Waterproofing Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus – pros and cons of the technology. Rumors about the extreme fragility of Galaxy S8 displays Active protection measures
Your new flagship Samsung Galaxy S8. This is a truly powerful smartphone with a lot of features. Many users liked its design, so sales of the new phone are going well. According to statistics, 86% of current device users are very satisfied with it, both in appearance and capabilities.
But, as usual, there is a fly in the ointment. And this spoon is the fragility of the device. Despite attempts to protect the display using tempered glass, the smartphone is poorly protected from external influences, especially from impacts. Moreover, everything here can be broken, since not only the display is covered with glass, but also the back cover of the device. In principle, spare parts for the Samsung Galaxy S8 do not cost that much, and soon their price will drop even more. But, apparently, repair shops that specialize in Samsung smartphones will be able to literally get rich.
The fragility of the display, in general, is not surprising. The fact is that Samsung designers have created a new version of the device design, calling it Infinity Display. The screen actually has no frame, its edges are rounded, like the Edge 7. No matter how strong the glass is, if you bend it, there is tension in the material, which manifests itself if the display is hit with something hard. The first to suffer are the rounded edges.
The first to reveal the smartphone’s vulnerabilities was SquareTrade, which conducted several shock resistance tests. Almost all falls and impacts resulted in cracks in the phone's screen and back cover. Sometimes cracks appeared on all sides at once. Actually, you can’t expect anything else from a smartphone that’s almost entirely covered in glass, even if it’s protected. It is worth noting that spare parts for the new flagship at the start of sales cost less than the same spare parts cost at the start of sales of the previous version of the smartphone. According to experts who repair electronic equipment, the Samsung Galaxy S8 is relatively easy to repair.
For example, a complete “sandwich” of a digitizer and an LCD panel with protective glass costs about $200 in China. This is about $50 or even $100 cheaper than what the Galaxy S7 screen cost at launch for unlucky users of such a device. You can compare it with the iPhone 7: when this smartphone first went on sale, a new display for it cost about $300. And this is the price of just a display, without work. In general, we can say that Galaxy S8 owners are lucky.
Some repair service owners are surprised at the low prices for spare parts for the corporation's new flagships. “This is a low price for an OLED panel in a new flagship, especially considering the type of display, Infinity Display,” says Kev Notton, founder of US company RepairMapr.
Of course, it's good that displays aren't that expensive. But it would be nice if they were also durable. And so the buyer receives, in fact, a glass smartphone that can break from any side. Apple once had a similar experience with one of the versions of the iPhone, but this was the company’s only attempt to cover the entire smartphone with glass. Perhaps this idea was abandoned due to the negative reaction of users, or perhaps the decision to cover everything with glass seemed unsuccessful to the manufacturer himself. Be that as it may, Samsung is now repeating this step of Apple.
In general, Android phones are more expensive to repair than Apple devices. The reason is the fragmentation of the Android gadget market. There are many models, they are all different, and accordingly, the details are different. In some cases, replacement elements are almost unique (of course, this does not happen often). Although there are also many models of iPhone smartphones, they are still not as many as there are now varieties of Android phones.
Sometimes spare parts for phones can be found at a low price for the simple reason that they are “gray”; they are not quite officially produced by the same companies that produce official phones of various models. Such companies, having all the necessary resources, often produce spare parts quietly. So, from an official phone manufacturer, such elements can cost 2-3 times more than those parts produced by Chinese companies that provide parts for assembling phones by the main manufacturer.
Why are spare parts for a glass smartphone from Samsung relatively inexpensive? Hard to tell. Maybe the company decided to lower the price on them, looking at its experience with previous models, the S7 and S7 Edge. Displays for them at the very beginning cost about $500. It is clear that the user, having learned about this, thought about whether it was even worth buying an expensive smartphone, the screen replacement of which would cost 2/3 of the price of the device.
Now, since there are even more elements that can break, the company has made them less expensive. Be that as it may, the Samsung S8 is a goldmine for repair services. Their owners are probably already rubbing their hands quite happily, calculating possible profits.
Finally, the fact that some smartphones can be safely immersed in water and not worry about their performance has ceased to be some incredible innovation, but has become commonplace for a modern mobile device. Samsung S8 and S8 Plus can also be submersed in water.
These devices have moisture protection according to the IP68 standard (the best standard for the “mass” market today).
Waterproofing on Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus
What does the IP68 dust and moisture protection standard used in the Galaxy S8 tell us?
- The first number indicates the degree of protection against dust. And “6” means the fact that the case is designed in such a way that dust should not penetrate inside the device. No way. This is the maximum figure.
