Galaxy Note 8 review: A bigger, better, brighter Galaxy S8+ - rasmussenfoody1956

chebert@idgcommunications.com The Galaxy Note 8 costs nearly $1,000. Is it worth it?

At a Carom

Expert's Rating

Pros

Bright, brilliant 6.3-inch riddle is a knockout in any light.
Dual camera is a big step up from the S8 and Live Focus is a winner.
The S Write is better than e'er and truly complements the Note's covert.
Battery life in first-class despite a decrease in size.

Cons

Bixby release and fingerprint sensor are a pain.
It might be a tur too hulking and heavy for some users.

Our Verdict

The Galaxy Note 8 is nada to a lesser degree a triumphant return for Samsung's flagship phablet and the best ring information technology has ever rmade.

Topper Prices Today

$200.00

No one would have blasted Samsung if the Take note 8 were never released. After a global recall halted sales of the Note 7 in their tracks, extraordinary execs at Samsung probably floated the idea of retiring the Note stigmatize altogether.

It's honorable they didn't. The Note 8 isn't honorable a return to anatomy, it's the best phone Samsung has ever made, bar none. And until the iPhone 8 and Pixel 2 make their appearances—and maybe even after—it's only the best telephone money can purchase.

galaxy note8 on table — The Galaxy Notation 8 has beauty and brains to spare.

Mind you, the champion phone money can grease one's palms doesn't seminal fluid cheap. At $930, it's $100 more than pricey than last year's model and inches ever closer to that psychological $1,000 barrier. Simply if you preceptor't have any qualms about dropping a small fortune on something with such a high probability of cracking, you'll be whole lot golden with your purchase (unless, of course, it cracks). Everything about the Annotation 8 improves upon both the Bank note 7 and the Extragalactic nebula S8+ (even the fingermark sensing element). Barring another catastrophic tramp-out, the Note 8 should once again put down the standard for productivity phablets.

A familiar design with a plait

Put the Note 8 and the Galaxy S8+ side of meat by side happening a table and you'll just visualize whatsoever difference. The Note 8 has the similar gorgeous Infinity Display as the S8+, and at 6.3 inches, the screen is a scarce perceptible 0.1 inches big. Information technology too has whol the Same ports and buttons—power, volume, Bixby, 3.5mm, and the off-centered USB-C—and delivers the same fast radio charging and IP68 piddle resistance.

galaxy note8 comparison — The Coltsfoot Note 8 (right), is a short bigger than the Galax urceolata S8+ (center), and a lot bigger than the Galaxy S8 (leftist).

Merely the Note 8 isn't selfsame to the S8+. Along with the summation of an S Pen one-armed bandit on the bottom edge, the main difference of opinion is the work. While the S8 has rounded corners on the case, the Government note 8 is more square-off, making the phone appear even taller than IT is. IT's a unusual optical illusion that eventually faded subsequently a few days, and I ultimately learned to like-minded the design even more than the S8's.

It's astonishingly functional, too. I born the S8+ almost immediately aft I opened up its box (and many times thereafter), but the squared-off edges on the Note 8 avail ME keep a firmer grip. The Note 8 is, however, about 20 grams heavier than the S8+, and the extra burden is definitely noticeable, making the Note 8 feel significantly more substantial.

Flip information technology over and you'll find the same naiant camera lay out, except this time roughly there are two lenses. The fingermark sensor is in the same position to the word-perfect of the array, though information technology's not closely as terrible to use as IT is on the S8.

A big, bold screen

Like the S8, the Note 8 is all about the screen. IT's essentially the same as the ace along the S8+: Super AMOLED WQHD+ (1440×2960), though the extra tenth of an inch means the pixel denseness is slightly cut (521 PPI vs. 529 PPI on the S8+). Also, the corners of the screen match the squarer edges of the phone, making for nice isotropy.

galaxy note8 in hand — In that location ISN't practically to complain about when information technology comes to the Note 8's screen.

It's likewise a good deal brighter than the S8+. At more than 1,200 nits, the Note 8 is nearly blinding in a dark room, but that makes it eminently readable in direct sunlight. It's straight-up the unsurpassed sound I've ever utilized outdoors, and I was capable to well study and browse in super sunny spots one time I cranked improving the brightness. Also, IT's been mobile HDR certified, so it's intelligent to dramatic play high-dynamic range movies. And there's already whatever great content, as Netflix has added the Note 8 to its list of founded devices, even before the Galaxy S8 and S8+.

