Samsung has announced the Galaxy Note8, its top-end flagship smartphone with a huge display and S Pen stylus.
The Note8 eschews the blockier design language of previous generations for the svelte look of the Galaxy S8 and S8+. The phone has two curved pieces of glass mated to an aluminum frame.
The Note8 jumps to Samsung’s Super AMOLED Infinity Display. It measures 6.3 inches across the diagonal with quad HD+ resolution.
The Note8 is among the first from Samsung to move to a dual-camera configuration. The handset has twin, full-color 12-megapixel sensors with one wide-angle lens (f/1.7) and one telephoto lens (f/2.4). The cameras make use of optical image stabilization and electronic image stabilization, with the telephoto lens providing 2x optical zoom and up to 10x digital zoom. Some of the unique shooting modes include Live Focus for selective focus (bokeh) photos that can be adjusted before or after the image is captured, and dual capture, which lets people simultaneously take a zoomed shot through the telephoto lens as well as a wide-angle shot through the main lens.
Samsung updated the S Pen stylus: the tip now measures 0.7mm and provides the same feedback as most ballpoint pens. The phone is able to detect 4,096 different levels of pressure to record exactly what the user scribbles on the screen. On the software front, the S Pen can create animated memos through a feature called Live Message. The messages can be transmitted and opened by most platforms/apps that support GIFs.
The existing screen-off memo tool now lets people create up to 100 pages of text without waking the screen, and supports dynamic use cases, such as crossing items off a shopping list. The S Pen function can translate entire phrases now, as well as access more templates in the PenUp mode.
Most of the phone’s other specs mirror those of the S8 devices. It has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor with 6 GB of RAM, Gigabit LTE, 3,300 mAh battery with rapid wireless charging, and a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. The Note8 and S Pen are waterproof, and security features include iris/face unlock, as well as Knox 2.9.
The phone has a dedicated Bixby key and upgraded DeX software that improves multitasking when used in PC mode. Preorders for the Samsung Galaxy Note8 begin August 24 and the device will go on sale September 15.
Samsung said an unlocked variant will go on sale when the carrier models do. Carriers will charge $930-960 full retail price. Samsung plans to sell the black and gray versions in the U.S., while blue and gold versions will also be sold overseas.
