone will be as minimalistic as possible, that didn’t seem to be the case in the end as the Tecno Spark/ Tecno K7 came out beautiful with equally beautiful specs.



Lastly, it is also worth mentioning that the Tecno K7 (Spark) seems to be Tecno’s response to Infinix’s newly launched “Smart series”. Like Tecno, the Smart series was so launched by Infinix to provide quality and affordable smartphones to the people of Africa. I’m going to stop here. The Tecno-Infinix battle is for another day.
Let’s have a full look at the features of the newly released Tecno Spark (Tecno K7) smartphone released in Kenya.


TECNO SPARK FULL SPECIFICATIONS

Device / Specifications Tecno Spark
Device type Android Smartphone
Release date August 26, 2017
Screen size 5.5 inch
Screen type IPS High Definition (HD) capacitive touchscreen
Screen protection None
Display resolution 720 x 1280 pixels
Pixel density 267 ppi
Length 153 mm
Width 76.4 mm
Thickness 7.9 mm
Weight N/A
Available colours Phantom Black Metallic Red
Champagne Gold
Coral Blue
RAM 1 GB
4G connectivity Not supported
USB type Micro USB v2.0
Bluetooth Supported (v4.0)
Internal storage (ROM) 16 GB
Primary/ Rear camera 13 megapixels with LED flash
Secondary/ Front facing camera 5 megapixels with soft flash
Processor (CPU) 1.3 GHz Octa-core processor
Chipset MediaTek chipset
SD card support Yes, up to 32 GB
SIM support Dual SIM
SIM type Micro and Nano SIM
Operating system (OS) Android v7.0 Nougat with HiOS 2.0
Battery type Lithium- ion non-removable battery
Battery capacity 3,000 mAh
Fast/ Quick charge N/A
Sensors Fingerprint (rear facing) Accelerometer
Proximity
Light
Compass
That is all. The Tecno Spark specifications and features. The Tecno Spark is available to buy at Nairobi Smartphones website at the best price of Ksh.9,950/- Only. Do you think the Tecno Spark a worthy competition to the Infinix Smartphone?
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The number of tablets shipped to Kenya fell by a large margin in the three months to September as the markets felt the ramifications of reduced demand from the public sector.

In its latest statistical release, the International Data Corporation (IDC) shows that the situation in Kenya was in keeping with regional trends in Middle East and elsewhere in Africa where the market for personal computing devices fell 15.2 per cent in comparison to a similar period last year.

“Kenya suffered huge declines in its tablet market after a massive education project that boosted shipments in Q3 2016 was not repeated in Q3 2017,” said Fouad Charakla, IDC’s senior research manager for client devices in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa.
IDC did not, however, specify the percentage or absolute number by which tablet shipments to Kenya had dropped. 
The 5.9 million units of desktop computers, notebooks, workstations and tablets shipped into the region represented a five-year low.  The poor performance in the personal computing devices was partially attributable to low volumes of tablet shipment.

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Is Google’s latest flagship smartphone the definitive Android experience?

Android purists have always rushed to the nearest Google device they can get their hands on.
It all started with the Nexus, and with the introduction of the Pixel, Google redefined what an Android experience should be. Seamless as it was, it still lacked the desirability of its iOS and even some Android competitors.
Enter 2017 aka the anti-bezel revolution. The Pixel’s put on a slick new suit for round 2, and this time it’s amped up everything we loved about the original Pixel. With added smarts and an even better camera, is this the Android we’ve been waiting for? OK Google, let’s see what you’ve got.

