SAMSUNG'S GOT A HEAD START

The Samsung Galaxy S8 is without a doubt the most beautiful, polished phone I've ever held. These words were true when I first reviewed it in April, and are still true a month on. I do have some additional insights since then -- scroll down a bit for those.

OK, so the S8 is pretty. But it's also the most important Samsung phone right now, at least until the Galaxy Note 8 comes along. It's been helping restore buyers' confidence after the double Note 7 battery disaster(the S8's apparently selling like hotcak), and it's a chance to cement the Samsung name as the top Android brand against upcoming rivals: the pure Android Google "Pixel 2" squeezable HTC U11 and cut-price OnePlus 5 . It helps that soon, you'll be able to use the Galaxy S8 in Google's Daydream heads

What makes the Galaxy S8 so special is this: A tall, narrow shape that fits snugly in my palm and curved sides that scream "classy." And the screen? 5.8 inches of colorful gorgeousness with a display that stretches from edge to edge with just a whisper of a bezel. For its looks alone, Samsung's flashiest phone lands at the top of the class. Trust me, when you see the S8 and larger, pricier S8 Plus, you're gonna want to put your hands all over them.

I did everything with these two phones at home, in the office, around town and at the beach. I took scores of photos and videos, watched tons of YouTube and Netflix movies, chatted my fingers off. I sat on them in my back pocket (no Bendgate yet). I've unlocked these things 100 times in four different ways (fingerprint, eyes, face, PIN). So I'm confident pointing out the S8's problems -- because, let's be real, there's always somethin

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which you can call up from any screen (and tweak the tab location so it's easy for you to grab). You can add a lot of panes in the settings, but I like it best when kept to two -- otherwise you waste time trying to find what you're looking for.

So far, the battery has made the S8 warm, like most phones get, but not dangerously hot. Hopefully Samsung's new eight-point battery test has done its job keeping all future handsets combustion-free, unlike the poor Note 7. The battery reserves have lasted a good, long time (but I'm keeping an eye on idle drain as the months march on). Overalit's zippier than the Galaxy S7, but not so much better at its core that S7 owners should dash to upgrade.

What you really need to know is that the S8 is an extremely fast, highly competent, visually stunning device that you'll probably want to use with a case. Yes, this will hide most of its beautiful lines. Tough luck: It's just too costly and pretty to risk dropping.

And the Galaxy S8 is expensive. At $750, £689 or AU$1,199, you want to know that your phone is going to go the distance, and that you won't regret getting something 
cheaper -- like the midrange but awesome-for-what-it-is OnePlus 3T (which is being phased out in preparation of the OnePlus 5, so hurry if you want one) -- or holding out for the next iPhone, Google Pixel or Note 8, each of which should debut in the next four to six months.

So long as you aren't hanging all your hopes on work-in-progress Bixby (Google 
Assistant is an easy alternative to invoke) and have the patience of a saint when unlocking the phone, the Galaxy S8 is a sound buy that will make your friends jealous of its tall, curved, crazy-elegant screen. If you're serious about buying, I'd 
make a special trip to test out the fingerprint reader before taking the plunge. And if your current phone isn't yet on its last legs, it doesn't hurt to wait and see how the S8's battery continues to fare in the wild. So far, though, it appears to be incident-free.

What I've noticed since my initial review

• A case helps make the fingerprint reader easier to hit, but there are a lot of false scans compared to the Google Pixel and Huawei phones like the P10, Honor 8, etc.
• Top-level controls in the native camera app's manual mode are easy to access, so that's good 
• The sides of some games and apps cut off when you go full-screen (Clash of Clans is one example)
• I'm not loving the jerky scrolling on the Recents tab 
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• If you use a third-party app to remap the Bixby button (like Bixby Remapper), you might notice lag using it
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All-new design is thumbs-up

Not to be dramatic, but the Galaxy S8 really is a feast for the eyes. It adopts a new dimension -- 18.5:9 (that's almost 2:1 like the LG G6($451.99 at Amazon.com)) -- which means that it's tall and narrow. That makes it easier to use one-handed. Extremely slim bezels mean there's much more screen stuffed into the shape: 83 percent of the phone's face is all yours for tapping and viewing. The S8 is almost the exact same height as the G6, but those curved sides make the S8 feel narrower, slimmer and, in truth, much more vulnerable.

was extremely nervous I'd drop it. It almost seems more like a museum piece than a tool I'm going to use every day. I've had a couple close calls so far, but it hasn't 

smashed to the ground yet. When it inevitably does, because butterfingers, I have a feeling those rounded edges will be easier to crack than a device with straight sides. I can't say for sure, but the bigger problem may be the glass back.

Oh, one more thing about the screen. It's a very high-resolution, 2,960x1,440-pixel display, and that makes text, images and video absolutely pop, even in direct sunlight. You should know, though, that the off-standard dimension means you'll have to either be cool with black bars on the sides of videos you play (called pillarboxing), or you'll need to tap a screen control to crop-to-fit. In some videos, doing so reduced image quality. At other times, it looked just as good.

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In addition, there's a pro mode and a heap of editing tools that really let you fine-tune colors, brightness and tone. If the camera recognizes a face, it'll offer up a Portrait editing option, which lets you blur the background to approximate the same kind of bokeh effect you can get from the iPhone 7 Plus($869.00 at Apple ' second camera lens. Result: enthusiastic overblurring that might cut off an arm or wipe out the background if you overdo it.

A word on the single-versus-double camera lens. Apple, LG and Huawei have phones with two lenses on the back. These, respectively, help achieve portraits with that cool, blurred effect I just mentioned, get wide-angle shots or take crisp black-and-white images. By sticking with a camera that's similar to last year's model, the Galaxy S8 can't do any of that as well as competitors. (I have high hopes for the Note 8 doubling down on cameras.)

Videos shoot by default in 1080p HD, but you can uplevel to quad HD (1440p). If you do, you'll lose a few features and effects, including video stabilization. You'll have hyperlapse and slow-mo modes for extra video fun.Battery life is very good, and still no overheating problems so farThe million-dollar question: Is the Galaxy S8 battery safe? We haven't heard reports of overheating so far. I sure hopeSamsung's eight-point safety check will keep the S8 and other future phones from the Note 7's fiery fate.

Everything else you need to know about the Galaxy S8

• The glass body is super reflective and smudgy as hell (tradition!)
• It runs Android 7.0 Nougat under custom Samsung software
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• Don't expect an Android O update right away when the new OS is ready to go (based on past experience, it could take six months)
• A cleaner Samsung interface comes with nice changes: swipe up on the home screen to see apps, touch and hold an app icon for more options
• Audio sounded tinny pumped through the main speakers
• Songs and video sounded rich through the included earbuds -- great for in-box headphones
• Very fast Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor (tested)
• Some regions come with Samsung Exynos processor instead
• Support for Gigabit-class LTE, when available with carriers (aka Category 16 LTE)
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• Water-resistant IP68 body up to 3 feet of water and up to 30 minutes (it survived a dunk in a bucket -- a foot of water -- for 28 minutes)
• More convenient one-handed operation than S7
• Bluetooth Dual Audio lets you connect to two Bluetooth devices, like wireless headsets
• Colors: midnight black, orchid gray, arctic silver, maple gold, coral blue (varies by region)
• Will work with Samsung DeX accessory, )cameras, Samsung 
• Gear VR

Wirelessly charging won't be as speedy as wired, but it sure is convenient for top-ups.