Putting the Galaxy S8+ row on the Galaxy S8 is the wrong record, and it fails a check of the 68.1 mm body. Samsung’s March 30, 2017 specification graphic prints a 5.8-inch 18.5:9 Infinity Display for the Galaxy S8 and a 6.2-inch 18.5:9 Infinity Display for the Galaxy S8+.
The Galaxy S8 Infinity Display is the 5.8-inch 18.5:9 Super AMOLED on the March 30, 2017 specification graphic, at Quad HD+ 2960 by 1440 and 570 ppi. The same graphic prints a 6.2-inch panel, the same 2960 by 1440 grid, and 529 ppi for the Galaxy S8+. The March 30 design note puts a pressure-sensitive home key under the glass and makes recent and back soft keys. The April 4 design story says the Home button was removed so that space could become screen. The graphic lists Fingerprint in a Sensor callout drawn on the rear, beside the camera. The Android history hub files this record. These pages do not print a price.
The March 30, 2017 introduction calls the front a smooth, continuous surface with no buttons or harsh angles, in 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch models, with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and the back.
| Item | Galaxy S8 on the March 30 graphic | Galaxy S8+ on the same graphic | Why the split matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 5.8-inch Super AMOLED, Quad HD+ 2960 x 1440, 18.5:9, 570 ppi | 6.2-inch Super AMOLED, Quad HD+ 2960 x 1440, 18.5:9, 529 ppi | Same pixel grid, different diagonal and ppi |
| Body | 148.9 x 68.1 x 8.0 mm | 159.5 x 73.4 x 8.1 mm | Width and height are printed separately |
| Weight | 155 g | 173 g | The taller phone is the heavier row |
| Battery | 3,000 mAh | 3,500 mAh | Capacity follows the body row |
| Port | USB Type-C | USB Type-C | One port name for both |
| Price | The pages do not print a price | ||
| First markets | April 21, 2017 launch page: United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Korea | Same sentence for both phones | Later markets are “the weeks ahead” |
What did the Infinity Display change physically?
The Infinity Display changed the front into a tall 18.5:9 Super AMOLED that runs over both side edges, with the Home button space given to the screen.
The March 30 design note calls it an end-to-end, bezel-less screen that spills over the phone’s sides, in 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch models. It describes a continuous silhouette with symmetrical curvature from front to back. The March 30 infographic calls the same front a bezel-less, dual-edge Infinity Display. The April 4 design story says the phone uses the entire front panel as its display and that the curves virtually eliminate the bezel. The April 5 DisplayMate note says the curved OLED nearly fills the front from edge to edge.
The specification graphic is the measurement record. It prints Super AMOLED, the 2960 x 1440 grid, 18.5:9, 570 ppi on the S8, and 529 ppi on the S8+. It also prints the body: 148.9 x 68.1 x 8.0 mm and 155 g for the S8, and 159.5 x 73.4 x 8.1 mm and 173 g for the S8+. The graphic draws the front camera and sensors in the top of the front view, and it draws the rear camera plus a sensor pad on the back.
Those bezel phrases and those millimeters sit on the same dated pages. Treating “bezel-less” as a zero-margin body skips the printed width.
Panel width in millimeters = diagonal in inches × 9 / √(9² + 18.5²) × 25.4
√(81 + 342.25) = √423.25 = 20.573. For the printed 5.8-inch diagonal, 5.8 × 9 / 20.573 × 25.4 = 64.45 mm. The printed body is 68.1 mm wide, so 68.1 − 64.45 = 3.65 mm is the leftover across both sides. Panel height is 5.8 × 18.5 / 20.573 × 25.4 = 132.48 mm. The printed body height is 148.9 mm, so 148.9 − 132.48 = 16.42 mm is the leftover at the top and bottom together. The same steps on the 6.2-inch diagonal give a 68.89 mm panel width against the printed 73.4 mm body (4.51 mm leftover) and a 141.61 mm panel height against the printed 159.5 mm body (17.89 mm leftover). This uses the printed diagonal as the diagonal of a full 18.5:9 rectangle. It is a bound from that assumption, and the graphic does not label it as a measured bezel.