It's meriting noting that if you hold even the newest Gear VR social unit, the Note 8 won't fit in it. Samsung is marketing a new version of the headset that's identical in every way to the old modeling, but just a little bigger to reconcile the larger Mention 8 screen. That plausibly won't impress too many people, because would-be Note 8 buyers likely harbour't purchased one of the fres USB-C headsets free aboard the S8. But it's still strange that Samsung didn't account for future handsets.

galaxy note8 screen full — Hopefully Netflix will let Note 8 users observe Stranger Things in HDR this Halloween.

Speaking of size, it seems that Samsung has hit a cap when it comes to the Note's presentation. While most everyone will be able to hold the phone with one hand, victimisation it is another story. I pretty overmuch deman two custody to do just just about anything on the Note 8, and even off with extra fingers at my disposal, I still own to continuously adjust my grip to ambi the upper half of the CRT screen. So… Good thing this phone comes with an S Pen!

If Samsung fully eliminated the top and bottom bezels, it could probably pressure out a 6.5-inch showing for the Government note 9, but anything beyond that will start to look comically grandiloquent and be difficult to use.

Power, RAM, and biometrics

The Note 8 includes the same Snapdragon 835 chip as the S8 and adds an special 2GB of RAM to bring down the total to 6GB. But even with that, the two phones are neck-and-neck in the performance department, whether you'Re measurement with benchmarks or real number-world use.

galaxy note8 side — Inside that slim enclosure is a ton of power and RAM.

Over clip, the extra Jam volition probably help keep the Samsung Experience system running smoother than in previous phones, simply I didn't notice much of a difference between the Note 8 and my 5-month-anile S8+. Apps staring and switched chop-chop, and PCMark mountain were in the high 6,000s, As unsurprising. It's safe to say the Note 8 is at least as fast A whatsoever Android phone I've used, and even stood equal to the iPhone 7 Positive. Soh until the Snapdragon 836 and Apple's A11 chips make their visual aspect, the Note 8 will follow among the most powerful phones about, and I suspect it'll guard its own against those next-generation processors, overly.

As far as unlocking goes, the Note 8 includes the same bevy of biometry as the S8: fingers, eyes, and front. I still prefer iris unlocking as the just about weatherproof and convenient, but the usability of the fingerprint scanner has been built. Spell Samsung unfortunately didn't relocate it from its inconvenient spot on the rear panel, it did switch things upfield whatever by putting the LED flash between the fingerprint sensor and the camera, and by adding a thicker border around the sensing element. These changes pass somewhat easier to nail the sensing element on the basic effort patc also cutting low on television camera lens smudges. Still, I'm hoping the side by side generation of flagship Samsung phones rethinks the position of the fingerprint sensor altogether.

A battery that lasts and lasts

Much ink will be spilled on the Note 8's assault and battery. While the S8 was the first major phone from Samsung following the global recall, the Note name will forever exist synonymous with assault and battery explosions. Samsung has taken major steps to make believe predictable Take note 8s won't catch fire.

Samsung blamed the explosions on a "flaw in the manufacturing march (that) resulted in the negative electrodes and constructive electrodes forthcoming together." One interpretation says the shelling was just too big for its allotted blank space. In response, the Distinction 8's battery is just 3,300mAh, which is smaller than the 3,500mAh batteries in some the Banker's bill 7 and the S8+. I'm none direct, but my supposition is that the S Compose slot, the extra rear television camera, and an copiousness of caution necessitated the downgrade. But fear not, because in my real-world testing, the difference was beautiful minimal.

galaxy note8 battery chart — Symmetric with a smaller battery, the Galaxy Note 8 lasts evenhanded as long-wool equally the Galaxy S8+.

The Note 8 easily lasted through a fully Clarence Shepard Day Jr. of heavy wont, and benchmarks hit the 9-hour mark, running circles around the Note 7 and even besting the Extragalactic nebula S8+. Samsung has clearly expended considerable effort optimizing the Bank note 8's battery for the chip and the OS, so there's no more need to risk another disaster by squeezing in a too-large battery just to fill out out a spec weather sheet. Simply put over, the battery on the Note 8 shouldn't make up a concern, whether you're distressed approximately it lasting or increasing.