Design and build: If looks could thrill

While its more portable brethren rocks boring old bezels, the XL sheds the borders for a cleaner face. It’s the much sought after 18:9 affair up front, albeit with a larger chin and forehead than we’re used to seeing on the likes of the S8, Mi Mix 2 as well as the iPhone X.
While Apple chose to pack the X with a rather intrusive notch up top, Google’s approach involves loading the face of the XL with dual stereo speakers. The decision to ditch a drop-dead design for better sound suggests Google prioritising symmetry and practicality over aesthetics. Is it a decision we love? For the most part, yes. While it isn’t quite the head-turner we’d like it to be, we’re all for sense over style that could soon wear off.
The XL’s rather gigantic proportions are cleverly masked using a curved glass panel that neatly blends into its aluminium body. Rather than bog down the device with unnecessary glass, Google’s coated the back with a textured finish that serves three vital functions: it keeps the weight down, banishes fingerprints and makes it easier to grip, all while looking seductively stealthy. It adds up to save the XL from becoming annoyingly unwieldy for its size.
The glass panel around the back has also aged like wine, now sleeker than before. It cleverly hides the phone’s antennas while giving it a distinct design without trying too hard. Below it is the conveniently positioned fingerprint scanner, which Google claims is the fastest ever. Honestly, we’d require Planet Earth camera tech to prove it, but all we know is it’s as fast as we’d ever need it to be.  
Google’s finally made its phones certified swimmers with IP67 dust and water resistance, which instantly secures your near-Ksh95K spends. It’s time to bid adieu to the headphone jack, proving Apple’s forecast of the aging port accurate. Is it something we miss? Given the selection of superb wireless buds around, not even remotely so. But if you must have it, Google bundles an AUX adapter in the box itself.

Screen and sound: Bigger is better

That’s a bold statement for someone who’s actively shunned big screen phones for as long as they’ve existed. Little did I know, all it would take was a bezel-less design to change all that. The extra screen space justifies the plus size and Google’s execution in the form of a 6in 1440p pOLED is impressive to say the least. Right about now, I can bet that statement will raise a lot of eyebrows, and obviously, I will address the elephant in the room. But first, let’s talk about the competition. Sat next to more dazzling OLEDs from Samsung like the one on the iPhone X, the LG OLED on the XL just feels plain dull. It’s even urged Google to install a Vivid Colors mode on the device, but it’s a marginal boost, one we’re happy to live without.
A full-screen video is all it takes to instantly silence sceptics. Bright, vibrant colours fill the screen with gloriously deep blacks we’ve come to expect from OLED panels. Considering the XL shares its panel with LG’s V30, it should come as no surprise that the device supports both HDR 10 as well as Dolby Vision. Why Google won’t plaster this critical detail all over its promos is a mystery to us. But, we fired up a supported YouTube video and the results were staggering. Brightness, colours, contrast all instantly amp up, benefitting from HDR support.
Here’s the caveat you’ve all been curious about: when viewing the screen even slightly off-axis, colour temperature instantly appears cooler regardless of your settings. Is it a distracting deal-breaker? We’re happy to report, not one bit. At the normal angle most of us view our screens, colours appear perfectly fine. As for all other reported issues relating to screen burn-in and the likes, we’re yet to experience a single one of those. So, we’ll put a rest to all the screen-related debates by saying this should not affect your buying decision.
That beautiful screen is flanked by stereo speakers that perfectly complement the whole viewing experience. There’s a satisfying weight to the audio it pumps out, which isn’t just loud but oozes clarity. What makes it special is it’s hard to muffle the stereo sound, putting it at par with HTC’s fantastic BoomSound audio.
 

