Samsung’s Galaxy S8 has managed to garner more attention than its previous releases. Now, Microsoft hopes to capitalize on the success of the device, by introducing a Galaxy S8 Microsoft Edition.
Microsoft announced on Thursday that it has started to take pre-orders for Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus Microsoft Edition. The devices will be available for purchase starting April 21 at any of the US Microsoft Store locations.
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A statement released to press discloses that the Microsoft Edition will apply “a Microsoft customization” when the device starts for the first time and is connected to WiFi. “This customization ensures customers a best-in-class productivity experience with Microsoft applications such as Office, OneDrive, Cortana, Outlook and more.”
Though the Galaxy S8 already comes with Microsoft applications pre-installed, the latest attempt is to also include Outlook and Microsoft Cortana, the virtual assistant, which was not seen in previous Samsung releases. Interestingly, those going with the Microsoft Edition will now have three virtual assistants – Bixby, Google Assistant and Cortana.
According to a CNET report, the new phones will carry a price tag of $750 (for Galaxy S8) and $850 (for Galaxy S8 Plus). They will only be available in AT&T or Verizon flavors for now.
After months of leaks and speculation, Samsung launched the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus on March 29. The device comes in two models with different screen sizes – the 5.8-inch Galaxy S8 and 6.2-inch Galaxy S8 Plus.
Key features of the device includes a unique new “infinity display”, giving the device a bezel-less curved edge and a 12 megapixel back camera. The fingerprint sensor is on the back of the phones and there is Iris scanning available to unlock the phones through the eyes scanning.
In the US the phones are running on Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processors while in other countries it will sport Samsung’s own Exynos octa-core chip. Both the phones have a 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage on board. Galaxy S8 has a battery of 3000 mAh while Galaxy S8 Plus has a battery of 3500 mAh. It will also run Android Nougat 7.0 out of the box.
Analysts believe Samsung will sell somewhere close to 45 to 50 million Galaxy S8 units before the close of 2017. Samsung hopes to turn its fortunes around with its latest releases.
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