The productivity differentiator

The very creation of a style on the Remark 8 is enough to set it apart from nearly every other smartphone, merely the S Pen International Relations and Security Network't just for solace and precision. It gives the Annotation A level of productivity that just ISN't available on other handsets. Aside from few small snags with the springy expansion slot on the posterior of the headphone, I loved using the S Pen, and I miss having one on every other French telephone I piece up now. The compose itself has the same 0.7mm tip and 4,096 pressure levels as the Note 7's, but it brings a New set of tricks.

galaxy note8 pen eject — The S Write out is the Note 8's secret artillery.

And you Don River't straight have to turn along the shield to savor it. Riddle-away memos isn't technically a new feature film, but Samsung has upgraded it with the ability to write adequate to 100 pages of notes, so information technology could really supervene upon your notebook, if you're the kind of person who carries one and only. The Air Overtop menu has gotten a few upgrades, with the ability to read not just speech but brimming sentences. There's also a Go Content option that lets you send hand-drawn GIFs to your friends.

galaxy note8 stylus — The Note 8 will convert you to love the stylus over again.

But as angelic as the S Pen is, what really gives the Note its productivity cred is the DeX dock. Introduced alongside the S8, the $150 accessory turns your phone into a full-fledged desktop computer. The Note 8 fixes a few of the biggest annoyances with the prototypal version. For one, you don't need to pair your Bluetooth mouse and keyboard before you plug it in anymore. For some other, apps are better optimized to take advantage of the desktop format, with many able to continue running seamlessly once it's plugged in. It might very well be the world's first phone that can licitly replace your pilland your laptop computer.

A second camera makes all the difference

Even with all the above changes, the Note 8 might simply be an OK rising slope, but probably not one and only worth most $1,000. The camera makes all the departure.

galaxy note8 camera full — First, the Note 8 has a dual camera—and the results are awesome.

It power not be entirely that technically superior to the S8's—in fact, it has the same 12MP Dual Pixel, f/1.7 main camera—but it adds a couple of key features that bring it over the top. Most notably, the Bank bill 8 has a instant 12MP lens with a f/2.4 aperture, and in bicycle-built-for-two, the two cameras bid 2x optical soar upwards. Plus, there's optical ikon stabilisation in some cameras. That makes the Note 8's camera more versatile than what came in earlier Galax urceolata phones, letting you capture clearer photos from farther way and have far better portraits than the selective concenter style on the S8.

galaxy note 8 low light — The Galaxy Note 8's optical image stabalization (left) really came into dally when the lights were turned way down, capturing more clearness and item than the Wandflower S8+ (center) and the Pixel (right).

Simulated bokeh on smartphones is few new concept, but Samsung has clearly finished its preparation. Tapping the Live Concentre button activates a mode similar to Apple's Portrait mode. The images I was healthy to get were as good Eastern Samoa the ones on the iPhone 7 Plus.

We tested the Note 8's Live Focus against the iPhone 7 Asset' Portrait Mode:

But the processing magic happening the Banknote 8 ISN't honorable behind the scenes: Both before and subsequently you take your photo, you can set the intensity of the background dim with a software slider. It might reasonable like a political party fox, but IT's way more than that. The adjustments I was able to make with the Note 8 regularly upturned bland portraits into excellent ones, and it's a feature all dual-camera phone should copy.

galaxy note 8 portrait test — I systematically captured remarkable portraits using the Note 8's Live Focus mode.

The Note 8 took rattling non-portrait shots too. While it didn't pack quite enough technical prowess to proceeds down the LG G6 in our in-depth tv camera showdown, the pictures I took with the Note 8 were sharp and productive, with even out better colouring material truth than the S8's. In low-spirited-light situations, the OIS really shined, capturing superb details in the harshest of light.

galaxy note 8 camera app — The camera app in the Galax urceolata Note 8, left, has made things easier to find out compared to the one on the S8 (center). But the killer feature is the slider to adjust blur after snapping a Live Focus shot (right-hand).

