Samsung S8 hits the market

Jung Hyun Park, VP and Managing Director Samsung Electronics East Africa (left), Patricia King’ori (centre) Regional Head-Marketing, Citizenship & PR and Bob Asiyo, the Head of Mobile Division, display the Galaxy S8 shortly after its launch at the Samsung Delite Store.

Samsung Friday launched its new flagship devices, Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, seeking to woo premium users in the country’s fast-growing smartphone market.

The launch of the high-end devices comes in the wake of last year’s disastrous recall of the Galaxy Note 7 following reports of its battery catching fire, with the firm introducing new cutting edge features to rival competitors.

“The Galaxy S8 is our testament to regaining customer trust by redefining what’s possible in safety and marks a new milestone in Samsung’s smartphone legacy,” Samsung Vice-President for East Africa Jung Hyun Park.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 sports a stunning Infinity Display that runs the breadth of the screen’s surface, giving the phone a sleek look and feel. Additional features include facial recognition and an artificial intelligence assistant named Bixby.

Sleek look

“In re-defining how users interact with their smartphone, the Galaxy S8 comes with the Bixby feature,” said the firm in a statement. “Contextual awareness capabilities enable Bixby to offer personalised help based on what it continues to learn about the user’s interests, situation and location.”

Bixby is considered Samsung’s answer to Apple’s artificial voice assistant Siri which was launched together with the iPhone 4S and has since been rolled out on other Apple devices.

Users will also have the option of unlocking their phone through scanning their fingerprints through a sensor in the back of the phone or through scanning their irises on sensors fixed on the front of the phone.

The Galaxy S8 will retail at Sh84,999 while the Galaxy S8+ will be available at Sh94,999. Both will be available to users in Midnight Black, Orchid Grey and Maple Gold colours.