For Samsung, the past year has been quite tumultuous
— there was the whole drama surrounding the fiery Galaxy Note 7, as well as
being in the center of a scandal leading to the impeachment of the South Korean
president. But despite all of this, the company managed to release one of the
most important smartphones in its history, the Galaxy S8, and also have it be a
huge market success.
But this is old news by now, so it may be time for
us to look in the future instead. For you see, Samsung has introduced a brand-new
combatant to the smartphone battlefield — one that is fresh and exciting, and
yet instantly familiar to all Samsung fans out there.
If you've been paying any attention to the
tech-obsessed parts of the internet in the past few months, there's little
doubt you've already heard and seen tons about the new Samsung Galaxy Note 8.
Just like the Galaxy S8 before it, the Korean giant's latest flagship phablet
had a knack for being exposed via unofficial means.
In short, this phone proves that the Galaxy S8
wasn't just a one-off, as the two devices share a fair amount of similarities,
both inside and out (though we'll get to the former in a bit). Visually, the
Note 8 is a mix between Samsung's mainline flagship and last year's Note 7, but
with a couple of new elements sprinkled on for good measure.
So the front of the device features its own take on
the Infinity Display idea found in the S8, but with the sharper corners and
more imposing profile that have defined the Note line so far. And that means
that the Note 7's physical buttons are now gone, its bezels have been shrunk
down, and the sides of the screen are now curved. And while the Note 8 is just
barely bigger than the already large S8+, its overall look gives off the
impression of a considerably taller frame.
The back is a slightly different story, however:
while it does inherit the S8's awkward fingerprint scanner position, it does so
a tad more gracefully by placing it further from the camera lens. And that same
camera is the big story here, as the Note 8 marks the first-ever occasion where
a Samsung smartphone has featured 2017's hottest trend — the dual camera.
On the left side of the phone, just below the volume
rocker, you'll once again find a dedicated Bixby button — and you can bet it's
still not remappable. And on the bottom of the Note 8 you'll find a noticeably
off-center USB-C connector, a loudspeaker, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, and — of
course — the S Pen tray.
Four color variants have been announced: Midnight
Black, Orchid Grey, Maple Gold, and a brand-new Deepsea Blue. As was the case
with the S8, they are only visible on the device's sides and back, while the
front is entirely black. However, the dual-camera and fingerprint sensor array is
now also entirely black, which can look a bit jarring on the more colorful
models.
Fans of the Galaxy S8's curved Infinity Display will
be glad to know it's now making its sophomore appearance in the Note 8, but in
a form with sharper corners that is more appropriate for a device in the Note
series. Specs-wise, the panel is 6.3 inches in size with a 18.5:9 aspect ratio,
using Samsung's Super AMOLED technology and sporting the same 1440 x 2960
resolution as the S8.
And just as was the case with the Galaxy S8, the
bottom center of the display is pressure-sensitive and provides tactile
feedback. In practical terms, this means that by pushing hard on the display,
you can press the home button even when it's hidden by an app, which can be a
very handy feature.
Thanks to the addition of the first-ever dual camera
in a Galaxy smartphone, the Note 8 now has an impressive four camera sensors
stuffed inside it — two for the rear camera, one for the front, and one used
for iris recognition, just like the one found in the Galaxy S8.
Samsung's take on the dual camera is one we've seen
before — there's two 12 MP sensors, one of which is equipped with a regular,
f/1.7 lens, and another with a telephoto, f/2.4 lens allowing for 2x optical
zoom. The new thing here is that both sensors are equipped with optical
stabilization, which is a first for smartphone dual cameras, though only the
regular sensor is equipped with Samsung's ultra-fast Dual Pixel focusing.
Samsung's own variant of the portrait mode is called
Live Focus, with its unique feature being the ability to choose how much blur
to apply, both while you're taking the shot, and after it has already been
taken. But besides that, you can also use the camera in Dual Capture mode,
which takes both a regular and a zoomed-in photo at the same time. As for the
front camera, it's pretty much the same 8 MP shooter with autofocus
capabilities as the one in the Galaxy S8, which should serve you just fine in most
situations.
On the inside you'll find the same chipsets as in
the Galaxy S8 — Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 or Samsung's own Exynos 8895 outside
the U.S. — but the RAM has now been bumped up to 6 GB. Internal storage starts
at the same capacity as the Galaxy S8 — 64 GB, though there will also be 128 GB
and 256 GB variants as well.
Given the Note 7's spontaneous combustion problems,
it's no surprise that the battery capacity has been reduced this time around.
It is now 3,300 mAh — lower than what the smaller Galaxy S8+ had to offer — a
decision we understand, but aren't particularly thrilled about.
Perhaps the strongest point of the Note 8, as well
as the rest of the Note line, is the built-in digital stylus, called the S Pen.
And as it turns out, the one found inside the Note 8 is literally the exact
same one as in the Note 7, down to the 0.7 mm tip size and the 4096 levels of
pressure sensitivity.
Software-wise, the device offers a number of ways
you can make use of the S Pen: making a return are features like Screen-off
Memo, which allows you to draw over the always-on display while your device is
locked; the hover menu which allows you to magnify parts of the screen or
translate text.
A new addition is Live Message, which allows you to
take a quick note, which is then sent as an animated GIF showing all your pen
strokes.The feature also supports different stroke colors and backgrounds, and
can be accessed both via the Edge panel and through the Samsung Keyboard.
As for the rest of the software, the Note 8 comes
with Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box, with the Samsung Experience UX laid
on top — the just-released Android 8.0 Oreo is unsurprisingly nowhere to be
found. So this means that, apart from the S Pen-related additions, the feature
set will be pretty similar to the one found on the Galaxy S8.
Given the curved nature of the Note 8's display,
it's only natural for Samsung to bring the Edge Panel back — though there is a
small but useful new addition to its feature set. It's called App Pairs, and is
essentially the ability to launch two apps in split-screen mode with a single
tap, which should be pretty handy for people who frequently use multitasking.
And lastly, Samsung's virtual assistant Bixby is
also making an appearance (in case the dedicated button didn't already clue you
in). And seeing how its voice capabilities have just launched worldwide, using
it may become a considerably better experience for people outside of the United
States and Korea (though it's still available in two languages only).
You can pre-order the both the carrier-specific and
the unlocked versions of the Note 8 starting August 23, the same day as its
announcement. However, its actual release date is set for September 15, which
is more than three weeks later, so prepare to wait for a while.
So far, Samsung has only confirmed the following
color variants: Midnight Black and Orchid Grey for the U.S., and Midnight
Black, Maple Gold and Deepsea Blue for the rest of the world. However, we
imagine each region's respective color options will grow in time, so we'll make
sure to keep you posted.
When it comes to the price, things aren't very
pretty: the Note 8 will be sold for a minimum of US$ 930 in the United States, and
presumably even more outside of it (as is often the case). So if you're
interested in the device, you better start preparing your wallet right now.