Gigabit LTE Is Galaxy S8's Most Underrated Feature

Between the new Bixby assistant and sexy Infinity Display, the Galaxy S8 provides some pretty tempting reasons to upgrade your phone. But the most compelling new feature could be under the hood.

The Galaxy S8's Gigabit LTE support could make it the fastest phone yet. Credit: Sam Rutherford/Tom's Guide

(Image credit: The Galaxy S8's Gigabit LTE support could make it the fastest phone yet. Credit: Sam Rutherford/Tom's Guide)

Whether you want to surf the web faster, stream Netflix movies with less stuttering or download apps in the blink of an eye, the Galaxy S8's Gigabit LTE support should let you do just that.

Galaxy S8 and S8+ Specs

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Galaxy S8
Galaxy S8+
Price
$720-$750
$840-$850
Display (pixels)
5.8 inches (2960 x 1440) Super AMOLED
6.2 inches (2960 x 1440) Super AMOLED
Aspect ratio
18.5:9
18.5:9
Pixels per inch
570 ppi
529 ppi
Camera (Back)
12 MP/f 1.7 aperture
12 MP/f 1.7 aperture
Pixel Size
1.4 µm1.4 µm
Zoom
8x digital
8x digital
Camera (Front)
8-MP/f 1.7 aperture
8-MP/1.7 aperture
Pixel Size
1.22µm1.22µm
Video recording
4K video at 30 fps
4K video at 30 fps
Slow motion video
720p at 240 fps
720p at 240 fps
Biometric Scanning
Facial recognition, iris scanner, fingerprint reader
Facial recognition, iris scanner, fingerprint reader
CPU
Snapdragon 835
Snapdragon 835
RAM
4GB
4GB
Storage
64GB
64GB
microSD
up to 256GB
up to 256GB
Battery
3,000 mAh
3,500 mAh
Rated Battery Life (Talk Time/Video Playback/4G)
20/16/12 hours
24/18/15 hours
Size
5.9 x 2.7 x 0.3 inches
6.3 x 2.9 x 0.3 inches
Weight
5.5 ounces
6.1 ounces
Water and Dust Resistantce
IP68
IP68
Colors
Midnight Black, Orchid Gray,
Arctic Silver
Midnight Black, Orchid Gray,
Arctic Silver
Wi-Fi
802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 5.0
Bluetooth 5.0
Android Version
7.0 Nougat
7.0 Nougat
Charging
USB Type-C
USB Type-C
Wireless Charging
WPC and PMA
WPC and PMA

Thanks to the Snapdragon 835 processor inside the S8, you'll be able to tap into Gigabit LTE speeds that are starting to be offering by U.S. carriers. According to CNET, we're talking about data rates as high as 300 megabits per second, or 18 times better than the latest OpenSignal results.

MORE: 7 Reasons Not to Get a Galaxy S8 Right Now

A precursor to 5G, CNET also says Gigabit LTE will enable such services as live 360-degree video streaming for virtual reality and provide a smoother Google Instant Apps exerpience, which lets you try a given app in real time before you decide to download it.

T-Mobile should be first out of the gate with Gigabit LTE. In a recent press release, T-Mobile CEO John Legere claimed that "anyone upgrading to the Galaxy S8 can see up to double their current LTE speeds in nearly 300 cities nationwide!"

As an example of what you can do with that kind of throughput, T-Mobile says that you could download a 2-hour movie in just 15 seconds.

AT&T and Sprint are also rolling out support for Gigabit LTE, as is Verizon. We will be testing the network speeds of the Galaxy S8 on every major provider and will let you know just how fast this phone is.

Editors' Note: This article was originally posted April 3. We've updated it with a specs chart for the Galaxy S8 and S8+.

Mark Spoonauer

Mark Spoonauer is the global editor in chief of Tom's Guide and has covered technology for over 20 years. In addition to overseeing the direction of Tom's Guide, Mark specializes in covering all things mobile, having reviewed dozens of smartphones and other gadgets. He has spoken at key industry events and appears regularly on TV to discuss the latest trends, including Cheddar, Fox Business and other outlets. Mark was previously editor in chief of Laptop Mag, and his work has appeared in Wired, Popular Science and Inc. Follow him on Twitter at @mspoonauer.