Samsung Galaxy Note 8 announced today globally, the successor to disastrous Galaxy Note7. Even with the last year’s disasters with the Note7, the Note lineup is the coolest one Samsung has ever made. What Samsung has highlighted in the new Note8 are its 6.3-inch Infinity display, an improved stylus a.k.a an S-Pen, a bold camera, actually two rear cameras, water and dust resistant, and with Bixby Assistant. There’s more to it.
DJ Koh, president of Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics, said,
“We appreciate the relentless passion of the Note community. They’ve been a constant inspiration to us and we designed the new Note for them. From the Infinity Display to the enhanced S Pen and a powerful Dual Camera, the Galaxy Note8 lets people do things they never thought were possible.”
What’s New in the Samsung Galaxy Note 8?
It seems the Note8 is fully recovered and with these all-new features, it is expected to be the best-selling Note as far as the pricing is concerned and people are willing to grab it. Since Samsung has not yet disclosed the pricing, we can see how well it is packed with new features. Here’s what’s new in the Samsung Galaxy Note8.
Large 6.3-inch bezel-less Quad HD+ screen
The biggest change in the Galaxy Note series is the display, The Galaxy Note8 has made its way to the new bezel-less design. It has now a large 6.3-inch Super AMOLED Infinity display with a resolution of Quad HD+ (2,960 x 1440 pixels, 521 ppi pixel density). The Note8 comes with narrow bezels, curves everywhere, glass body, and slim form factor that helps to get more comfort in the hands just like the Galaxy S8 Plus.
Dual 12 MP Cameras with dual OIS support
Samsung sets the standard with two rear cameras (12 MP + 12 MP) each supporting optical image stabilization (OIS). One camera with f/1.7 aperture is capable of taking wide angle shots while the second camera is Telephoto with 2X optical zoom and 10X digital zoom. That’s not it, the Galaxy Note8’s Live Focus feature avails the ability of the depth of field mode by allowing the user to adjust the bokeh effects in preview mode after snapping the image.
The wide-angle lens has a Dual Pixel sensor with fast autofocus, and a single LED flash. On the front side, the selfies and video chats are aided by an 8 MP f/1.7 autofocus with wide angle support, and Quad HD 1440p video recording.
The all-new S-Pen
The S Pen has been one of the prominent features of the Note series, the new S-Pen has a whole new way to communicate, packed with features, and IP68 certified. The enhanced S Pen unlocks entirely new ways to write, draw, and interact with the phone and communicate with friends.
The tip is even finer and the pressure sensitivity is improved and features that enable the users to express themselves in different ways using Live Message, animated texts, and animated drawings. Pin notes to the Always On Display and make edits directly from the Always On Display. The improved S-Pen has translation features that translate foreign languages and currencies quickly when hovering over the texts.
IP68 Certified, Iris Scanning, Face Recognition, Gigabit LTE, and more
The fact that the physical Home key is removed as expected since the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S8, more and more features are added to the new Samsung Galaxy Note8. These features are carried out from the Galaxy S8 itself, the QHD+ display, IP68 ratings, Iris scanning, Facial Recognition, Cat16. Gigabit LTE, USB 3.1, Bluetooth 5.0 are some of the features that you are going to see in the Note8. The USB 3.1 with type-C port gives of the fastest transfer speeds on mobile, and the addition of the Bluetooth 5.0 will change the game giving transfer speeds up to 2 Mbps.
It is worth mentioning that the specs are among the powerful range of hardware, Samsung has put the top-of-the-line 10nm CPU i.e. either Exynos 8895 SoC or Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC depending on the market. Assuming that the US version will be equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chip, while some regions will be equipping the in-house 10 nm Samsung Exynos 8895 SoC. Both the chips have 8 cores and the performance remains similar to the Samsung Galaxy S8.
