document_title: Abby Sciuto

question_text: ncis episode where abby finds out she's adopted

question_tokens: ncis episode where abby finds out she 's adopted

text: Abby Sciuto

text: Concept and casting[edit]

text: Prior to taking up a career in acting, Pauley Perrette had studied at John Jay School of Criminal Science in New York, having previously aspired "to work with animals, be in a rock 'n' roll band, or be an FBI agent."[6] She eventually began acting, later saying, "There’s no drug that I ever did that worked as well as being an actor. What you’re looking for with substance abuse is escape. But with acting, you can escape into 1,000 different things without almost killing yourself doing it. Acting is a total drug!"[6]

text: Perrette was cast for the role of Abby Sciuto in 2003. On the subject of her character's creation and its purpose, she said "[NCIS creator] Don Bellisario told me that when he created Magnum, P.I. he wanted to introduce a Vietnam vet who defied the negative stereotype. So with Abby, he wanted to take an alternative-style person with tattoos and make her someone who is happy, totally put together and successful. All the script said about her was: black hair, caffeinated and smart...She's completely unaware that anybody thinks she looks weird. She thinks she looks pretty and never calls herself anything other than happy. And I fight for that."[7]

text: Child actress Brighton Sharbino was cast to portray 10-year-old Abby for the season 10 episode "Hit and Run", which featured several flashbacks to a young Abby. Sharbino, who strongly resembled Perrette, reportedly spent time with the latter "in part to pick up on the NCIS vet’s mannerisms and such."[1]

text: Characterization[edit]

text: Abby has a gothic style of dress,[1] including black dresses and T-shirts, miniskirts, and goth jewelry, including anklets and toe rings. She wears pigtailed dyed hair (due to Perrette's hair being dyed as she is a natural blonde[7]) and has at least nine tattoos on her neck, arms, back, ankle, and other places.[7] Her neck choker appears to be one of her favorite pieces of jewelry. While some of the tattoos are Perrette's and real, others are makeup, such as the large cross on her back applied on occasions when Perrette shows her bare back on camera.[8] The spider web on her neck is not real, either, as producer Bellisario wanted the character to have a tattoo that would be visible (almost) all the time. However, Perrette has expressed dislike for the spider tattoo, saying, "It only takes a few minutes to do, but it feels like old chewing gum,"[7] and wishes for an episode where Abby gets it removed.[8] Abby also has a stuffed hippo named "Bert" that makes flatulent/farting noises when squeezed, which has been used for comic effect when Abby is upset.[5] She decorates some of the areas in her lab with toys such as 'Bleeding Edge Goth' dolls and 'Teddy Scares'. The Teddy Scare 'Rita Mortis' can be seen sitting next to her computer monitor. Abby's biggest pet peeve, as revealed in season five's "Lost and Found" by Timothy McGee, is people who claim to be vegetarians, but still eat chicken; her second-biggest pet peeve is people who mishandle evidence.[9]

text: Pauley Perrette commented, "Don (Bellisario) wanted to do Abby as an alternative-lifestyle person, but not as a junkie or a thief. She might be the smartest person on television."[10] When asked about her depiction of a goth character, she responded that Abby "wouldn't call herself anything but Abby...What she represents is a smart, capable chick that cannot be reduced to a stereotype."[11]

text: Abby drives a candy-apple red 1930/31 Ford Model A coupe bearing a Washington, DC, personalized vanity plate "4NS CHIK" which is prominently featured in season five's "Dog Tags".[12] She previously drove a hearse (mentioned in "Hiatus, Part I"), which ran poorly and had bald tires.

text: Like Gibbs, Abby enjoys caffeine,[7] primarily in the form of large cups of a fictional drink called "Caf-Pow". At times, when she is worried about the caffeine interfering with her sleep, she drinks "No-Caf-Pow" instead. (According to Perrette, the cups were originally filled with Hawaiian Punch, but when she stopped eating and drinking refined sugar, unsweetened cranberry juice was used in its place.)[13] When changing the artwork in her lab during "Hung Out to Dry", she states that she has a "Chagall feeling", a reference to Marc Chagall, a Jewish Belarusian artist whose main works came from fantasy and dreams. Her favorite term for something out of the ordinary is "hinky". It is also shown that she enjoys attending concerts, but her failure to wear earplugs at one of them left her with temporary hearing loss the next day, forcing her to ask DiNozzo for help analyzing some audio evidence.[14]

text: Abby has shown a tendency to become very agitated, to the point of near-panic, if any of the team is seriously hurt. When Gibbs was admitted to the hospital, Abby ended up on the verge of a nervous breakdown, pacing back and forth while delivering a rambling, disjointed stream-of-consciousness plea that explained (among other things) how close Gibbs and she were, the reason she was arriving after visiting hours, how she felt about Gibbs being injured, and how important it was to her that Gibbs not die from his injuries.

