Everything we know about the Galaxy Note 8 phone is here, and Samsung is leaving very little to the imagination.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is official, and we’ve got everything you need to know about Samsung’s brand new phablet right here.
Samsung took to the stage in New York on 23 August to take the covers off the Galaxy Note 8 – revealing a big screen smartphone complete with dual cameras and an updated S Pen.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 launch could be seen as one of the biggest comebacks in phone history following last year’s disastrous Galaxy Note 7 battery failures, and after the successful arrival of the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus earlier in the year, the signs are the Note 8 is set to build on that.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 pre-orders are now open in the UK, US and Australia after a staggered launch.
You’ve only got a few weeks to wait to get hold of the handset too, as the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 release date is set for September 15 in the US and UK, while Australians will get their devices on September 22.
Pre-order for other regions are still unknown, but we’ll update this article once we know.
In terms of price, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 was never going to be cheap, and while its cost is high, we can’t say we’re surprised.
At £869, US$930, AU$1,499 SIM free it’s £90/US$100/AU$300 more than the Galaxy S8 Plus (and in the US the S8 Plus is currently down to $674.99) , and sits in between the 128GB and 256GB iPhone 7 Plus. Expensive yes, but it’s not totally outrageous in the market.
You do get gifts if you order it before the end of September, which are either a 256GB microSD card, a 128GB card and fast wireless charger or a DeX stand to turn your phone into a fully-fledged computing rival.
These vary by region, but if you’re thinking of picking up the Note 8 we recommend doing it soon to nab a bundled bargain.
Intriguingly, despite there being a rebooted Gear VR, this isn’t on offer for the Note 8 – usually Samsung uses the launch of the new Galaxy to push love for the virtual reality, but not this time.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 continues the phablet tradition of boasting the biggest screen in the South Korean’s handset line-up, but only just.
It comes equipped with a 6.3-inch Super AMOLED Infinity Display, which is only a touch bigger than the 6.2-inch offering on the S8 Plus.
Samsung has kept bezels to a minimum once again, giving you an almost all-screen front to the phone which is certainly impressive.
The resolution is the same as the S8 duo, with the Galaxy Note 8 coming with a QHD+ (2960 x 1440) resolution which produces a pixel density of 521ppi and a widescreen 18.5: 9 aspect ratio.
While that’s still eye-poppingly brilliant, it means it does pack fewer pixels per inch than the S8 Plus (529ppi) and S8 (570ppi) .
It’s also brighter and more colorful than anything we’ve seen from Samsung before, making it a real popular choice for the movie fan looking for more on their mobile.
Being HDR compatible means you’ll be able to access the high-quality Netflix and Amazon Prime video on the go too.
Samsung’s Always On Display technology also makes an appearance on the Galaxy Note 8 with the added bonus of being able to take handwritten notes with the S Pen when in this mode – and that’s been improved to include multiple pages of information without turning the phone on.
For anyone hoping for a fingerprint scanner under the screen of the Galaxy Note 8, well, you’re out of luck. Samsung has stuck with the rear mounted position it used for the S8 – but more on that later.
Along with a large display, the S Pen has been the other key feature of the Note range, and that’s no different here as the Galaxy Note 8 come with an upgraded stylus.
The S Pen still slides neatly into the body of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, with a pleasing press-and-pop ejection system releasing it from the confines of the metal and glass body.
Samsung has improved the pressure sensitivity (offering 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity to be exact) of the S Pen, and given it a new, finer tip, providing you with a more responsive and accurate stylus.
We’ve also found that it has less latency than Microsoft’s Surface Pro stylus during our brief time using the handset.
One of the new features Samsung has added to the S Pen is the ability to draw images and then send them as animated GIFs, while handwriting has also been improved.
The S Pen’s translate function has also been given a bump, allowing you to hover over a word, price or entire sentence for a quick translation or currency conversion.
It’s not all good news though, as the S Pen’s inclusion means there’s less space inside for everything else. That’s resulted in a smaller 3,300mAh battery in the Note 8, versus the 3,500mAh power pack in the Galaxy S8 Plus. Hmm.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 design takes its cues from the glass-and-metal sandwich that is the Galaxy S8 Plus. They’re almost identical, with just a few small differences between the two.
Firstly the Galaxy Note 8 is a touch bigger than the S8 Plus thanks to the slightly larger display and requirement to house the S Pen.
This means it measures 162.5 x 74.8 x 8.6 mm, and weighs 195g making it the tallest and heaviest Note handset of all time (and the thickest since the Galaxy Note 2) .
The fingerprint scanner is still annoyingly located right next to the camera on the back of the Note 8, but Samsung has done some work on making it more noticeably recessed, which makes finding it easier.
It lines up alongside one of the other major differences in design, and that’s the inclusion of a second camera sensor on the back, creating an elongated black strip on the rear house the cameras, digit reader, heart rate sensor and flash and block.
Unlike some of the leaked images we saw before its launch, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 has no camera bump to really speak of (the whole strip is just ever so slightly raised from the rear of the phone) but it’s hardly noticeable.
If the fingerprint sensor is too fiddly, the Note 8 also offers an iris scanner, allowing you to unlock the handset simply by glaring at it.
Finally, like the pair of S8 handsets, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is IP68 accredited, making it dust and water resistant and allowing it to be submerged in water for up to 30 minutes without any negative side affects.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will be available in four colors, but which hues will actually be available to you will depend on where you live.
Samsung has officially unveiled black, gold, blue and grey for the Note 8, or to give them their full names: Midnight Black, Maple Gold, Deep Sea Blue and Orchard Grey.
We already know that the US won’t get the blue Note 8 at launch, while the UK and Australia will miss out on both the grey and blue finishes for now.
Samsung tends to release more colors later down the line, so don’t rule out these colors (and potentially more) from coming to a store near you just yet – but at launch you won’t have the full gamut to choose from.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is the first flagship phone from the firm to boast dual cameras on its rear.
