Following on the success that the S8 pair had, the Galaxy Note 8 is basically an S8+ with a blockier shape, larger profile, and better specs. While phablets may have been improperly defined for the past few years, Samsung was kind enough to set a standard with their Galaxy Note 8.
With the Note 8 fresh from being unveiled in Samsung Unpacked, here’s a quick hands-on. What is exactly new with Samsung’s latest S-Pen toting flagship? A lot, apparently.
Table of Contents
one Improved S-Pen Functionality
Write on the AOD
Long-time users may have had gotten used to each of the functionality that the S-Pen provides. On this iteration of the Note, users are now able to take notes on the AOD (Always On Display) by just pulling out the S-Pen while the screen is ‘off’. It’s as easy as 1-2-3, and pinning is available.
Need to get something translated?
With the age-old Air Command is a word-per-word translation service with support for over 40 languages. Pretty nifty, if I say so myself.
Live messaging with a GIF? Gotcha’ covered.
It’s called.. Live Messaging. It allows users to send a GIF of whatever they wish to draw or write in its entirety with some effects.
two Ultimate Dual Camera
Dual.. Cameras?
Yes, you read that right! This is Samsung’s first dual-camera smartphone with both being 12MP, the same sensor found in the S8 and S8+. The main has f/1.7 while the tele one has f/2.4 that also provides 2x of optical zoom. What’s more is that both have OIS (Dual OIS), a world’s first, making distant shots as clear as possible.
Live Focus
Want to introduce bokeh on the background to give focus on the subject? Here’s your solution. Featuring an adjustable blur, Samsung’s take on what others call as Portrait mode works just as well, if not better.
three Infinity Display
How big?
Larger than anyone would’ve wanted. The Galaxy Note 8 touts a 6.3-inch WQHD+ display in an 18.5:9 aspect ratio. In effect, this gives the Galaxy Note 8 an 83% of screen-to-body ratio.
How about multitasking?
Good news. Samsung has brought back the function to pair apps and put them on the edge panel for quick access and multitasking. Do note that not all apps are available for pairing mainly due to how they were developed.
four Bixby
Not exactly new
..was what I thought at first. First introduced with the then-flagship duo (S8/S8+), it has definitely gotten mature over time. If you could not tell what’s what, simply showing it to Bixby Vision will net you results about the thing that you’re looking at. Powered by Pinterest, various details and tags are used to narrow down search results.
Bixby Voice
Now THIS is new. Announced just over a day ago, Bixby Voice is meant to be your way of communicating with Bixby. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to even test it for once. But, what I can say is that it can definitely queue commands with support for native apps. As for the limit, no one knows.
How much is it?
For some time, we’ll be only having the 64GB variant at a price of PHP 49,990. Available at either Midnight Black or Maple Gold, the color choices may be a bit suffocating. Fret not, accessories are available upon launch, which is mid-September.
Currently, a pre-order offer stands from the 8th ’til the 17th of September that will allow buyers to have a free AKG speaker worth PhP 7,990 from authorized retailers.
