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Introduction
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is the direct successor of the discontinued Samsung Galaxy Note 7 that made a dramatic impact on the company’s revenue, losing $17 billion due to battery defects. The “Do bigger things” smartphone improves a lot from its features and the legendary S Pen, increasing its pressure sensitivity levels.
The competition is higher than expected as many high-end phones were launched this year, including the LG G6, Huawei Mate 10, iPhone X and LG V30. But the leading query here is: Will this flagship phone enough to maintain the credibility of the Note series from what happened last year? Here’s our detailed review of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.
Key specs:
- 6.3-inch QHD+ Super AMOLED display, 2960 X 1440 resolution, 521 ppi
- Corning Gorilla Glass 5
- Always-on display
- Android 7.1.1 “Nougat”
- Single-SIM / Dual-SIM, dual standby
- 2.3Ghz 64-bit Exynos 8895 octa-core processor
- Mali-G71 GPU
- 64GB / 128GB / 256GB internal storage
- Expandable microSD slot up to 256GB
- 6GB RAM
- Dual 12-megapixel rear cameras, f/1.7 aperture with phase detection auto-focus, optical image stabilization, and LED flash
- 8-megapixel front camera, auto-focus with f/1.7 aperture, and Auto-HDR
- 2160p at 30fps of video recording
- IP68 water and dust resistant
- Fingerprint scanner
- Iris scanner
- Bixby virtual assistant
- 4G LTE+ (Category 16)
- Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
- Bluetooth 5.0
- GPS, with A-GPS, GALILEO
- NFC
- USB-OTG capable
- USB Type-C connector
- 162.5 x 74.8 x 8.6 mm
- 195 grams
- 3,300 mAh non-removable battery, Quick Charge 2.0
Unboxing
We have the Maple Gold (64GB) for the full review. Getting first the accessories, we have some papers here, and in this case, it’s a specific to the European version, meaning the Single-SIM variant. Here in the Philippines, we have the dual-SIM model. Aside from that, we have the sim ejection tool. All of the other compartments are black, the fast adaptive charger, the USB cable, two USB Type-C adapters (one for USB and the other for microUSB), a pair of premium AKG earphones (Harman Kardon certified) and some extra earbuds with different sizes that are suitable in our ears.
Display and build
Most of you will probably notice the screen’s appearance of the Galaxy Note 8. While maintaining the screen technology used here, the extra tall display with shrunken bezels can be easily seen, just like on the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus.
Despite of having thin bezels at the top and bottom part, most of the screen has been occupied with the enormous 6.3-inch Super AMOLED ‘Infinity’ display with QHD+ resolution, which equates to 2960 x 1440 pixels or 521 ppi, being one of the most sharpest mobile phones in the market, in terms of display density. Even in outdoors, the Galaxy Note 8 is very bright, with record-breaking 1,200 nits. Viewing angles are superb.
The screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5 and supports 10-point multi-touch, which can benefit when playing games. The Super AMOLED technology is just remarkable to see, with deep blacks, vivid colors and high contrast ratio. It’s very useful in watching a movie or viewing an image. It also supports HDR10, which is convenient when you’re using Youtube application.
Moving to the other sides, the home button has been exchanged by an on-screen button, together with the recent and back buttons, while the fingerprint scanner has been moved to the back, right side of the dual cameras. Honestly, it looks so awkward and not a great place for it. It tends to be more difficult to reach by our right hand, ‘coz of the tall display. Nevertheless, it is fast and accurate at all times.
At the front also, there’s an LED light for infrared camera (facial recognition) and iris scanner, light sensors and the usual notification LED light.
Going down to the bottom edge, we have the single-firing mono speaker, a small hole for the microphone, USB-Type C connector, the 3.5 mm audio jack and the integrated S-Pen tray. To pull out the S-Pen, we must press the top of it. The phone itself and the S-Pen are certified IP68 and can be submerged in water up to 1.5 meters for up to 30 minutes.
The SIM card and micro-SD card trays are found on the upper left edge of the phone. There’s also a physical key for Bixby, together with the volume keys on the left, while the power button lies on the right side.
Audio quality
The speaker on the bottom is a ‘mono’ again. It can play loud but the quality is mild average. The sounds are a bit tinny but the bass can be easily heard. Again, better to use earphones that offers a noise-free sound output.
Software, UI & S-Pen
The operating system used in the Galaxy Note 8 is Google’s Android 7.1.1 “Nougat” with Samsung’s own UI 8.5. An update to Android 8.0 “Oreo” is expected. Some applications that are available are pre-installed, including Microsoft apps that cannot be uninstalled but can be deactivated. Themes are accessible via Theme Store.
We have an access to the Edge screen to make easier in accessing applications and contacts. For example, in the Apps Edge, it displays the user’s five most frequently used apps, while the People Edge adds the closest contacts for quick means of approach. If we make calls or send messages to our favorite contact, just swipe the edge screen.
The facial recognition and iris scanner are available for further security features, but they’re not nearly reliable as the fingerprint sensor.
