The Galaxy S8 is a huge (and when we say huge, we mean huge) step up from the Galaxy S6 that debuted back in March, 2015. Not only does it feature a more compact, ergonomic build and a larger display, it’s also more powerful and crammed full of a ton of exciting features, like Bixby.

Without a doubt, the most notable design difference between the two handsets (aside from the Infinity Display) is the Galaxy S8’s on-screen navigation keys. To save on space, Samsung ditched the traditional physical home button that’s been present on its Galaxy-branded smartphones since the Galaxy S — and it looks great.

A worthy upgrade

It’s worth noting that the Galaxy S8 blows the aging Galaxy S6 out of the water both in terms of design and performance, but that’s to be expected. After all, the latter is two years old and is rapidly approaching the end of its update cycle; making the former a worthy upgrade.

To see how the two compare on paper, check out the table below.

Samsung - Galaxy S6 Samsung - Galaxy S8
Display Size 5.1-inch, 1440 x 2560 pixel display (576 ppi) 5.8-inch, 2960 x 1440 pixel display (568 ppi)
Resolution X 1440 2960
Resolution Y 2560 1440
Display Type Quad HD Quad HD+
Operating System Android 5.0 (at launch) Android 7.0 (at launch)
Processor Exynos 7 series Quad 2.1GHz + Quad 1.5Ghz, Octacore application processor Octa core (2.3GHz Quad + 1.7GHz Quad), 64 bit, 10 nm process
RAM 3GB 4GB
Storage
  • 32GB
  • 64GB
  • 128GB
  • 64GB
External Storage No Yes
Main Camera (Back) 16MP 12MP
Secondary Camera (Front) 5MP 8MP
Bluetooth Bluetooth 4.1 Bluetooth 5.0
Battery 2550mAh 3000mAh
NFC Yes Yes
Connectivity
  • 3.5mm Headphone jack
  • Micro USB
  • USB Type-C
Sensors
  • Accelerometer
  • Ambient light
  • Barometer
  • Fingerprint
  • Gyroscope
  • Hall
  • HRM
  • Proximity
  • Accelerometer
  • Ambient light
  • Barometer
  • Fingerprint
  • Gyroscope
  • Geomagnetic
  • Hall
  • Heart rate
  • Iris
  • Pressure
  • Proximity
GPS
  • Digital compass
  • BeiDou
  • Galileo
  • Glonass
  • GPS
Height 143.4 mm (5.65 inches) 148.9 mm (5.86 inches)
Width 70.5 mm (2.78 inches) 68.1 mm (2.68 inches)
Depth 6.8 mm (0.27 inches) 8 mm (0.31 inches)
Weight 138 g (4.87 oz) 155 g (5.47 oz)
Colors Black, Blue, Gold, White Midnight Black, Orchard Grey, Arctic Silver, Coral Blue, Maple Gold
Supported Audio Formats MP3, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, Vorbis, FLAC, OPUS MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA, DSF, DFF
Supported Video Formats MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM, VP9 MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM
Other Features
  • IR remote
In The Box N/A

But what about the Galaxy S8 Plus and Galaxy S6 edge Plus?

And for measure, here’s how the Galaxy S8 Plus stacks up when it’s pitted against the Galaxy S6 edge Plus.

Samsung - Galaxy S6 edge Samsung - Galaxy S8 Plus
Display Size 5.1-inch, 1440 x 2560 pixel display (576 ppi) 6.2-inch, 2960 x 1440 pixel display (531 ppi)
Resolution X 1440 2960
Resolution Y 2560 1440
Display Type Quad HD Quad HD+
Operating System Android 5.0 (at launch) Android 7.0 (at launch)
Processor Exynos 7 series Quad 2.1GHz + Quad 1.5Ghz, Octacore application processor Octa core (2.3GHz Quad + 1.7GHz Quad), 64 bit, 10 nm process
RAM 3GB 4GB
Storage
  • 32GB
  • 64GB
  • 128GB
  • 64GB
External Storage No Yes
Main Camera (Back) 16MP 12MP
Secondary Camera (Front) 5MP 8MP
Bluetooth Bluetooth 4.1 Bluetooth 5.0
Battery 2600mAh 3500mAh
NFC Yes Yes
Connectivity
  • 3.5mm Headphone jack
  • Micro USB
  • USB Type-C
Sensors
  • Accelerometer
  • Ambient light
  • Barometer
  • Fingerprint
  • Gyroscope
  • Hall
  • HRM
  • Proximity
  • Accelerometer
  • Ambient light
  • Barometer
  • Fingerprint
  • Geomagnetic
  • Gyroscope
  • Hall
  • Heart rate
  • Iris
  • Pressure
  • Proximity
GPS
  • Digital compass
  • BeiDou
  • Galileo
  • Glonass
  • GPS
Height 142.1 mm (5.59 inches) 159.5 mm (6.28 inches)
Width 70.1 mm (2.76 inches) 73.4 mm (2.89 inches)
Depth 7 mm (0.28 inches) 8.1 mm (0.32 inches)
Weight 132 g (4.66 oz) 173 g (6.10 oz)
Colors Black, Gold, Green, White Midnight Black, Orchard Grey, Arctic Silver, Coral Blue, Maple Gold
Supported Audio Formats MP3, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, Vorbis, FLAC, OPUS MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA, DSF, DFF
Supported Video Formats MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM, VP9 MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM
Other Features
  • IR Remote
In The Box N/A