text: Abby developed a fondness for Butch, a Navy sniffer dog, in the season five episode "Dog Tags". She renamed it "Jethro" in honor of Gibbs, because it was "handsome and quiet" like him. The dog was framed for the murder of a petty officer, as the dog was found at the murder victim's house, but Abby proved Jethro's innocence. Afterwards, Abby forced McGee to adopt the dog, much to his dismay (as Jethro had attacked him earlier in the episode). Abby would have preferred to adopt Jethro herself, but her landlord did not allow tenants to have pets.

text: Backstory[edit]

text: Sciuto is portrayed as having a happy, normal childhood. Her younger brother, Luca, was first mentioned by name in the season-nine episode "Enemy on the Hill".[15] He appears in season 10 in a flashback.[16] She also mentioned that she has a niece[17] and that her grandmother was an Olympic swimmer who won a silver medal.[18] She has mentioned several uncles, including one named Teddy who owned a bar,[19] one named Horace whom she referred to as Horace "the Haggler" during an episode, and one named Larry who apparently wore knee-high socks and fanny packs. Both her parents are deceased, although when they passed is never mentioned.

text: Abby is a hearing child adopted by deaf parents[20] and likes her music loud. In the episode "Seadog", Gibbs tells Tony that Abby knows how to use sign language because both of her parents were deaf. Abby has stated that she dreams of visiting the Galápagos Islands, Dollywood, and Israel before she dies.[21] Abby graduated with full honors from Louisiana State University with a triple major in sociology, criminology, and psychology. She earned her master's degree from Georgia State University in criminology and forensic science. Sciuto's interest in forensics came from living near a wrecking yard and being intrigued by the cause and effect of the wrecks.[21][22] The season nine episode "Enemy on the Hill" revealed that Abby has another brother, Kyle (played by Daniel Louis Rivas), who is her biological brother, as it is revealed that Abby is in fact adopted.[23]

text: She appears well-versed in her field of study;[5] she is rarely stumped by the puzzles that Gibbs' team presents to her. Abby has been shown to have skills in traditional forensics, computer forensics, and hacking. She has implied that she has a PhD in chemistry.[24] It has been shown that she does all the work on the evidence herself. In season three, when she was given an assistant, Charles "Chip" Sterling, she revolted, but eventually learned to put up with him. However, their working partnership did not last long, as Abby later discovered Sterling had framed DiNozzo for murder. Exposed, Chip threatened her with a knife; she promptly subdued him, hog-tied him with duct tape, and insisted on being allowed to work alone from then on, something to which then-Director Jenny Shepard agreed.

text: It has also been mentioned numerous times that she is a devout Roman Catholic and is on a bowling team with several nuns.

text: In the 2009 NCIS: Los Angeles episode "Random On Purpose", Abby is described as being in her late 20s, suggesting she was born in the early 1980s.  (Actress Perrette was born in 1969, and was 40 when this episode first aired.) However, in a flashback in the 2013 NCIS episode "Hit and Run", Abby is shown to be 10 years old in the early 1980s, implying that she was born in the early 1970s.

text: Resignation[edit]

text: In the Season 15 episodes "One Step Forward" and "Two Steps Back," MI6 agent Clayton Reeves dies protecting Abby from a hitman hired to kill her. Abby is severely wounded in the attempt, but recovers and tricks the man who wanted her dead into confessing. She resigns from NCIS to accompany Reeves' body back to England and start a charity in honor of Reeves and his mother to help the homeless.

text: Relationships[edit]

text: Abby gets along well with all the rest of the team.[5] She is very fond of Ducky, who uses her full name, Abigail. She is called Abby or Abbs by almost everyone else, except Director Leon Vance, who calls her Ms. Sciuto. Abby is fiercely loyal to the team, and considers them family, which is shown by her distress when one or more of them is in serious danger. Likewise, the team are generally fond of her and describe her as "the favorite".

