Samsung rolled out the new S8 and S8 Plus phones this morning after months of leaks, speculation and… well, leaks. But in the end, much of the speculation was on target as the S8 will feature a 5.8-inch display, and a 6.2-inch display on the S8 Plus. The HDR-spec screen that Samsung calls the “infinity display” wraps subtly around the left and right edges of the phone frame, and pushes the top and bottom close to the phones’ edges.
There’s no physical home button, but a push on the screen icon will essentially do the same thing. Also, it’s IP68 waterproof, so taking a swim with it (or dropping it in the loo) isn’t a fatal mistake anymore, it’s just sort of a messy one. The main camera features improved low-light performance, and there’s both an iris scanner and facial recognition along with a fingerprint scanner on the back for James Bond levels of security.
Samsung’s new A.I. named “Bixby” made an appearance, with Samsung calling it an “intelligent interface.” Bixby will also use the S8 camera to gather information to assist phone users, including language translation and shopping by searching with a photo of thing you want. The new flagship phones come out April 21st and they’ll be… expensive. Go here for our full coverage and analysis of Samsung’s big reveal.
Just some headsets away from awesomeness
The latest update to Win10, known as the Windows 10 Creators Update, is out to Insiders and we’ve poked around to see what’s new different. There are some small improvements to gaming performance, better Edge browser performance, and the new Beam gaming stream feature is cool. 3D mixed-reality creativity tools were expected to be a highlight of this update, but we found Paint 3D to be a bit… underwhelming in this go-round.
DT Computing editor Matt Smith has a full review of the update, so check out what’s new – and what still needs to happen.
Some Stories Write Themselves, Ferrari Edition
Here’s a story from the “if it wasn’t true, you’d never believe it” file. Italian police say a drug running investigation turned up a plot to kidnap Ferrari founder Enzo Ferrari. Small detail? Enzo’s been dead for 29 years.
That’s right, the plan was to steal his dead body and then hit up the company he founded for a big ransom. Foolproof, right? Papa Enzo is buried in an above-ground crypt in Modena, not far from where workers continue to build his flaming red wondercars. Police say arrests were made, so that Hollywood-worthy plot looks a non-starter, but, a long-awaited biopic about Enzo is reportedly on track – with Hugh Jackman playing the lead. Sans claws.
Looks like they might have a bit more material to work with now, and we suggest changing the locks on the crypt door.
We’ve got more news on our Facebook page and YouTube channel, and be sure to tune in to this week’s DT podcasts: Close to the Metal (computers and such) on Tuesday, Trends with Benefits (general tech shenanigans) on Thursdays, and Between the Streams (movie and TV topics) every Friday.
