Samsung is trying its best to make us forget the demise of its Galaxy Note 7 last year with its latest phablet offering in the market. The Galaxy Note 7 was recalled after numerous fire incidents caused by its battery. Replacement units were also recalled as the Note flagship of 2016 was discontinued permanently at second attempt. Painful lessons were learnt but we can now forget about yesteryear’s events as Samsung has finally launched the Galaxy Note 8 as it takes the world by storm.
Most of you have probably screened through a ton of leaks prior to Samsung’s launch event of the Galaxy Note 8 at New York City today. The wow factor has definitely died down a little since most of the leaks and rumors were accurate. Nevertheless, the Galaxy Note 8 has retained the general more rectangular design which the Note line is known for compared to the Galaxy S series. Hence, the Galaxy Note 8 is definitely more square-ish in design when compared to the Galaxy S8 and S8+.
It has a larger screen size as well at 6.3-inches, only larger by 0.1-inches when you pit it up against the Galaxy S8+. The display is still curved on its sides, but lesser than that on the Galaxy S8 series, and it is an Infinity Display, a huge upgrade from the Note 5 (even the Note 7). Like Samsung’s earlier flagships of 2017, the Galaxy Note 8’s display is of QHD resolution at a tall 18.5:9 aspect ratio.
Underneath the hood is where you’ll find the Note 8’s contents to be less surprising – a Snapdragon 835 processor. The 6GB of RAM is a welcome upgrade from the previous Samsung flagships, allowing more room for multi tasking and background processes, something which will be more common from next year on instead of 4GB of RAM. Storage comes in three options as well – 64GB, 128GB and 256GB which can be further expanded via micro SD.
One of the main differences you’ll discover is when you take a look at the rear panel of the Galaxy Note 8. The Galaxy Note 8 is Samsung’s first flagship to be equipped with a dual camera setup. Given the impressive performance of the Galaxy S8’s single 12MP rear shooter, we expect the Note 8’s dual 12MP + 12MP setup to bring smartphone photography to the next level. A plus point is that both these sensors have OIS, which translates to very steady image capture even when zoomed in, also a better performance under low light conditions. Like most dual camera setup, the one on the Galaxy Note 8 will allow you to capture shots with bokeh effects and blurred background. Users are able to tweak around with the depth of field as well. The front facing selfie camera should function with excellence too, at 8 megapixels with an f/1.7 aperture.
Samsung has definitely not forgotten about what makes the Galaxy Note a Note device – the S Pen. The slightly more enhanced S Pen can now take up to 100 pages of notes when you’re in Screen Off Memo. Users can also draw somewhat animated images or handwriting to be sent as messages to their friends with the power of the S Pen. Samsung’s Bixby is also present with the ever controversial dedicated button on the Note 8 as well. The phone will also support DeX, which brings the phone into a desktop experience with Samsung’s dock.
The battery of the Note 8 is of 3,300mAh, which can hopefully keep that huge QHD display going throughout the day. Like the Galaxy S8 series, the Galaxy Note 8 will be charged via the USB Type-C port, and will support wireless charging as well. The Note 8 is also water and dust resistant with an IP68 rating. It will run on Android 7.1.1 out of the box.
The pricing of the Galaxy Note 8 hasn’t been announced just yet, but for us Malaysians, you can pre-order the device from Samsung Malaysia from 5-10 September. The phone will go on sale beginning mid September and will be offered in Midnight Black, Orchid Gray, Maple Gold and Deepsea Blue colors.