text: Before her death in the line of duty, Special Agent Caitlin Todd was a close friend of Abby's. They often hung out after work, and Abby is one of the few  to know what Kate's tattoo actually is.

text: She is friendly with Medical Assistant Jimmy Palmer. She has helped him with an autopsy and Rolfed him when he injured himself in the morgue in "Life Before His Eyes". In "Newborn King", Palmer brings his future father-in-law, Ed Slater, to NCIS. Later in the episode, McGee visits Abby to see she has locked the two in the back room. Jimmy states if Slater had not made a comment about Abby's tattoo, then they would not be in time out, implying he took Abby's side. Jimmy also chose Abby to be his "best woman" at his wedding in "The Missionary Position".[25]

text: In the episode "Crescent City", she is shown to have a relationship with Senior Special Agent Dwayne Cassius Pride, who runs the New Orleans NCIS office.

text: Leroy Jethro Gibbs[edit]

text: Gibbs is depicted as having a close (father/daughter-like) relationship with Abby, who is initially one of only two characters (the other one being Ducky) to have no fear of him. Gibbs is often seen giving Abby kisses on the cheek, and hugging her, especially when she does good work on her cases. He often brings her a fresh Caf-Pow when he arrives at the lab for information on a case, whether or not she has called him down to tell him about it. Gibbs generally tolerates Abby's goth dress style, knowing that she does a great job in her work, but often has to ask her to get to the point when she starts rambling. Abby sometimes turns to Gibbs when she needs to talk about something personal that is bothering her and he helps by listening to her. Both Gibbs and Abby are proficient with American Sign Language, as Abby grew up with deaf parents. On several occasions, Abby has been described as "the favorite", a fact that does not escape the rest of the team, but they do not begrudge her for it.

text: Gibbs is also very protective of Abby, especially when she is in very serious danger. For example, in the episode "Bloodbath", she was threatened by a hit man hired by a defendant in a case in which she was testifying, which was also complicated by an ex-boyfriend, Mikel Mawher[26] (guest star, Vincent Young), against whom she had a restraining order, but who then called her in violation of the order. When Gibbs found out about this, he pointedly told Mikel, "The only reason you're still able to walk is because I never heard about you until today!"[27]

text: Sometimes, that protectiveness extends from the rest of the team, as well. For example, in the episode "Spider and the Fly", Alejandro Rivera came to NCIS and began to threaten Abby for not sending in a report about the murder of Pedro Hernandez, Rivera's father, whom Gibbs had killed 20 years previously in revenge for Hernandez killing Gibbs' first wife, Shannon, and young daughter, Kelly. The entire team, including Ducky and Vance, ordered him to leave her alone and to not harass her, or to be escorted forcibly from NCIS Headquarters. Rivera eventually left of his own accord, but was later arrested for attempting to kill Gibbs and his father at a safehouse, and accidentally killing his sister, Paloma.

text: Gibbs' concern for Abby's safety is such that he will even drop his trademark cup of coffee if she is in serious danger. Twice this occurred: in the episode "Kill Ari" when Ari shot at her while she was in her lab, the other time was in the episode "Driven" when she was trapped inside an experimental Humvee, which had been rigged to fill with exhaust fumes and suffocate its occupants.

text: Ziva David[edit]

text: Abby was at first cold to Ziva David when the latter first arrived at NCIS as she, like the rest of the team, was still grieving over Kate Todd's death and the fact that Ziva was Ari Haswari's half-sister. Abby would scribble over pictures of Ziva and frequently mispronounce her surname to annoy her. Later, upset by Ziva's calm response to Gibbs being injured in a bombing, Abby slapped her.

text: Abby eventually came around, and Ziva and she became good friends. This was solidified in the episode "Capitol Offense" when Ziva, in gratitude for Abby allowing her to stay at her place (Ziva's home was being fumigated for termites), bought her a "chocoholic's choice" cupcake. The cupcake soon vanished, and Abby brought out all her forensic know-how to find it. Ultimately, McGee was found to have taken the cupcake, angering Abby and the others. At first, Ziva flinched whenever Abby would hug her given that she did not know why Abby did so, but eventually she came to accept Abby's hugs without any trouble.

text: In the season-seven finale, Abby was shown to be present at Ziva's citizenship ceremony, along with Ducky, McGee, and Jimmy Palmer.

text: Later in the episode "Gone", the two bonded more when Ziva took in a teenaged girl who witnessed her father's murder and best friend's kidnapping as they both tried to help the girl feel at ease throughout the ongoing investigation.

