Samsung unveiled its new Galaxy Note 8 which it refers to as the “next level Note”. The most powerful and feature-packed smartphone will also be the most expensive one, when it lands locally on 22 September for a staggering R18 499.
What does your hard earned money buy you? Well quite a lot of phone, literally at 162.5 x 74.8 x 8.6 mm and weight of 195 g. There is a near bezel-less, edge-to-edge, and gorgeous Infinity Display for starters, packing a staggering 521 pixels per inch. This 6.3″ Quad HD+ Super AMOLED sports a resolution of 2960 x 1440 in a body that is IP68 dust and water resistant (so is the S-pen stylus by the way).
The phablet is running Android 7.1.1 (Nougat) and depending on whether we get Samsung’s own Exynos chipset (probably going to be the case) or Qualcomm’s Snapdragon CPU, will be powered by a Octa-core (2.3GHz Quad + 1.7GHz Quad), 64-bit, 10nm processor or Octa-core (2.35GHz Quad + 1.9GHz Quad), 64-bit, 10nm processor. It boasts 6GB RAM (LPDDR4) and offers either 64, 128 or 256 GB worth of storage. Users will be able to expand upon this via MicroSD memory card, with support for cards up to 256 GB in size.
On the optics front, the Galaxy Note 8 leads the way with an 8MP Wide selfie snapper at the front and dual 12 MP cameras at the back. These consists of a 12 MP Telephoto camera and 12 MP Wide-angle camera for capturing the best shots in all conditions and distances.
As before, the S-Pen provides a wide breadth of tools for expression, ranging from bullet journaling to serious artwork and everything in between, enabling users to employ a wide selection of brushes, pens, and colours to draw up plans and create their own masterpieces. Amongst its new feature additions includes the ability to create your own GIFs.
Also onboard are Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, Bluetooth v 5.0 (LE up to 2Mbps), enhanced DeX capabilities (similar to Windows continuum for Windows 10 Mobile), and an Iris scanner, fingerprint scanner, as well as facial recognition just like the Galaxy S8 range. Samsung has included a large 3300mAh battery that features fast wireless charging and is hopefully as fire-resistant as that of the Galaxy S8+.
We look forward to going hands-on with this impressive phablet next month.
