Why an armored-up Samsung Galaxy S8 Active may be a phone everyone can buy

Update: The S8 Active is reportedly heading to T-Mobile, according to VentureBeat. The phone's limited run of exclusivity on AT&T is said to be coming to an end, which we were early to pick up on due to Samsung's dodgy marketing speak at launch.

We are still unsure as to whether this phone will make it to other wireless carriers, such as Verizon and Sprint. But breaking the multi-year mold of sticking with AT&T is certainly a good first step.

Original article follows below.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Active in on sale today exclusively through AT&T, but you may be able to get it on other carriers for the first time in the Active's history.

Almost hidden in the official announcement are the two important words you may have glossed over: "limited time," as in "for a limited time, the latest Galaxy S8 Active device will be exclusively available from AT&T."

We've never seen this before and it means that Samsung Galaxy S8 Active may actually come to more US carriers like Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile.

In fact, this could be the first Samsung Galaxy Active phone to launch worldwide in several years. For some reason, Samsung refused to launch an Active outside of the US after the S4 Active.

Galaxy S8 Active will be a fun one to test

Samsung Galaxy S8 Active is going to be one of our favorite phones to review in 2017 due to all of the extreme testing we will put it under.

It's a water-, shock- and dust-resistant, and the screen is shatter-resistant. Yet it has all of the same high-end guts as the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus, which are only water and dust-resistant.

We've positively reviewed the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active and Galaxy S6 Active, but did rightfully complain that it's only available on AT&T, depriving so many people of one of the best armored-up Android phones.

The words "limited time" could change everything, and hopefully that is good news for those on Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile as well as UK and Australian carriers.

Where to buy Samsung Galaxy S8 Active

For now, the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active is available through AT&T, with no time frame on its possible expansion.

It costs as much as the Galaxy S8 Plus, even with its 5.8-inch display that mirrors the standard Galaxy S8 size. The armored-up specs add to the price.

However, the S8 Active price is $699 through Samsung right now, instead of the $849 price that AT&T is charging.

And don't be fooled. While AT&T sells it for $28.34 a month, that's over 30 months. Samsung is selling for for $29.17 a month for just 24 months, a savings of $145.86.