Considering the rapid pace of Galaxy Note 8 rumors emerging, a strong impression of the final device has now emerged. Samsung is due to unveil the final product at an event in new York, but the analyst community has ensured that there will not necessarily be too many surprises when this conference takes place.
Busy Blass
The legendary Evan Blass – @evleaks on Twitter – has been particularly busy in the last few days. After revealing the full specs of the Galaxy Note 8, the leaker then followed this up by tweeting a picture of an advertising banner for the Galaxy Note 8. This image featured the all new S Pen, and a “Do bigger things” tagline. This provided a unique insight into the final design of the product.
It seems that the marketing material published by Blass is a complete image from invites to the Unpacked event due to take place in New York City. While Samsung has yet to confirm that the Galaxy Note 8 will be unveiled at this event, it now seems inevitable, which will mean we get our first glimpse of the handset on August 23.
Based on these links, the design of the Galaxy Note 8 seems rather similar to the Galaxy S8 Plus, with almost non-existent bezels on the left and right hand of the device. Certainly the wraparound display of the flagship smartphone will now migrate to other Samsung products, and really become a defining feature of the industry, with the same front panel design expected in the iPhone 8 and possibly also the Google Pixel 2.
Camera technology
In an interview with CNET, Samsung’s chief of mobile D.J. Koh said “I will bring back a better, safer and very innovative Note 8.” This is, frankly, essential after the Galaxy Note 7 explosion fiasco, and the Galaxy Note 8 certainly needs to be a stable, durable and impressive performer in order to reinvigorate the product range.
Previous Galaxy Note 8 rumors have suggested that the phablet will feature an exemplary dual rear-camera setup. Indeed, the esteemed analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes that this will be a particular focus of the Galaxy Note 8 generation, and that the photographic qualities of the device will far exceed the iPhone 7.
According to links on the matter, the camera will benefit from a 3x optical zoom feature, with innovative functionality built in to ensure that it also shoots well in darker conditions. If both of these features materialize, the Note 8 will be the first ever smartphone from Samsung to feature a dual-camera, while the 3x optical zoom will provide the snapper with a longer shooting range than virtually every dual-camera smartphone available on the market.
The Super Night Shot Mode has also been strongly mooted by the Samsung-following media, enabling the smartphone to take better pictures in low-light conditions. A perspective shift feature will also be included, allowing users to adjust the angle of objects in a photograph, with true depth-sensing technology improving on the simulated depth of field defects included in the Galaxy S8.
Fingerprint sensor
Galaxy Note 8 rumors also suggest that the phablet will feature a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. There has been some debate over this topic in the last few years, with some early reports suggesting that Samsung would look to integrate this feature within the display of the device. Apple has been linked with similar functionality in the iPhone 8, with the Home button in particular expected to disappear in the forthcoming generation.
However, it seems that Samsung has experienced logistical difficulties in delivering this integration, instead opting to mount the fingerprint sensor on the rear of the device as usual.
S Pen
There have also been a great deal of Galaxy Note 8 rumors relating to the S Pen stylus. In early renders of the Galaxy Note 8, the design of the peripheral seems pretty much identical to previous generations. However, new features have been linked with the S Pen, with the stylus possibly delivering a unique vibrational quality, or even a particularly innovative speaker system.
It remains to be seen whether either of these will be implemented, but Galaxy Note 8 rumors point to leaked patents which suggest that Samsung could indeed deliver these features in the near future.
Colors
According to the aforementioned Blass, the Galaxy Note 8 will come online in four colors eventually. Initially, it will be available in midnight black and maple gold, but orchid grey and deep sea blue options will be provided at a later juncture. So in time the Galaxy Note 8 will be on sale in four diverse color schemes, providing consumers with plenty of purchasing options.
Specs
Of all Galaxy Note 8 rumors, the specs of the final device are obviously particularly important. And Samsung will indeed bump these up in comparison to the Galaxy Note 7.
Firstly, the resolution of the display is expected to be identical to the Galaxy S8 generation, meaning that 4K will not be delivered in this iteration. The Galaxy Note 8 should be capable of displaying 2,960 x 1,440 pixels, though, which is in excess of the Quad HD definition. It will also be marginally larger than the Galaxy S8 Plus display, measuring 6.3-inches.
In the United States, it is expected that the Galaxy Note 8 will feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 CPU. The Snapdragon 836 is expected in due course, but Samsung will probably not include this in its major phablet.
Meanwhile, Galaxy Note 8 rumors suggest that the RAM memory of the phablet will be upgraded to 6GB, which would represent a 50 per cent increase over the Galaxy Note 7 generation. 64GB of base storage will once more be included, while Samsung will continue to allow users to upgrade this storage flexibly via a micro SD card slot. Both of these features showed no change from the previous iteration of the series.
It is also believed that the Galaxy Note 8 will feature IP68 water-resistance, iris and face recognition, and the 3.5mm headphone jack that Apple chose to remove from the iPhone recently.
Price
There has been some discussion over the final price of the Galaxy Note 8, but the most recent reports suggest that it will retail in the $900 to $1,000 range. This suggests that it may be marginally cheaper than the iPhone 8, with most analysts believing that price tag of the Apple flagship will indeed exceed $1,000.
Launch date and availability
It now seems inevitable that the Galaxy Note 8 will be unveiled on August 23, with leaked documents suggesting that pre-orders will begin just two days later on August 25.
A Samsung spokesperson told CNN that the Note 8 will actually hit the stores in September or October, which was admittedly rather vague. Of these two months, it seems likely that September will be the release date considering the unveiling in August, meaning that the Galaxy Note 8 could be up directly against the forthcoming iPhone 8, also possibly due in September.
Thus, Galaxy Note 8 rumors point to a major mobile battle before the year is out.