Camera: When one’s greater than two

Up until last year’s Pixels, the iPhone saw little competition as far as camera quality was concerned. It almost immediately ended all arguments in favour of the iPhone, purely based on its powerful photography skills. All that changed with the launch of the Pixel. Not only did it trounce the competition, it did so with a single lens setup. Even our readers agreed that its camera was tops in a blind test we recently conducted.
Believe it or not, the Pixel 2 XL camera is even better. It still stays true to its single lens setup, and it still slays. The 12MP sensor now packs a wider f/1.8 aperture powered by phase-detect and laser-assisted autofocus. Combine that with Google’s wickedly clever algorithms, and you’ll struggle to find a better smartphone snapper. Yes, we’re looking at you S8 and iPhone X . What’s Google secret sauce you ask? Part of the process includes the XL taking several shots, stitching them all together, and eventually producing one awe-inspiring result. In HDR+, the phone crams an incredible amount of detail and dynamic range into a shot, truly placing it a cut above its closest rivals from Samsung and Apple.
Google’s machine learning sorcery enables the phone to produce spectacular depth effects and bokeh blur without the need for dual sensors. Instead, the XL makes use of a dual pixel sensor, which splits each pixel into two smaller ones. Algorithms do all the critical number-crunching detecting what stays focused and what doesn’t, resulting in a photo that gets top scores in our books. Google’s aggressive focus on machine learning and AI is immediately apparent in its photography skills.
Fans of Apple’s Live Photos will appreciate the presence of Google’s version of the feature called Motion Photos. For those of you still wondering, it basically adds movement to your photos from videos captured during, before and after engaging the shutter button.
Google’s machine learning does more than just improve photos - using Google Lens, it even recognises objects in them giving you a quick glance at related info. Given that it’s still in beta, it doesn’t always produce great results. But, it’s a promising glimpse at the future of Google’s intelligent camera and its capabilities.
Last year’s Pixel lacked optical image stabilisation, but with electronic stabilisation alone it  wowed us with its results. This time around, you get both. The systems work in sync to give you phenomenally stable handheld footage.

Software & OS: Clean and clear

 

There’s really been no alternatives for anyone wishing to experience Android in its truest form. The Pixels have always showcased the software’s full potential and the Pixel 2 XL is no different. Running Android’s tastiest version yet, Oreo, it’s a delight to use. It’s also the only place to get your hands on the Pixel launcher, which conveniently puts the Google search bar at the bottom of the big screen.
More Pixel-specific perks include Ambient Display, a nifty feature that puts time, date and active notifications on the standby screen for a quick glance. Google’s machine learning pulls some clever tricks here too. The Now Playing function has its ears open for music playing nearby displaying the song and artist at the bottom of the screen. It can even pull this off in flight mode, plucking info from an extensive database saved for offline use.
Picture-in-picture is another neat new feature that makes its presence felt on Google’s new software. It shrinks Google Maps down to an unobtrusive size, placing it in a corner with a few taps. Borrowing from the HTC U11’s squeeze-tastic Edge Sense feature, Google introduces its own version called Active Edge on the Pixel 2 XL. Launching the Assistant or silencing phone calls with a quick squeeze is rather intuitive. Considering how quickly it summons Google’s Assistant, we wouldn’t be surprised if we switched over entirely from the traditional ‘OK Google’ voice command.

Performance & Battery life: marvel at its superpowers

A top-the-of-line Snapdragon 835, 4GB RAM, pure Android 8.0, it’s hardly a shock how fast the Pixel 2 XL feels. Apps load in a hurry, games are buttery smooth, multitasking works seamlessly, we really do feel like captain obvious right about now. Storage too comes in roomy sizes of 64GB and 128GB depending on your budget and needs. Given that Pixel users get unlimited full-resolution storage to Google Photos for stills as well as 4K videos, storage isn’t a worry for your favourite memories.
If you’re concerned the 3520mAh battery won’t suffice for its large pOLED screen, we’re here to banish any such negative thoughts. It’ll easily power through an entire day’s use on a full charge. You can thank Oreo’s optimisations for its fantastic standby power usage. The bundled fast charge adapter will have it singing in its full glory quickly enough when the juice runs out. Something that can’t be said for iPhone X/8/8 Plus users who must pay extra for a fast charge adapter.

GOOGLE PIXEL 2 XL VERDICT

Google’s second attempt at making its own smartphone improves massively on its predecessor’s strengths. A faster performance, a further improved camera, and all other features we wished were present the first time around are right where we want them in the Pixel 2. Most importantly, the first Pixel’s divisive design has also made progress in leaps and bounds, making it the first lust-worthy Google phone. Apple and Samsung still possess the most drop-dead gorgeous designs, but for the first time Google has bridged the gap.  
Between the two new Pixels, the XL is the one to go for - yes it’s pricier but that makes it no different than other flagships. The added screen real estate is a sight to behold. The bezels might seem chunkier than its rivals, but the dual-front facing setup more than makes up for it. Is it the most complete Android experience Google was hoping to deliver? Absolutely. Google’s only gotten better at making phones, and the Pixel 2 XL is its best one yet.
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 Samsung Galaxy S8

Samsung’s best phone to date is also the most stunning phone we’ve ever clapped eyes on... While the S9 prepares to launch.



