Launch expected to take place just ahead of iPhone 8

Jun 15, 2017 07:21 GMT  ·  By

The Galaxy Note 8 is Samsung’s upcoming flagship of flagships, with several sources hinting in the past that the South Koreans internally codenamed the device “Great” as a reference to the improvements it’s going to bring.

But according to serial leaker @evleaks, the Note 8 is actually codenamed “Gr3at,” as part of a word play that might hide a little bit more details than it seems at first glance.

Specifically, while many people would have otherwise called the new Note 8 “Gr8,” the number 3 might in the end be related to the new features coming to the device, though at this point this is just pure speculation. Samsung could be working on something big related to this number, and this is one of the reasons it used this codename for the new Note.

Launching just ahead of the new iPhone

Without a doubt, Samsung has big expectations from the Galaxy Note 8, especially after the fiasco that hit the previous model launched last year and eventually recalled due to battery issues.

As a result, the company will go for an approach first embraced with the Galaxy S8 and S8+ earlier this year, and implement narrow bezels with Infinity Display. The device is likely to feature a 6.3-inch display with 1440x2960 pixels resolution, with no home button.

On the other hand, it’s believed that just like Apple, Samsung is also working to place the fingerprint reader under the screen, though contradictory reports emerge every day in this regard.

While some say that the fingerprint sensor under the screen will indeed see daylight on the Note 8, others indicate that Samsung could decide to hold it back a little longer, at least until the Galaxy S9 sees daylight in spring of 2018 because the technology is not finalized just yet.

Rumors swirling around earlier this year indicated that the Galaxy S8 and S8+ were also supposed to come with such a feature, but because it wasn’t ready in due time, Samsung decided to delay the release until the Note 8.

As far as the processor is concerned, there are signs that the Note 8 could come with the Snapdragon 836 (the US version, at least), an upgrade over the 835 on the existing Galaxy S lineup that would offer a speed increase. In terms of camera, Samsung appears to be going for a dual-camera configuration with a mix of 12-megapixel wide angle lens plus 13-megapixel telephoto.

The debut of the Galaxy Note 8 is projected to take place in just a couple of months, probably just ahead of the iPhone 8, which is likely to see daylight in September. The IFA show kicks off in Berlin on September 1 this year, but Samsung typically prefers to take the wraps off its flagship devices in separate events, so we’re betting the company is targeting late August for the release of the phone.