In pictures, the new Samsung Galaxy S8 doesn’t look that different from the Galaxy S7 Edge that preceded it. The chin and forehead of the device have been radically foreshortened, yes, but the really eye-catching aspect of the device remains its wraparound screen, which curves over the left and right edges to provide a completely bezel-free effect.
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But in the hand, the rationale for shaving off those extra millimeters from the top and bottom becomes clear. For the first time since phone screens broke five inches, the Galaxy S8 is, almost, comfortable to use one-handed.
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Space has been secured at the top of the screen through shoving the selfie camera far to the right, alongside the main speaker grill. At the bottom, meanwhile, the loss of the home button lets the screen extend down to around half a centimeter from the base of the device. In practice, that means that if you’re holding the phone one-handed, less of your thumb’s reach is wasted extending past a bezel, and so more of it can be used to navigate around the actual phone.
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It’s still not perfect for those of us who like smaller phones, with the top left of the screen remaining resolutely out of reach for all but the largest-handed of users, but it’s certainly far more ergonomically acceptable than what came before it.
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That’s helped by the other major change in the physical dimensions of the device: the decision to go for an odd 18.5:9 aspect ratio for the screen. That means, in portrait orientation, a long, thin screen with a lot of space for the main content.
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The trade-off is landscape mode. Samsung was eager to use movies to demonstrate the screen’s video capabilities, and it’s obvious why: the super-wide screen is perfect for cinematic aspect ratios, eliminating the letterboxing that you…