text: After Ziva's father was gunned down in "Shabbat Shalom", Abby was shown baking cookies in an attempt to help her feel better.

text: Tony DiNozzo[edit]

text: Abby's relationship with Tony is a friendly one, with the two making friendly, nonhostile jibes at each other, and squabbling about various topics, such as movies and personal possessions. Abby is perhaps the only member of the NCIS cast who displays a love and knowledge of movies that even comes close to matching Tony's. In "Twilight", after Tony narrowly avoids being part of an explosion on his first day back from sick leave after getting pneumonic plague, she runs at him and hugs him so hard he nearly falls over. In the episode, "Frame-Up", she almost single-handedly unravels the forensic evidence used to frame Tony of murder to clear his name, then subdues the killer – her assistant Chip Sterling – when he threatens her with a knife.[5] The explosion of Tony's car in "Bury Your Dead" causes her to become increasingly obsessed with her work, to prevent thoughts of his possible death. In "Reunion", after Tony, McGee, and Gibbs rescue Ziva from Somalia, Abby starts with a rant criticizing Ziva for her continuing mistrust of Tony, which, in trademarked Abby fashion, ends with her saying how worried she was about Ziva, and hugging her. This then sparks a confrontation between Tony and Ziva that causes their relationship to be restored to normal. Tony would sometimes join Abby in her lab and act like Gibbs when he was absent. When Abby was in a coma, Tony was shown to be very worried about her, to the point he did not call McGee by any last name joke.

text: Timothy McGee[edit]

text: She had a relationship with McGee which she stated that she would like to keep casual during season one. Although the relationship ended late in the same season, they both have exhibited jealousy when someone of the opposite sex pays attention to the other.[5] Some erotic teasing and tension continues between the two for the next several seasons, implied through such facts as McGee's apparent ability to describe the inside of Abby's bedroom in his novel. After finding out Abby sleeps in a coffin, he said, "You told me it was a box sofa," indicating he has at least stayed over. The implications went farther when he added, "I can't believe I slept in a coffin," and she impishly replied, "Not just slept." In the episode "Bloodbath" when Abby's life is threatened and the team sends her home with McGee,  Abby is revealed at one point to have kept a toothbrush at McGee's apartment.

text: Their flirtation became less prominent in later seasons, and TV Guide Senior Critic Matt Roush suggested  this was due to the producers' apprehension about using romance within the series to an excess.[28] He reasoned, "pairing up all four members of Gibbs' team romantically might seem like overkill, and the Tony-Ziva dynamic (even if not exactly acted upon) is so integral to the show's core that I'm not surprised they've kept McGee and Abby on more of a loving-sibling level."[28] He further opined that he "wouldn't expect it to change".[28]

text: Donald "Ducky" Mallard[edit]

text: Abby is called Abigail by Ducky, who addresses her by her full first name often. Though in the episode "Faking It", he thanked her and called her by using the name "Abby" instead of "Abigail". Abby used to have a fear of autopsy tables, which she shares with Ducky in episode 16 of season one, "Bête Noire"  when Ducky and Kate are held hostage.

text: Appearance on NCIS: Los Angeles[edit]

text: In the NCIS: Los Angeles episode "Random on Purpose", Abby, having been previously seen on video conference or talking to someone from her lab in Washington, DC, arrived in Los Angeles to meet the Office of Special Projects (OSP) team as she informed them she was investigating a serial killer called the Phantom who had murdered 15 people all over the country and had also left no DNA or even physical evidence at the scenes.

text: Having already formed a strong friendship with Eric Beale, Abby developed friendships with the OSP team, including G. Callen (Chris O'Donnell), Sam Hanna (LL Cool J), and most notably the operations manager Hetty Lange (Linda Hunt), who commented that Abby is "the first NCIS employee [she] has ever met with a sense of style".[29] Kensi Blye, another NCIS Special Agent, who is an expert in forensics, praised Abby for her high levels of thinking, stating that she lived up to the hype.

text: Abby was later kidnapped by the Phantom, later revealed to be a law firm receptionist named Tom Smith, who sought to kill her to keep his identity a secret, as he hoped to go around killing more people, having developed something of a taste for it. Although Vance mentioned that Gibbs and the NCIS Major Case Response Team were en route to Los Angeles to rescue her, Abby was saved due to the efforts of the OSP team and was later seen telling Gibbs and McGee on a video-conferencing link that she was okay.

