By Billy Z.
Samsung has just taken off the wraps on the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 – the next iteration of the successful Note stylus-phablet series. Can the company regain the hearts and minds of Note Fans and smartphone enthusiasts alike after the unfortunate explosive demise of the Note 7 last year? Let’s find out.
Key Features
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 - SGD 1398
In the Box: 1. Galaxy Note 8 with S Pen | 2. Tweezer and Pen nibs | 3. Fast Charging Power Brick | 4. Micro USB Adaptor | 5. USB Type-C Adaptor | 6. USB Type-C cable | 7. Sim Card Ejection pin | 8. AKG Earphones | 9. Case
Specifications
Building On The Success Of The S8
At first glance, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 can be easily mistaken for its predecessor, the Galaxy S8 – and for good reason. The Note 8 sports a very similar glass body, bezel-less AMOLED infinity edge display, even the same Exynos 8895 processor, and storage setup. What’s different is the dual camera setup at the back, the addition of the S-pen, and an additional 2GB of RAM inside.
Users of the S7 Edge and S8 will notice that the Samsung Galaxy Note 8’s glass body is also a little more squarish as compared to the predecessors; it has sharper, more defined curves at the sides of the screen, and a flatter front surface area. Although this seems like a step backward from the smooth, pebble-like screens of its predecessors, Samsung says that the design was revised for stylus users in mind – with a bigger surface area, it’s easier to write using the S-pen stylus.
Speaking of which – S-pen stylus is back once again, with a few new improvements added. You can now create Live Messages – animations from handwriting and drawings you can send to others. They can be saved as .gifs, so you can share them with family and friends through Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram or any App which supports gif playback. Live Messages are similar to the iOS Messenger app’s Digital Handwriting effects, but can now be enjoyed by users of all devices because they’re now saved in a universal format.
The S-pen on the Galaxy Note 8 also has a new translation and conversion currency mode – when you highlight text or cash amounts and hover over them with the S-pen, the phone will show the highlighted sections in the translated language or converted currency you wish to see. We think this is extremely useful for students, travelers – especially business users, who have to switch currencies and translate languages on their travels. Other than that, the new S-pen gets a few improvements in its screen-off note taking feature – you can now write up to a hundred pages of text while the screen is off, as compared to the single page on the earlier versions. Overall, S-pen is a great value-add to the Note 8, just like what the Surface Pen is to the Surface Pro – it works with OneNote, Evernote and other applications; and Samsung is working with third party developers to expand its functionality even further in third party apps.
The new Dual Camera setup allows users to do three main things: take clearer photos of subjects further away, take ‘Live Photos’ with and editable shallow depth of field (blurrier backgrounds), and take wide angle and zoom photos with both cameras simultaneously. Although we’ve seen some of these features in other dual-camera phones such as the Huawei P10, Oppo R11, Nokia 8 and iPhone 7, we think that Samsung’s implementations are really impressive.
The Live Photo feature produces sharp photos with an adjustable, shallow depth of field (blurry background) – similar to the effects made by a fast lens on a DSLR camera. Many phone manufacturers try to enhance this blurry effect but make it look quite unrealistic.
Camera shots are taken extremely fast and images appear crisp, sharp and vivid. Although there were some overblown highlights in photos taken in extreme sunlight, this is a problem easily solved with a little editing in Instagram or Lightroom Mobile. Videos also come out really steady due to the double OIS on both lenses, and the various new modes such as Live Photo and Dual Capture work well and are easy to use. We dare say that this is one of the best smartphone cameras in existence right now.
Comparison of a normal shot and a live photo shot.
Camera shots are taken extremely fast and images appear crisp, sharp and vivid. Although there were some overblown highlights in photos taken in extreme sunlight, this is a problem easily solved with a little editing in Instagram or Lightroom Mobile. Videos also come out really steady due to the double OIS on both lenses, and the various new modes such as Live Photo and Dual Capture work well and are easy to use. We dare say that this is one of the best smartphone cameras in existence right now.
Bixby
Samsung’s Bixby AI Assistant is back on the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, complete with the same (sadly, still unprogrammable) dedicated button. It now works with voice commands, and can even execute several of them at once – you can assign a ‘voice shortcut’ to a series of three pre-programmed actions, instead of having talk a voice assistant thrice. For example, you could say “Bixby, lets go running!” and Bixby would open up and play your running playlist, start tracking your fitness stats and turn your notification volume to the max.
Even though Bixby is still limited in integration and functionality as compared to Siri and Google Now, the voice shortcuts and ability to perform complex tasks such as applying a greyscale feature to photos by voice alone are really amazing updates. There’s alot of potential in Bixby: Samsung is looking for more third party developers to work with them and will be unveiling some partnerships in their upcoming Samsung Developer Conference. If Samsung plays their cards right and works towards better third party integration, they can potentially one-up Siri and Google Now. Smart Gears
Like the S8, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 can be used with all of Samsung’s smart accessories – including the Gear VR headset, Gear 360 camera, and DeX station dock. We’re particularly excited about the DeX dock – you can use the Note 8 in a desktop environment, allowing you to make presentations, work on excel files, or even play games such as Vainglory with a keyboard and mouse.
Overall, The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 feels like a minor incremental upgrade to its predecessor. It’s a little boring compared to the S8 at first glance – but given the success of the S8 series, it’s good that Samsung is sticking to a formula and hardware setup that most users and reviewers have come to love.
Local Pricing and Availability – S$1398
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will be available from 15 September 2017 at a recommended retail price of $1,398 including GST. Available in Midnight Black, Maple Gold and Orchid Gray, the device will be available at all local telecommunication operators, major consumer electronic stores, authorized mobile retailers, Samsung Experience Stores and Lazada Singapore.
Should you get the Samsung Galaxy Note 8?
You should definitely get the Note 8 if you’re a Samsung fan or a long-time Note user. It’s worth the investment and a good upgrade.You should also consider getting the Note 8 if you’re on a 2014/5 flagship, or out of contract and are looking for a new phone. The LG V30 will be announced on August 30th; if you’re looking for more options, wait for that to launch first before pulling the trigger. If you’re on iOS or a mid-range Android phone, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will take some getting used to in terms of features and hardware. Try it out extensively – especially the S-pen. If you don’t need all the extra stylus features, the S8 is a perfectly good phone to consider. Pre-order and Registration of Interest
Pre Order Bonus and Packages:
All pre-orders come with a free DeX Station worth $198 during collection of and upon full payment for their devices from 9 September 2017. You’ll also get some promotional vouchers on DeX accessories, such as:
The following Galaxy Note 8 accessories will launch alongside the device:
From 9 September to 31 October 2017, customers who purchase or successfully pre-ordered a Galaxy Note8 can enjoy 20% off their purchase of any original Samsung Galaxy Note8 accessories, upon full payment. The launch promotion will be available at all local telecommunication operators, major consumer electronics stores, authorised mobile retailers, Samsung Experience Stores and Lazada Singapore.
Additionally, Samsung will also be having two special promotions7 to celebrate the launch of the Galaxy Note8 at all Samsung Experience Stores. From 9 September to 31 October 20176, customers will be able to enjoy the following special bundle offers at discounted prices with the purchase of every unit of the Galaxy Note8:
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