We are so close to the Galaxy Note 8 release that I can almost taste it. The summer has been filled with rumors and leaks so… Why not add another one into the mix? This latest leak comes courtesy of ET News and suggests the Galaxy Note 8 pre-order window is not far away. It appears that the Galaxy Note 8 will be officially revealed August 23rd – that’s just a couple of weeks away! Then, Samsung will be in stores showing off the device to prospective customers. Finally, from September 1st through September 10th, the Galaxy Note 8 will be available for pre-order. Then, the countdown will be on to the official launch date of the Galaxy Note 8 which is rumored to be September 15th. That means we are just a little over a month away from being able to hold a Galaxy Note 8 in our hands!
This should all come as welcome news for fans of the phablet smartphone who have been patiently awaiting the Galaxy Note 8 since the Note 7 met a fiery demise. As you may recall, last years Galaxy Note 7 was recalled worldwide after several instances of fires. Airplanes even took the drastic step of banning Galaxy Note 7 devices from their flights. When you have been banned from flying on a plane, you know you have really messed up.
With the iPhone 8 coming this fall, the Galaxy Note 8 is going to be up against some stiff competition. This is why Samsung has apparently chosen to push ahead the release of the Galaxy Note 8. Some say that Samsung wants to try and get away from the Galaxy Note 7 image as much as possible so they have chosen a slightly earlier launch date. I think if that were actually the case then Samsung also would have gone so far as to change the name of the device. Instead, they have pushed up the launch date and kept the name. Clearly they don’t want people to forget the “Note” name that badly. Rather, they likely want to beat Apple to market and start gaining the attention of fall smartphone buyers before Apple even has their new flagship smartphone on the market.
So, what do we know about the Samsung Galaxy Note 8? Lots, actually. The flagship smartphone from Samsung has not exactly been the best kept secret of the summer. Here are some of the interesting features rumored to be coming in the Galaxy Note 8:
New Camera Features
Some marketing materials from Samsung appear to have leaked the new Galaxy Note 8 camera features. Using the dual camera sensor, the Galaxy Note 8 will be able to offer 3x optical zoom. This is a huge improvement over digital zoom as optical zoom is able to offer much clearer images at a distance. There will also be improved low-light performance as well as a suspected augmented reality application that is able to measure the distance and height of subjects in the photo. With Apple putting a lot of emphasis on AR as well; it will be very interesting to see which company puts forth the best option for enjoying AR.
New Design
Say goodbye to the home button. The Galaxy Note 8 will adopt a very clean, beautiful infinity display much like we see on the Galaxy S8 and S8+. Instead of physical navigation buttons, the Galaxy Note 8 will move forward with on-screen buttons. The back side of the device will likely look a lot like the Galaxy S8 as well. Some leaked renders have shown that the positioning of the fingerprint sensor on the Galaxy Note 8 has been improved. Of course, these are just renders and we can’t call anything official until Samsung makes it official.
Specs
One thing is for sure… The Galaxy Note 8 isn’t going to be a slouch in the specs department. The Note 8 promises to have 6GB of RAM onboard to work alongside a Snapdragon 835 in the United States and an Exynos 8895 in international versions. There have also been rumors that China might get a special Galaxy Note 8 Emperor Edition which features 8GB of RAM and 256GB of onboard storage. That would certainly be one beefy smartphone but it’s always good knowing you can have a lot of Chrome browser tabs all open at once.
Galaxy Note 8 Pre-Order Date and Launch
Finally, thanks to the information that came out recently; we know that Galaxy Note 8 will be released on September 15th. If you want to be one of the first with a Galaxy Note 8 in your hands, keep an eye for the Galaxy Note 8 pre-order offers which should be active between September 1st and 10th. Those days are coming up quick so you better decide soon whether you plan on ordering the Galaxy Note 8. Of course, many people may want to wait and see what happens this fall. The iPhone 8 and Google Pixel XL 2 should provide some stiff competition for the Galaxy Note 8.