text: To date, Abby has not returned to Los Angeles nor has she reappeared in any video-conference calls which strongly suggests that her appearances in season one were just one-offs.

text: Reception[edit]

text: During the first season of NCIS, Ross Warneke from The Age wrote of the character, "Her role is pivotal in the show because, as with so many crime series these days, the forensics laboratory is the scene of much of the action. Perrette's only shortcoming is her diction. Am I the only one who has difficulty understanding her?"[30] In January 2005, Bill Keveney from USA Today compared the characters on NCIS to those on Magnum, P.I. and commented, "the tattooed Abby, the presumed slacker who is anything but, is Bellisario's not-what-she-appears-to-be tribute to Magnum, a functioning, well-balanced Vietnam vet who contrasted many depictions of the era."[10] The New York Times writer Bill Carter described Abby as "television's only regular goth personality" in October of the same year.[31]

text: Later in the show's run, reception continued to be mostly positive, with some critics regarding her as "easily the most outgoing and affectionate member of the group".[32] In 2009, David Martingale of Star-Telegram wrote, "Abby Sciuto, a forensics scientist who, with her caffeine-fueled high energy and kooky Goth/cheerleader wardrobe, is one of a kind".[33] June Thomas from Slate Magazine noted in November 2011 that, "Abby may look like a freak, but she's a church-going patriot."[34] She has been described as "spacy"[35] and "a witty, lovable personality with forensic skills that are even greater than her charm."[5]

text: C. Coville from Cracked criticized the choice to describe Abby's age as "late twenties" in her 2009 guest appearance on NCIS: Los Angeles, finding it unbelievable for someone who "has still somehow picked up a PhD in chemistry, bachelor's degrees in sociology, criminology, and psychology, and good knowledge of hacking and computer forensic science".[36]

text: In March 2011, AOL named Abby as number 95 on a list of the 100 Most Memorable Female TV Characters.[37] In April 2013, a study by E-Poll Market Research listed Pauley Perrette and Cote de Pablo, who portrays Ziva David, among the top 10 most appealing celebrities in America.[38] Perrette and de Pablo were ranked as numbers 5 and 3 respectively.[39]

text: Sciuto is an Italian surname, suggesting that the character is meant to be Italian-American.[40]


document_title: Samsung Galaxy S8

question_text: how many megapixels does a samsung galaxy s8 have

root

text: Samsung Galaxy S8

text: History[edit]

text: Prior to its official announcement, media outlets reported on rumors and information from industry insiders. In December 2016, SamMobile reported that the Galaxy S8 would not feature a 3.5 mm headphone jack,[10] later reported to be a false rumor.[11] In January 2017, The Guardian reported on bigger screens for both of the two phone sizes, with edge-to-edge "infinity" displays and very limited bezels, and an iris scanner.[12] Additionally, The Guardian stated that the phones would come with 64 gigabytes of storage and support microSD cards, use USB-C connectors, and feature a "Bixby" intelligent personal assistant.[12][13][14] Soon after, VentureBeat revealed photos of the phones and additional details, including the lack of physical navigation and home buttons, in which the fingerprint sensor was moved to the back of the phone.[15][16][17] Evan Blass tweeted in mid-March about color options for the phones.[18][19]

tag: p

text: The Galaxy S8 and S8+ were officially unveiled on 29 March 2017, with pre-orders beginning 30 March and official U.S. release on 21 April 2017.[20][21] Following Best Buy retail listings in March,[22] Samsung opened pre-orders for unlocked U.S. handsets on 9 May 2017, with availability starting 31 May.[23][24]

text: The devices have also been released internationally. On 21 April 2017, they were made available in South Korea,[25] Canada,[26] and Taiwan.[27] On 28 April, they were made available in the United Kingdom,[28] Australia,[29] Ireland,[30] and Russia.[31] followed by Singapore one day later.[32] On 5 May, they were made available in Malaysia.[33] New Zealand,[34] India,[35] the Philippines,[36] and Thailand.[37] followed by Brazil on 12 May.[38] On 25 May, they were made available in China,[39] and Hong Kong.[40] On 8 June, they were made available in Japan.[41]