If there was a museum dedicated to great smartphone design then the Samsung Galaxy S8 would be on a pedestal in the entrance hall with a giant spotlight on it. It’s that beautiful.
You may not think that’s particularly important, but the days when smartphones spent most of their time buried in a pocket are long gone. A phone is on near-constant display: held aloft at gigs, furiously tapped on the tube, Instagramming your Friday night burger, or just sitting on the desk charging. So it really ought to look good.
And boy, does the Samsung Galaxy S8 look good. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that’s all there is to it, because the S8 also introduces live-in phone butler Bixby, gives us Samsung’s best take on Android to date, and packs in more power than you could possibly need. Oh, and there's a bigger S8+, in case 5.8in just wasn't big enough for you.
In short, it’s as close as we’ll probably ever see to the full smartphone package.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S8 DESIGN & BUILD

Curved edges were what made the Galaxy S7 Edge distinctive - so much so that there’s no flat screen option here: there’s only one Galaxy S8, and it’s curvy. The corners have been rounded off, which help the phone sit snugly in your grip - it’s perfect for one-handed use.
The bezels at the top and bottom of the display are astonishingly slim, which has only been made possible by losing the physical home button from the front of the phone.
Instead, there’s now a digital home button, built into the glass and complete with haptic feedback whenever you prod it. It has a lot in common with the Touch ID home button on Apple’s iPhone 7, with vibrations letting you know when you’ve pressed hard enough to trigger a press.
The always-on display makes a return, and now shows you the home button whenever the phone is locked - so you know where to press to wake it up again.
Moving the fingerprint reader to the back of the phone isn’t the disaster many people thought it would be, either. Yes, it’s a little closer to the camera lens than I’d like, but if iris scanning is as improved as Samsung says it is, you won’t be using it all that often. I didn’t get to try it out properly, but the demos I saw were very quick indeed.
The whole thing is IP68 water-resistant, so will be able to survive an accidental dunking, and there’s room on the bottom edge for a speaker, reversible USB-C charging port, and a headphone jack. Sorry Apple, Samsung isn’t interested in your cable-free future just yet.
India is getting two colours at launch: Midnight Black and Maple Gold. Both of them look gorgeous in the flesh, with Gorilla Glass protecting the metal hues underneath. Each one glistens in the light, with the black model creating the least amount of shine, but the others helping to hide fingerprints and smudges that little bit better.
Whichever model you pick, the front of the phone stays black - hiding the sensors and adding to the illusion that the 18.5:9 aspect ratio screen really is filling the whole of the front face.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S8 FACE-SCANNING


Not only is the fingerprint sensor awkwardly positioned high up on the back of the phone, but it also sits far too close to the camera lens. It’s inevitable that your fingers will come into contact with the camera lens while trying to feel for the fingerprint sensor, especially if you’re right-handed. All of which makes it even more annoying when the phone prompts you not to poke it when trying to register your prints.
So thank heavens, then, for two workarounds in the form of iris scanning and face recognition. These two features can’t be used in tandem, so you’ve got to pick your poison, but either should be an improvement on just using your fingers.
I went with face recognition because it’s the newer of the two. Registering your face is much like registering your irises or even your prints - all you have to do is position your face within the circle and wait for the bar to fill up. I’ve registered my makeup-less face without glasses and it can recognise me even when I have my glasses or a full face of makeup on, which can make a world of difference. It’s also a good thing this phone doesn’t take dark eye circles into account.
Samsung doesn’t advise you to use face recognition as your only layer of security, as it can be fooled by someone with similar facial features, but I like its ease of use. It’s more intuitive to simply look at your smartphone to unlock it, rather than having to make sure you’re peering right into the circles of the iris scanner.
It’s not quite perfect: I find that I have to hold it up right in front of my face for it to click into action, and there have also been a few surprising moments when it’s unlocked when I’ve just been glancing down at it. What’s more, you still have to wake your phone for it to work, while with the fingerprint sensor, you don’t. But it should greatly reduce the number of times that you need to fiddle around on the back for the fingerprint scanner.
Samsung Pay now works with the iris scanner, but I still find that paying by print is more seamless than having to raise the phone to your face after tapping it to a terminal. Unless that terminal is at face level, of course.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S8 DISPLAY & SOUND

