China-exclusive Galaxy S Light Luxury is the S8 Lite in all but name

The ‘Galaxy S8 Lite’ that recently popped up on Chinese social media has been made official with a new name and a very familiar look. Today, Samsung launched the Galaxy S Light Luxury exclusively in China priced at 3,999 yuan (~$626) in Burgundy Red and Midnight Black colorways.

While Samsung has dropped the Galaxy S8 moniker for the S Light Luxury, there’s no doubting that what we’re looking at here is essentially a cheaper version of the South Korean company’s 2017 flagship.

The S Light features a 5.8-inch Infinity Display with an 18.5:9 aspect ratio and a 2,220 x 1,080 resolution — down from 2,960 x 1,440 on the S8.

It’s also less powerful than its premium sibling, packing a Snapdragon 660 SoC backed by 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, and a 3,000mAh battery.

Samsung has also cut costs by ditching the heart rate sensor but does retain some features such as Samsung Pay, Bixby (and a Bixby button), wireless charging, an IP68 rating, and 4G LTE support (via SamMobile).

The S Light Luxury runs Android 8.0 Oreo out-of-the-box and sports a 16MP camera with a f/1.7 aperture lens on the rear and an 8MP selfie snapper. It also has a fingerprint sensor, facial recognition, and an iris scanner for unlocking the device.

Consumers in China can pick up the S Light Luxury on June 1, with pre-orders open from today. As an added bonus, early buyers get a minor discount during the pre-order period, dropping the price down to 3,699 yuan (~$578).

It seems highly unlikely that Samsung’s streamlined S8 will ever see the light of day outside of China, especially with the A-series essentially fulfilling the same role in most regions, but notably not the U.S. (officially).

Let us know your thoughts on the S Light Luxury in the comments.