When Nokia’s cellphone star faded, it was Samsung that stepped into the role of the
world’s biggest phone vendor while others took over the mantle of being design leaders.
Samsung wasn't really known to make the best-looking phones at that time.
I mean the Galaxy S5 launched in 2014 received a lot of criticism for its poor design and
plasticky build.
When companies like Sony and Apple were making beautiful glass, metal phones, Samsung was
using plastic materials on their top-of-the-line flagships.
But the Galaxy S6 changed that in 2015 when Samsung started showing a real commitment
to improved industrial design.
Quickly, the world’s biggest manufacturer of phones also became one of the best designers
of phones.
Fast forward to 2017, the Galaxy S8 took that industrial design to a whole new level and
set a new benchmark for what a smartphone could be.
It single-handedly kick-started the bezel-less smartphone trend.
Yes, some Chinese companies launched bezel-less phones earlier than Samsung but they didn't
move the needle because of the fact that those phones were either concepts or limited to
a certain country.
But it was the Galaxy S8 that marked this design shift that we love and admire today.
Also, it was the S8 that kind of saved Samsung's bt as it drew attention away from the well-documented
Galaxy Note 7 battery problems which launched just six months before that.
By the way, It wasn’t just a good-looking device, either; it offered excellent hardware
and a great camera, and it was the first Samsung phone to offer USB type C support, Dex functionality,
and a 10nm processor.
Now, fast forward to today, Samsung is saying goodbye to one of their most iconic phones
ever.
That's right Samsung has removed the Galaxy S8 from its security update bulletin which
means the handset will not get any software update or security update going forward.
Unlike in the past, Samsung nowadays is the best of the best when it comes to Android
updates, and long-term support is what really seals the deal.
They provide 3 years of major software updates and 4 years of security updates which is longer
than any company in the Android realm and nearly on par with Apple.
Samsung's premium devices tend to get monthly updates, at least for the first couple of
years, with then it slowing down to quarterly in third and biannual updates toward the end
of life.
The S8 was getting biannual updates for the past year and today Samsung has made it official
that the end of life for this device has come.
So phones nowadays have around 5000mAh battery and that's more than enough to keep your device
charged up for the entire day.
But the thing is batteries degrade over time.
Typical smartphone batteries lose up to 20% of their original capacity within one year
of usage.
This means if your phone gives 8 hours of screen on time today, a couple of years later
that may reduce to around 5 hours.
Samsung's new phones have a new battery that only loses up to 5% of its original capacity
but still, if you are keeping your phone for more than 3 years then it could become a problem.
But thankfully, a team of scientists has discovered a new material that will surely solve this
problem.
This material helps batteries in retaining 95% of their original capacity for five years.
The material is called this which sounds like a long spell from a Harry Potter movie but
it helps the battery to hold its original capacity for more than 1,700 recharges.
This translates to around recharges for five years or more.
If smartphone companies and even electric vehicles start using this technology then
it will put an end to some of our battery problems once and for all.
Of course for all the latest tech news please be sure to subscribe and as always I'll see
you tomorrow...Peace out!