text: In July 2017, pictures of the Galaxy S8 Active were leaked on Reddit,[42][43] and the following month, AT&T "accidentally" confirmed its existence through a document in a promotional campaign.[44][45] It officially became available for pre-order, exclusively through AT&T, on 8 August 2017, with in-store purchase available 11 August.[46] VentureBeat reported in late September that the device would also become available through T-Mobile in November,[47] and Samsung subsequently confirmed both T-Mobile and Sprint availability in early November.[48]

text: Specifications[edit]

text: Hardware[edit]

text: The Galaxy S8 and S8+ both feature 1440p OLED displays, with an 18.5:9 (37:18) aspect ratio taller than the 16:9 ratio used by the majority of smartphones; the S8 has a 5.8-inch panel, while the S8+ uses a larger 6.2-inch panel. The displays on both devices curve along the side bezels of the device, with minimal bezels that Samsung markets as an "Infinity Display", and the display panel itself has rounded edges.[20] They use DCI-P3, offering what screen-testing website DisplayMate describes as the largest native color gamut, highest peak brightness, highest contrast rating in ambient light, highest screen resolution, lowest reflectance, and highest contrast ratio.[49][50] The S8 features an octa-core Exynos 8895 system-on-chip and 4 GB of RAM; models in North American and East Asian markets utilize the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 instead. Both chips are manufactured by Samsung with a 10 nm process.[20][51] They contain 64 GB of internal storage, expandable via microSD card.[20] The Galaxy S8 is one of the first smartphones to support Bluetooth 5, supporting new capabilities such as connecting two wireless headphones to the device at once.[52] It is also bundled with Harman AKG earbuds.[53][54] Both smartphones have improved satellite navigation over the predecessors by including Galileo receivers.[5] In the United States, the S8 and S8+ are available in Midnight Black, Orchid Gray, and Arctic Silver color options, whereas gold and blue are available internationally.[20] The blue option was made available in the U.S. in July 2017.[55][56]

text: Unlike past Galaxy S series models, the S8 line does not feature physical navigation keys, electing to use on-screen keys instead.[20] However, unlike other implementations, the home button can still be activated if it is hidden or the screen is off. The S8's display features pressure sensitivity limited to the home button.[57] To prevent the home button from burn-in damage, its position moves slightly.[58][59] While The Verge claims that the S8 uses exactly the same 12-megapixel rear camera as the S7, though with software improvements,[20] a report from PhoneArena claims that the phones carry new, custom camera modules.[60] The front-facing camera was upgraded to an 8-megapixel sensor with autofocus.[20][61] The S8 features fingerprint and iris scanners; the fingerprint reader is relocated to the rear of the device, to the left of the camera, due to the removal of the physical home button.[20] In addition to an iris scanner, the S8 also features face-scanning as an option to unlock the phone.[62][63] Face recognition technology had previously been implemented in earlier models since the Galaxy S III.[64]

text: The S8 and S8+ use non-removable 3000 and 3500 mAh batteries respectively; Samsung stated that it had engineered the batteries to retain their capacity for a longer period of time than previous models.[61] The S8 supports AirFuel Inductive (formerly PMA)[65] and Qi wireless charging standards.[20] Due to the recalls of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, Samsung said in a press conference it is committed to stricter quality control and safety testing procedures on all of the company's future products.[66]

text: Samsung also launched a Galaxy S8+ with 128 GB of storage and 6 GB of RAM exclusively in China and South Korea, and a bundle offer in the countries provides both the exclusive model and the Samsung DeX docking station.[67][68] The unique variant was also released in India in June 2017.[69]

text: The Galaxy S8 Active features a rugged design and significantly tougher materials to make it shock, shatter, water, and dust resistant. It has a larger battery than either of the regular S8s, at 4000 mAh. Unlike the previous phones in the Active line, the S8 Active does not have tactile buttons, instead using onscreen keys like the regular variants of the S8. It also no longer has the dedicated action button of previous versions which could be reprogrammed to be a shortcut to favorite apps, with the action button being replaced with the Bixby button. The "infinity" edge display of the standard models is removed, replaced with a metal frame and bumpers in the corners to protect from shocks, while the back is fitted with a "rugged, tough texture for a secure grip". Its screen also measures 5.8 inches, the size of the regular S8, and has quad HD Super AMOLED in 18.5:9 aspect ratio. The S8 Active is sold in Meteor Gray, but AT&T also has a Titanium Gold color.[46] The T-Mobile US version of the S8 Active also supports the company's 600 MHz LTE network that was starting to be rolled out at the time the device was announced.[70]

text: Software[edit]

