Google's Android VR platform explained - Pocket-lint

Samsung has now confirmed the Galaxy S8 release date: April 21 for the US, and April 28 for the rest of the world (including the UK) - although it hasn't given specific information on territories such as Australia.

You can pre-order the phone already and if you do so before April 19 you'll get the Samsung Galaxy S8 delivered to your door as soon as the April 20 if you're in the UK (but no word on a free Gear VR... boo).

The SIM-free Samsung Galaxy S8 price is $720 (£689, AU$1,199) - which certainly makes it one of the most expensive phones on the market. 

On contract in the US, it'll cost you anywhere from $28 to $35 a month, depending on your carrier.

In the UK you'll be able to pick up the Galaxy S8 for around £40 per month on a two year deal - put you'll have to part with some cash upfront too.

However, for that money you do get more storage than before, as the phone will land with 64GB on board, rather than the 32GB of last year – plus there's a microSD card slot and some decent AKG headphones in the bundle too.

Update: Read our hands on Samsung Galaxy S8 review, plus the news that the Bixby digital assistant won't ship with voice controls at launch.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 has finally been launched and… well, it's entirely as we expected thanks to the myriad leaks that sprung up all over the internet in the preceding months.

But the good news is that it's a rather nifty phone, and you can check it out in some rather sumptuous depth in our hands-on: Samsung Galaxy S8 review to get all the information you could want on Samsung's new flagship. 

• Fancy something bigger? You'll want the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus

The brand has been very careful with this device, telling TechRadar directly that it's taken a more cautious approach to the battery sizes to ensure there's absolutely no repeat of the Note 7 farce of last year.

What the Galaxy S8 will do is impress you with the large display, faster innards and all-round improvements throughout the user interface – so if you're not going to check out our thorough and filled-with-beautiful-photos Samsung Galaxy S8 hands-on (the plugs will only get more shameless) we've rounded up all the salient information here.