 

Turn it on and the S8’s 2960x1440 Infinity Display is an absolute dazzler.
OK, so it’s set to full HD by default - presumably to keep the battery going for longer - but that’s still more than enough pixels for Facebook and web browsing, and if you want the full resolution experience you can easily flick it on in the settings.
The AMOLED panel is a visual feast of vibrant colours that seem to pop right off the screen. There are no visibility problems outdoors, even with Singapore’s oversupply of sunshine, thanks to a brightness boost that goes beyond the usual indoor levels.
Oh, and it’s also got an HDR Mobile Premium certification. That’s a fancy way of saying that it’ll display high-dynamic range video if and when it ever arrives on Netflix or Amazon’s mobile apps. I’ve still got no idea when that’ll be, but I sure hope it’ll be soon, because it’ll improve my commute no end.
As I’ve already said, the unique 18.5:9 aspect ratio makes for an unusually tall phone, and it can confuse some apps, too.
This won’t be a problem for YouTube, as an icon appears onscreen to stretch videos and fill the extra space, but certain games haven’t received the screen change memo yet and instead give you black bars either side. This wastes a lot of your display space and is quite annoying - hopefully devs will get on the case and gradually fix them.
The single speaker at the bottom of the phone isn’t quite as impressive as the screen, and can actually be rather quiet unless you crank the volume up to maximum, but it gets the job done. Well, as long as you don’t block it with a tight grip.
Thankfully you can always plug in a pair of headphones - yes, the headphone socket still exists. Samsung has partnered with audio experts AKG for the bundled earbuds, which come with a braided cable for extra sturdiness.
Kendrick Lamar’s latest revealed that they tend towards the bass-heavy side, but still provided enough aural detail that they don’t have to be relegated to dubstep and EDM. The sound isolation and fit are a step up from your average in-ear headphones, too.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S8 CAMERA

 

On paper not much has changed in the camera department, with the Galaxy S8 retaining the same 12MP, f/1.7 shooter as the S7 - but that’s just on paper. In reality, it’s been vastly improved thanks to a raft of software tweaks.
The S7 already has one of the best cameras out there, so to claim that the S8’s is noticeably better might seem bold, but if you want convincing just look at the pictures below. See the one of London taken from a helicopter? Yes, that really was taken with a smartphone. Incredible.
It’s unusual these days for a high-end flagship not to have any clever gimmicks. There’s no second sensor as on the LG G6, Huawei P10 or iPhone 7 Plus. There’s no super slow-mo as on the Sony Xperia XZ Premium, even if you do get 4K video recording, or 1080p clips with electronic stabilisation and HDR.
But who cares - because all of Samsung’s efforts instead seem to have been put into just making the S8’s photos look incredibly good.

