Samsung’s rough and tough take on its gorgeous but dangerously fragile all glass and metal flagship Galaxy S8 phone, aka the Galaxy S8 Active is now official. And it’s every bit as ‘built to take a beating’ as last year’s Galaxy S7 Active, and the Galaxy S6 Active from the year before. In the process however, the Galaxy S8 Active ditches the Galaxy S8’s trademark Infinity edge-to-edge curves for ruggedness only Samsung’s Active phones can vouch for. It comes as no surprise then that the Galaxy S8 Active is being tipped as Samsung’ toughest Galaxy phone yet. Also, it ships with a bigger battery so technically it should be longer lasting as well. We take a look.

Specifications:

Processor: Just like the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, the Galaxy S8 Active is also powered by a 2.35GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor clubbed with Adreno 540 GPU.

RAM: 4GB

Internal storage: The Galaxy S8 Active comes with 64GB of internal storage which is expandable by up to 256GB via a micro-SD card.

Screen: The Galaxy S8 Active ditches the Galaxy S8’s trademark Infinity edge-to-edge curves for ruggedness only Samsung’s Active phones can vouch for. The Galaxy S8 Active, as a result, does not ship with a full-blown Infinity screen like the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+. It does, however, retain the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+’ unusual 18.5:9 aspect ratio. The Galaxy S8 Active comes with a 5.8-inch Quad-HD Super AMOLED display with a 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the front. The Galaxy S8 Active also come with Samsung’s trademark always-on functionality.

Rear camera: Just like the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+, the Galaxy S8 Active also comes with a 12-megapixel (Dual Pixel) rear camera with f/1.7 aperture and optical image stabilisation.

Front camera: On the front, the Galaxy S8 Active sports an 8-megapixel camera with autofocus.

Software: On the inside, the Galaxy S8 Active runs Android Nougat-based TouchWiz UI or more precisely Samsung Experience UX.

Battery: The Galaxy S8 Active is backed by a 4,000mAh battery. The phone supports fast and wireless charging.

Special features:

— The Galaxy S8 Active is what you can call a sturdier (and more durable) version of Samsung’s flagship phone Galaxy S8 that has been designed from scratch to take a beating and also look quite good while at it. The Galaxy S8 Active, however, looks nothing like the Galaxy S8 which means that you’ll have to let go of its gorgeous curves if you’re looking for a more long lasting phone like the Active. The Galaxy S8 Active, thankfully, ships with the same 18.5:9 aspect ratio which means even though it is a 5.8-inch phone, it occupies a much smaller footprint when in the hands.

— The Galaxy S8 Active is Samsung’s toughest Galaxy phone yet, it claims. The phone comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the front; a rugged, tough texture for a secure grip on the back and side bumpers — on top of a metal frame — that help the phone survive accidental drops. The phone is also IP68 certified for water and dust resistance. If that wasn’t enough, the Galaxy S8 Active is claimed to have passed the US Military Standard (MIL-STD) 810G tests for ruggedness, much like the LG G6. The phone can also withstand exposure to high and low temperatures, salt, humidity, and shock, according to the company.

— The front, in the case of the Galaxy S8 Active, is clean and without any buttons. Just like the Galaxy S8 and S8+ phones, the Galaxy S8 Active’s front-mounted home button is also software-based. So are the back and recent keys. While the home button is pressure sensitive — and gives haptic feedback when pressed something on the lines of Apple’s Force Touch — it is also possible to edit and re-position the back and recent keys. The Galaxy S8 Active also come with a dedicated Bixby button like the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Active.