Samsung announces the Galaxy Note 8, reviving the phablet category
We all heard about what happened with the Note 7 — I’d rather not revisit its explosive launch and demise. Right now, it’s all about the Note 8 and the assurances by Samsung that it will not spontaneously combust.
It’s sort of a two-layered job for the Korean phone company — to win back the hearts of the consumer, while also producing a new and compelling device is no easy feat. But the Note 8 on paper (and in hand) seems like it’s just what the phablet (phone + tablet) world needed.
Specs. Let’s talk about them. Samsung is squeezing in a massive 6.3-inch screen in the Note 8, at 2960 x 1440 resolution. Processing is handled by an octacore Snapdragon 835, with 6GB of RAM as support.
Dual-cameras! It’s all the rage nowadays and Samsung is following suit, with dual 12 megapixels sensors, one wide and one regular, making wide angle and subject-oriented photography possible.
There’s also IP68 water protection, because that should be standard on high-end smartphones in 2017 — I’m looking at you, Essential.
Storage options are 64GB, 128GB and 256GB with microSD card expansion — definitely making the Note 8 one of the more spacious phones out there. There are other luxuries, such as the iris scanner for security, a revised and reversible S Pen, Bixby support and get this — a headphone jack. Ha.
At a starting price (sans contract) of $930, the Note 8 is the company’s most expensive phone, as well as one of the priciest on the market. Retail availability in the United States is with the Big Four — Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint, starting September 15th, in black or grey.
