14 DAY TRIAL // Samsung has just unveiled the Galaxy Note 8, the company’s new phablet that’s supposed to make the world forget about the exploding predecessor that was eventually recalled due to bad batteries.
Just as rumored in the last couple of months, the Galaxy Note 8 is more or less an upgraded Galaxy S8, and while visually the two are very similar, it’s more important to see what’s under the hood to understand where the South Korean spent most of the time when working on the phablet.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 tech specifications
First and foremost, the Note 8 comes with the signature Infinity Display which now measures 6.3 inches, up from 6.2 inches on the Galaxy S8+, 1440x2960 pixel resolution and 18.5:9 aspect ratio.
The display doesn’t feature any breaking changes from the one of the S series, though it’s worth mentioning that it’s optimized for the S Pen, which is the little accessory that makes the Note… a Note.
In terms of CPUs, it’s hard to be impressed, even though the hardware that Samsung used is top notch. The device will be available with the same chipsets as the S8, namely the Snapdragon 835 in the United States and the Samsung Exynos 8895 for the international version.
RAM, however, has been increased to 6 GB, which is the same amount of memory that Samsung offers on the Korean version of the S8+, but not on the standard version of the S8, which only comes with 4 GB. For storage, the base model features 64 GB, but version with 128 GB and 256 GB will be available as well.
The battery has been scaled down to 3,300 mAh, as Samsung clearly doesn’t want to take any risk, so while autonomy might be more or less impacted, there won’t be any risk of a fire.
Dual cameras
The camera represents the biggest upgrade from the Galaxy S8, and it’s all because Samsung finally embraces the dual-lens approach already in use on a number of phones, including Apple’s own iPhone 7 Plus.
Samsung uses two 12-megapixel cameras, one of which employs f/2.4 telephoto lens offering 2x optical zoom. A secondary lens with f/1.7 is offered, but both benefit from optical stabilization. The front camera is the 8-megapixel unit on the Galaxy S8.
Samsung has also developed a Dual Capture mode to take full advantage of the new camera, allowing users to take two different pictures at the same time, one regular and another one zoomed-in that uses the telephoto lens.
The S Pen itself has received a series of welcome upgrades, including a 0.7 mm tip size and 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity, just like Microsoft’s own Surface Pen.
The Galaxy Note 8 runs on Android 7.1.1 and will be fully upgradeable to 8.0 later this year. Samsung, however, developed a series of extra features, including the possibility of running two apps simultaneously side by side, with support even for two instances of the same app.
Unlike the iPhone, the Note 8 still offers a headphone jack, and sound is enhanced with AKG audio like the S8, though it’s surprising to see Samsung still not offering stereo speakers.
The device will go on sale on September 15, with preorders to begin later today. In the US, the Note 8 will be available in Midnight Black and Orchid Gray, while international versions will be offered in Maple Gold and Deep Blue Sea. Pricing will start in the US at $930, while in Europe the base model will cost 999 Euro.