Samsung has also cleaned up its camera app to make things easier to find. The buttons for Bixby and stickers are clearly labeled, and the download button, which lets you tot up new shooting modes, is placed with the rest of the unusual options, so more the great unwashe are liable to utilisation it.

Does the Observe 8 stack up against the LG G6? Find retired in our shootout:

Thither's also a new full-screen door icon to use the whole display as a viewfinder—much easier to determine than digging into the settings and figuring out which picture size to select. Around the front, the Bill 8 has the same 8MP, f/1.7 aperture camera with motorcar center, and the app is blind drunk with stickers and filters to jazz up your selfies.

Nougat's inexperienced tricks, Bixby's old ones

The Note 8 is running the Samsung Experience based on Android Nougat 7.1.2, a newer version than the 7.0 single on the S8. It doesn't bring some visual changes that I could see, but there is at to the lowest degree one new feature worth mentioning. It's called App Pair, and it's a perfect match for the Note 8's giant screen.

galaxy note 8 app pair — The new App Brace feature on the Musical note 8 lets you select two apps to automatically launch together into Multi-window.

It's a weensy tricky to find, but App Pair off is worth seeking knocked out. It lives in the Edge Panel, and lets you pick two apps to launch at the equal fourth dimension. You can set information technology up the Saame path you select apps icons, simply instead of indefinite shortcut, you'll put out two together. When you tap the icon, some apps will automatically launching into Multi-window. It's probably not a feature I'd economic consumption daily (and during this review, I didn't), but taking away the need to twiddle the Recents screen to spark Multi-window is a receive alter.

I can't finish this review without mentioning Bixby. Different at the S8's launch, it's now a fully-formed subordinate, with representative acknowledgment and multi-step commands at the ready. Eastern Samoa Bixby matures, information technology's becoming clear that Samsung wants it to be more of an on-phone tool than a knowledge database, and Bixby does come in Handy every once in a while. That aforementioned, it just doesn't need to have a dedicated hardware button. I unexpectedly launch Bixby way more often than I deliberately summon it. I'm hoping Samsung adds the Bixby button to the list of things it needs to afterthought in succeeding yr's phones.

Should you buy it?

If you've gotten this far in the review, you've belik noticed that I've surrendered the Notice 8 a 5-star rating. It's not a score PCWorld hands proscribed lightly—I've personally ne'er inclined unmatched until now—but there's No denying what Samsung has delivered Here. The reasons why the Extragalactic nebula S8+ mazed a one-half-star in my review were primarily Bixby's half-hardened launch and the location of the fingerprint sensor, and both have been fixed to the stop where they're much less consequential to the undergo. The Note 8's improvements far outweigh the remaining negative points.

galaxy note8 main — It's like the monolith in 2001: A Distance Odyssey… if it had a 6.3-inch screen and a style.

But on that point's no denying that the Note 8 is an expensive call. As a matter of fact, if you role the 64GB storage option equally the comparison point, information technology's the all but dearly-won sound you can grease one's palms.

But as the 5-star rating attests, it's also the best phone you can buy. Sure, the iPhone 8 and the Pixel 2 are right just about the tree, and LG has made a real contender with the V30. But because the Note has so many another things going for it, information technology's safe to tell it'll be able to hold its own against any of them. The S Pen lone delivers such alone functionality.

If monetary value is your only sticking point, know that Samsung is offering the choice of either a Gear 360 camera or a 128GB microSD card with a fast radio set charger for orders through Family. 24. And if the S8 is any indication, there will equal other offers to follow.

galaxy note8 full with pen — The Galaxy Note 8 and the S Pen, perfect together.

Even if you remuneration full Leontyne Price, you North Korean won't regret IT. The Note 8 is nothing to a lesser degree a bright restitution to form, with an industry-stellar screen, style, and camera, and a simply stunning excogitation. IT's thus good, you North Korean won't even mind all the unskilled increasing barrage fire jokes you'll have to endure from your friends.

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$200.00

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Michael Simon has been covering Apple since the iPod was the iWalk. His obsession with technology goes back to his first PC—the IBM Thinkpad with the reverse-up keyboard for swapping unsuccessful the drive. He's still waiting for that to come back latest tbh.

Source: https://www.pcworld.com/article/407312/galaxy-note-8-review.html

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