To that end, you’ll find some pretty familiar hardware ticking around inside the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, especially if you’ve seen, played with, or owned Samsung’s other flagships from earlier in the year, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+.Īs such, you can expect most of the same technology, including the same Samsung-made eight-core Exynos 8895 processor, though this time it is paired with 6GB RAM instead of the usual 4GB, and is matched with 64GB storage, the latter of which can be upgraded using a microSD slot found on the same tray as the nanoSIM. After all, if it ain’t broke, why fix it? You see Samsung tends to continue with the same template in its mid-year models, continuing with what worked earlier in the year and changing things where it needs to, applying some tweak, some polish, and some spit and shine only where it’s needed. We’re getting ahead of ourselves, though, because before we get to the stylus and what sets the Galaxy Note 8 apart, we need to reveal what keeps it close to being the same, and that’s basically the spec list.

That larger handset does arrive with a few new tricks, not to mention the Samsung S-Pen returning, clicking out of the bottom of the handset and supporting more pressure levels than previously, with 4096 offered just like on the recent Galaxy Book laptops.

You’ll still find metal and glass as the premium materials, that’s for sure, and the whole thing has a slick glass stone feel to it, but it is definitely much, much larger. The dash of 2017 is still there, however, so you’ll of course find a curved and long 18:9 display in the handset, stretching from nearly the edge of the top and bottom, and wrapping around the left and right edge, so much that when you grip the handset, the screen seems edgeless.Įssentially, the Galaxy Note 8 is the rectangular equivalent of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, although it is much larger. Make no mistake, the Galaxy Note 8 isn’t exactly going to break then mould when it comes to designing smartphones, as Samsung turns to a shape that is both familiar for the Note and familiar for 2017.Īddressing the former, we’re back to a slightly rectangular form, as the digital mobile phone equivalent of the notepad returns, delivering a softened metal and glass slab that is less curvy than its Galaxy S8 and S8+ siblings, and more like a tall notepad you might take with you, basically coming off like an evolved edition of the Note models we’ve seen prior.

If you’ve seen a Samsung flagship from this year, from 2017, there’s a good chance you vaguely know what Samsung is going for with its design of the Galaxy Note 8. The question now is that is it the best phone, or will it be just the best big phone? With the Note 8, Samsung is focusing on two of those, building what will arguably be its best big phone yet. This year, the competition is particularly fierce in the smartphone world, as companies try to draw people over either new and exciting screen technologies, better cameras, and more competitive pricing. Last year wasn’t Samsung’s best year for its long-running large-screened “Note” smartphones, and after a few attempts at salvaging a phone that needed to be recalled, the Note series is back and better than ever.

A new year and a new Note, as Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8 returns to offer more than just another big phone, but a big phone with a great camera, battery life, and something to use that big screen for.

Handy note 8 specs