Even though LG G6 wasn’t a great success, it became the first smartphone to get the Netflix HDR video support earlier this year. The video streaming company has since offered support for Sony Xperia XZ Premium, Xperia XZ1, and the latest LG V30. Netflix has now added HDR support for Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8 as well. If you want to enjoy the Netflix HDR experience on the go, the Note 8 could be the right choice, especially because it also features the best smartphone display on the planet.
Galaxy Note 8 gets Netflix HDR support
Samsung started supporting HDR videos with the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7 a year ago. The Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus released earlier this year also featured HDR capable displays. The Galaxy Note 8 also comes with HDR support. However, it was Netflix that didn’t support HDR content on Samsung phones until now. The US video streaming service is one of the largest producers and distributors of HDR content.
Folks at SamMobile spotted that Netflix has added Galaxy Note 8 to the list of phones that support HDR on its FAQs page. The Galaxy S8, S8 Plus, and Galaxy Tab S3 are yet to get the Netflix HDR support, even though all of them have HDR capable screens. The Note 8 has a peak display brightness of up to 1,200 nits, which is 22% higher than Galaxy S8 and almost 70% higher than the iPhone 7 Plus.
The Galaxy Note 8 supports the HDR10 format. Samsung is currently working with Amazon on the HDR10+ format. The Netflix HDR support will allow Note 8 users to enjoy a select number of Netflix shows and movies in richer color and higher contrast. However, the phone must run the latest firmware to playback HDR content correctly. It’s worth pointing out that Netflix offers HDR videos only to people who have subscribed to its top-tier streaming plan.
HDR10 that the Note 8 supports is just one of the five major HDR formats. LG G6 supports the Dolby Vision format.
Note 8 has the best smartphone display
A few days ago, experts at DisplayMate rated the Galaxy Note 8 display as the best in the world. That’s because the Korean electronics behemoth has been perfecting the OLED display technology for years. Even Apple will source the OLED screens from Samsung for its 10th anniversary iPhone 8. DisplayMate said the Note 8 offers a “noticeable and major improvement” over the Galaxy S8, which had received an A+ rating from the testing firm.
The Galaxy Note 8’s gorgeous 6.3-inch Infinity display offers a larger native color gamut and higher peak brightness than the Galaxy S8. It boasts of Full 100% color gamut found on 4K OLED TV sets certified by the UHD alliance. The Note 8 offers 141% of sRGB and 112% DCI-P3, besides allowing you to fine tune the color balance. Samsung has also included a variety of calibrated display modes. The Note 8 display has a resolution of 2960 x 1440, which results in an impressive 521ppi pixel density.
Galaxy Note 8 specs
The phablet is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 chipset, though the EMEA version comes with the Exynos 8895 processor. Samsung has bumped up the RAM to 6GB. The Note 8 comes with 64GB of base storage, which users can further expand via a microSD card slot. Samsung also offers 128GB and 256GB storage models.
The flagship phablet comes with Android 7.1.1 Nougat, though it is expected to receive the Android Oreo update in the near future. The Note 8 features fast charging technology with Quick Charge 3.0 support, wireless charging, a 3.5mm audio jack, a USB Type-C port, and Bluetooth 5.0 support. The device packs a non-removable 3,300mAh battery. By using a non-removable battery, Samsung has signaled it is fully confident the Note 8 won’t blow up like Galaxy Note 7.
The Korean company has added an iris scanner, facial recognition, and a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner for security. The Note 8 is Samsung’s first premium smartphone to offer a dual camera functionality. The device has a 12MP wide-angle and a 12MP telephoto lens, both of which support Optical Image Stabilization (OIS). It has an 8MP camera on the front. The Note 8 dual camera can take portrait shots similar to the iPhone 7 Plus.
Samsung starts shipping Note 8 to pre-order customers
Samsung and its carrier partners have already been taking pre-orders for the Galaxy Note 8. Early reports suggest that the pre-orders have been better than Samsung anticipated. The device is set to go on sale on September 15th. However, Reddit users are claiming that Sprint and Verizon have already started shipping the units to pre-order customers. Even Samsung has started shipping the device.
A few Reddit users claim that their order status on Samsung.com has changed to “Shipped,” meaning their handset could arrive in just a few days. Carriers and third-party sellers are known for shipping smartphones earlier than expected, but it’s rare for the vendor itself to take a similar route.
The Note 8 has been priced at $930, though the company is offering a free Gear 360 camera or a combo of a convertible wireless charger and a 128GB microSD card. Samsung is also giving a discount of up to $425 to the Galaxy Note 7, though they will have turn in their current phone.