The most obvious image-processing tweak is that every time you press the shutter button, the phone actually takes three photos. Two of these shots are then used to eliminate blur and tidy up noise, in order to make the end result look even better.
It’s a similar approach to that taken by the Huawei P10, which instead uses a second sensor to do the sharpening and steadying duties, and it works uncannily well.
Throw in optical image stabilisation and incredibly quick dual-pixel autofocus, and you’ve got one of the best smartphone cameras around. In bright light, your photos are going to look amazing. Greens are especially lush and glorious on the S8, and auto-HDR almost always gets exposures right for the contrast of highlights and shadows.
Of course the true test of any camera’s capabilities is in how it performs in low light. The S8 doesn’t disappoint in this department either, turning up finer detail than than the S7 did and with less noise; you don’t have to worry about excessive grain in all those shots chronicling your many nights spent in dimly lit bars.
It helps that the camera app is slick, minimal, and puts the most useful shortcuts within easy reach on the main screen, to save you digging down into the menus to find them.
The 8MP front camera does just as good a job as the rear. There are also new dynamic effects here, that you can apply to your face and take a video of. It might sound gimmicky, but they’re a whole lot of fun. There are also individual filters that are available from famed photo apps that can be downloaded right into the camera app itself, so you never have to waste time hopping into another app to get your filter fix.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S8 PERFORMANCE & BATTERY LIFE

What lies beneath? Samsung’s home-grown, octa-core Exynos 8895 processor, one that’s built on a 10nm process.
Essentially, that means the CPU will be more efficient when it comes to battery drain compared to last year’s silicon. So even though battery capacity stays the same as the Galaxy S7 at 3000mAh, the S8 should be able to power that gorgeous 5.8in display without rapidly running out of charge.
That checks out under testing, with the phone typically ending the day hovering around 30%, after casual browsing, listening to music and answering a never-ending supply of work emails. That much leeway could afford a bit more photo-taking and video-watching with no problem.
Fast charging via USB-C also helps alleviate battery woes: you can fully juice up the phone from 14% in just 1.5 hours. That means forgetting to charge your S8 the night before isn’t as much of a life-and-death situation as it might once have been.
When pushed, the S8 is the fastest Android phone you can buy. On Geekbench 4, that brand new engine chalked up a multi-core score of 6627, beating the Note 7’s 5228 and the S7’s 5213.
In real life, multi-tasking never slowed the S8 down, with the 4GB of RAM keeping things running smoothly. Apps don’t stutter, games load quickly, and media-heavy websites render without lag.
Graphic-heavy games such as Dead Trigger 2 and Vainglory are no sweat, either. If you want to truly focus on your gaming, Samsung’s Game Launcher returns, blocking notifications and even recording your gameplay.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S8 SOFTWARE

Like the hardware, the Galaxy S8’s software was also designed for one-handed use. TouchWiz is as stock Android as Samsung can bring itself to be, with well thought-out details that make for a great user experience.
It’s a lot more swipey than it was in previous years, even with the camera app. You swipe across the shutter button to activate optical zoom, and swipe up to turn the camera on yourself. You can also enable a floating trigger button, so you can easily snap a shot while holding the phone in landscape mode.
The new version of TouchWiz offers up streamlined simplicity, without compromising on customisations that Android fans love. You can shove all your apps into an app drawer or have it laid out like an iPhone - or have both, if you want. You can turn off the app drawer icon in favour of an upwards swipe anywhere on-screen, and you can finally swap the Back and Recents buttons to match the rest of the Android world.
The always-on display makes a return, putting the most pertinent information on the face of your S8, even when the screen is in standby. Now you can also customise the colours of the clock face on the front - it sounds like a minor detail, but will go a long way for people who really like to tweak the phone’s look to their taste.
Multi-window is a nice extra feature that makes the most of the S8’s tall screen, and goes beyond Android Nougat’s split-screen mode. You can pin part of an app to the top, while using another app at the bottom. Think having a WhatsApp conversation about dinner plans at the top, while riffling through the internet to find the perfect pasta place and immediately typing the details in.
And then there’s Bixby. This is Samsung’s version of Apple’s Siri or Amazon’s Alexa, and it’s making its debut here. Or rather it sort of is - because Samsung’s all-singing, all-dancing AI assistant isn’t exactly singing or dancing just yet.
Once it’s fully grown up, Bixby will have three main talents: Bixby Vision, which lets you use the camera to identify - and get information about - real-world objects, Bixby Home, which is a sort of customised news feed, and Bixby Voice, which will be your personal smartphone assistant.
Voice is the big one - it’ll integrate with other apps to let you control them through the power of speech, for instance launching YouTube then searching for and playing a specific video. That’s not available yet though, and we haven’t been told when it will arrive, so Bixby’s early success rests on the other two. Vision, at least, is really good. You summon Bixby’s all-knowing eye from within the Camera app, then point your camera at an object to find out what it is. It’s kind of like a Shazam for objects, and is pretty neat.
It’s a tad obsessed with wine, identifying the flat white I had for breakfast as a bottle of Chablis, but image results turned up other coffee cups just fine. When I used it on a bottle of white with a raggedy label, it was able to identify the specific type and suggest food pairings and taste notes courtesy of Vivino - an online wine catalogue. Pretty useful if you want to impress a Tinder date.
Bixby Home is less of a big deal. It exists to the left of your home screen and can be opened up with a press of the dedicated Bixby button located just under the volume rocker.
All the information cards are customisable, letting you move sections around and picking the information you want at a glance. Briefing topics are powered by Flipboard, which should serve up a concise summary of what’s happening around the world, but I wish Twitter would show me the most recent Tweets instead of merely trending topics.
Reminders let you key in tasks and prompt you when you arrive at a location, instead of at a specific time. It’s a step towards the S8 being an active helper, instead of passively observing as you melt down over the tasks you’ve yet to carry out.
Until Voice arrives I don’t see Bixby as a major reason to buy the S8, but there’s no harm to having it here, and it’ll only get better from this point on.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S8 DEX STATION

