Samsung announced the new Samsung Galaxy Note 8 at their Unpacked event in NYC and the phone is feature packed and hoping to lure back Note 7 owners and Android fans. As usual, Samsung set up the event well in advance of Apple’s rumored iPhone 7S, 7S Plus, and 8 announcements with the pre-orders going live tomorrow (8/24) on various carriers and the device hitting store shelves on September 15th. If the rumored Apple announcement is truly on the 12th then Samsung not only has lead time but also a retail presence to boot. Let’s get to the specs, shall we?
| Display | 6.3-inch Quad HD+ Super AMOLED, 2960×1440 (521ppi) *Screen measured diagonally as a full rectangle without accounting for the rounded corners *Default resolution is Full HD+ and can be changed to Quad HD+ (WQHD+) in Settings |
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| Camera | Rear: Dual Camera with Dual OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) – Wide-angle: 12MP Dual Pixel AF, F1.7, OIS – Telephoto: 12MP AF, F2.4, OIS – 2X optical zoom, up to 10X digital zoom Front: 8MP AF, F1.7 |
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| Body | 162.5 x 74.8 x 8.6mm, 195g, IP68 (S Pen: 5.8 x 4.2 x 108.3mm, 2.8g, IP68) *Carrying an IP68 dust and water resistance rating. Based on test conditions of submersion in up to 1.5 meters of fresh water for up to 30 minutes |
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| AP | Octa core (2.3GHz Quad + 1.7GHz Quad), 64bit, 10nm processor Octa core (2.35GHz Quad + 1.9GHz Quad), 64bit, 10nm processor *May differ by market and mobile operator |
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| Memory | 6GB RAM (LPDDR4), 64GB/128GB/256GB *May differ by market and mobile operator *User memory is less than the total memory due to storage of the operating system and software used to operate the device features. Actual user memory will vary depending on the operator and may change after software upgrades are performed. |
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| SIM Card | Single: one Nano SIM and one MicroSD slot (up to 256GB) Hybrid: one Nano SIM and one Nano SIM or one MicroSD slot (up to 256GB) *May differ by market and mobile operator |
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| Battery | 3,300mAh Wireless Charging compatible with WPC and PMA Fast Charging compatible with QC 2.0 |
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| OS | Android 7.1.1 | |
| Network | LTE Cat. 16 *May differ by market and mobile operator |
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| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz), VHT80 MU-MIMO, 1024QAM, Bluetooth® v 5.0 (LE up to 2Mbps), ANT+, USB Type-C, NFC, Location (GPS, Galileo*, Glonass, BeiDou*) *Galileo and BeiDou coverage may be limited. |
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| Payment | NFC, MST | |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, Barometer, Fingerprint Sensor, Gyro Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, Hall Sensor, Heart Rate Sensor, Proximity Sensor, RGB Light Sensor, Iris Sensor, Pressure Sensor | |
| Authentication | Lock Type: Pattern, Pin, Password Biometric Lock Types: Iris Scanner, Fingerprint Scanner, Facial Recognition |
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| Audio | MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA, DSF, DFF, APE | |
| Video | MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM | |
The S-Pen and camera improvements on the some of the more notable features for me personally with the rear dual 12-megapixel cameras making a compelling case for stellar image quality versus the iPhone 7 Plus especially as both cameras have optical image stabilization versus the feature only being on the primary iPhone 7 Plus camera. Selfie fans get an 8-megapixel camera with F/1.7 which will ensure solid low light selfie photos.
The S Pen will have more levels of pressure sensitivity to make note taking and drawing even more detailed and if you’re inclined to write in water or in the rain you can rest easy as the S Pen is water-resistant much like it was on the Note 7.
The Note 8 will once again see the return of USB Type-C so definitely be ready to get some adapters or new chargers for your car and/or offices although the 3,300 mAh battery will mean less charging as is the case with most Note devices.
As usual color options and accessories will be plentiful when the Note 8 arrives. You can check them out below.
Do all the new features make a compelling case to pick up the Note 8 or will you wait and see what Apple has in store. We’d love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to comment below.
