samsung [Updated] Samsung Galaxy Note8 launched, priced $930 unlocked in the US

[captain_to_fire]

I hope this time it doesn't explode. I like the iPhone a lot for what it can do very well but there's something about the Note line that makes me like it more that the Galaxy S line despite the proprietary crapware (TouchWiz) they put into it.

 Source: https://www.technobuffalo.com/2017/08/23/galaxy-note-8-announced/

 

Specs:

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 for the US ??/Samsung Exynos 8895 for the rest of the world (Source: Android Authority) 
• 6 GB RAM
• 64 GB internal storage + micro SD card slot (USA only)
• 6.3" QHD+ S-AMOLED display (18.5:9, 1440 x 2960)
• 12 megapixel rear camera at f/1.7 + OIS (wide angle)
• 12 megapixel rear camera at f/2.6 + OIS (2x telephoto lens)
• 8 megapixel front facing camera
• S-Pen with a finer tip and 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity
• 3300 mAh battery 
• Qi/PMA wireless charging
• 3.5 mm headphone jack
• USB-Type C
• Bluetooth 5.0, 802.11ac wifi
• Dimensions: 163 x 75 x 8.6 mm
• IP68 water and dust resistance
• 195 grams
• Android 7.1 (Android Oreo update in a few months*)
• Comes in Midnight Black, Maple Gold, Orchid Grey and Deep Sea Blue
• Will be available in stores at September 15 in the US (launch may vary per country)
• It comes with a whopping $930 price tag for an unlocked phone in the US 
• Note 7 owners will receive up to $425 discount (roughly 46% discount) of the Note 8 (Source: The Verge) 

 

I think that battery is small and I'm not positive that the endurance will be good. But that dual camera setup is very good and has improved low light performance. I don't know what Apple is secretly making but I'm sure the Note is one to look out for. Too bad the Note8 is expensive tho.

 

Edited August 25, 2017 by hey_yo_
added some stuff, edited the SoC

[RadiatingLight]

It's important to note_^hehe that the dual camera is the first ever with OIS on both cameras.

[Railgun]

Pretty sure it won't be using TouchWiz. The S8 didn't have TouchWiz so I don't know why the Note would.

[captain_to_fire]

Just now, RadiatingLight said:

It's important to note_^hehe that the dual camera is the first ever with OIS on both cameras.

Yup. Stabilization is also improved and much better than the iPhone 7+.

[TechSquidTV]

Loved the effect at 1:40 where they have the overlay of a "natural" pen drawing over the real road. I can think of a few ways it could be done, but I'd love to see the real breakdown on that. I know my comment had NOTHING to do with the Note 8 at all and I only just now noticed that.

[captain_to_fire]

Just now, Railgun said:

Pretty sure it won't be using TouchWiz. The S8 didn't have TouchWiz so I don't know why the Note would.

Good! Because I hated the shit out of my old Galaxy Note 2.

[TVwazhere]

Of course the battery is small. Theyre trying to re-instill confidence in the enthusiast consumer that their product s still valid and safe to use

*here comes the /s*

Ah great, this is gonna.... Bomb

 

[captain_to_fire]

Just now, TVwazhere said:

Of course the battery is small. Theyre trying to re-instill confidence in the enthusiast consumer that their product s still valid and safe to use

Good thing I have a 20,000 mAh battery bank and outputs 2.1 ampere of current

[TidaLWaveZ]

3 minutes ago, Railgun said:

Pretty sure it won't be using TouchWiz. The S8 didn't have TouchWiz so I don't know why the Note would.

It won't.

[TVwazhere]

Just now, hey_yo_ said:

Good thing I have a 20,000 mAh battery bank and outputs 2.1 ampere of current

I love my S8+, gets me through a regular day and half no problem! (I've gone 36 hours without needing to recharge, and even then it was only 14%

[TidaLWaveZ]

Just now, TVwazhere said:

I love my S8+, gets me through a regular day and half no problem! (I've gone 36 hours without needing to recharge, and even then it was only 14%

Not to mention a full charge only takes like 10 minutes.

[captain_to_fire]

2 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

I love my S8+, gets me through a regular day and half no problem! (I've gone 36 hours without needing to recharge, and even then it was only 14%

Even with constant cellular data? I use Google Maps a lot.

[TVwazhere]

1 minute ago, hey_yo_ said:

Even with constant cellular data? I use Google Maps a lot.

I have wifi at my office, so not not with cellular data 

[Guest]

This is my opinion, but that design is ridiculous. I just watched MrMobile video on this and i have also watched EverythingApplePro video on the latest rumours about the iPhone 8, with the conclusion being that for me this phone is a flop.

 

999€ in Europe and 870£ in the UK, the base model. Imagine the Emperor edition (if that still happens) imported... must be a solid 1300-1400€, pretty much the same as the maxed out iPhone 8 (which is very overpriced already once it reaches 1000+).

 

That back is pretty ugly and the fingerprint scanner remains in the terrible position of the past, being even more off centered now (must have a case or a dBrand skin if you want to take good photos lol), the bixby button is still there and that assistant as seen by Mkbhd video was almost as bad as Alexa on the U11 (it can rap in a way, so what xD?) and the software probably is still a lagger and wont even touch the Pixel 2 in terms of speed.

