HE Samsung Galaxy S8 (click for complete specs) and Galaxy S8+ (click for full specs)  are getting lots of positive reviews from critics — including us — while pre-order sales have skyrocketed in Korea and in the U.S.

ITH the Samsung Galaxy S8+ (click for complete specs), the larger of the two Samsung hero phones for this part of 2017, the catch is clear: Big-screened phone — bigger than what the Apple iPhone 7 Plus can offer, bigger than you might think if you haven’t seen it in action firsthand — in a reasonable, borderline-manageable size.

AMSUNG’S design for the Galaxy S8 is unprecedented in the company’s history, easily its best to date. And from what we’ve seen so far, the rest of the bits — the internals, cameras, and screen — are nothing if not built to rival or surpass the accomplishments of current crowd-pleasers like the Apple iPhone 7 and the Google Pixel.

AMSUNG has pushed the envelope of smartphone design and, to a lesser extent, technology with each flagship outing in recent years — though it may have done too much in too many areas last year, resulting in the cancellation of a promising big phone. Take one glance at the Galaxy Note 7 headlines, and you’d think there would be no more room for ambition, risk, and chutzpah within the walls of Samsung’s Seoul headquarters.