Galaxy Note8: Everything we know about Samsung’s next flagship phablet

The late-summer launch of the Galaxy Note phablet is always a big event for Samsung, but there’s even more attention on this year’s release. In case you’ve forgotten, the Galaxy Note7 was an epic fail for Samsung, resulting in a massive recall after devices began exploding around the world. Since then, however, Samsung has been on a roll, launching the highly acclaimed Galaxy S8 and posting record profits along the way.

With the upcoming Note8 launch, Samsung is hoping to put the Note7 debacle behind it once and for all. Building on the success of the S8, the new flagship phablet is shaping up to be a beast, with a bigger screen, better camera, and, of course, the all-important S Pen. So stay tuned to this post as we keep feeding it with all the latest info we can find.

Galaxy Note8 design and display

As with previous Notes, rumors peg the design of the Note8 closely resembling the Galaxy S8. Not that that’s a bad thing. For example, noted tipster Evan Blass of VentureBeat reports that we can expect the screen to be a slightly bigger (6.3 inches versus 6.2 inches on the S8+) 3840 x 2160 Quad HD Infinity Display that stretches to the edges of the device, with a barely-there bezel all around. The new 2:1 ratio will remain, Blass says, making the device taller and easier to hold than last year’s model, despite a much bigger display.

Evan Blass

Similarities with the S8 continue on the back, Blass claims, with a horizontal camera setup in the center and, unfortunately, a fingerprint sensor to the right of the flash. We had our share of issues with the placement of the fingerprint sensor on the S8, and we were hoping Samsung would rectify it on the Note8. Apparently that won’t be the case. The design isn’t quite identical though. The Note8’s corners appear to be slightly more boxy than on the S8, as seen in the image above posted on Twitter by Evan Blass, but the Note8’s overall aesthetic looks to be pretty close to the one introduced with the S8.

Poyoco Tech

According to an image released on Twitter by Poyoco Tech, the bottom edge will feature the usual ports—a speaker, 3.5mm headphone jack, USB-C charging port, and S-Pen slot—though the site notes they will now be “uniformly aligned.” The leaked image also shows a dedicated Bixby button on the left side, which is now a fully functioning digital assistant, unlike when the Galaxy S8 launched. Finally, GSM Arena reports the Note8 will be available in similar color options to the S8—black, silver, blue, and gold—all likely with black fronts like the S8.

Galaxy Note8 specs and features

While the Note8 might look a lot like the S8, there will be some notable changes on the inside. While it will likely stick with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 in the U.S., Android Community reports that overseas users will get an updated Exynos 8995 chipset. But the real gains will come from a reported bump to 6GB of RAM (up from 4GB on the S8), reports Blass. We already saw what the extra RAM can do with the OnePlus 5, so the Note8 will likely feel quite a bit faster than the S8 despite a comparable processor.

There are also reports of a 128GB model in addition to the 64GB base model. (Samsung offered a limited 128GB variant of the S8 with 6GB of RAM in South Korea and Hong Kong, so perhaps that was a test run for the Note8.) Elsewhere, the Note7’s SD slot, IP68 water resistance, wireless charging, and iris scanner will more than likely remain.

Patently Mobile

As far as the S Pen, there haven’t been any rumors about new Note8 features for Samsung’s stylus, but last year brought new Air Command shortcuts like magnify and translate, and added off-screen memos for quick note-taking. So we’re hoping to see some new tricks that make using the S Pen even better—although we’re not holding our breath for the wild patentabove that shows an integrated speaker built into the stylus.

[Source”indianexpress”]