Samsung Galaxy S8 Active Review

Introduction

Samsung’s Galaxy Active series, and increasingly ruggedized wearables, have helped establish the company’s prowess as the only true champion for more active (or careless) mobile consumers. Starting with the Galaxy S4 Active, Samsung began offering IP67 waterproofing – years before it was a flagship standard – and rugged design, which has now expanded to military standard certifications in drop tests, extreme temperatures, and IP68 waterproofing. Year after year these Active variants have been released shortly after Samsung’s Galaxy flagship, often tweaking small aspects of inner hardware to match the outer theme. This year we see arguably the Android phone of the year – the Galaxy S8 – step up 1000 milliamps in battery size, and gain all the rugged military-grade hardware to produce the Galaxy S8 Active. But in a world where IP67 is the norm for flagship phones – some even offer “shatterproof” displays – is the Active series still needed? Let’s examine what it brings to the table.

In the box:

• Galaxy S8 Active
• USB-A to USB-C adapter (female to male)
• Micro-USB to USB-C adapter (female to male)
• USB-C to USB-A charging cable
• Adaptive fast-charging wall plug
• Warranty and Getting Started guide

Design

The Galaxy S8 Active is the first Active device released since Galaxy flagships have crossed over entirely to curved, “bezel-less” designs; no longer are the “Edge” variants alone in this style. As one might anticipate, though, the S8 Active can’t afford to expose that much glass in its edges if it endeavors to survive 5-foot drops, as stated in the Active features. Gorilla Glass 5 encases the display, which is then covered by a “shatter-resistant” shield. Unfortunately, early reports seem to indicate that this shield is very soft and prone to scratches, much like the Moto Z2 Force’s “shatterproof” screen, which garnered similar criticism. Dense metal comprises the sides of the phone, while the corners are reinforced with a hard, rubberized plastic. Bixby still has a dedicated and clicky button underneath the similarly clicky volume buttons, while the power button on our unit had a slightly mushier, and less satisfying click than the other three. Gone is the home button from the S7 Active, continuing in the trend of the S8. We’ll see how this strikes users who may need more rugged, tactile buttons more often than the average user might.


Meeting military specification’s (MIL-STD-810G) for enduring drops, extreme temperatures, and much more, as well as IP68 water and dust proofing, the S8 Active is a phone of solid constitution. The thicker edges of the device not only add durability, but also space for a 1000-milliamp increase in battery capacity. Altogether, the added thickness and weight still leave the device with a good feel in-hand. While of course not as light as the svelte S8 (50 grams heavier to be exact) the S8 Active is only about 20 grams heavier than the S7 Active, with the same thickness and width, while only being about a tenth of an inch taller. Once again, Samsung achieves a sturdy design that leaves no worries in the most fearless outdoor warriors heart, while still making a pocketable device that feels substantial, but not like a brick in the hand (or pocket).

Interface and Functionality

Bixby and Activity Zone

Processor and Memory

Being an AT&T exclusive (for now) the Active runs solely off the Snapdragon 835, whereas global variants of the regular S8 use Samsung’s Exynos chips. There’s usually very little difference in performance of the two anyway, but especially with the SD 835, you’re quite unlikely to long for more power. Add four gigs of RAM to the equation and you’re in for a treat. Just like the regular S8, navigation is smooth and prompt. Apps launch quickly and without issue, no matter how many tasks are open. We only sometimes encountered stutters or force closes when setting up Bixby initially, but as the day wore on, Bixby began to conform to the rest of the phone's blazing performance norms. No surprises here, as the same hardware setup in the original S8 delivers just the same kind of fluid, swift performance we originally witnessed in March.

Connectivity

As mentioned, this is an AT&T exclusive as of the time of this writing, so don’t expect full compatibility on any other network, but you do have LTE-A Pro Cat 16, which means that S8 Active is properly equipped to utilize gigabit LTE in the coming years. Otherwise, the Active has all the same standards as the regular S8, including Bluetooth 5.1, NFC/MST for mobile payments, and wireless charging.

