Love what the Galaxy Note 8 has to offer? Or there’s still something missing from your Galaxy Note 8 feature wishlist? No problem, there’s just so many other smartphones to choose from if you are looking at specific features such as a great camera, speedy performance and more, which is why we have handpicked a list of smartphones that could be great alternatives to Samsung’s latest Note smartphone.
Huawei P10 Plus
Remember, the Galaxy Note 8 isn’t the only smartphone with a dual camera setup, the Huawei P10 Plus is an extremely capable smartphone with a Leica dual camera system. In our review, we find the P10 Plus’ camera to produce great dynamic range in photos and there’s a great Pro mode should you want to maximize its potential.
Although the dual camera system isn’t a telephoto and wide angle lens setup like the Note 8, the P10 Plus still features a 2x digital lossless zoom, which uses the 20-megapixel monochrome sensor to enhance the details of the photo when zoomed in. Otherwise, the P10 Plus’ hardware internals will also stack up extremely well with the Galaxy Note 8, the Kirin 960 processor is no slouch, it has 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage, while you also get a bigger battery at 3750mAh and it supports Huawei’s SuperCharge technology. The Huawei P10 Plus is officially priced at RM3,099, however you can now already purchase it at a much lower price tag from RM2,500 over at 11street or Lazada.
Reasons to Consider the Huawei P10 Plus over the Note 8: Larger battery size, 128GB internal storage, better Pro camera mode.
Samsung Galaxy S8+
Samsung’s Galaxy S8+ may have been overshadowed by the release of the Galaxy Note 8, but it is still one device that you may still want to consider, the S8+ still has a great camera that you won’t find an issue with, its display is a mere 0.1-inch smaller than the Note 8, however you get a slightly larger 3500mAh battery, which should deliver slightly more standby time than the Note 8. Apart from the S-Pen, dual camera system and 6GB of RAM, the S8+ still has most of the Note 8’s features covered, including wireless charging, IP68 water and dust resistance and the same Exynos 8895 processor. The Galaxy S8+ officially retails at RM3,699, however you can already purchase it at a lower price tag from RM2700 over at 11street or Lazada.
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S8+ over the Note 8: Larger battery capacity and much cheaper price tag for features you are getting.
HTC U11
An extremely underrated device, the HTC U11 may not look as attractive as the Galaxy Note 8 in design, however this is a powerful smartphone that is priced much lower if you don’t require the Note 8’s S-Pen, the U11 is powered by a Snapdragon 835 processor and comes with 6GB RAM and 128GB of internal storage, its 12-megapixel camera is certainly no slouch as it has received the highest rating by DxOMark, while having features such as 3D sound that helps improve audio in videography. The HTC U11 also emphasizes heavily on sound, featuring a BoomSound HiFi edition dual speaker setup and comes with the HTC U Sonic earphones, which the latter sounds a lot better than the Galaxy Note 8’s AKG-tuned earphones.
In addition, the HTC U11 features an Edge Sense feature that allows you to squeeze the phone to perform certain actions such as taking a photo, launching an app and shortcut. The HTC U11 is also IP67 water and dust resistant, though slightly inferior than the Galaxy Note 8’s IP68 rating, the phone will still be well protected from accidental water submersion and sand. The HTC U11 is officially priced at RM3,099, however you can already purchase it at a lower price tag from RM2,700 over at 11street or Lazada.
Reasons to Consider the HTC U11 over the Note 8: Great audio performance, Edge Sense an interesting feature, lower price tag for the same specs sheet as the Galaxy Note 8
OnePlus 5
If you want a no nonsense and snappy smartphone, the OnePlus 5 is one smartphone that we will definitely recommend. The OnePlus 5 has all the fastest hardware internals that you will ever need for a speedy smartphone experience, including a Snapdragon 835 processor, up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. Although it sports a mere 3300mAh battery similar to the Galaxy Note 8, standby times will definitely be much better due to the smaller display size and the use of a Full HD AMOLED display, OnePlus’ Dash Charging feature also gets the phone charged a lot faster than Samsung’s aging 9V/2A adaptive fast charging. Furthermore, the OnePlus 5’s stock software experience means that you aren’t going to encounter any performance issues in the long run, and due to that you should also expect new Android updates to arrive much earlier than the Galaxy Note 8. The OnePlus 5’s official retail price starts from RM2,388, and can now be had at a much lower price from 11street or Lazada.
Reasons to Consider OnePlus 5 over the Note 8: Faster performance, clean stock Android software experience, faster battery charging technology.
Xiaomi Mi 6
Nothing beats Xiaomi when it comes to value and performance, the Mi 6 has the most powerful flagship internals, Snapdragon 835 processor, 6GB RAM and 64GB internal storage, but all of these stuffs merely require an asking price of RM1,899. The Mi 6 also sports a dual 12-megapixel camera setup similar to the Note 8, though its telephoto camera sensor has a smaller f/2.6 aperture as compared to the Note 8’s f/2.4. The Mi 6 runs Xiaomi’s MIUI 8 software based on Android 7.0 Nougat, though some might not prefer its iOS inspired design, it is one of the most efficient software that we have ever tested, the user can also feedback certain features to be included in the next software update, which makes it more versatile than the Note 8’s software.
Reasons to Consider Xiaomi Mi 6 over the Note 8: Extremely affordable price tag for the same performance, comparable dual camera system, better battery life.
Infinix Note 4 Pro
This is no flagship smartphone, but it has one identical feature to the Note 8 – a stylus. Yes, you read that right, the Infinix Note 4 Pro will soon be launched in Malaysia and it comes with a stylus called the X-Pen, which will perform very similar features to the Note 8 such as screen writing, smart select, quick notes and more. The Infinix Note 4 Pro also comes with a respectable 4500mAh battery and supports XCharge 4.0 5A fast charging tech, it is powered by a MediaTek MT6753 processor with 3GB of RAM and 32GB internal storage, while it also has a 5.7-inch Full HD display and a dual 13MP+8MP camera system.
Reasons to consider Infinix Note 4 Pro over the Note 8: Larger battery capacity and faster charging system, X-Pen has essential features to the Note 8, price to be obviously much lower.
There you go, here are six smartphones that we think are pretty good alternatives to the Galaxy Note 8. The Galaxy Note 8 is still no doubt an extremely good smartphone with powerful note taking features, however it definitely really doesn’t have a wow factor as compared to previous Note devices, and to be honest, it really feels like an apologetic product release to the ill-fated Note 7.