text: The Galaxy S8 launched with the Android 7.0 "Nougat" operating system with the proprietary Samsung Experience (formerly TouchWiz) user interface and software suite.[61] The software features a suite of assistant functions known as "Bixby", which is designed primarily to interact with Samsung's bundled applications and other supported services. The feature allows the use of voice commands to perform phone functions, can generate cards shown on a home screen page (replacing the Flipboard integration formerly featured) based on a user's interactions, and perform searches utilizing object recognition via the camera.[20]

text: Bixby supports third-party integration via an SDK.[61] The S8 supports the use of a docking station known as Samsung DeX to access a PC-like desktop environment on an external display, with support for mouse and keyboard input.[71] On 21 April 2017, coinciding with the phone's official retail date, reports surfaced that the default music player on the Galaxy S8 would be Google Play Music, continuing a trend that started with the S7 in 2016. However, for the S8, Samsung partnered with Google to incorporate additional exclusive features into the app, including the ability to upload up to 100,000 tracks to the service's cloud storage, an increase from the 50,000 tracks users are normally allowed to upload. Additionally, new users get a three-month free trial to the service, the same as given to users who purchase Google's own Pixel smartphone. Furthermore, Google stated that more Samsung-exclusive features will be added to the app in the future, and that the Bixby assistant will also be supported by the app.[72][73] Bixby replaces S Voice, the voice recognition technology previously found in Samsung Galaxy models.[74]

text: In May 2017, Google announced that the Galaxy S8 and S8+ will support the company's Daydream virtual reality platform after Samsung rolls out a software update scheduled for mid-2017.[75][76] In July 2017, Verizon began rolling out an update for its devices, with support for Daydream.[77][78] The Galaxy S8 was one of the first Android phones to support ARCore, Google's augmented reality engine.[79][80]

text: In February 2018, the official Android 8.0 Oreo update began rolling out to the Samsung Galaxy S8, Samsung Galaxy S8+, and Samsung Galaxy S8 Active.[81]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Besides the phone's protective case reportedly cracking and peeling away in under 2 months of use, Dan Seifert of The Verge praised the design of the Galaxy S8, describing it as a "stunning device to look at and hold" that was "refined and polished to a literal shine", and adding that it "truly doesn't look like any other phone you might have used before". The hardware of the device was described as "practically flawless". Seifert also liked the new software, writing that "Samsung is known less for polish and more for clumsiness. In a refreshing change of pace, the software on the S8 is, dare I say, good [sic]". However, he criticized the Bixby assistant, writing that "in its current state, it doesn’t do much at all", and also criticized the number of duplicate apps. Regarding performance, he wrote that the S8 was "fast and responsive, but so is virtually every other premium phone you can buy, and the S8 isn’t noticeably faster or quicker than a Google Pixel, LG G6, or iPhone 7".[82] Fellow Verge reporter Vlad Savov felt that the placement of the fingerprint sensor was "a perplexing decision if we consider it as a deliberate design choice", but noted reports from Korea claiming that Samsung had originally intended for the fingerprint reader to be built directly into the screen, but was unable to reach a desirable implementation in time for release.[83] The Verge wrote that "Samsung’s six-month-old S8 has cutting edge features and design with fewer issues than other Android phones" like the Google Pixel 2 and LG V30, and that the "OLED screen stretches to the edges of the device and curves on its sides in an almost liquid fashion. It makes the S8 look just as fresh today as it did when it debuted", and pointing out that the S8's popularity and carrier support guaranteed plenty of third-party accessories.[84]

text: Chris Velazco of Engadget similarly praised the design, stating that "from their rounded edges to their precisely formed metal-and-glass bodies, they feel like smaller, sleeker versions of the Galaxy Note 7", and also praised the display as being simply "awesome". Velazco also praised the software, calling Samsung's added interface "subtle and thoughtful in its design choices". While noting that the Bixby assistant wasn't ready yet, he did compliment the promised voice features as being more granular than those offered through Siri or Google Assistant, and wrote that "With that kind of complexity involved, maybe it's no surprise this stuff isn't done yet". Also praising performance and the camera, though noting that "The 12-megapixel sensors on the back haven't changed much since last year. That's not a bad thing since they were great cameras to start with", Velazco summarized his review by writing that the devices "aren't perfect, but they're as close as Samsung has ever gotten".[85] Brandon Russell of TechnoBuffalo claimed that the camera could not beat Google's Pixel smartphone.[86]