Camera

Flaunting the same highly-capable optics found in the original S8, the Active packs a 12-megapixel, optically-stabilized sensor in back with an 8-megapixel shooter in front. Both have the shooting modes we’re used to seeing on the latest Samsungs, including a depth-of-field effect, which works well on both sensors. Although you can edit the effect after the fact, this is limited to a three-mode selection. Near Focus gives you the bokeh you intended, while Far Focus applies blur to the foreground image and sharpens the background, and Pan Focus applies focus to all areas, with no blur at all. No slider exists to adjust blur as seen in the Note 8’s Live Focus feature.


Regular pictures taken on the front-facing camera come out generally well-exposed, with good detail. Selective focus works well here too, though the sensors strength in properly exposing and focusing an entire shot is also readily apparent.

The rear-facing camera is an excellent low-light performer, catching details equal to the best in the biz, and exceeding them in pulling out accurate, vibrant colors from the shadows. While not the absolute best in toning down hotspots within scenes containing light and dark areas – the iPhone 7 seems to beat it there – the S8 Active may take the crown (or rather share it with its Galaxy brethren) for capturing color in low-light and maintaining sharp details with little noise throughout. For our money, we’d rather have a couple slight hotspots than an entire area of color-less darkness.

This proclivity with low-light color capture seems to be linked to the sensor's tendency to shoot warmer (yellower) colors, just as the iPhones shortcomings in low-light appear tied to its strengths in shooting more accurate colors. Preferences on this are subjective, of course, and nothing quite compares to the capability of the human eye (yet) but as it stands right now, it seems the S8/S8 Active will afford you better overall low-light performance, while the iPhone 7 has the edge in overall color accuracy.

Macro shots on the Active produce great sharpness in the foreground and pleasing bokeh in the background – not to mention the amazing quickness with which the S8 Active focuses a subject, thanks to dual-pixel technology.

Call Quality

Calls on the S8 Active are unremarkable. No glaring complaints came about from our callers, nor was it hard for us to hear them on the other end. The earpiece is a little quieter than we’d like, but the speakerphone is plenty loud.

Battery Life

With 1000 milliamps more battery capacity than the regular S8 and the same capacity as the S7 Active, the S8 Active’s 4000-mAh battery is rated at 32 hours of talk time, as oppose to the original S8’s 30. This translates well in day-to-day use; moderate usage should see you through about a day and a half of battery life – even with the Always-On Display enabled. Samsung rates the S8’s standby time as 3.4 days with AOD enabled, while the S8 Active is rated at about 5. This seems to hold true in real life, as well, lasting almost 11 hours in our custom test – about 2.5 hours longer than the original S8, and almost exactly the same time as the S7 Active. Recharge times for this “fast-charger” were two hours, on the dot.

Conclusion

The Galaxy S8 Active endeavors to do something really no smartphone does today. Taking top-of-the-line technology and melding it with externals that come as close to indestructible as any pocket-device feasibly can is no small feat, but it’s easy to see how this can be taken for granted. The S8 Active doesn’t appear to have a very hard job. Thicken the metal, add some rubber corners, and a shatter-resistant shield and voilà, right? Well, although Samsung certainly won’t see it like that, it kind of does appear that way. The Galaxy S8 was already IP68 dust and waterproof, so now let’s make it withstand drops and extreme temperatures then call it a day. Sure. But smartphone construction can be a delicate balance, figuratively and literally. Just take for instance the critical mistakes made in trying to pack too much into the ill-fated Note7.


Smartphones need to be light, and pocketable – not too substantial, or carrying and using them becomes a burden. While the S8 Active doesn’t exactly improve its footprint over its predecessor, it still has a palatable size and weight. For all that it adds in the inherent upgrades from the S7 to S8 (and the ruggedized construction) we doubt anyone will be longing for a sleeker device. Users know it will be a heavier phone than the S8, and with an additional 1000 milliamps more power on board, Samsung achieves this variant with little compromise, ultimately creating the phone of many people’s dreams. As notoriously fragile “bezel-less” designs continue to overtake the industry, it’s good to know that (as far as we can tell) Samsung will always take the time to make their best phone better – relatively speaking, that is.