The pixel grid gives a second check on the printed ppi. √(2960² + 1440²) = √10,835,200 = 3,291.7 pixels along the diagonal of the grid. Dividing by 5.8 inches gives 567.5 ppi, and dividing by 6.2 inches gives 530.9 ppi. The graphic prints 570 ppi and 529 ppi. This page keeps the printed ppi figures. The graphic does not show the division that would close a gap of about 2 ppi.
| Choice | Printed record | Dominant failure mode | Prevention |
|---|---|---|---|
| One diagonal for both phones | 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch rows | A 6.2-inch, 173 g, or 3,500 mAh figure applied to the S8 | Read the row label before the number |
| Bezel-less wording | “bezel-less” and “virtually eliminating the bezel” | A claim of zero side margin | Compare the 64.45 mm panel width with the printed 68.1 mm body |
| Home button space | Removed on April 4; pressure key under the glass on March 30 | A physical key expected below the screen | Use the under-glass pressure area and the soft recent and back keys |
| Fingerprint | Named in the rear Sensor list | A search of the old front Home area | The graphic’s Sensor leader ends on the rear, beside the camera |
| 16:9 video on this panel | The ratio row is 18.5:9 | A frame expected to fill the width | Side bars take 5/37 of the width when the heights match |
Why did Samsung choose an 18.5:9 shape?
Samsung’s April 4 design story says the 18.5:9 screen ratio maximizes immersion, and the March 30 graphic pairs that ratio with a 68.1 mm S8 body and a 73.4 mm S8+ body.
The ratio and the pixel grid are the same number. 18.5 / 9 = 37/18. 2960 / 1440 = 37/18. Both equal 2.0556. The Quad HD+ grid on the graphic is an 18.5:9 grid. The April 5 DisplayMate note prints the same 18.5:9 ratio, the same 2960 x 1440 resolution, and 570 ppi in one sentence after naming the 5.8-inch screen and the 6.2-inch S8+ screen. The split of 570 ppi and 529 ppi is the March 30 graphic.
A taller ratio spends a diagonal on height. The worked example above is that spend: a 5.8-inch 18.5:9 rectangle is 64.45 mm wide, and the printed S8 body is 68.1 mm wide. The March 30 introduction says the compact design enables comfortable one-handed operation. The graphic is where that sentence gets a width.
Rule of thumb: if the picture is 16:9 and the panel is the printed 18.5:9, under a fit that matches the heights, the unused width is 5/37 of the panel because 16 is 2.5 short of 18.5 on the same 9. 1 − 16/18.5 = 5/37, which is 13.5 percent of the width. If the picture is 21:9 and the widths match, the unused height is 1 − 18.5/21 = 2.5/21, which is 11.9 percent of the height. A tall page or two stacked windows uses the extra height that 16:9 does not fill.
The saved pages do not print a Galaxy S7 screen size, so this page does not convert those bar fractions into a comparison with an earlier Galaxy.
What happened to the Home button and fingerprint reader?
The Home button was removed, a pressure-sensitive home key was placed under the glass, and Fingerprint is one name in the Sensor list the March 30 graphic draws on the rear beside the camera.
The April 4 design story says the Home button has been removed to use that technical space as user space. The March 30 design note says a home key embedded underneath the screen functions and responds to pressure just like a physical button would, while recent and back are soft keys that can be customized in different colors. The April 5 DisplayMate note says the home button has been incorporated within the screen itself, in the same sentence as the 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch sizes. The March 30 introduction says the front is a continuous surface with no buttons or harsh angles. The April 4 story also says a newly added button on the left side opens Bixby. That side button is a different control from the removed front Home button.
The March 30 biometric note calls fingerprint scanning familiar, lists it with iris scanning and facial recognition, and says Samsung Pass supported fingerprint recognition on that date, with iris scanning and facial recognition planned for select markets later. It describes a dedicated iris camera and an infrared LED. It does not print a rear or front position for the fingerprint reader.
The position drawing is the specification graphic. One Sensor leader runs to a pad on the rear, beside the camera. The list on that leader is Accelerometer, Barometer, Gyro, Fingerprint, Geomagnetic, Hall, Heart Rate, Proximity, RGB Light, Iris, Pressure. Fingerprint is in the list attached to the rear pad. Iris, Pressure, and the motion sensors are in the same list, and the biometric note gives the iris its own camera. The graphic does not print a sentence that the rear pad is only the fingerprint reader.
The graphic’s sensor list also includes Pressure. The design note is the page that ties pressure to the home key under the glass. The two March 30 pages print both facts. They do not print a diagram that isolates the pressure sensor from the rest of the Sensor list.
Was the Galaxy S8 only a screen redesign?
