Galaxy Note 8 review: More than just a Galaxy S8+ with an S Pen

When designing the successor to the ill-fated Milky way Note vii, Samsung had two choices: come upwardly with something entirely new that pushes the boundaries, or play it rubber by taking something it knows works—cough, coughing, the Galaxy S8, cough—and adding to information technology. The firm took the latter arroyo.

The result is the Galaxy Note viii, a handset that's been dubbed a "Galaxy S8+ with an South Pen" by various members of the Android community; however, that'southward not strictly truthful. It's actually a unique, powerful, plus-sized smartphone that brings a number of fantastic features to the tabular array.

But is it worth your hard-earned greenbacks? Let'southward find out.

Galaxy Annotation eight review: Design

Samsung has adopted a tall, but narrow, indigestible design artful for the Milky way Note viii. The handset sports slightly sharper edges and a larger half-dozen.3-inch border-to-edge Infinity Brandish (eighteen.5:9) than both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, making it impossible to use with 1 hand, even with the defended one-handed operation manner turned on.

The rest of the blueprint is non dissimilar to what we've seen in the by: There's a sheet of glass on the front end, a slab of aluminium in the center and a sail of glass on the black, which, when combined with the omission of Samsung's branding below the speaker grill, makes for one of the best-looking smartphones to hit the shelves in 2017.

To foreclose the huge surface area of drinking glass from shattering into a million pieces should the device happen to take a tumble, Samsung's coated it with Corning's Gorilla Drinking glass 5. Fortunately, nosotros're still even so to drop our unit, then we can't annotate on its effectiveness, but nosotros'll let you lot know how it fairs up when we inevitably do.

It probably won't come equally a surprise to hear that the Galaxy Note 8 is prone to fingerprint smudges. Actually, scratch that. Prone is besides loose of a give-and-take. The handset is a fingerprint magnet. If you're a clean freak, nosotros'd recommend leaving a microfiber cloth in your backpack.. and on your nightstand… and 1 in your function. You get the picture.

Fun Fact: The Milky way Note 8 is 9 millimeters taller and 26 grams heavier than the ill-blighted Galaxy Note seven.

As for features, at that place'south an eight-megapixel front-facing camera, an iris scanner, an earpiece and an LED notification light tucked away in the peak bezel. There'southward cypher visible on the lesser bezel, though the lower portion of the Infinity Display acts as a force per unit area sensitive home button that tin be used to wake the unit of measurement and render to the home screen.

On the left edge, you'll detect a volume rocker and a dedicated Bixby button. Pressing it toggles Bixby Home, a feature that can be disabled, while holding information technology toggles Bixby Voice. The right side is dwelling to a traditional power primal, which doubles as a shortcut to the camera when tapped twice.

The lesser of the unit of measurement houses a USB-C connector, a iii.5mm headphone jack, a retractable S Pen and a loudspeaker. Finally, on the top, there'south a SIM/microSD slot and a microphone that's used to discover and eliminate ambience sound when a call—or even a WhatsApp call, for that affair—is placed.

At present for the function you lot've all been waiting for. The camera module, positioned on the rear of the device, comprises of two lenses—a 12MP telephoto lens and a 12MP broad-angle lens, both equipped with Optical Paradigm Stabilization (OIS)—a heart-rate monitor, an LED flash and a super-fast fingerprint reader.

We have to say, we're a picayune disappointed that: a) Samsung was unable to perfect its in-screen fingerprint reader for the Galaxy Note 8, b) information technology didn't follow Google's lead by mounting the sensor in the center of the handset, because information technology'due south a mission to accomplish when pulling the phone out of your pocket, unless you have overly-large hands.

(Infinity) Display

As we're certain you lot're enlightened, the Galaxy Note 8 features a 6.iii-inch near bezel-less Infinity Display, which is a mere 0.ane-inches larger than the panel establish on board the plus-sized model of the Galaxy S8, just it feels a lot bigger in the paw—probable a result of the shaper edges we mentioned earlier.

By default, the resolution is set to Full Hard disk drive+ (2,200 ten 1,080), though it can exist upscaled to WQHD+ (2,960 x one,440) by enabling Performance Fashion and downscaled to Hard disk+ (1,480 x 720) by switching on Ability Saving. Y'all also have the facility to alter the resolution as and when yous please by navigating into the Settings carte du jour.

But to exist honest, you shouldn't actually demand to have the reins. Samsung's software does a fantastic job at switching between the dissimilar resolutions—it volition upscale when you start playing a 4K UHD video, for example—and unless you're viewing multimedia, the deviation in pixel density isn't recognizable to the untrained eye.

