After the successful Galaxy S8 launch, Samsung fans and rumor mill are looking forward to the Galaxy Note 8. It will be the actual successor to the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7. Leaks and rumors about the device have been popping up from all corners. Over the weekend, we got to see a Galaxy Note 8 dummy unit revealing the complete front and back panel design of the phablet.
Galaxy Note 8 to have dual cameras both on front and back
Now folks at YouTube channel Concept Creator have posted a video showing a 3D printed mockup of Samsung’s upcoming flagship. The 3D print was reportedly created using plans for an actual Galaxy Note 8 that were seen by a third party accessories manufacturer. The device appears incredibly slim, even slimmer than the recently launched Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus.
As SlashGear points out, there is more texture on the back panel of the phone than most people would expect. It could partially be because of the 3D printing process, which might leave a patterned mark on the surface. What you can’t miss in the 4-minute long video is the vertically placed dual camera system on the back. There is a dual LED flash right below the camera setup.
Last month, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo told investors that the dual camera system would be the Galaxy Note 8’s “most important upgrade.” Kuo even assured investors that its dual camera will be better than the iPhone 7 Plus, and could even match the 10th anniversary iPhone 8. The analyst predicted that the Galaxy Note 8 would offer 3x optical zoom, a 12-megapixel wide-angle CIS with dual photodiode (2PD), and a 13-megapixel telephoto lens, dual 6P lenses, and dual OIS.
The 3D render also sports a dual camera setup on the front to let you take better selfies. The device doesn’t have a fingerprint scanner on the front or back. It means the fingerprint sensor would be embedded in the display itself. Samsung was originally planning to integrate the fingerprint sensor into the display of Galaxy S8. But it ran out of time to implement the technology, so it had to relocate the fingerprint sensor on the back panel, next to the camera.
By the time the Galaxy Note 8 comes out, there is a high chance Samsung would have figured out how to embed it under the front display.
Note 8 to be unveiled at IFA?
Samsung’s head of mobile business DJ Koh has already confirmed that the company was working on a better and safer Galaxy Note 8. Having learned its lesson from the Note 7 debacle, Samsung is unlikely to rush the Note 8 release. The rumor mill claims the Note 8 would be unveiled at the IFA trade show in Berlin.
IFA Executive Director Jens Heithecker said last month that IFA would be an ideal place for Samsung to unveil its upcoming flagship. Heithecker added that the Korean company would have the largest presence at the show. It is unclear whether Samsung would launch the Note 8 around the same time as Apple’s 10th anniversary iPhone 8, which would be the Note 8’s real competitor.
Will it offer 4K resolution?
The Galaxy Note 8 is rumored to sport a 6.3-inch dual edge Quad HD Super AMOLED display with 2560 x 1440 pixels resolution. A few reports claim that it could offer 4K display resolution. Samsung already has the 4K technology, but there is no credible evidence pointing to a 4K display in Note 8. Just like Galaxy S8, the Note 8 is expected to have an aspect ratio of 18.5:9.
We expect the Note 8 to be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 and Samsung’s in-house Exynos 8895 chipsets, depending on the region. The US consumers are most likely to get the Snapdragon variant, while the Exynos model will be sold in most Asian markets. The device is said to pack 6GB RAM and up to 256GB of internal storage. The Chinese version of Galaxy S8 Plus already comes with 6GB RAM, so the Note 8’s RAM upgrade won’t be a huge surprise.
For security, the device will have an iris scanner, an in-display fingerprint sensor, and facial recognition. Samsung is expected to improve its facial recognition technology in the coming months. A test revealed that the Galaxy S8’s face detection technology could easily be fooled with the owner’s photo. You could unlock the device using a photo even when its owner is nowhere around the device.
Other specs include a USB Type-C port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, an S Pen stylus, and a dedicated physical button for the Bixby AI assistant. The Galaxy Note 8 is rumored to pack a 3,700mAh battery. The phablet is tipped to run Android Nougat right out of the box.
The success of Galaxy S8 has proved that Samsung was able to convince consumers that its flagship devices are perfectly safe to use, and it has fixed the battery issues that affected the Galaxy Note 7. The Note 7 fiasco is expected to have little impact on the Note 8 sales.