- The second number is protection against water. “8” is a very good result. This means that the Galaxy S8 can be immersed in water to a depth of more than 1 meter for 30 minutes. Moreover, under these conditions it remains fully operational. This is really cool - now you can safely use your smartphone in the bathroom :)
By the way, in terms of these characteristics, the S8 is superior to its closest competitor, the iPhone 7 (it has an IP67 protection standard) - which only allows the smartphone to be immersed in water for a short time.
And the flagship from Samsung even allows you to swim in a pool or in a river with a mobile device, capturing beautiful underwater views on camera. We believe it’s not even worth mentioning that immersion in water for a few seconds, taking a shower with a phone, raindrops and other similar factors will in no way negatively affect the S8 and S8 Plus.
Disadvantages of moisture protection
What do we guarantee from the manufacturer? In fact, it does not guarantee anything at all. “You can safely immerse your smartphone in water” is more of a marketing ploy than a guarantee that nothing will happen to our S8. Because if your smartphone stops working, you won’t be able to repair it under warranty.
It’s a funny situation - the manufacturer is sure that the smartphone cannot be damaged by moisture due to the owner’s fault, but if moisture nevertheless becomes a critical factor for the smartphone, then the user is solely to blame.
Another serious disadvantage of moisture protection is the vulnerability of the charging port. Its only protection is the installed moisture sensors. If you immerse the device in water and decide to charge it using the cord, a notification will immediately appear on the screen that moisture has entered the port, so charging is impossible:
“Checking the port, moisture was detected; the charging port must be dry to charge the device” - this is the message you can see when trying to charge a wet Galaxy S8.
As a result, you either use wireless charging or wait for the port to dry out on its own. By the way, once we caught a curious “glitch” - the warning about the need for drying did not disappear for a very long time (days). I had to.
Experiments
On the YouTube video hosting site, it won’t be difficult to find experiments where Samsung S8 owners test their devices for moisture protection.
For example, a smartphone was immersed at the bottom of the bath for exactly half an hour. After they were removed, the device was fully checked for functionality - there was no damage to the device.
However, more serious tests can easily be detected - the Galaxy S8 was under water for several hours or even a day(!) and, at first glance, no problems arise after removal. But we would not specifically advise doing or experimenting in this way. In the end, protection from water is just an additional opportunity to maintain the functionality of the device in an extreme situation, and not a reason to look for the answer to the question “at what depth will the Galaxy S8 stop working?”
P.S. Moisture protection is very cool! Agree? “Like” for this! And of course, if you have anything to add, we are always waiting for you in the comments!
New Samsung Galaxy S8 is already beginning to be officially sold in our countries, which means that the first owners of the new product have arrived with their first questions about the smartphone. In this Galagram article, we're sharing 8 answers to common flagship-related questions that will help you get to grips with the phone faster and get the most out of your phone for your productivity.
Which unlocking method is more convenient for you?
The first thing you should do after turning on your phone and giving it your personal data is, of course, setting up all the different biometric methods that the Galaxy S8 offers to unlock your phone. The smartphone has a traditional fingerprint scanner, but it is not located in the best place at the top on the back edge. In everyday life, constantly reaching for it will cause discomfort. But Samsung also offers unlocking by recognizing your face, scanning the retina and other unlocking methods. We advise you to configure all the methods to understand which one is preferable for you.
Many users have already noted the effectiveness of the combination of a fingerprint scanner and iris scanning. It's fast, reliable and convenient in most situations. To do this, go to Settings > Screen lock > Security to activate all blocking methods, and then leave the ones that are most convenient for you.
How to Customize the Under-Screen Buttons on the Galaxy S8
The S8 is Samsung's first flagship phone to use virtual buttons directly on the display, instead of physical and touch-sensitive ones underneath. But their standard arrangement is not very convenient and logical. Tabs from left to right: Task Manager, Home, Back. This may be confusing if you've previously used a Nexus or Pixel smartphone. Essentially, the back key is not in the place we are all used to.
Luckily, you can customize the layout of these keys to suit your needs. Now we will tell you how to make the “Back” button on the left, the “Home” button in the center, and the “Application Manager” on the right. This option can be found in the application Settings > Display Panel and Navigation. Another small life hack: in the same menu, you can “paint” the bottom panel with the color that you like best.
How to enable notifications on the edge of your S8 display
One of the best things about the Galaxy S8 software is the ability to make the edges of the screen light up when notifications arrive. Additionally, the S8 offers notification visuals from stock Android. For some reason, these features are disabled out of the box, so you'll need to dig into the settings to enable them. Below we tell you how to do this quickly.
