Samsung has been meticulously building its high-end Galaxy S and Note series handsets for quite some time now. Last year’s Galaxy Note 7, however, had left a massive dent on the company’s reputation after being recalled not once, but twice.
That didn’t stop Samsung from making a huge come back this year with the Galaxy S8 and S8+. And now, the company is gearing up to launch its second flagship for the year which is the Galaxy Note 8.
As most of you may already know, the Galaxy Note 8 will be the first Note series handset from the company after last year’s Galaxy Note 7 fiasco (the Note FE doesn’t count), and Samsung has a lot of expectations to live up to.
Sure, the all-new Galaxy S8 line does inspire some confidence, but the Galaxy Note 8 has to be nothing short of magical to match the expectations. And, judging by the leaks, the Note 8 will be one hell of a phone.
Speaking of which, we’ve tried to put all the major leaks in one place in this post. Continue reading to learn everything we know so far about the device.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Release Date
Samsung has already sent out invites for the Galaxy Note 8 unveiling on August 23, which falls in line with the information rumor mill has been throwing at us for a while. Also, according to industry sources, Galaxy Note 8 is expected to go on sale on September 15 in Samsung’s home country, South Korea. As for the US, reports suggest that the company will be making the smartphone available right after the day following its announcement, i.e., on August 24. This will automatically give the company’s S Pen smartphone a head-start over the Apple iPhone 8 (or whatever it ends up being called).
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Specs
Design and Display
The Galaxy Note series phones have always been synonymous with big displays and Galaxy Note 8 will not be an exception to this trend, obviously.
According to the rumors, the Note 8 will be getting the same “Infinity Display” as seen on the Galaxy S8 (that’s quite obvious too) but will come with an even higher screen-to-body ratio. Also, the display will be slightly bigger than the S8+, around 6.3-inch as suggested by the latest rumors.
Okay, now that we’ve talked enough about the display aspects of the phone let’s get to the design part. The Galaxy Note 8 will, for the most part, feature a design similar to the Galaxy S8+ (including the Bixby button), only it will be slightly wider and come with the S Pen.
Also, it will be much flatter than the Galaxy S8 or the S8+ which has been the case with most of Note series handsets.
A Samsung official had already confirmed that the Galaxy Note 8 would not have an on-screen fingerprint scanner. Which means, the fingerprint scanner will still be on the back which is definitely a bummer.
What’s even worse, though, is that the fingerprint scanner will be even farther to reach, courtesy the dual camera setup on the back as can be seen on this leak as well as on the latest press render of the Note 8.
Processor
The Galaxy S8 and S8+ were launched with Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 835 SoC in the US and the company’s in-house Exynos 8895 chipset in regions other than the US.
The upcoming smartphone, in all its likelihood, will be unveiled with the Snapdragon 835 and Exynos 8895 SoCs in different markets which has also been confirmed by Evan Blass aka @evleaks, a famous tipster. No wonder, since both the chipsets are manufactured by the same company, i.e., yours truly — Samsung.
There were a few rumors initially suggesting that the Note 8 will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 836 chipset which btw, is yet-to-be-announced. In fact, the Snapdragon 836 was tipped to debut with the Note 8. But, you can strike this one off since the Galaxy Note 8 has appeared on multiple benchmarking sites either with the Exynos 8895 SoC or the Snapdragon 835 chip.
RAM and Storage
While the Galaxy S8+ was launched with 6GB of RAM onboard, that particular variant was limited only to a few markets. With the Galaxy Note 8, however, the company will be finally making the switch to 6GB RAM for all the markets.
As for the storage, the Note 8 will offer at least 64GB of storage. In addition, you’ll also get the microSD card slot which will allow you to expand the storage further up to 256GB.
There were a couple of reports hinting that the upcoming S Pen phone will feature 8GB of RAM. But again, this is highly unlikely to happen.
Read: Galaxy Note 8 Emperor Edition for Asian markets to feature 6GB RAM and 256GB storage
Software
On the software side of things, Samsung has made several changes which reflect quite well on the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus. The TouchWiz UI, which is now called Samsung Experience, is lighter than ever and feels surprisingly fresh. Besides, it brings a ton of refinements with it.
We expect the Note 8 to provide the same experience as the current generation S series handsets do. Of course, there will be a few software chops reserved for the S Pen. That’s a given, anyway.
The Galaxy Note 8 is rumored to come with the Android 7.1.1 Nougat on board. Needless to say, it will then be upgraded to Android 8.0 (O) once Google rolls out the stable version.
Camera
If you’ve been following our Galaxy Note 8 coverage closely, you’d by now know that the handset will come with a dual camera setup on the back.
As mentioned above, the dual camera module on the Galaxy Note 8 will be placed horizontally on the back with the fingerprint scanner placed adjacent to it. Leaks point at the inclusion of two 12MP sensors (standard f/1.7 lens and a telephoto f/2.4 lens) along with dual-pixel autofocus.
Also, the handset will reportedly allow you to achieve up to 2x optical zoom similar to the iPhone 7 Plus. And most importantly, both the sensors will get OIS which will come in quite handy during low-light imaging as well as videography.
Selfie enthusiasts can expect the handset to feature an 8MP f/1.7 shooter at the front similar to the one seen on the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus.
Battery
Galaxy Note 7’s fiasco can pretty much be attributed to the battery failures, and we expect the company to be extremely wary with the batteries this time around.
As a result, the company could be cramming in a relatively smaller battery despite the fact that it could fit a bigger battery. We are expecting the battery capacity to be somewhere close to 3,500mAh (like the Note 7).
Recent rumors point at a 3,300mAh battery. Akin to its predecessors and the current-gen Galaxy S phones, the Note 8 will also come with fast charging capabilities irrespective of the chipset used.
Other features
Apart from the ones mentioned above, the Galaxy Note 8 will come with a bunch load of other features including an improved iris scanner, S Pen (obviously), IP68 certified water and dust resistance, rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, Bixby, AKG-powered headphones, and more. Word has it that the South Korean tech giant will be bundling a transparent plastic case along with the smartphone as well.
And btw, the Note 8 will be available in these colors: Midnight Black, Maple Gold, Orchid Grey/Violet, Arctic Silver, Coral Blue, Dark Blue, Deep Sea Blue, and Pink.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Price
As it is evident from the above, the Galaxy Note 8 will essentially be a Galaxy S8 Plus in a slightly bigger and wider body combined with S Pen and a dual camera module at the back.
Including these additional features will obviously have a direct impact on the price of the Galaxy Note 8. At this point, rumors hint at a €999 price tag which approximately translates to $1,150.
This means the Galaxy Note 8 will surely burn a hole in your pocket (pun intended). So, you better start keeping some money aside right away.