text: Ron Amadeo of Ars Technica noted that the device's unusual aspect ratio resulted in pillarboxing when watching 16:9 video without zooming or stretching it. He complimented the feel of the S8, calling it "perfected", but criticized the glass back for being "more fragile" and that "Glossy, slippery glass doesn't feel as good in your hand as metal does, either. For the top-tier premium price tag, we'd prefer Samsung to put in the extra work and use a metal back". He criticized the biometric options for unlocking the phones, writing that "There's an iris scanner, a fingerprint reader, and face unlock. The problem is none of them are any good", and also criticized duplicate apps, writing that "most of which can't be removed and aren't very compelling". Additionally, he criticized Bixby,  calling it "an odd addition" due to the phone's Google Assistant functionality already present.[87]

text: Prior to the phone's official announcement, reports suggested that Bixby would support "7-8 languages" at launch.[88] Later reports after the phone's announcement clarified that Bixby would only support Korean and American English languages at its release, though noting that more languages would be coming "in the following months".[89][90] In mid-April, The Wall Street Journal reported that Bixby would be launched without support for American English.[91][92] On 19 July 2017, Samsung announced that Bixby had begun rolling out to Galaxy S8 users in the United States.[93][94]

text: Sales[edit]

text: The Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ broke pre-order records in South Korea, with more than 720,000 units booked in one week, a notable increase from the 100,000 units of the Galaxy S7 and 200,000 units of the Note 7.[95][96] By mid-April, the number had increased to one million pre-orders.[97][98] On 24 April 2017, Samsung announced that sales of the Galaxy S8 was its "best ever". Although it did not release specific sales numbers, it announced that sales of the S8 were 30% higher year-over-year than the Galaxy S7.[99][100] Subsequent reports in May announced that Samsung had sold over five million units.[101][102] Jon Fingas of Engadget wrote that, although Samsung advertised its pre-order records, sales comparisons to other models on the market were difficult due to unannounced sales figures.[103] However, a report from AppleInsider took a comparison look at previous Galaxy S models' first-month sales, writing that the Galaxy S7 saw 7-9 million units shipped in its first month, and the Galaxy S4 sold 10 million. The publication further wrote that "Each year since reaching Peak Galaxy in 2014, Samsung has floated the idea that its new model has outpaced sales, shipments (or sometimes "preorders") of the previous edition, but in reality Galaxy S sales—and subsequently Samsung Mobile profits—have actually never recovered since the Galaxy S4".[104]

text: Issues[edit]

text: White balance[edit]

text: Prior to the official release, it was reported that some Galaxy S8 displays had a bad white balance, causing them to exhibit a reddish tint.[105] Samsung stated that the Galaxy S8 was "built with an adaptive display that optimizes the colour range, saturation, and sharpness depending on the environment", but noted that the device's operating system provides settings for manually adjusting the display's appearance and white balance.[105][106][107] On 21 April, Samsung stated that the red tinting was purely a software issue, and would be patched in a future update.[108] The Investor reported that Samsung would replace the affected devices if a software update did not fix the issue.[109] Updates in various regions started rolling out in early May, fixing the issue.[110][111][112]

text: Random restarts[edit]

text: Reports surfaced at the end of April that some Galaxy S8 devices were "restarting by themselves". Samsung has not yet commented on the issue.[113][114]

text: Insecure facial recognition[edit]

text: Shortly after the phone's unveiling, bloggers produced a video showing that the Galaxy S8's facial recognition scanner could be tricked to unlock the phone by showing it a photo of the user.[115][116] In a statement to Business Insider, a Samsung spokesperson stated that "Facial recognition is a convenient action to open your phone – similar to the 'swipe to unlock' action. We offer the highest level of biometric authentication – fingerprint and iris – to lock your phone and authenticate access to Samsung Pay or Secure Folder".[117]

text: Insecure iris recognition[edit]

text: In May 2017, researchers from the Chaos Computer Club posted a video showing that the S8's iris recognition system can be fooled with a contact lens and a suitable photograph of an eye.[118] Samsung told BBC News that it was "aware of the issue", and stated that "If there is a potential vulnerability or the advent of a new method that challenges our efforts to ensure security at any time, we will respond as quickly as possible to resolve the issue".[119]

text: SMS message reception failures[edit]

text: In October 2017, Galaxy S8 users reported on Reddit that they were unable to receive SMS messages, with no fix available and without any comment from Samsung.[120]