Samsung has just unveiled the Note 8 at today’s unpacked event (23/08/2017) .
The Note 8 is the successor of the most explosive phone of our century , the Note 7 .
Jokes aside, Samsung with its new 8-Point Battery Safety Check promises that explosive phones are a thing of the past !
Nevertheless the galaxy note 8 is an amazing new flagship smartphone ready to set the records straight and restore Samsung’s reputation once and for all !
Designed for people who have big dreams…
– Justin Denison (Senior Vice President at Samsung)
SPECS
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 comes with a 6.3 inch edge-to-edge HDR QHD+ Super AMOLED infinity display. Wow, what a name! The display also has that newly emerging trend of 18.5:9 aspect ratio . The Note 8 retains the the IP68-certified waterproof design we’ve seen on both the Galaxy Note 7 and Galaxy S8, the fast wireless charging capabilities, SD-card expandable storage, fingerprint and IRIS scanner, USB-C and a 3.5mm headphone jack (Apple, you mad?) . It also comes with a Snapdragon 835/Enxynos 8895 processor, a 3300 mAh battery, 64GB on-board storage , 6GB of RAM and. Lastly it is packed with a brand new redesigned dual-camera system.
DUAL CAMERA SYSTEM
In short the Galaxy Note 8 comes with two Galaxy S8 camera sensors, one is a wide-lens and the other is a 2x telephoto lens . That means that the Note 8 cameras still have the same s8 features like dual-pixel sensor for faster auto-focus and low light situations. The Note 8 takes a step further introducing dual optical image stabilization. Simply what that means is that both Note 8 camera sensors are equipped with OIS. In that case even when using the 2x telephoto sensor video and photos will be less shaky and blurry!
The new dual camera system introduces a new feature called “live focus”. Taking advantage of both wide and telephoto lens the Note 8 determines the distance between the item of focus and the background. Using that information it can selectively blur the background creating that “faux bokeh” effect seen in the iPhone 7 Plus. Samsung also claims that you can revisit the photo afterwards and re-edit the “life focus” effect.
DESIGN
The Galaxy Note 8 has the same stunning design language found in its little brother, the S8. It retains a clean and minimal look and with the front and back glass, the Note 8, seems like a glass and aluminium sandwich (yummy!). Samsung has, once again, killed the physical home button . Instead the button is emended under the display and the fingerprint sensor is moved to the back of the device next to the camera system, just like the S8. The device will be available in four colors including Maple Gold, Orchid Gray, Midnight Black alongside with a brand new color that Samsung is introducing called Deep Sea Blue.
S-PEN
The S-Pen is the fundamental feature of the Note 8 that made it stand out the other smartphones back in 2011. This year’s S-pen better than ever. It has a finer more sensitive tip that allows the pointer to be more precise. Software wise the “screen off memo” is able to save up to 100 pages and edit them without unlocking the screen. Also Using the S-Pen the user is able to translate entire sentences , convert currencies and units in real time . The S Note app now supports a new feature called “Live message”. Live message basically allows the user to create a picture that has animated handwriting or doodles on top of it playing back in real time.
BIXBY
Bixby is Samsung’s new virtual AI assistant. It was announced back in March (2017) alongside with the Galaxy S8. Bixby uses voice, text, touch or even the phone’s camera to get information and interact with the user . Bixby now has a new capability called “quick commands”. Quick commands can program Bixby to perform complex tasks in response to a custom phrase. In Samsung’s example, the user can program Bixby to launch the camera app, set it to certain settings, take a picture and then sort it to a specific folder! Amazing right?
Samsung also claimed that Spotify support is coming to Bixby later this year.
AVAILABILITY
The Note 8 will be available in September 15 (2017) and pre-orders will start from August 24. Samsung didn’t give any further details as of what markets the Note 8 will hit first nor the pricing of the new flagship device.
CONCLUSION
All in all, the Galaxy Note 8 is packed with amazingly new features that enhance the user experience. The edge-to-edge infinity display gives the phone a futuristic look and feel. The new dual-camera setup brings professional photography and smartphones a step closer to almost a complete merge. The S-Pen and Bixby emerge more natural means of user interaction and “live Message” provides better ways of expression. Lastly lets hope this Note smartphone wont have the same luck as its predecessor , the Note 7.
Introduction Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKYjdTiMkXM
You can watch the full Unpacked event Here
You can find more about the Note 8 at Samsung’s website Here