case4A long title for what is just a case: Official Samsung Galaxy S8 Clear View Stand Cover Case.

Let’s unpack that for you in this short review.

As usual: this is the time of year when we look at some of the official Samsung accessories that come out when the Galaxy flagships are announced. We’ve done that since the S3 and S4 all the way till the S7.

This year we hope to review one of Samsung’s official cases, the new wireless charger, the Qi car charger and the DeX Station.
Here we go.

I’ve always been impressed with the S-View cases. That window when you have the case closed always gives access to the most essential of your phone functions like time, battery life and notifications., including answering a call and being able to use the camera.
So will an S-View window that occupies the whole front of the phone be so much better?
Not so fast.

Here’s the good bit: this case – as always – has a perfect fit and looks fantastic. The inside of the front flap has a smooth velvety feel to prevent scratching the Gorilla glass scratch resistant display.
Huh? If keys can’t scratch the display why the need for more protection? Anyways, it can’t hurt, I suppose but it makes the cover more opaque than I like. Notifications are a bit fuzzier as a result.

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Also, the Always On function (great as a clock on your bedside table) doesn’t work in the closed position whereas the previous S-View covers didn’t have that problem.
And this cover is super smooth and will leave fingerprints all over. Being so slippery smooth it has slid out of my shirt pocket more than once…
Finishing off with a clever design feature: the integrated stand which is normally held in place against the back cover with a small magnet, makes it very easy to switch to landscape mode.
It does make the case slightly thicker with the double back…

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There’s a mysterious round black cut-out in the velvety inside cover just above the left soft button.
I could not find out why it’s there. Perhaps someone can enlighten me?

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Conclusion: great case but perhaps I had expected a bit more from this one, given my previous excellent experiences with the S-View cases.
Certainly an eye-catching case with an eye-watering price at AUD73.49. Choice of 6 colours.

Thanking our friends at MobileZap for supplying this case. Have a look at their enormous range for not just the Galaxy S8 but countless other phones.