samsung galaxy s8 plus
Reuters

Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus is the leading smartphone in the latest Consumer Reports ranking released earlier today. The flagship device is followed by its smaller variant, the Galaxy S8.

Consumer Reports, a nonprofit ratings and review platform, uses battery performance as the major criteria in ranking the smartphones. Despite the battery issue Samsung faced last year with the Galaxy Note 7, Consumer Reports has put the Galaxy S8 Plus on top of the list.

Battery life test

As explained, the organisation uses three way to gauge the performance of the Galaxy S8 Plus's battery life. In the talk-time test, the Galaxy S8 Plus can endure up to 26 hours. In the transmission of data over an LTE network, it can survive up to 17.5 hours. In the browsing via a Wi-Fi network test, it can go on up to 14.5 hours.

The Galaxy S8 Plus only ranks higher than the Galaxy S8 in this category primarily because it has a larger battery. "If battery life is really the most important thing to you, bigger phones are generally better," states the report. "But of course they also tend to weigh more. It's a tradeoff."

Premium camera performance

In terms of camera performance, the organisation has pointed out that the Galaxy S8 Plus offers a premium quality. The stunning photos taken using this device have rich colours, not to mention the admirable low-light performance it can deliver.

Consumer Reports has praised the Seoul firm for producing a camera smartphone whose sharpening capability does not blow the output out of proportion. Smartphones in the market have built-in software whose particular job is to sharpen images straight from the lens. If not used appropriately, a subtle halo effect around the objects is borne out.

The organisation also tested the phone's other features, including water resistance and Bixby. Consumer Reports has commended Samsung for delivering a reliable water protection for the device. Although it did integrate an evaluation of digital assistants, the organisation has high hopes for Bixby.