Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Note 8 has been one of the biggest targets of the rumor mill this year. The Internet is flooded with leaks, rumors, and renders of the phablet. The phone is expected to borrow the general design elements of the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus, though there will be a few notable differences. However, a new Galaxy Note 8 concept shows that the phablet would retain a major feature that had disappointed most Galaxy S8 users.
Galaxy Note 8 concept has a rear-mounted fingerprint solution
The new Galaxy Note 8 concept comes from Vietnamese designer Tùng Hà. The S8 was not a bad phone. In fact, it is one of the best phones launched this year. However, users had criticized its rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, which increased the chances of users accidentally putting their fingers on the camera lens.
Tùng Hà’s concept is in line with almost all the credible leaks and rumors we have come across in the last few weeks. It shows the device both from the front and back. The front panel looks almost identical to that of the Galaxy S8 Plus. The rumor mill claims the Note 8 would have a 6.3-inch display with Quad HD+ resolution and an 18.5:9 aspect ratio. It has the same, though slightly larger, Infinity display as the S8 Plus.
The Galaxy Note 8 concept shows no sign of Bixby button on the left, though other leaks have confirmed the presence of a Bixby button on the left side. You can see the volume buttons on the left, and the power button on the right side of the phablet. The Note 8 also comes with an S Pen stylus.
On the back panel, the phone houses a dual-camera system, which is arranged horizontally. The dual LED flash sits next to the dual camera setup. But the concept surprisingly has the fingerprint sensor placed next to the LED flash in the same row. It means there will be only LED flash between the cameras and the fingerprint sensor. If it turns out to be true, users may still accidentally put their fingers on the camera lenses.
The Galaxy Note 8 is unlikely to have an in-display fingerprint sensor. The Korean electronics giant had previously tried to integrate the fingerprint scanner into the Galaxy S8 display, but eventually decided to drop it. A Samsung executive recently said that the company had decided not to use the in-display fingerprint solution on the Note 8 as well due to security and yield issues.
Multiple leaks confirm the Note 8 fingerprint sensor location
The Note 8 cases made by Olixar are already listed for sale on e-commerce platform MobileFun. The cases corroborate with Tùng Hà’s Galaxy Note 8 concept, except that the cases also point to a dedicated Bixby button on the left. The accessories listed on MobileFun have accurately leaked the design of premium devices like Galaxy S8 and iPhone 7 Plus in the past.
Another confirmation about the location of the fingerprint sensor comes from Jonathan Endicott, the CEO of smartphone accessories maker Slickwraps. Endicott posted a CAD render of the Note 8 that shows the same fingerprint location as imagined in Tùng Hà’s Galaxy Note 8 concept. Samsung has increased the distance between the camera setup and the fingerprint sensor by placing the LED flash between them.
https://twitter.com/headslickwrap/status/881857323773440001
Samsung has unveiled the Note 8 camera sensors
A few days ago, Samsung unveiled four new ISOCELL sensors. One of them, called ISOCELL Dual, will reportedly be used in the Galaxy Note 8. It features two 13MP sensors with an f/2.0 aperture. Unlike iPhone 7 Plus, the Note 8 dual camera would consist of an RGB sensor and a monochrome sensor. The camera software would merge the images taken by the two cameras to deliver a single, crisper image.
According to a recent Weibo post, the Note 8 dual camera sensors would be supplied by Samsung Electro-Mechanics. The current Galaxy S8 uses Sony’s IMX333 sensors. KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is pretty sure that the Note 8 rear camera would outperform the iPhone 7 Plus. However, the Note 8’s main competition will be the 10th anniversary iPhone 8 rather than the iPhone 7 Plus.
Note 8 specs and price
According to the rumor mill, the Note 8 would sport 6GB RAM, though there will also be an 8GB RAM variant called Emperor edition for the Chinese market. The phablet would be powered by Qualcomm’s 64-bit Snapdragon 835 processor or Samsung’s Exynos 8895, depending on the market. The device is expected to feature a 3300mAh battery and Android 7.1.1 Nougat.
Inside sources told Korea publication Osen that the Note 8 would arrive in two storage options: 64GB and 128GB. Users will be able to further expand storage up to 256GB via a microSD card slot. The same publication added that the Note 8 could be Samsung’s first flagship smartphone to cost more than $1,000. Other reports from reliable tipsters have also suggested that it would be Samsung’s most expensive flagship smartphone.
According to The Investor, the Note 8 would be unveiled on August 26 at an Unpacked event. Samsung was yet to finalize the venue for the event.
