Well, got to play with the S8 today (not the plus model). I can confirm a few things. There are NO stereo speakers (like the iPhone 7 has. In other words, there is no sound generated from the earpiece. Only from the bottom speaker, but it is loud as fu....!)
The screen is beautiful (still at 2k resolution unfortunately), even in the new wide screen format. I did not find the curved edges distracting in the least. I can't recall now, but I think the curves were less pronounced than the S7 Edge model.
I could not test out Bixby (but the button on the left side of the phone, under the volume buttons is for Bixby), since the phone is not allowed to use a data connection until the 29th.
The new AKG earphones that come with the phone are much, much nicer than any other earphones I have seen that come packaged with a phone. The sound quality is extremely good. The fit is comfortable. I hated the stock ones that came with the iphone and the Galaxy S7/Note 7. The headphones are similar to the Apple style, with a volume adjuster below where the wires split.
The 'virtual' buttons at the bottom of the phone work like this: The home button in the center is actually under the screen and will work all the time (it is hardware based), in any app, just like the home button functioned on previous models (this includes holding down the "button" and bringing up Google Assistant!) The buttons to the left and right of the home button are software based and can be altered. (I was not allowed to adjust the virtual buttons to test this feature out).
There is no '3D touch'. It is a long hold on an app icon and then several options for the app come up. (If you use Nova launcher, it is very similar to how it works with that).
The camera app comes with a lot of new features. Ive seen people with iphones using those camera apps that add cartoony ears, noses and crap like that to their faces for selfies. Well, teh camera app comes stock with that feature too. One very cool thing that the camera does have is the ability to look at something and eaither search the internet for similar items OR go straight to Amazon and give you the option to buy the item and/or see how much it costs. (I could not test this out, as the phone did not have a connection to the internet).
The fingerprint scanner is on the back, as all the pics have shown. Without a case on the phone, you will constantly touch the camera lens. Once I put a case on the phone, I didn't have any issues. The opening on the case makes it very easy to guide your finger right to the scanner and not smear the camera lens. But I think a case is going to be mandatory.
To unlock the phone, you can use the Iris scanner, face recognition or the fingerprint scanner. You CAN NOT use these funtions simultaneously however. I tested out the facial recognition and it worked extremely fast and flawlessly. Apparently, the sensor on the front scans using depth, so it cant be fooled by a picture of someones face. The iris scanner works well with glasses and in darker environments.
It does use Bluetooth 5.0. It does use USB-C. It does have a headphone jack. It only has 4gb of RAM. The phone comes standard with 64gb of memory (expandable though, so you can add up to 256gb sd cards).
Lastly, the promo that will be offered with the phone for pre-order is: For an extra $100 you can get a 256gb sd card, a new Gear VR WITH controller and over the ear style AKG headphones (I don't know which model).
If you have any specific questions, I can try to answer them, but I only got to play with the phone for about 10 minutes and I did not test out every feature. I receive training on the phone from our Samsung rep this coming Sunday, so may be able to answer more after that.