The RAM is bumped to 6 GB LPDDR4X (~1794 MHz) and there are three storage variants, starting from the 64 GB base variant, 128 GB, and 256 GB all UFS 2.1. And for the GPU, it has a 20-core Mali-G71 MP20 for gaming and graphics related tasks. On the software side, rather than having the new Android Oreo, it comes with Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box.
What about the battery safety?
The Galaxy Note 7 was mainly criticized for its battery issues. The Note8 compromises on the battery capacity, having 3,300 mAh battery with support for wireless charging with WPC and PMA. Samsung continues to uphold its commitment to lead the industry in the battery safety. The new Galaxy Note 8 has undergone the Samsung’s 8-Point Battery Safety Check.
Sajeev Jesudas, President, UL International, said,
“We have been closely working with Samsung to make meaningful advancements in the science of smartphone quality and safety evaluation. As a result, the Galaxy Note8 has successfully completed a rigorous series of device and battery safety compatibility test protocols. We look forward to maintaining our strategic relationship with Samsung and helping ensure device safety for all consumers.”
Samsung Galaxy Note8 Specifications:
- Display: 6.3-inch Quad HD+ Super AMOLED Infinity Display (2960 x 1440 pixels resolution | 521 ppi), Always On Display, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on top
- Fingerprint Scanner: Yes, at the back (next to the rear camera)
- Iris Scanner: Yes
- Protection: IP68 Ratings (dust and water resistant), Scratch resistant Corning Gorilla Glass 5, IP68 for S-Pen
- Software: Android 7.1.1 Nougat, TouchWiz UI, Bixby Assistant
- CPU: Up to 2.35 GHz octa-core processor (4 x Samsung M2 cores & 4 x Cortex-A53 cores), 10 nm Samsung Exynos 8895 SoC OR up to 2.45 GHz octa-core Kyro 280 processor, 10nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC – Market dependent
- GPU: Mali-G71 MP20 (546 MHz) OR Adreno 540
- Memory: 6 GB LPDDR4X RAM
- Storage: 64 GB or 128 GB or 256 GB UFS 2.1 internal storage, MicroSD up to 256 GB
- Main Camera: Dual Cameras with Dual OIS, 12 MP f/1.7 Dual Pixel for wide angle, 12 MP f/2.4 for Telephoto, 2X optical zoom, 10X digital zoom, dual-tone LED flash, 4K 2160p video @30fps, 1080p video @60fps, Slow Motion 720p video @240fps
- Front Camera: 8 MP f/1.7, wide angle, Iris Scanning, Facial Recognition, QHD 1440p video @30fps
- Connectivity: USB 3.1 (type-c), Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5 GHz), VHT80 MU-MIMO, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, MST, GPS
- Sensors: Accelerometer, Barometer, Fingerprint Sensor, Gyro Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, Hall Sensor, Heart Rate Sensor, Proximity Sensor, RGB Light Sensor, Iris Sensor, Pressure Sensor
- Cellular: 4G LTE network, dual nano SIM (GSM Bands), SIM2 as MicroSD, VoLTE-enabled, Cat.16 5CA 1 Gbps (download) and Cat.13 2CA 150 MBps (upload) LTE modem
- Battery: 3,300 mAh Li-Ion (non-removable), Wireless Charging (WPC & PMA), Fast Charging QuickCharge 2.0
- Charging: Fast Charging on wired and wireless, Wireless Charging compatible with WPC and PMA
- Dimensions: 162.5 mm x 74.8 mm x 8.6 mm (Galaxy Note 8), 5.8 mm x 4.2 mm x 108.3 mm (S-Pen)
- Weight: 195 grams (Galaxy Note 8), 2.8 grams (S-Pen)
- Colors: Midnight Black, Orchid Gray, Maple Gold, Deepsea Blue.
Samsung Galaxy Note8 Price and Availability
- Price: $929.99 (₹67,900)
- Pre-orders: Preorders begin tomorrow on all the major US carriers, and an unlocked model will be available at launch for the first time.
- Availability: The Galaxy Note8 will be available starting in mid-September. Expect to fall in stores on 15th September 2017.
