There is no stopping Galaxy Note 8 leaks. KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has predicted that the Note 8 would sport a dual camera system, and numerous leaks in the last few weeks have confirmed the feature. A new photo has popped up online showing the Galaxy Note 8 camera up close. On the front panel, the Note 8 is going to look similar to the Galaxy S8, but its rear panel would look entirely different.
Galaxy Note 8 camera to be arranged horizontally
The leak comes via Vietnamese blogger Tùng Hà, who posted two photos of the Note 8 on Facebook. One of them appears to be a mockup of the device. The front panel sports an edge-to-edge Infinity display, as previous rumors suggested. There is no home button. On the back, the image shows a camera bump consisting of two sensors. The LED flash and heart rate sensor are to the right of the Galaxy Note 8 camera setup. They are arranged vertically.
Next to the LED flash and heart rate sensor is the fingerprint scanner. The Note 8 wouldn’t feature an in-display fingerprint solution, a Samsung executive has confirmed. The company had tried to embed it under the OLED display, but eventually chose not to use the optical fingerprint solution because of security and yield issues.
The second image gives us a closer look at the Galaxy Note 8 camera. While it confirms the horizontal arrangement of the camera lenses and LED flash, it makes us wonder whether the fingerprint sensor would behave like a button. There is a possibility of the fingerprint sensor being placed under an actual button. It’s not yet clear whether it is a prototype, dummy, or a working model.
Note 8 to retain the headphone jack
Tùng Hà has also posted three photos of what appear to be Note 8 case renders. They show cutouts for the rear camera, power button, and volume buttons. Separately, Twitter user @kissykennysmatt shared pictures of Note 8 cases. The accessories show cutout for the 3.5mm headphone jack at the bottom, which should come as a major relief for audiophiles.
Leaked Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Protective Case Reveals Interesting Features #TechnologyNewsKE pic.twitter.com/0FL3aDTDYv
— kɪsːy / kɛnːy / smɑːt / (@kissykennysmatt) July 5, 2017
Note 8 dual camera to be a formidable challenger to the iPhone 8
Late last month, Samsung showed off four ISOCELL camera sensors for smartphones. One of the four, ISOCELL Dual, is said to be headed for the Galaxy Note 8. Samsung hasn’t yet confirmed, though. But the timing of the announcement suggests that it will be used in the Note 8. The ISOCELL Dual consists of two 13MP sensors with a f/2.0 aperture.
Internal documents seen by SamMobile reveal that the Galaxy Note 8 camera would be capable enough to challenge the iPhone 8. The ISOCELL Dual would come with features like optical zoom, depth sensing, and improved low-light capabilities. It would be able to create a bokeh effect similar to the iPhone 7 Plus. The iPhone 8 camera is also expected to see an improvement over the iPhone 7 Plus.
Galaxy Note 8 specifications
The Galaxy Note 8 is expected to sport a giant 6.3-inch Super AMOLED display. It would be curved on both sides. The phablet would have the same Infinity display and 18.5:9 aspect ratio as the S8 and S8 Plus. Note 8 is rumored to pack 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. However, Samsung could also launch a China-specific Emperor edition with 8GB RAM and 256GB of built-in storage.
The phablet is expected to be powered by Exynos 8895 or Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 SoC, depending on the market. The Western markets are likely to get the Snapdragon variant. However, ITHome reported last month that Qualcomm was working on an improved Snapdragon 836, which would debut with the Galaxy Note 8. Neither Qualcomm nor Samsung has confirmed anything about it.
Furthermore, the rumor mill expects the Note 8 to feature a 3300mAh battery. If it turns out to be true, the Note 8 battery would be smaller than Galaxy S8 Plus’ 3500mAh battery. Maybe Samsung is trying to play safe here because of the Galaxy Note 7 battery fiasco last year. Benchmark tests revealed that the upcoming flagship would run Android 7.1.1 Nougat instead of the upcoming Android O. Google’s Pixel 2 will be the first device to run Android O.
Galaxy Note 8 price and release date
Korean site Osen has confirmed that the Note 8 would offer 64GB and 128GB of internal storage. There will also be a microSD card slot to let users expand storage by up to 256GB. Industry sources told Osen that Note 8 would be Samsung’s first flagship smartphone to cost above $1,000. The most expensive version could set users back by as much as $1,100.
There have been all sorts of confusing reports about the Note 8 release date. Some reports claim the device would be unveiled in mid-August, while others point to an early September unveiling at the IFA trade show in Berlin. However, a reliable report from The Investor says the handset would be announced on August 26th at an Unpacked event. The venue hasn’t been finalized yet. The Note 8 unveiling may still be a few months away, but you can now purchase the phone’s cases on MobileFun.
