I know that the iPhone 8, and the iPhone X just launched but the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 still has a good shot at being one of the most popular handsets of the year. Of course, the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus are also in the race. One thing I don’t understand regarding the S8 and the S8 Plus is why they aren’t the S8 Edge and the S8 Edge Plus. After all, both of them have the feature that made the Galaxy S Edge handsets what they were: the dual- edge handsets many people loved. Then again, the name of a handset is its least important feature.
Naturally, Samsung had to deliver a truly amazing Galaxy Note 8 in order to make people forget about the exploding Note 7. I personally think that they did a great job with the new flagship. The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 might seem to be a Galaxy S8 with a stylus but it actually is more than that. It is a brand new handset with its own features that turn it into an uncontestable flagship smartphone. The only thing that could prevent it from being one of the best selling devices is its price. Unfortunately, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is not the most affordable handset out there. Even so, I expect it to have a great number of fans. Let’s take a look at what the 2017 Samsung high- end phones have to offer.
First of all, Samsung was brave enough to give up on the design it stayed true to in the past few years. The company ditched the physical home button and delivered three smartphones with huge displays squeezed into rather small bodies. Of course, no one can reasonably expect a handset with a 5.8-inch or 6.3-inch display to easily fit into a small pocket. Samsung managed to keep the size of its high- end devices small enough to be comfortable to use and still offer large displays users can enjoy.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is without a doubt the flagship handset of the South Korean company. It is the largest and the most complex one out of the three Samsung launched this year. The smartphone offers everything the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus have to offer and then some. The 6.3-inch Infinity display of the smartphone is only a tad larger than the 6.2-inch screen of the Samsung Galaxy S8 Edge Plus. This makes them more or less of the same size, so they are equally easy, or difficult, to handle one- handed. Both displays offer the same resolution, so the pixel density on the S8 Plus is a little higher. Then again, the majority of people can’t even sense the difference.
At first glance, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus seem to look exactly the same. This is not quite true. Even though they share some similarities, the Galaxy Note 8 is more squarish than the S8 Plus. On the back, the difference is quite obvious, as the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 sports a dual rear camera while the S8 Plus only comes with a single primary camera. Also, the Note 8 houses an S Pen the S8 Plus doesn’t have. The fingerprint sensor is still quite close to the camera but I think it is easier to access on the Note 8 than on the S8 Plus without smudging the camera’s lens.
Both the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and the Samsung Galaxy S8 Edge Plus come with the same powerful processor on board. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 is the flagship chipset of the year. Of course, outside the US and China the handsets ship with the Exynos 8895 Octa chipset which is equally efficient and fast. While the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB internal storage as a base model, the Galaxy Note 8 takes it up a notch and includes 6GB of memory for the same internal storage. This definitely makes the Note 8 the better and faster device out of the two. Of course, when we think of the 128GB internal storage variant, they are basically the same as both models include 6GB of RAM for this version. Also, the Note 8’s internal storage maxes out at 256GB instead of the 128GB the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus has to offer.
When it comes to the cameras, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is without a doubt the winner of the best Samsung handset title. The 12MP sensor of the Galaxy S8 Plus is already an amazing one, and the Note 8 doubles the result. Pictures taken with this camera will be more impressive and the videos recorded with it will also steal the spotlight. On the front, both devices sport the same 8MP sensor for selfies and video calls. One thing that is a little more disappointing about the Note 8 is its smaller battery. Of course, the explanation for the 3,300mAh energy pack is quite simple. Samsung didn’t want the Note 8 to explode like the Note 7 did. Even so, the battery life of the handset is a little short for what we would expect from a flagship handset.
The other features of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and the Galaxy S8 Edge Plus are the same. They offer the same Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, USB Type- C port, and dedicated Bixby button. They also feature an iris scanner, a fingerprint sensor, and face recognition. Of course, they also support Samsung Pay. Both devices offer support for fast charging and wireless charging as well. Possible customers should note that the latter is market- dependent. Unfortunately, neither smartphone is budget- friendly. The unlocked version of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 sells for at least $929 on Amazon. The Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus is a little more affordable. The US version of the handset is available for $820 while the international version‘s price can go as low as $724.99.
If I were to choose between the two, I would personally go the extra mile and buy the Samsung Galaxy Note 8. It offers extra power and the user experience provided by the S Pen is quite interesting. The dual camera is also a plus one can’t deny. On the other hand, both smartphones are too large for my taste. Those of us who have small hands will most likely encounter problems using the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 or the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus single- handed. Even the smaller S8 is too large for us. Besides its size and high price I honestly can’t find anything that would make me think that the Galaxy Note 8 is not the best smartphone to launch this year.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 | Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus | |
Display | 6.3-inch Super AMOLED | 6.2-inch Super AMOLED |
Display resolution | 1440 x 2960 pixels (~521 ppi pixel density) | 1440 x 2960 pixels (~529 ppi pixel density) |
Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 –US, China
Exynos 8895 Octa – International |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 –US, China
Exynos 8895 Octa – International |
RAM+ ROM | 6GB RAM, 64GB/128GB/256GB | 4GB RAM 64GB storage, 6GB RAM 128GB storage |
Operating system | Android 7.1.1 (Nougat) | Android 7.0 (Nougat) |
Camera | 12MP dual camera, 8MP selfie camera | 12MP single camera, 8MP selfie camera |
Battery | 3,300mAh | 3,500mAh |
Price | $929 | $725- $820 |
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