BackSamsung Galaxy Note 8: First impressions
Samsung is back with a new smartphone in the Note series and it looks more impressive than before
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Samsung Note series has always been the company’s true flagship, offering some unique features which even the S series didn’t have. The Note 8 is no different. It packs in an even bigger screen, an improved S-Pen and dual cameras. It will be available on Amazon.in, Samsung’s online store and offline retail stores from 21 September at Rs67,900. Here are some of the features which makes it stand out.
Big screen
It is hard to take your eyes off the 6.3-inch AMOLED display. It almost covers the entire front panel, similar to Apple iPhone X. It packs in a resolution of 2,960x1,440p and offers a number of useful features such as Bluelight filter, the option to adjust screen resolution and enhance the image quality in videos by making colours pop out more.
Handy, but glossy back
The edge-to-edge screen has allowed Samsung to kill two birds with one stone. The phone offers a huge screen without becoming heavy or feeling too big in the hands. It is 162.5mm tall, 74.8mm wide and weighs 195g, which is less than a big-screen smartphone with a conventional design. The only niggle with the design is the glossy back, which smudges a lot.
The S-Pen
The Note 8’s unique selling point is the S-pen. There is a dedicated slot for it on the smartphone so you don’t end up misplacing it when it is not in use. Samsung claims the S-Pen used in it is a lot more advanced. It has a thinner (0.7mm) tip and supports more than 4,000 levels of pressure sensitivity, which means it is a lot more accurate than before. It can be used to jot down notes (works even when the screen is locked), draw, create GIFs, write and edit documents and images.
Android 7.1 with improved TouchWiz
The smartphone runs Android 7.1.2 with an overhauled version of TouchWiz UI, seen in S8 and S8+ before. It is very different from the TocuhWiz used in the affordable Samsung smartphones. The interface looks less cluttered and has fewer apps. The app drawer icon has been replaced with a swipe up gesture, on the lines of Pixel smartphones.
Supports Samsung Pay
The Galaxy Note 8 is one of the few devices which supports Samsung’s mobile payment service, Samsung Pay. It allows users to make payments at kiosks, stores and restaurants by bringing their smartphones close to the payment terminals.
Dual cameras
The Galaxy Note 8 comes with two 12-megapixel cameras, but Samsung hasn’t done much to highlight it in the phone’s design. The dual cameras are barely visible at first.
The good news is that the camera module is in symmetry with the rest of the back panel and doesn’t protrude out as those in some high-end cameras tend to do.
The wide-angle lens has an aperture of f/1.7. The telephoto lens has an aperture of f/2.4, but it supports 2x optical zoom, which is available in very few phones. Both cameras support OIS (optical image stabilisation), which means photos will look more steady.
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