Every Galaxy Note phablet release represents an improvement of Samsung's first flagship launch of the year so the same is expected when the Galaxy Note 8 touches down later this 2017. The jumbo phone is expected to exceed all the things that the GS8 has delivered.
In terms of industrial design, Samsung has already hinted that the Note 8 will essentially become the replica of the Galaxy S8 Plus, boasting of the majestic Infinity Display only slightly larger at 6.4-inch. Another distinction is S Pen stylus that is the Note signature since the first model rolled out.
Reports from South Korea also indicated that if the GS8 skipped the dual camera setting, the Note 8 will have the same feature that Apple has popularized with the iPhone 7 Plus last year. This happening was picked up by YouTube channel Concept Creator, which offered a 3D-printed render of the Galaxy Note 8 with the powerful two-lens camera that is centrally located on the rear of the device.
It can be assumed that the same camera treatment will include telephoto and wide-angle lenses with 3X optical zoom, as suggested in recently leaked details.
Easily noticeable on the same concept is the absence of the fingerprint sensor right beside the camera lens, the setup of choice with the GS8. This only indicates, BGR said, that the biometrics reader will be front-located and magically embedded with the nearly bezel-free Note 8 display.
This is in line with recent Korean media reports that Samsung had originally planned for a display-embedded fingerprint reader on the GS8 but the company lucked out in time. For sure, the same technology has been perfected and will be ready in time for the Note 8 deployment.
And back to the Note 8 display, rumors insist the phablet flagship will boast of a Pixel-sense 4K screen despite the lack of content support for the standard. But according to Tech Radar, Samsung intends for 4K "as a vehicle to improve VR," with smaller pixel sized that is optimal for mobile virtual experience.
Essentially, "Samsung has an opportunity to find a use for it (4K) in VR and simultaneously give the Note 8 a headline feature," the report said in explaining why the seemingly excessive 4K display will be found on the Galaxy Note 8.
As for the other specs bumps, the battery pack will surely be upsized from the GS8 but likely no more than 3500mAh as Samsung will want to play safe and avoid the fiasco that rendered the original Galaxy Note 7 dead on arrival.
And in terms of firepower, to be sure Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 chip is in play as well as Samsung's in-house Exynos 8895 SoC to serve as the Note 8's source of life. The RAM support could reach a high of 6GB, which is not impossible at all as Samsung already provided the same with the premium mid-ranger Galaxy C9 Pro.
On release date, which is pegged to happen anytime starting September 2017, the Galaxy Note 8 has a high chance to become the first Samsung flagship to run on Android O or version 8.0 of Google's mobile OS. And the pricing will not be cheap, possibly a little higher than the Galaxy S8 Plus's starting price of $825.
