As Australians prepare their credit cards and sims for the S8 landing in stores today, the importance of the release for Samsung can't be overstated after last year's flaming Note7 fiasco.
While Samsung execs hold their breath, the release has managed to avoid major controversy - so far.
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Hands on with the Samsung Galaxy S8
Peter Wells takes a first look at Samsung's latest mobile device at its New York launch.
But the concept of smooth sailing is foreign to the tech world. Here, we take a quick look at the highs and lows of the release to now.
Firstly, the bad
The first notable wobble for the release surrounded one of its most hyped features - voice assistant Bixby.
Spec-wise, smartphones have long been AI-capable, but it will require some impressive software development to unlock its potential. As Bixby loomed, Samsung's engineers pulled their promise to deliver an English version on release as speculation abounded that the Aussie twang might have been too much for the engineers.
When the phone finally dropped on April 21 Bixby-less, users moved their complaints to different features, including poor Wi-Fi performance and some red discolouration on the screen.
Samsung swooped swiftly to patch the problems with two software updates, avoiding a potentially disastrous hardware recall and the ensuing PR meltdown.
The good
The setbacks so far have been nowhere near the calibre of the Note7 explosions, and Samsung confidently announced big pre-order stats and strong early indicators of sales.
This could largely be attributed to the gushing adjectives reviewers used to describe the wall-to-wall glass screen.
"Bold and beautiful", wrote Fairfax Media, suggesting the phone will end up in a future industrial design museum being displayed alongside the Nokia 3310 and the iPhone 4.
The review cited only one design annoyance - the fingerprint scanner.
Reviewers elsewhere were similarly praising.
As for the reactions by the Aussies fondling their new phones as we speak?
The jury is still out.
More to come
The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ are now available in Australia for $1199 and $1349 respectively – in black, grey and gold. Plans through major telcos start from $70 a month.
Became one of those people that line up on #releaseday #SamsungS8 #snazzy #S8 @SamsungMobile pic.twitter.com/uO6bxNuE4p
— Tinywifey (@tinywifeyau) April 28, 2017