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.

(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 µm	1.4 µm
Zoom	8x digital	8x digital
Camera (Front)	8-MP/f 1.7 aperture	8-MP/1.7 aperture
Pixel Size	1.22µm	1.22µm
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+.

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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.