Galaxy S8 Unpacked Event: When, Where And How To Watch It Live

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Samsung’s much-awaited Unpacked event is almost here. The Galaxy S8 launch event will take place in New York City and London simultaneously on March 29th. The Korean electronics giant has traditionally unveiled its flagship Galaxy S phones at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), but this time the company pushed back the S8 release due to the Galaxy Note 7 disaster.

Samsung to live stream the event for its fans

Only a limited number of people can attend the event. It doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t watch the Unpacked event. In New York, the event will begin at 11 a.m. EDT at the David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center. The London event will kick off at 4 p.m. BST at the Here East on March 29th.

The Korean electronics giant is going to livestream the event on its Galaxy web page. Just visit the page at 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday to watch the live stream. There is no restriction on which browsers or devices could be used for streaming. The web page where the Galaxy S8 launch will be live streamed currently shows a teaser ad titled “This is a phone.” Come the big day and it will get replaced by the livestream.

Watch it on the Unpacked event 2017 app

Samsung has made an Unpacked 2017 app available for its fans. It’s available for both Android and iOS, and both of them are free to install. The main screen currently shows just a countdown timer. Swipe up to access three different areas: event info, event videos, and registration. The ‘event info’ section simply shows you where the event is going to take place.

Tapping on ‘event videos’ takes you to a couple of teaser videos that the Korean company has released to build consumer excitement for the Galaxy S8. The ‘registration’ section is for those who are going to attend the event in New York or London next week. They can log into the app using their email address and invitation code. It then displays a QR code needed to enter the venue.

There is also a ‘livestream’ section which is grayed out right now, but is expected to become active a few minutes before the event kicks off. You can watch the livestream right in the app.

European buyers can pre-order the Galaxy S8 on unveiling day

The Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus could go for pre-order on March 29 itself, at least in some European countries. A new report claims that pre-orders in the Netherlands would kick off on Wednesday. However, the report does not provide details on when these pre-orders would start shipping. The S8 and S8 Plus would cost €799 and €899 respectively in Europe. Pre-orders in South Korea are set to begin on April 7th.

Target to take pre-orders from 2nd April

Interested buyers in the US will be able to pre-order the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus starting April 2nd, according to a leaked Target ad. The ad is a scan of the retailer’s plan for the week April 2-8. The leaked ad indicates that Target would offer a free Gear VR with Controller with the purchase of Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus. On top of that, the offer includes a $100 gift card. However, the Target ad doesn’t provide any details about availability or pricing.

This is not the first time Samsung would bundle the Gear VR headset with its flagship phones. Last year, the company was giving a free VR headset with the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. The Korean electronics behemoth has also offered other items such as a 256GB microSD card in the past.

Samsung’s plan to attract buyers

Samsung has realized that the Galaxy Note 7 debacle has damaged its brand, and a section of consumers would be reluctant to buy a new Samsung device. The company has taken a series of safety measures to avoid a repeat of the Note 7 fiasco. With immense confidence in its product and marketing strategies, Samsung expects the Galaxy S8 pre-orders to beat the Note 7’s 400,000 units.

According to The Investor, people who pre-order the S8 or S8 Plus would get the phones on April 18th. That’s ten days before the phone’s worldwide launch April 28th. Samsung is also said to setup “Samsung Experience” panels across thousands of stores in its home country on March 30 to let people check out the device first-hand. Similar events will also be held in NYC and London after the Unpacked event.

Latest reports claim that Samsung will also offer a 3-month unconditional money back offer on the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus. It means you can buy the phone, use it, and return it within three months to get a full refund – no questions asked. It shows that Samsung is going the extra mile to regain the trust of consumers, which is key to its future sales.

Here’s the complete list of features and specs of the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus.

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