When the Galaxy S8 Active first launched this summer, we said it would be one of the best Android phones you could buy, but only if you were an AT&T customer. The Active was an AT&T exclusive at launch, but that all changes today.
The Galaxy S8 Active is officially coming to Sprint and T-Mobile later this month. It will be available in the Meteor Gray color, and comes to T-Mobile online on November 17th, with Sprint availability still to be determined.
The S8 Active coming to T-Mobile will have full support for LTE Band 71, the spectrum that T-Mobile is using for its very new (and very awesome) LTE network. B71 support is a must-have for anyone who’s planning on keeping a phone on T-Mobile for the next few years, and the S8 Active is the second (and best) phone to launch with full compatibility with T-Mobile’s new network.
Apart from the difference in LTE bands, this Galaxy S8 Active will be the exact same phone that we loved earlier this year. Sure, the Galaxy S8 might feel a little long in the tooth, given that the original launched in spring, but it’s still an excellent device. The internals — Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, 4 GB of RAM, and 64 GB of storage — are right up there with any other Android flagship you can buy right now, it’s got the all-screen design that only a handful of phones have managed to pull off, and you’re not even going to need a case.
As I said in my review, this year’s Galaxy S8 Active feels a little less gratuitously outdoorsy than previous models, and more like a standard Galaxy S8 that’s had a little thought put into making it durable. That’s a good thing.
Pricing on T-Mobile is exactly what you’d expect: $100 down and $30 per month on T-Mobile’s Equipment Installment Plan over 24 months, or $100 down and $29 per month on a JUMP! On Demand 18-month lease. That’s in line with the unlocked retail price of $820.
We’ve reached out to Sprint for its pricing and availability details.
