The wait is over: Samsung has officially announced the Galaxy Note 8 (or Note8), which will be their first large-format (or phablet) smartphone since the Note 7, which obviously did not remain on the market for long. So what is Samsung doing with such a negative history behind them? Looking forward and not back, of course. That was the message of the event. But Samsung was on stage to do more than apologize for the failure of the late Note, and there were some subtle jabs at the Apple's large phone, with a particularly damning camera comparison with the iPhone 7 Plus making a big splash.
We are familiar with the processing power behind the Note 8 already: the Snapdragon 835 currently powers the U.S. version of both Galaxy S8 handsets. While there won't be added speed compared to rest of the Galaxy line, this was never the point of the Note series. Note phones have been about a larger format, with the overall device and screen size being the key difference compared to Samsung's other smartphones. But the Note 8 is just 0.1 inches larger than the Galaxy S8+. In fact, the design and screen of the new Note is essentially the same as that of the S8+, other than the bump from 6.2 to 6.3 inches from the 2960×1440 AMOLED displays.
Specifications:
- Display: 6.3-inch Quad HD+ Super AMOLED, 2960 x 1440 resolution (521ppi)
- AP (U.S. market): Qualcomm Snapdragon 835
- Memory: 6GB LPDDR4 RAM
- Storage: 64GB/128GB/256GB
- Dual Rear Cameras with Dual OIS
- Wide-angle: 12MP Dual Pixel AF, F1.7, OIS
- Telephoto: 12MP AF, F2.4, OIS, 2X optical zoom, up to 10X digital zoom
- Battery: 3,300mAh
- Dimensions: 162.5 x 74.8 x 8.6 mm, 195 g
- OS: Android 7.1.1
The advantages of the Note 8 over an S8+ are still obvious, even if the handsets themselves seem very close at first glance. First there is the new dual-camera system on the back of the device, which boasts an industry first by incorporating OIS (optical image stabilization) into both of the rear lenses. During the presentation direct comparisons to an iPhone 7 Plus were made with both still and video capture, and if these dual-OIS cameras provide the same results in the real world Apple is in trouble.
Sure, this Samsung dual camera is very similar to the iPhone 7 Plus, right down to the 2x optical zoom in the telephoto lens and including a portrait mode effect (though Samsung's is adjustable similar to what we saw with the Huawei solution on the Mate 9). But having both lenses suspended with optical stabilization allows for more clarity and better low-light performance, at least in theory. It will be facinating to test this new camera system.
The real star of the event: that stage! Full floor projection along with giant rear screens.
The other advantage of the Note 8 over the Galaxy S8+ is the S Pen, and such a pen has been at the heart of the Note experience since the beginning. For dedicated S Pen users this alone will tip the scales in the Note 8's favor (the ability to take up to 100 pages of notes with the screen off sounds very cool), though with this design the speculation that battery capacity was sacrificed to make room for the pen's internal storage seems to be spot on, as the 3300 mAh capacity is lower than even the S8+ at 3500 mAh. Even with that pen, however, the Note 8 still offers an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance, though drops are still going to be the primary worry (for me, anyhow) with a 6.3-inch device that is nearly all curved screen.
The various colors of the Note 8 – which vary by region.
The Note 8 is launching September 15, with pre-orders going up soon at prices ranging from $930 to $960, depending on your mobile operator.
Ability to write notes with
Ability to write notes with screen off is neat, would mean not having to keep refreshing screen while grocery shopping. Pretty neat to give the s-pen more functionality.
Camera setup looks very nice.
comes with min of 64GB storage, nice.
But damn, $930 – $960? So glad I didn’t wait and got my note 5 about a month ago, unlocked, brand new 64Gb for $420
note 5 takes note also when
note 5 takes note also when screen is off nothing new
You can get a very nice
You can get a very nice laptop for the price of this phone, and I have a Samsung ON5(and its price is down to $75 from what I paid last year at $140) with as much of that android crap turned off as I can, because I only want the phone for phone calls! But Damn that $930 – $960 is way overpriced for any phone so F-that. Really the number of suckers born every minute has now shot up to every second and climbing!
if it really does, then I
if it really does, then I honestly did not know it. still yet another reason why not to get latest flagship phone
I have a note 5
I have a note 5
https://youtu.be/p1L8mW3EdqU
https://youtu.be/p1L8mW3EdqU
Another expansive phone that
Another expansive phone that you can never push to limits with performance without it thermal throttling in under min or 2.
what exactly do you need to
what exactly do you need to do that would Push the phone to its limits?
honestly, most people like me are not trying to run benchmarks, crunch large data sets or do any serious video/photo editing.
Any demanding game you get
Any demanding game you get couple min if you lucky smooth 60fos before throttles to 30fps.
different strokes I guess, I
different strokes I guess, I hardly ever use my phone to play any game, even though I have a note 5, the screen size ruins it for games for me.
http://www.fujitsu.com/global
http://www.fujitsu.com/global/about/resources/news/press-releases/2015/0312-01.html
Samsung really needs to license thqt tech from Fujitsu. I want a liquid cooled phone.
yeah still prefer my Nexus 6p
yeah still prefer my Nexus 6p over this once ya go stock its hard to justify the Bloatware oems pack into there phones.
Plus lack of security updates
Plus lack of security updates in the long term. For 1000usd the phone should last 3 to 5 year cycle.
Yep to both of you.
Stock
Yep to both of you.
Stock Android for me, please and thank you.
Incredibly overpriced. You
Incredibly overpriced. You can get the same specs for little more than half that price from other manufacturers.
Made in what country?
Made in what country?
So when will this one start
So when will this one start blowing up?
Only 3300mAh they playing it
Only 3300mAh they playing it safe this time
Lol almost $1000 for a phone
Lol almost $1000 for a phone sounds like Samsung trying to make up some of its lost on gn7 This is so over priced