Could this be our first glimpse of the Note 8’s front panel? Read the latest rumours on the 2017 Galaxy Note 8 specifications and UK launch date.
The Note 7 was, by all accounts, a disaster. But the Note 8 is expected return Samsung’s Galaxy flagship phablet line to greatness. Among other exciting new features, it’s expected to be the first Samsung phone to feature a dual-camera, and it could get around customers’ frustration with the Galaxy S8’s rear fingerprint scanner with a new design. Also see: Samsung Pay is now available in the UK!
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Traditionally Samsung has unveiled a new Galaxy Note flagship every year at the IFA tradeshow, which takes place in early September. For the past two years it has announced its new Galaxy Note early in August to get out ahead of the new iPhone, which is always revealed mid-September.
The most likely release date, then, is August 2017.
There were whispers to suggest Samsung would be dropping its Note family, but ditching its second annual flagship launch could have an enormous impact on Samsung’s profit margins.
Fortunately the company has now confirmed that the Note 8 will exist, and that it will in Korea offer Note 7 buyers 50 percent discounts if they upgrade to the Galaxy S8 or Galaxy Note 8.
“I will bring back a better, safer and very innovative Note 8, ” Samsung’s mobile chief, DJ Koh, has recently told CNET .
In its most recent quarterly financial report Samsung confirmed that a second flagship would help it maintain profitability in the second half of 2017.
This Galaxy Note 8 is not to be confused with the Galaxy Note 8.0 tablet from back in 2013.
The Galaxy S8 has a 5.8in screen and there’s a 6.2in display on the Galaxy S8+. Both make the Note 7’s 5.7in screen seem comparatively small.
Rumours tell us to expect Samsung to make the similar design changes in the Note 8, which means we’ll see a larger, taller, pressure-sensitive screen. It’s unconfirmed but there could be a 6.3in or 6.4in 18.5: 9 display. See also: Best phones 2017.
Many owners have complained about the positioning of the fingerprint scanner on the back of the Galaxy S8, and it’s possible that the Note 8 will avoid this by locating it beneath the screen. This tech was rumoured to debut on the Galaxy S8, but reportedly wasn’t ready in time.
Newly leaked photos, which may or may not be the final design, show a rear panel with the rumoured dual-camera setup, but more interestingly no fingerprint scanner.
The photo below is from Chinese site CNMO and – if it really is the real deal – means that Samsung might beat Apple to be the first company to launch a phone with a fingerprint scanner that works through the display.
And another leaked photo, posted on Indian gadget site Priceraja, shows the top of the front:
What it doesn’t show, of course, is whether there’s a scanner at the bottom or not.
It’s not possible to tell either way from this video, but Slashleaks has published a first glimpse at what is said to be the Note 8’s front panel.
We would expect the screen to have a Quad-HD+ or even 4K resolution, and there is increasing talk that it could get the latter, making the Note 8 Samsung’s first 4K smartphone. It’s highly likely to be a Super AMOLED panel, too.
That’s the screen, but what else can you expect from the Note 8? For one thing, it will surely be faster than the Galaxy S8. Also see: Best smartphones and best Android phones
The Note family stands out for its S Pen stylus support. R umours say it could get an upgrade and integrate a new speaker. According to Patently Mobile, in September 2016 a patent was published by the US Patent & Trademark Office for the new stylus.
It says: » When the pen is being stored in the Galaxy Note body, the speaker, which is in the pen shaft, carries sound through the pen and exists at the top of the pen via a new speaker. When the pen is removed for the Note device the sound simply travels from the internal speaker through the pen shaft opening. »
It’s likely to be under 8mm thick, waterproof, and be the first Samsung phone to feature dual cameras. We’re expecting to see one 12Mp wide-angle lens, and a second 13Mp telephoto lens, complete with OIS and 3x optical zoom. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says it should be superior to that found in the iPhone 7 Plus.
Add to that a high-capacity (circa-3500mAh) battery with adaptive fast charging, fast wireless charging and USB-C support.
Samsung’s usual sensors – the heart-rate scanner, fingerprint scanner and iris scanner – should all be present, though with the fingerprint scanner now moved to the rear and the home button gone entirely.
In terms of core hardware we know that the Note series is traditionally a slightly more powerful version of the S series that is released earlier that year, though the Galaxy S8 is already a hugely powerful phone. The S8 comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 and 4GB of RAM. Expect the Note 8 to come with a minimum 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.
Samsung has announced that it will be acquiring car audio maker Harman for $8bn with its eyes firmly on the connected car market. However, the brand is best known by consumers for its Harman Kardon audio label, which could spell very nice things for the upcoming Galaxy Note 8, as it has for the Galaxy S8.
Samsung says it will utilise Harman’s audio brands, which also include the likes of AKG and JBL, to « deliver enhanced customer benefits and elevate user experiences across Samsung’s complete portfolio of consumer and professional products and systems ». (Via Android Central .)
One thing we can pretty much guarantee is that the Note 8 will feature the same software as the Galaxy S8, which means Android Nougat, TouchWiz, and the brand-new Bixby AI assistant, with an update to Android O within a few months of its release.