 

The speakers are still underwhelming (cant blame the water resistant rating now since Apple had nice speakers on the iPhone 7 as proven by EverythingApplePro and Pocketnow), has there been any evidence if the headphone jack output has been improved? (if not, the LG V30 will probably mop the floor with this phone for audio), the battery that is still smaller than the S variant phones (thicker people, 250 grams with a 4000 mAh wouldnt be a bad trade off at all and people want the Note to be a multimedia powerhouse!), optical zoom with OIS sounds nice but a monochrome sensor would certainly be a better implementation and we know Samsung makes great camera modules, etc.

 

Sure, some people like them and others dont, but like i said above its just what i think of it and personally the biggest downside is the price you are paying for a phone that clearly isnt the king of specs as it used to try to be in the past. Its a Note "Fan Edition" at heart, with updated internals and slightly better software tricks, but nothing mindblowingly innovative.

 

After hearing the rumour that Apples facial recognition software will be 2 years ahead of whatever Qualcomm is even trying to cope with, i cant wait to see if that is actually true and how embarrasingly slow the Iris scanner will be on the Note 8 vs the iPhone 8, but as always its a waiting game.

 

Good phone, nothing special IMO.

[captain_to_fire]

The Samsung Dex demo looks a lot like Windows 10

[TVwazhere]

3 minutes ago, TidaLWaveZ said:

Not to mention a full charge only takes like 10 minutes.

Thats with the quick charger I assume. I try to not use those unless I'm hurting for more battery. From my experience with RC hobby truck racing, fast charging a battery diminishes it's capacity and duration over time, especially on a device that in theory will last you two years

[captain_to_fire]

Just now, Goku-sama said:

The speakers are still underwhelming (cant blame the water resistant rating now since Apple had nice speakers on the iPhone 7 has proven by EverythingApplePro and Pocketnow), has there been any evidence if the headphone jack output has been improved? (if not, the LG V30 will probably mop the floor with this phone for audio), the battery that is still smaller than the S variant phones (thicker people, 250 grams with a 4000 mAh wouldnt be a bad trade off at all and people want the Note to be a multimedia powerhouse!), optical zoom with OIS sounds nice but a monochrome sensor would certainly be a better implementation and we know Samsung makes great camera modules, etc.

I don't think Samsung ever sold any of their phones for audio quality. Which means loudspeaker calls will suck unlike the iPhone which has been very good for loudspeaker calls. I'm waiting for the iPhone 7s+/iPhone 8 and compare the Note 8.

[TidaLWaveZ]

10 minutes ago, TVwazhere said:

Thats with the quick charger I assume. I try to not use those unless I'm hurting for more battery. From my experience with RC hobby truck racing, fast charging a battery diminishes it's capacity and duration over time, especially on a device that in theory will last you two years

The battery will deprecate regardless, there's no reason not to take advantage of quickcharge 4.

[Dissitesuxba11s]

Man, the guy's voice in the Official Intro video was sexual chocolate for the ears.

 

I had the Note 1 for 5 years and the only reason I upgraded last year to the Note5 was because of firmware issues. I'm honestly impressed by the Note line of phones. Probably won't upgrade anytime soon but the Note 8 is looking impressive so far.

[handymanshandle]

Hey Bixby, can you call Apple and let them know that their end party is here.

I love my S8+ and I just got it last Friday. This just solidifies what at least I've already felt about Samsung.

[Guest]

Just now, hey_yo_ said:

I don't think Samsung ever sold any of their phones for audio quality. Which means loudspeaker calls will suck unlike the iPhone which has been very good for loudspeaker calls. I'm waiting for the iPhone 7s+/iPhone 8 and compare the Note 8.

I understand what you mean but, how hard would it be to fit in two speakers on this phone (is the ear piece one here?) when this phone is all about display and visualizing the world around us in the most beautiful way?

 

I want to hear nature in detail and with profound impact if i am watching a 4K HDR show about how gorgeous and radical the animal kingdom is, but with muted audio i would switch it back to my TV anytime  (okay, headphones/earphones or bluetooth speakers will fix that somewhat, but nothing too amazing either).

[TVwazhere]

2 minutes ago, TidaLWaveZ said:

The battery will deprecate regardless, there's no reason not to take advantage of quickcharge 4.

I would be interested to see a study if the quckcharge standards diminish battery life over the life span of a phone faster than normal 2A charging...

Low key want to get a wireless charging pad for my phone though Not gonna lie

[Brehohn]

Of course it has a dual camera. Granted it's much better, but since Apple did it, why not look at their homework right?

[captain_to_fire]

3 minutes ago, Goku-sama said:

I want to hear nature in detail and with profound impact if i am watching a 4K HDR show about how gorgeous and radical the animal kingdom is, but with muted audio i would switch it back to my TV anytime  (okay, headphones/earphones or bluetooth speakers will fix that somewhat, but nothing too amazing either).

To be honest the only thing that prevents me from using an Android phone as a daily driver is the painfully slow release of software updates. If I pay premium on something, I want a premium experience nonetheless and majority of Android phones simply can't keep up unlike the iPhone which has an astounding record for keeping their devices up to date. Hopefully when Samsung decided to release Android Oreo update to the Galaxy Note8 in a few months, updates then would be faster thanks to project Treble.

[DocSwag]

11 minutes ago, TidaLWaveZ said:

The battery will deprecate regardless, there's no reason not to take advantage of quickcharge 4.

With quick charge it will get worse quicker though. I would only use quick charge if you actually need it.