Go to section Settings > Display > Edges, then turn on the edge lighting feature to activate notifications on them. You can enable this feature for all programs, or limit its use to only the most important application notifications for you.
How to change screen scaling on Galaxy S8
If you opted for the smaller 5.8-inch Galaxy S8, you may have noticed that many on-screen elements, such as text and buttons, appear too large. Luckily, you can adjust display scaling to make these elements smaller so you can see more information on a single home screen. Below we will tell you how to display more content on one screen.
To do this, go to the menu Settings > Display > Screen scaling and font. Slider Screen Zoom Move to the left to display even more useful information on your screen.
How to change theme on Samsung S8
The Galaxy S8's software interface is quite nice and much more attractive than previous versions of Samsung's TouchWiz. But if you're not a fan of the white background for your notification shade or system apps, you can easily download a different theme to completely change the look of the interface.
Go to section Settings > Wallpapers and themes to view the different themes available. In the Samsung content store you will find both paid and free themes for your phone.
How to enable Always On screen
If you are still customizing the interface for yourself, you can also activate the Always On Display function. By default, it can display the time, date, battery level, new notification icons, and a virtual Home key. But if you go to the theme customization section, you can download many more options.
However, there are at least several protection options that will reduce the risk of damage, reducing them to almost zero.
Active protection means
1. Silicone or rubber cases for the Galaxy S8 Plus or any other smartphone can play the role of a kind of “bumper” (by the way, these models are often called bumpers) - they are able to protect the corners and side surfaces of the phone from damage when falling from a small height.
By the way, such accessories are available in a huge number of colors and form factors, and every owner of a fashionable gadget will be able to choose the ideal option for themselves.
2. In order to eliminate the possibility of cracks or even scratches on the front part, you should use a protective glass for s8 plus. As is the case with other smartphones, these are reinforced plates of transparent plastic with a thickness of only 0.3 mm. They are very durable, and therefore the standard glass remains invariably smooth, without the slightest defect.
3. Silicone case models additionally protect the back cover of the gadget, which in some cheap versions of smartphones is made of soft plastic rather than metal.
4. A cheaper, but no less effective option for ensuring the safety of a smartphone display is a protective film for the Galaxy s8 plus, which is made from thin transparent silicone and is usually 3-4 times more expensive than plastic protective glasses.
5. Leather book cases for Samsung Galaxy s8 plus or other phones combine all the above protection options, but are sometimes not so convenient.
It is highly undesirable to carry your phone together with keys, key fobs, headphones, coins and other hard objects.
Without an objective need, it is better not to take your smartphone into the toilet or bathroom - over time, moisture can damage the microcircuits, and falling into water can completely damage the gadget. You shouldn’t take it to the beach either, because sand has a harmful tendency to get into all the cracks and holes.
Brilliantly confirmed! When I bought a Samsung Galaxy S8+ in Moscow at a Samsung sales center, the seller strongly advised me, firstly, to stick an armor-piercing protective silicone film on the display, and, secondly, to purchase full insurance against various damages to the smartphone for 7 thousand rubles. I agreed to the protective film, although I really don’t like them and never stick them on them, and I didn’t take out insurance because it won’t work in Spain. I also took a Samsung branded bumper case with a microfiber coating for the smartphone: it fits the smartphone very well in the hand, and the protection is quite serious - I thought naively. I peeled off the protective film and threw it away three days later - it was terribly annoying: it affects the image, but what’s most unpleasant is that fingerprints are much more visible on it than on the display. So I spat and peeled it off. Two days have passed. The smartphone was lying next to the keyboard, I somehow awkwardly took it and the corner of it slightly hit the plastic of the keyboard. And the result is this. 
Again. I didn’t drop it on the asphalt, it didn’t fly out of the window. He simply poked the corner into the plastic of the keyboard from a distance of about a centimeter. At the same time, the smartphone was in a bumper case. And as a result, this is such garbage on the new smartphone. And I don't have insurance. 
What conclusions should you draw from this sad story? First. Galaxy S8 screens are fragile - SHO SCRIPT! It is quite possible that they will crack even with a slight blow to the air, so do not even think about running with the S8 in your hands. Second. Be sure to stick on the protective film. Although, by the way, it may not help in such a case - the screen will crack under the film, why not? Third. In any case, purchase full insurance. No seven thousand rubles should be spared here. Because replacing the display in S8 and S8+ costs about twenty-five thousand. Yes Yes. Well, I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed. In my entire life I have only cracked one display - that of some iPhone that slipped out of my bag and fell on the asphalt. But there were no questions here at all. In this case, all this is more than surprising to me.
