Early adopters of Galaxy S8 in US give the smartphone highest rating

The Galaxy S8 has become the new highest rated smartphone and apex product in the US, based on consumer reviews.

Market research firm Strategy Analytics analysed more than 1,500 buyers' reviews of the S8 during the first 40 days of the phone's availability. The reviews were posted on major online sites such as Amazon, AT&T and Verizon.

Early adopters of the S8 have given an average rating of 4.57 out of 5, making it the highest rated smartphone in the market.

Some of the key features contributing to the rating include its display. Strategy Analytics claims the display drives success for the smartphone in terms of both impact and sentiments.

The camera feature is said to be another hit with buyers, with mentions in 19% of the reviews without any critical comments.

"Based on our analysis of the first 40 days of buyer reviews, Strategy Analytics believes that Samsung's brand equity and an impressive new display are the primary reasons that the Galaxy S8 has achieved apex product status in the US smartphone market," said Adam Thorwart, lead analyst at Strategy Analytics, in a statement on 5 July.

"The new display - 14% larger than the previous generation product while keeping the same device width - was very positively received by early adopters."

Samsung's new voice assistant Bixby was mentioned in only 4% of the S8 reviews and it failed to get positive feedback like the camera or display of the handset.

Kevin Nolan, VP, UXIP said: "The impact of Bixby was less than Strategy Analytics anticipated, indicating that smartphone-based AI assistants do not yet move the needle for consumers."

Although early adopters expressed frustration over its lack of functionality, Nolan is hopeful the scenario would change when Bixby becomes fully functional.