Samsung Galaxy S8+ Plus Single-SIM Artic Silver 64GB Review

The Samsung Galaxy S8+ is a 7-year-old flagship phone now selling for around $100. It has a beautiful AMOLED screen and great battery life, but its performance is very slow and it runs outdated Android 7.0. Only consider it if you need a ultra-basic backup phone.

Looking for a solid, unlocked Android phone for under $150? The Samsung Galaxy S8+ is a name you'll see a lot. This 6.2-inch phablet from 2017 is still kicking around, and at its current price of around $100, it's squarely in the budget phone conversation. It's got a Super AMOLED screen, a 12MP camera, and 64GB of storage you can expand with a microSD card. It runs on Android 7.0 Nougat and is a GSM-only device, so it won't work on Verizon or Sprint networks. If you need a basic smartphone for calls, texts, and light apps, this is a contender.

Let's be real: this is a 7-year-old phone. Our performance scores put it in the 17th percentile, which means it's going to feel slow compared to anything modern. The Exynos 8895 processor and 4GB of RAM were solid for their time, but they struggle with today's apps and multitasking. Gaming is its weakest area, scoring just 20 out of 100. You can browse the web and check social media, but don't expect to run demanding games or have a dozen apps open at once. The battery life, however, is a bright spot. The 3500mAh cell scores in the 89th percentile, so you should get through a full day without much trouble.

At $100, the Galaxy S8+ is a weird value proposition. It's a former flagship you can now buy for budget phone money. The problem is, a new $100-$150 phone like a Moto G Play will have a worse screen but much better software support and performance. You're trading modern speed and updates for the S8+'s nicer screen and materials. It's only a good deal if you absolutely must have that AMOLED display and can live with the sluggishness.

You have to look at this against other phones in the $100-$150 range. The Motorola Moto G series, like the G Power, will run circles around the S8+ in speed and software, but their LCD screens aren't as nice. A used Google Pixel 3a would be a smarter buy for camera quality and software updates at a similar price. And if you're considering the S8+, you should also look at the Samsung Galaxy A14—it's a newer, slower phone in some ways, but it runs Android 13 and gets security updates, which is a huge advantage.

Skip the Galaxy S8+ if you need a fast, reliable daily driver. Gamers, power users, social media scrollers, and anyone concerned about security should look elsewhere. Its outdated software is a genuine risk. Also, if you're on Verizon, it simply won't work. For a similar price, a newer Motorola Moto G model or a used Google Pixel 3a would be a much better and safer investment.

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy S8+ in 2024? Only in a very specific scenario. If you need a secondary phone, a device for an elderly relative who just makes calls, or you're on an extreme budget and only care about screen quality and battery, it could work. For anyone else, the outdated software and glacial performance are dealbreakers. You'll be frustrated daily by how slow it is. We recommend stretching your budget for a newer budget phone or buying a used model from 2020 or later.