Fifty-fifty though the device shares the same alpine 18.5:9 aspect ratio equally the Galaxy S8, the screen itself is a little dissimilar. It's really the brightest brandish Samsung's e'er produced, capable of achieving over one,200 nits when pushed to the limit (22 percent brighter than the Galaxy S8), so it'southward a pleasure to apply in direct sunlight. In fact, it even made it easier for us to capture the photos of the phone you come across in this review.

Like the remainder of the house'southward flagship lineup, the Milky way Note 8 boasts impressive viewing angles, accurate color representation, a Blue Light Filter to avoid eye-strain and an Always-On Display Manner (AoD) that provides instant access to both incoming notifications and of import information, including the time in different regions.

Camera

The Galaxy Note viii is Samsung's first smartphone to send with a dual-camera setup. Information technology's made up of a 12MP telephoto lens (f/2.4) and a 12MP broad-angle lens (f/1.vii), both of which are equipped with Optical Epitome Stabilization (OIS), a feature that allows the lenses to move to recoup for shaky hands—and it works surprisingly well.

During our testing, we found that the handset continuously snapped high-quality pictures, complete with vibrant colors, in daylight environments, while images recorded in low-light bared the warm colour temperature and slightly over-softened edges typically associated with Samsung's smartphones.

Something we're a large fan of is the new Alive Focus mode. Using a slider, y'all accept the facility to add a bokeh event to your photograph either while you're shooting it or in mail service-production; still, the tool has a long way to become earlier information technology's perfect, equally it regularly blurs the edges of the subject—so if you're going to employ information technology, best stick to photographing people.

In line with the Milky way S8, the Galaxy Note 8 ships with a slew of shooting modes—Machine, Nutrient, Panorama and Pro—and Snapchat-like masks, in add-on to a new Full View option, which caters to the dimensions of Instagram Stories. Those features, paired with the most intuitive interface on the market, create a truly enjoyable camera experience.

The 8MP front-facing photographic camera, on the other hand, isn't revolutionary. That's not to say it isn't good though, because information technology is, regularly capturing sharp, clear images. Only with other manufacturers pushing the boundaries when information technology comes to selfie technology (think: 3D-sensing), it would have been overnice to see Samsung follow suit.

Operation

Nether the hood, the Milky way Note 8 isn't all that different to the Milky way S8. It sports the same Exynos 8895/Snapdragon 835 processor (market place dependent), though it comes with 6GB of RAM as standard and has iii,300mAh Li-Ion bombardment, which is 200mAh smaller than the cell that ships on board the Galaxy S8+.

Remarkably, we couldn't slow the handset down—and believe us, we tried. Hard. Even with a plethora of power-hungry applications running simultaneously, the Galaxy Annotation 8 handled multitasking with ease and was able to run both Google Maps and Slack in Multi-Window Mode, with Spotify open in the background, without stuttering at all.

Not a cracking bargain has changed with regards to confront recognition and iris scanning. The erstwhile is relatively fast, but struggles to identify faces in poorly-lit environments, while the latter is freakishly accurate and works superbly at dark—and no, you can't use them in unison. It's either one or the other.

Related:[Poll] Should your handset switch to the iris scanner when face recognition doesn't work?

Every bit the Galaxy Note 8 is… well… a Galaxy Note, it comes equipped with Samsung's trusty S Pen. The stylus tin be used on any office of the Infinity Display, even when it's soaking wet, and offers 4,096 levels of pressure level sensitivity, making it the perfect tool for jotting down a quick notation, signing a PDF, or sketching the Mona Lisa in The Louvre.

One time over again, no matter what you're doing with the S Pen, or how many applications you're doing it in, you lot're going to have a tough time slowing down the Galaxy Note viii. We're honestly blown away by how graciously it handles fifty-fifty the virtually strenuous of tasks (rendering a short mobile-edited movie, for example).

Sound Quality

Much to our dismay, the Galaxy Notation 8 doesn't feature stereo speakers; there's a unmarried loudspeaker at the bottom next to the USB Blazon-C port, which is often blocked by your hand when watching videos or playing games. The audio information technology generates (when information technology isn't covered, of course) is rich, bassy and virtually importantly, loud.

The earpiece speaker that's used for traditional phone calls is clear and loud—what yous'd expect from whatsoever modern-twenty-four hour period smartphone—though the dedicated loudspeaker function is a fiddling likewise tinny for our liking, often rending the person on the other cease of the line inaudible.