The aforementioned S-Pen here is a stylus that recognizes 4,096 pressure sensitivity and has some tricks. We can use it to make some notes while the Galaxy Note 8 is in standby mode/Always-on display. Taking the pen out of the case will reveal a quick access toolbar that can be easily access depending on your needs. Speaking on the Always-on display, it allows the user to check the time and date with no trouble, missed calls and message alerts. It can be customized in the Settings though. We can disable it to consume energy, as it affects the battery life of the phone.
Performance
Samsung’s own Exynos 8895 takes the chipset inside the Note 8. Its CPU has eight cores, consisting of four Cortex-A53 cores (up to 1.7Ghz) as well as four M1 cores that can reach up to 2.3Ghz. It is supported by a 6GB of RAM and Mali-G71 MP20 as the integrated graphics unit. It offers a class-leading performance that we get in a smartphone.
| Antutu: | 173,184 |
| Geekbench: | |
| Single-core | 1,987 |
| Multi-core | 6,705 |
| Renderscript | 8,289 |
| Vellamo: | |
| Multi-core | 3,621 |
| Metal | 3,140 |
| Ice Storm Extreme: | 12,781 |
| Sling Shot Extreme: | 1,901 |
| Quadrant: | 43,638 |
Camera & Video
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 uses a dual-camera system, the first of its kind in the Korean phone manufacturer. We have two 12-megapixel lenses, one with a f/1.7 aperture for a wide-angle sensor, and the other, f/2.4 aperture for telephoto purposes, both equipped with optical image stabilization, the first in the market.
The camera’s user interface is very simple and familiar for the phones with two cameras. We have the 2X option that allows to zoom-in and zoom-out, but we can manually zoom it using the accompanying slider. Another interesting feature is the “Live Focus” mode. It is very similar to the portrait or “bokeh” mode that we can find in other mid-range and premium smartphones. The stereoscopic vision helps in better image processing to blur the background of the photo, and of course, we can selectively adjust the surrounding blur.
Whether it’s a daylight or low-light scenarios, we get lots of detail and has a good HDR feature, somewhat resembles on the Galaxy S8 and can capture so fast and accurate too. The colors are great, not oversaturated and overexposed, while others look very crisp. The front camera has an 8-megapixel shooter with Samsung’s S5K3H1 sensor, autofocus, a f/1.7 aperture and 1.22 µm pixel size. As a result, it can handle decent photos, especially for selfies and group selfies. To add some tastes, a bunch of stickers is available. Check out the samples below.
Rear camera
Front camera
Meanwhile, videos can be recorded up to 2160p at 30 fps, and also, 1080p at either 30 fps or 60 fps.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRPVo4nnf6s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvWHh8fsm2k&t=11s
Connectivity
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is supported by a variety of connectivity functions. The Wi-Fi module bears the standard IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac in 2.4Ghz and 5.0Ghz networks. VHT80 MU-MIMO and 1024QAM mode are supported as well, for higher transfer rates. Mobile internet connections can be recognized via LTE Cat. 16 (up to 1 Gbps of downloads and 150 Mbps for upload). Many frequencies are covered here, with LTE band 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/17/18/19/20/25/26/28/32/66/38/39/40/41, as such, travelers from around the world should not worry about it.
For geolocation, the phone supports GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, and Galileo. Other includes NFC, Bluetooth 5.0 that has A2DP, aptX, and ANT+. A lot of sensors are also available (except for the Iris scanner and fingerprint which were already mentioned above): gyro, proximity, accelerometer, heart rate, barometer, compass, and SpO2. Lastly, it can connect to Samsung DeX docking station via Display Port 1.3., so that you’ll be having a desktop/PC operating system.
Battery Life
The battery life on the Galaxy Note 8 is somewhat lower to what we’ve found on the Galaxy Note 7. It’s a 3,300 mAh non-removable capacity, compared to the previous model that has 3,500 mAh battery.
Looking into a more critical aspect, Samsung now using an enhanced 8-point inspection and testing protocol to prevent the fiasco from the previous flagship model. Going back to the battery life, using the phone for a whole day requires us to charge it 2x. I’m a heavy user, so not complaining at all. But thanks to its fast charging feature, it can definitely recharge the device in 90 to 95 minutes.
Many factors should consider in affecting the phone’s battery runtime, most especially, the screen resolution as we are using the maximum 1440p in the display. To extend the battery life, there are battery power saving features that can be found in the settings.
Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 leaves very good impressions to us. It is arguably the best “Note” ever created by the company. Starting in the display, processor, fast memory, spectacular cameras and quality build. The S-Pen remains ergonomic that gave us positive results.
While there are some points to consider, like the battery life and the position of the fingerprint scanner, this phone is a great competitor against other high-end models.
Pros
- Solid build quality
- Nice display
- S Pen
- Lots of sensors
- IP68 certified
- Expandable storage
- Camera quality (both rear and front)
- Fast chipset
- Large RAM
- Rapid charging support
- Fingerprint sensor
- Type-C connector
- OTG capable
- Wider Wi-Fi range
Cons
- Average battery life
- Mono speaker
- Awkward fingerprint scanner placement
- SRP
