From the LG G6 and the OnePlus 5 to the iPhone, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is bound to face stiff competition when it will be announced on August 23. But the biggest decision for Samsung fan will be whether to go for the new Note 8 or turn to Samsung’s other top flagship devices - Galaxy S8 and S8+.
After last year’s debacle that was the Note 7, the upcoming Note 8 should be much safer, thanks to Samsung’s 8-point battery safety check procedure. The Note 8 will certainly be similar to the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ but the main question that’s running on our minds is what puts it apart from the other two flagships that make it worth purchasing the phone.
The Note 8, a huge deal for the company, has seen heavy leaks in the past few months. The smartphone is expected to come with the same curved Infinity display and a pressure-sensitive home button along with a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner. All these rumoured differences between the Note 8 and the Galaxy S8 and S8+ make this comparison all the more interesting.
The 5.8-inch and the 6.2-inch Super AMOLED displays of the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+ are quite stunning, and with the Galaxy Note 8, Samsung seems to have upped the ante with an alleged 6.3-inch panel. The phone is expected to come with a similar ultra-wide 18:5:9 aspect ratio like the Galaxy S8+ and users will have no problem operating it with one hand.
As for the design aspect, the S8 and the S8+ have a metal frame sandwiched between a glass front and back and the images of the Galaxy Note 8 show an almost identical design, save for the dual camera setup on the rear and a dedicated slot for the S Pen.
Talking about camera, the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the S8+ pretty much top the list of best camera phones, as of now. Having said that, the Galaxy Note 8 is rumoured to come with a dual 12MP rear camera setup while both the S8 and S8+ have a single 12MP camera each.
If we take on a guess, both lenses may have optical image stabilization while the second lens could be a telephoto one, offering 2x or 3x optical zoom. However, we know very little about the Note 8’s front camera but it could most likely be an 8MP one.
Perhaps the best way to help you decide between the latest Galaxy S series smartphones and the Note 8 is to ask yourself if you would want a stylus because the Note 8 is expected to house the S Pen. Moreover, the Note 8 is rumoured to sport a fingerprint sensor on the rear panel of the device, which is very uncustomary of Samsung.
The Note 8’s battery could also differ from the 3,000mAh of the S8 and the 3,500mAh battery of the S8+. Surprisingly, the Galaxy Note 8 is expected to pack in a 3,300mAh battery, which is slightly less than the S8+. The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will also come with a dedicated Bixby button like its Galaxy S8 siblings.
Given that the Note lineup has always targeted power users in the past, it doesn’t come as a surprise that the upcoming Note 8 is rumoured to be the first phone to carry a faster Snapdragon 836 processor. The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ carry the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Soc under the hood, however, the Note 8 is said to be powered by Samsung’s own Exynos 9 chipset in some regions.
Yet another highlight is the prospect of 6GB of RAM in the Note 8, which will be a bigger upgrade over the 4GB of RAM seen in the Galaxy S8 and S8+. Additionally, the Note 8 is expected to offer up to double the internal storage when compared to the S8 and S8+.
Last but not the least, the Galaxy Note 8 might be priced around USD 900 (approximately Rs. 57,680) according to a report, but the price could be even higher for all we know. By comparison, the Galaxy S8 starts at Rs. 57,900 and the Galaxy S8+ at Rs. 64,900.
Although the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is rumoured to be slightly bigger, and a bit more powerful, the main highlight of the phone would be the extra lens that it brings along. Given the likely higher price of the upcoming Note 8, it remains to be seen if the revamped and better features in the 2017 Note 8 will be enough to tempt the potential buyers out there.