Just like the Galaxy S8, the Milky way Annotation 8 comes bundled with a pair of AKG-tuned earphones. They're well-balanced, loud and comfortable. They also aren't too boomy; something that surprised me, because AKG is notorious for jacking upwardly the bass on its headphones.

Software

The bulk of software on the Galaxy Note viii was lifted directly from the Milky way S8, so it should come as no surprise to hear that the handset ships running Android 7.one.1 Nougat skinned with Samsung's Experience—formerly known as TouchWiz—user interface, and has a set of on-screen navigation buttons, which are a breeze to use.

Samsung has, however, whipped up an updated build (8.five) of Feel for the Galaxy Note 8. It's a lot smoother and more than stable than the version (8.one) found on the Galaxy S8, and comes with a couple of interesting new features: App Pair and Dual Messenger.

App Pair: A utility that allows you lot to simultaneously launch two applications in Multi-Window from the Edge Console.

Dual Messenger: A tool that lets yous sign into more than one account on messaging applications, similar Snapchat.

There are besides a number of fresh S Pen features. Our favorite is tucked abroad in Air Command, the small window that opens when y'all detach your handset's stylus. It's called Alive Message and works in a similar way to Apple'south Digital Touch handwriting tool, allowing you to send personalized blithe letters (as GIFs) using whatever platform. Should you fire upward Live Message inside a messaging app like WhatsApp, the phone will automatically add together the resulting GIF image in the app's share characteristic, which is corking.

It wouldn't be right to discuss software and non touch on Bixby. Truth be told, it'due south not all that useful, and it's a characteristic that's skillful to have but non ultimately something everyone would use often. Both Bixby Vision and Bixby Voice too take an eternity to process requests at times; Bixby Voice even throws in connectivity errors at times, despite a stiff Wi-Fi or LTE signal. Bixby Domicile is a little more functional, just takes far too long to load to exist our become-to source of important information. For now, we're sticking to Google Assistant.

Bixby Vocalism review: A story of unfulfilled potential

We retrieve that Samsung'southward hit the nail on the head when it comes to software. Sure, Experience isn't going to exist everyone'due south cup of tea, but the almost important thing is it'southward fast. Actually fast. If yous aren't a fan of its appearance, you tin always slap on a theme or download ane of the hundreds of launchers bachelor on the Play Store.

Bombardment

Understandably, Samsung played it prophylactic when it came to selecting a battery for the Milky way Note 8. The device sports a 3,300mAh cell—smaller than the Milky way Note 7 and Galaxy S8+—which has not only been subjected to its rigorous in-house 8-point battery safety bank check, but likewise put through its paces by a third-party visitor.

When we start heard that the firm had opted for a three,300mAh battery, we were a picayune worried. The Galaxy S8+ doesn't have fantastic battery life and the Galaxy Note 8, with its larger Infinity Display, is aimed at professionals who—put obviously—are glued to their smartphones. How could information technology peradventure last the same amount of time, we wondered?

Merely much to our surprise, the Galaxy Notation eight actually lasts longer. Samsung's clever combination of an efficient processor and some software optimization resulted in us consistently having around 25 percent of battery in the evening, when our trusty Milky way S8+ would usually be as dead as a dodo.

We used our Galaxy Note eight at its full WQHD+ resolution, left all applications running and had the Always-On Brandish turned on and were getting effectually four to five hours "screen on" time, much of which was spent responding to emails, scrolling through Twitter and watching videos on YouTube over an LTE connexion.

Should you happen to notice yourself running low on battery, a quick 30-minute accuse using the included Adaptive Fast Charge (AFC) adapter will give you lot around 35 percent more juice, while a fairly lengthy 105-minute accuse will propel you from 0 to 100 percent.

Conclusion

Priced at $929.99 in the United States (and at comparable prices in other countries), the Milky way Note 8 certainly isn't for everyone. But if yous're in the market for a powerful, plus-sized, stylus-toting smartphone, which pushes the envelope when it comes to multitasking, snaps truly breathtaking photographs and can handle anytask you throw its way with ease, then look no further.

Pros	Cons
Stunning brandish	Poor fingerprint reader placement
Industry-leading performance	Bixby is too temperamental
All-time-in-course camera setup	Premium price tag
Groovy battery life
S Pen is extremely precise
IP68 h2o resistance
AKG-tuned earphones in the box

Source: https://www.sammobile.com/galaxy-note-8-review/

Posted by: stantonbelisho.blogspot.com

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