Turns out the leak was right: The Galaxy S8 Active will be free from the shackles of AT&T and make its way to T-Mobile — and Sprint to boot.
Of course, it's still the same smartphone no matter which carrier you go with, but the important part here is that you no longer have to stick with AT&T for Samsung's rugged version of its flagship.
Un-Carrier To Carry Galaxy S8 Active
The Galaxy S8 Active will be available from T-Mobile online on Nov. 17 and at physical stores on Nov. 22, but from the look of things, it'll come only in Meteor Gray — there's a Titanium Gold variant that AT&T offers.
To stand out from the pack, the carrier's version of the handset will be fully equipped to support LTE Band 71, and that means it can take advantage of the company's spectrum for its LTE network.
According to a report back in August by OpenSignal, T-Mobile is the top dog in the wireless carrier industry, which is arguably one of the biggest reasons why consumers should be glad that Samsung's "active" lineup is starting to expand beyond AT&T.
You can get your hands on the Galaxy S8 Active from T-Mobile for $100 down and $30 a month over 24 months on T-Mobile's Equipment Installment Plan or $100 down and $29 a month on a JUMP! On Demand 18-month lease.
Galaxy S8 Active Sprints To Sprint
Sprint has yet to announce more information about its Galaxy S8 Active, from the pricing details to its release date.
What's already known, though, is that it'll also be available in the Meteor Gray color option and that it'll start rolling out sometime this November.
The Usual: Galaxy S8 vs Galaxy S8 Active
As always, it's worth outlining the difference between the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Active — that is, disregarding the aforementioned LTE band on the T-Mobile variant.
Right off the bat, you won't see an edge-to-edge Infinity Display on the Galaxy S8 Active, but in exchange, you'll get a sturdy smartphone with a whopping 4,000 mAh battery as opposed to the standard's 3,000 mAh pack.
That's pretty much it. Across the board, they both sport the same Exynos 8895 or Snapdragon 835 for the U.S. and Chinese versions, 4 GB of RAM, and the same 12-megapixel rear camera and 8-megapixel front snapper.
Needless to say, it comes with Samsung's usual flagship features as well, from the fingerprint sensor and iris scanner to wireless charging support. That includes the Bixby button, which you can now completely disable, though.
