Samsung Galaxy S8, S8+, DeX India launch today: All you need to know

Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, that was showcased last month globally, is all set for an India launch on Tuesday with pre-orders beginning the same day on Flipkart. The phone are expected to hit shelves on April 21 in line with the global retail release.

Samsung is expected to launch its India edition of the Galaxy S8 and S8+ alongside the Sasmsung DeX, new Gear VR with montion sensing remote and the Gear 360 camera on April 19. (Samsung)

Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, which was showcased by the company in New York last month alongside Samsung DeX, Gear VR and a Gear 360 camera, is expected to launch on Tuesday with pre-orders beginning the same day on Flipkart.

The phones which are expected to sell at a starting price of ₹60,000 is expected to start shipping from April 21 in line with the global retail release. If the phone is so priced, then it will be in line with the price of the latest Apple iPhone 7 and recently released Google Pixel -- just a tad higher.

India, get ready to #UnboxYourPhone! Samsung #GalaxyS8 #GalaxyS8Plus, #IndiaLaunch.
Stay tuned for details. https://t.co/CE3aFcrvL9 pic.twitter.com/14Z56BOa2k

— Samsung Mobile India (@SamsungMobileIN) April 14, 2017

According to the company, the Samsung Galaxy S8 in the US will retail for a price of $720 which is approximately ₹46,000. However, the India edition of the device which will come with an Exynos processor may retail at a higher price -- somewhere between ₹56,000 to ₹61,000.

The larger-screened Samsung Galaxy S8+ will set you ack for $840 in the US which is around ₹54,000. This means the Exynos-fitted Indian edition will range somewhere between ₹65,000 to ₹70,000.

In terms of specifications, the smaller 5.8-inch Samsung Galaxy S8 will come with a QuadHD Infinity display with 570 pixels per inch (ppi) along with 4GB RAM. The S8 will have an internal memory of 64GB with microSD support upto 256GB. The phone, which will draw power from a 3,000 mAh battery, will run on Android Nougat. In terms of optics, the S8 will sport a 12-megapixel rear camera and a 8-megapixel front shooter.

The larger 6.2-inch S8+ will come with an OLED display with 529 ppi support. The S8+ will come with a higher battery capacity of 3,500 mAh due to the bigger display. Other features of the S8+ are same as the S8.

Both the phones, which are IP68 (dust and water resistant) will come with USB-C, 3.5mm headphone jack, NFC and MST for Samsung Pay, wireless charging, fingerprint sensor, LTE Cat.16, Bluetooth 5.0 that supports streaming to two devices and Wi-Fi.

Additionally, both the phones will come with digital assistant Bixby that will help the user in interacting with the device. According to Samsung, Bixby also shows contextual info. This means it learns about app usages and throws back info in the form of cards. It simply adapts to the user based on usage, time and date. It also has a basic reminders tool that lets you set geo-location alerts. Bixby is also compatible with Google Play Music.

Samsung is also expected to launch the DeX dock station that allows the S8 and the S8+ to be turned into a PC using a mouse, keyboard and screen.

Samsung is expected to launch its DeX solution alongside the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ smartphones in India on Tuesday. (Samsung)

Samsung is expected to launch its DeX solution alongside the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ smartphones in India on Tuesday. (Samsung)

DeX, expanded as Samsung Desktop Experience, is an accessory that Samsung's Galaxy S8 will pair with to morph into a desktop PC-like environment. The dock, that mostly looks like a candle holder, supports a monitor connection via HDMI, keyboard, mouse, and two USB ports to help expand the Galaxy S8's connectivity. Samsung's dock also has a cooling feature -- a special embedded fan to help keep the Galaxy S8 cool when it is being used to display Android apps on a monitor, and a USB-C connection to power it.

It will also launch the new Gear VR with a motion sensing remote and the 360 camera.