A year ago, I wrote that the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was the excellent large telephone ever made. It had extremely good performance, a high-quality digital camera, and a polished design that became particularly conceivable for a device with a big display screen. But that glory changed into quick-lived: as every person is aware of, the Note 7 had a faulty inner battery design that brought on it to randomly capture hearth. In the most embarrassing episode of modern-day tech records, Samsung turned into compelled to recall the phone, not as soon as, however twice, and pull it from the market.
The upshot of all of this is Samsung become also pressured to reevaluate how it designed and synthetic telephone batteries, and it now uses distinct techniques and chemistries that produce more long lasting batteries that still degrade much less over the years.
That’s desirable, because now we’ve the Galaxy Note 8 and Samsung desires it to completely placed the Note 7 fiasco inside the rearview mirror. The new Note is just like its predecessor in that it’s an exceptional big-screened tool with few apparent faults. In reality, in all the critical areas, the Note eight is a higher device than even the Note 7 become.
But the climate around huge phones has changed dramatically considering last year. While the Note 7 become head and shoulders above the entirety else before its fall from grace, the Note 8 isn’t manifestly better than some of the different huge telephones out this yr, which include Samsung’s very own Galaxy S8 Plus. Further, the Note eight is one of the maximum high priced phones you may buy, beginning at $930 for a version with 64GB of storage.
Ask Samsung, although, and it’ll say Galaxy Note fans don’t care about any of those matters. They don’t need just any huge smartphone, they need a Note, whole with its over-the-top size, top-of-the-line specifications, and, of course, its stylus. And due to what came about with the Note 7, these lovers have been waiting a long term for this.
The Galaxy Note 8 wasn’t built for anybody. It became built for them.
The Galaxy Note has constantly been an unapologetically big telephone, however the Note 8 takes big to new dimensions.
It begins with its 6.3-inch Infinity Display that stretches to the very edges of the telephone’s frame, leaving only a small bezel above and under the display. This HDR-succesful display is the entirety you’d expect from a high-cease Samsung panel: it’s crisp, vibrant, and terrific vivid, so it’s visible exterior in direct sunlight. The sheer size of it sucks you in while watching video, and the 18.Five:nine factor ratio lets it show plenty of content material right away or without difficulty run apps on the same time in break up-display screen multitasking mode.
Samsung has completed everything it could to make this massive display healthy in something that resembles a cellphone — shrinking the bezels, elongating its shape, curving the sides — however there’s no fending off the truth that the Note 8 is a giant cellphone that incorporates massive phone issues. It’s nearly not possible to use in a single hand and it doesn’t fit with ease in any of my pants wallet.
BIG PHONE WITH TYPICAL BIG PHONE PROBLEMS
In addition, the Note 8’s large size make its fingerprint scanner even greater frustrating to apply than it’s far on the S8. Like the S8, the scanner is on the lower back of the phone, to the right of the camera module. And just like the S8, it takes a few committed finger gymnastics to reach it. I’ve been the use of an S8 Plus for months and I’ve turn out to be truly acquainted with the traumatic fingerprint scanner placement. That may want to take place with the Note eight as nicely, however it’d were less difficult for every person if Samsung simply positioned the scanner under the camera like each other cellphone maker does.
Samsung offers both iris-scanning and face-scanning free up structures on the Note eight, so that you don’t necessarily must depend upon the fingerprint scanner as a good deal. The face liberate characteristic is still not as cozy as other way, but Samsung has progressed it for the reason that S8’s launch, so it really works quicker and greater reliably now. The iris scanner is brief and as comfortable as fingerprint techniques, but it nevertheless requires conserving the cellphone up awkwardly close to my face and dramatically commencing my eyes for it to paintings.
What’s maximum thrilling is how much bigger the Note 8 feels compared to the nearly-as-large Galaxy S8 Plus. The Note’s 6.3-inch display is only scantly larger than the S8 Plus’ 6.2-inch panel, however it has a more rectangular shape and the sides aren’t curved as aggressively, which makes it extraordinarily less at ease to address. The Note 8 additionally suggestions the scales at 195g, about 22g extra than the S8 Plus. That doesn’t sound like a great deal, however it’s glaring, specially when the cellphone is already this large.
Otherwise, the Note 8’s healthy and end are exactly the same as the S8, with glass panels that elegantly curve right into a metal body. It has the identical virtual, strain-sensitive home button at the bottom of the display, and it’s additionally IP68 water resistant, so getting it moist isn’t a fear, whether or not you’re stuck in a rainstorm, washing dishes at domestic, or involved about a person spilling a drink while out in town.
The Note eight does have a headphone jack (in the precise position: on the bottom of the smartphone, to the left of the charging port), and Samsung bundles in a fixed of respectable AKG stressed out headphones within the field. It also has a devoted button to release the Bixby digital assistant placed just below the extent rocker on the left facet of the smartphone. It’s just as stressful and clean to hit here as it’s far on the S8, and it’s nonetheless now not effortlessly custom designed to do some thing more beneficial. Bixby itself hasn’t modified significantly from when it debuted at the S8, and the dedicated hardware button for it feels more like an pointless appendage than whatever in particular beneficial.
Internally, the Note 8 additionally has very similar specifications as compared to the S8 Plus. There’s Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 processor, 64GB of garage (within the US; other markets will see 128GB and even 256GB options), and a microSD card slot. The Note does have 6GB of RAM versus the S8’s 4, however I haven’t seen an considerable distinction in performance because of it. Both of those telephones are speedy and fluid, and performance changed into now not a problem in my everyday use. It’s possible that the extra RAM aids in the usage of the DeX computer docking device Samsung sells, but I did no longer take a look at that with the Note 8 for this evaluate.
For obvious motives, Samsung contracted the battery potential in the Note eight in comparison to remaining yr’s Note 7. This time it has a 3,300mAh battery that supports each rapid stressed out and wi-fi charging. That’s a bit smaller than the 3,500mAh cell in the S8 Plus, however in sensible phrases, the 2 telephones have comparable endurance. Most people might be capable of go a complete day among costs with out worry; heavy energy users would possibly have to take gain of these speedy charging options of they plan on going out within the evening and don’t need to worry about walking out of steam.