The other software party trick needs some companion hardware - namely Samsung’s DeX station. Dock the Galaxy S8 inside and it’ll transform from phone to mini PC, complete with two USB ports, Ethernet and an HDMI out.
Plug in a mouse and keyboard and you’ll be able to work like you were sat in front of a desktop. You get a Windows-like desktop filled with shortcuts, a taskbar and an app launcher, but can still take calls and check your phone notifications while you’re docked.
Everything felt incredibly responsive during my demo session, opening an optimised version of Microsoft Word that looked eerily like the full Windows version while a Full HD video played from YouTube in another window. There was no stutter, no lag, and no waiting - everything just worked, and worked quickly.
Samsung couldn’t get a DeX station across to us along with the phone in time for this review - but I’m still confident this is one optional extra that'll be a useful addition for frequent travellers.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S8 VERDICT

 

The Samsung Galaxy S8 is superb, then. It’s a massive leap forwards in design terms compared to the S7, and is head and shoulders above every other phone in this regard. You won’t want to stop looking at it.
It works brilliantly too, thanks to Samsung’s new focus on user interface design. It’s powerful, easy to use and if you like your software as stock as possible, this is Samsung’s purest Touchwiz attempt yet. The misplaced fingerprint sensor is the only mark against it, and even then it’s mitigated by the addition of iris and face scanning.
And then there’s its growing ecosystem of accessories such as the Gear 360, the new Gear VR with controller, and the DeX desktop dock. All of them help make it a powerhouse that will expand your experience beyond mobile.
At Ksh67,000/-, the S8 is by no means cheap but compared to the top-crisp chasers... This phone delivers for its hefty price tag. And its premium style and flawless performance are such that it doesn’t feel overpriced.
Of course the elephant in the room here is the Note 7, and I’m sure there are those of you who’ll be waiting until the S8 has been in people’s hands for a few months before committing. But come on, surely Samsung isn’t going to make the same mistake again - this phone will have been tested and tested and tested again, and it’ll be truly astounding if it suffers the same fiery fate as its unfortunate smartphone sibling. I certainly didn’t experience a single problem with it in my time testing it.
What you’re left with here is a brilliant smartphone experience, wrapped in one of the sleekest designs ever. If you’re looking for a smartphone that nails every aspect of everything you could want in the palm of your hand, this is it.
Buy the Original Samsung Galaxy S8 from here and have it delivered to your doorstep!

 

 

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