Just Like Facebook, The Galaxy S8 Rips Off Snapchat

The Samsung Galaxy S8 was unveiled yesterday in New York, and quite frankly, there weren't any surprises because the leaks were almost 100% accurate (props to Evan Blass and Chinese leakers).

I don't have access to the phone right now -- I'll buy my own to review later -- but from what I've seen, read and heard so far, the phone is every bit as sleek and futuristic-looking as everyone predicted. And yes, Samsung has finally even given us the option to swap the order of the back button back to the left side, where it belongs.

But one fun, but superficial, feature that no leak mentioned that was unveiled yesterday was that the S8's camera has built-in Snapchat filters. Now they aren't officially by Snapchat, but I'm going to call them "Snapchat filters" anyway because Snapchat did them first, and many social media services and apps, from Facebook to the South Korean app Snow, has copied the idea since.

I've gone on record stating my disdain for selfies, so I myself do not use Snapchat or the filters, but I also concede I'm a grumpy old dude who's not in touch with the latest trends. I know the filters are highly popular and fun with millennials, especially with females, and that Snapchat has become so successful everyone from Facebook to Instagram to WhatsApp has had to pivot their strategies and play catch-up.

Also on Forbes: Facebook Debuts Stories On Its Main App, Taking Aim Again At Snapchat

The Galaxy S8's implementation works almost exactly the same as Snapchat's version (and just like Facebook's version, which just launched last week). Here's a video by YouTuber BTekt showing off the filters.

And here's an official Samsung press video showing the filter in action.

The Galaxy S8 will go on sale in South Korea and U.S. on April 21, pre-orders have begun in the states. The phone will reach Hong Kong almost a month later, in mid-May. No word yet on release in China and other regions.