The quick take Don't think of the Galaxy S8 Active as a legitimate improvement over the standard GS8 — because it isn't. Think of this as the best rugged phone choice for those who want something really tough but don't want to compromise on performance, display, camera or other features. Yes, it has a massive improvement in battery life, but in the name of sturdiness, it also loses all of the design that makes the Galaxy S8 so desirable in the first place. The Good Complete Galaxy S8 experience

Great battery life

Can take a beating

'Shatter-resistant' screen

Flat screen can be preferable The Bad Too big and heavy for most people

No particular differentiation outside of casing

More expensive than standard GS8

Screen more susceptible to scratches

Exclusive to AT&T (for now) See at AT&T

The internals Tech Specs

Category Spec Operating system Android 7.0 Nougat Display 5.8-inch Super AMOLED, 2560 x 1440 (506 ppi)

Gorilla Glass 5

Shatter-resistant Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Storage 64GB (UFS 2.1) Expandable microSD card RAM 4GB Rear camera 12MP Dual Pixel, 1.4-micron pixels, f/1.7, OIS Front camera 8MP, f/1.7, auto focus Battery 4000mAh Charging USB-C

Fast charging

Fast wireless charging Connectivity Wi-Fi 802.11ac MIMO

Bluetooth 5.1

NFC, GPS, Glonass, Galileo

Wi-Fi Calling, HD Voice, Video calling LTE Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 28, 29, 30, 38, 39, 40, 41, 66 Water resistance IP68 Security Fingerprint sensor

Iris scanning Dimensions 151.89 x 74.93 x 9.91 mm

208.09 g Colors Meteor Grey, Titanium Gold

Every bit a GS8 Galaxy S8 Active Things you'll love

The thing you'll love most about the Galaxy S8 Active is that it's simply a Galaxy S8 at its core. Every spec, every feature and every component is the same. That means you're getting great performance, a whole boatload of software features and a camera that's still in the conversation with the best in the industry. It's water- and dust-resistant, of course, but that doesn't come at the cost of any fewer ports — you still get a headphone jack and flap-less USB-C connector. You also get to look at a beautiful Super AMOLED display with great brightness, even outdoors, which I'd expect you'd want for a phone that's this rugged. Verizon is offering the Pixel 4a for just $10/mo on new Unlimited lines

The GS8 Active even keeps components like wireless charging, which you sometimes expect to lose with such a thick outer casing. That package of specs and features is a far shout from what you expect to get in most "rugged" style phones.

There is one spec change, though: the battery is now 4000mAh, a full 1000 larger than the Galaxy S8 and even 500 larger than the Galaxy S8+. As you'd expect, this offers excellent battery life. I ended most days with roughly 20-30% battery remaining, despite taking no measures throughout the day to limit usage or save precious capacity. That's awesome when you compare it to the standard Galaxy S8, which offers acceptable battery life but not a whole lot of runway for heavier days. Samsung is also touting one other differentiator, which ties right into the "Active" name, and that's a "shatter-resistant" screen. You can, apparently, drop the phone from five feet onto a hard surface and have a guarantee that it won't shatter. That's pretty neat.

Not for everyone Galaxy S8 Active Things you'll hate In terms of actually using the Galaxy S8 Active every day, there isn't a whole lot to dislike. The one real downside of the GS8 Active is its overall size. It's wider, taller, thicker and heavier than the standard version — and not subtly, but dramatically. It's over 10 grams heavier than the Galaxy Note 8, and its size kind of slots in between the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ — that's big, considering its screen size is the same as the GS8. That size bump just makes the Galaxy S8 Active tougher to hold and use, even compared to the slippery Galaxy S8. It also isn't all that good looking when you set it alongside the sleek and smooth standard version. But there's also one thing you can't see that you may find spoils your experience. That "shatter-resistant" screen rating is accomplished by putting a special film on top of the standard Gorilla Glass 5 screen covering. Similarly to what we saw on the Moto Z2 Force, this covering is extra susceptible to scratches in daily use — it's not scratching the glass, but instead the plastic on top. This is one of the trade-offs necessary when you have a screen that won't shatter when it's impacted.