The Galaxy S8 launch pages also print a 10 nm processor, Bixby, Samsung DeX, an iris scanner, facial recognition, a fingerprint scanner, and IP68 water and dust resistance.
The March 30 introduction calls the processor the industry’s first 10 nm processor and says the phones are gigabit LTE and gigabit Wi-Fi ready, with support for up to 1 Gbps. The specification graphic prints a 64-bit, 10 nm octa-core and two clock pairs, 2.3 GHz quad plus 1.7 GHz quad, and 2.35 GHz quad plus 1.9 GHz quad. It does not label which pair belongs to which phone. A footnote says specifications may differ by market and operator. The same graphic prints Android 7.0, LTE Category 16, 4 GB RAM, 64 GB storage, microSD support up to 256 GB, IP68, and USB Type-C. The introduction repeats IP68, microSD up to 256 GB, an always-on display, and fast wired and wireless charging.
Cameras on the introduction are an 8 MP F1.7 smart-autofocus front camera and a 12 MP F1.7 Dual Pixel rear camera. The graphic adds Smart OIS on the rear. Biometrics on the graphic are Iris, Fingerprint, and Face. Colors on the introduction are Midnight Black, Orchid Gray, Arctic Silver, Coral Blue, and Maple Gold. The design note lists the same five colors.
Bixby, on the introduction, is an intelligent interface opened with a new Bixby button, using voice, touch, vision, and text. At launch, Bixby’s Voice function integrates with Camera, Contacts, Gallery, Messages, and Settings. Samsung DeX, on the same page, turns the phone into a desktop-like experience. The April 21 release note repeats the Infinity Display, the 10 nm processor, Gigabit LTE, Gigabit Wi-Fi, and the Mobile HDR Premium screen, and it names Bixby and Samsung DeX again.
DJ Koh’s sentence on the March 30 introduction says the phones are a testament to regaining trust by redefining what is possible in safety. That sentence does not name a recalled model. The Galaxy Note7 recall is this site’s record of the battery crisis from the previous year.
The April 5 page quotes DisplayMate on the default Adaptive Display mode: up to 1,020 nits in high ambient light, 4.5 percent reflectance, and an ambient contrast rating of 227. Those figures belong to that quoted report and to the mode named in the footnote.
Did the S8 begin the all-screen phone era by itself?
The saved Samsung pages describe the Galaxy S8 and call the design a new era. They do not survey every earlier tall phone.
On the March 30 introduction, DJ Koh says the Galaxy S8 and S8+ usher in a new era of smartphone design. On the March 30 Unpacked note, Justin Denison calls the Infinity Display a new era in smartphone design. The same note dates a London satellite event at Here East to March 29, 2017, and says the New York launch was simultaneous with that London event. A caption on that page says Denison announced an April 21 release.
The earlier curved phone on this site is the Galaxy Note Edge, whose 2014 pages describe one curved side used as its own display. The S8 design note describes symmetrical curves that spill over both sides, and the April 4 story describes the entire front panel as the display. Those are two different jobs for a curved edge. The S8 pages printed here do not claim the S8 was the first phone to shrink a bezel.
Why does the Galaxy S8 design still matter today?
The Galaxy S8 design still matters because the March 30 graphic fixes a tall 18.5:9 screen to a printed body width, and the design notes move the front Home button off the bezel.
A later flagship can be checked against that split. Diagonal, ratio, body width, and the place where the home control sits are separate rows. The Galaxy S10 sale dates follow the 2019 phones whose front camera sits in the glass and whose ultrasonic reader, on the S10 and S10+, sits under the glass. The Galaxy Fold in 2019 follows the phone that opened into a tablet. The Android history hub holds the 2017 record on the site timeline.
The April 21, 2017 release page is the commercial boundary. It says the phones launched that day in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Korea, and that more markets followed in the weeks ahead. The March 30 introduction says availability starts on April 21 and lists the five colors. A worldwide calendar day for every market is not what those sentences print.
Further reading
- Galaxy Note Edge covers the 2014 phone with one curved side display.
- Galaxy Note7 recall covers the battery record from the year before this launch.
- Galaxy S10 sale dates follow the 2019 front camera hole and the in-display reader on the S10 and S10+.
- Android history hub is the timeline for this 2017 record.
Checked October 18, 2026. Display size, resolution, body size, weight, battery, and the April 21 markets come from the saved Samsung pages linked above. A price is not printed. Several other Samsung addresses returned empty files on the one allowed download and are unused.
