Update: New Samsung Galaxy Note 8 rumors suggest that the phone will have a pressure-sensitive screen, just like an iPhone, and be among the most powerful.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 will go down in smartphone history for all the wrong reasons, which is a shame, because when it wasn’t causing property damage and injuries it was a very good phone.
Fortunately, it looks as though the brand might live on, with rumors of a Samsung Galaxy Note 8 already beginning to emerge.
Other than its possible existence almost nothing has been confirmed about it so far, but we’re sure to start hearing more soon, and when we do you’ll be the first to know (as long as you regularly check this article).
In the meantime, you’ll find all our hopes and dreams for the phone below, along with a healthy dose of educated guesses at what form it might take.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? Samsung’s next flagship phablet
- When is it out? Probably late 2017
- What will it cost? A lot, the Note 7 cost $850/£749/AU$1,349
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 release date
Samsung tends to stick to a rough schedule with its flagship phones, and that schedule suggests that the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will arrive a few months before the end of 2017, but at this point we can’t get any more specific than that.
The Galaxy Note 7 launched in September, but the Note 5 arrived in August, and the Note 4 landed in October.
Then again, Samsung might break with its usual release date schedule, given that it had to kill the Note 7. It could make sense for the company to push the Note 8’s release forward, to avoid going two full years without a new phablet flagship on the market.
And this all assumes the phone exists at all, as there was some suggestion that Samsung might kill at least the name given the bad press now associated with it, but two things suggest it’s in the works.
First, there’s the presence of a Note 8 listing on Samsung’s ‘Galaxy Upgrade Program’ page.
There’s also a claim by reliable leaker Evan Blass that a phone with the model number SM-N950 is in the works – that’s the number we’d expect the Galaxy Note 8 to have.
Plus new rumors out of China revealed the codename for the Note 8 – Baikal. It refers to a Siberian lake – the deepest in the world – so it looks like the Galaxy Note 8 is set to break some targets.
Galaxy Note8，厉害了我的贝加尔湖。 pic.twitter.com/7X4QeoJmzkFebruary 13, 2017
TechRadar’s take: Although an early release is possible in order to make up for the recalled Note 7, there’s been no suggestion yet that there will be one, so for now we wouldn’t expect to see the Note 8 before August 2017.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 screen
Hottest leaks:
- A 4K resolution
- No home button
- A pressure-sensitive display
As a phablet, we know that the Galaxy Note 8 will have a big screen. From the Note 3 onwards they’ve all had 5.7-inch screens, so it seems Samsung has settled on that being the optimal size.
As such, that’s one possibility for the Note 8’s size, but it’s possible that it could get bigger, especially as it’s rumored that even the Samsung Galaxy S8 will grow to 5.8 inches and the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus could reach 6.2 inches.
And the physical dimensions wouldn’t necessarily need to change to accommodate that growth, as it’s also rumored that the Galaxy S8 will ditch the home button and be almost all screen on the front – potentially with the fingerprint scanner built into the display.
A rumor also suggests Samsung is working on making the Note 8 pressure-sensitive, so that different menus and screens will open depending on how hard you press things on the display.
Another, albeit less likely possibility, is that the Galaxy Note 8 could have a foldable screen. Samsung has been working on this tech for years, and it’s rumored that the company will launch two foldable phones in 2017. But we don’t feel like it’s due for a flagship phone just yet – not this year at least.
Samsung could always test the waters with a foldable Note 8 variant, much like it tested curved screens with the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge. But we’ve been hearing word of a new phone called the Samsung Galaxy X, and that’s a more likely approach sometime after 2017.
As well as the size and form, the resolution of the screen could also change. The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 – and various other recent Samsung flagships – have QHD screens, which are plenty for most uses, but don’t quite cut it for VR, which Samsung is pushing with Gear VR.
In order to give that a boost, and to add a bullet point to the box, it’s possible that the Note 8 will get a 4K screen. In fact, that’s now been rumored, with a source adding that the Note 8 will connect to a new Gear VR, suggesting virtual reality will be a big focus for Samsung with the Note 8.
TechRadar’s take: Don’t count on folds, but less bezel and even the removal of the home button are distinct possibilities. If so the screen is likely to grow, and pressure-sensitivity and a 4K resolution with HDR aren’t out of the question.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 design
Nothing is yet known about the design of the Note 8. For now, our best guess is that it won’t stray too far from the metal and glass sandwich that’s proved so popular for the company, but refinements are sure to be made.
For an idea, we can look at the Samsung Galaxy S8, which has been heavily leaked with no home button, tiny bezels above and below the screen, and the fingerprint scanner moved to the back, but an otherwise similar design to the S7 and Note 7.
TechRadar’s take: A similar look to the Note 7, but perhaps slightly slimmer and with less bezel.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 camera
Hottest leaks:
- A dual-lens camera
As with so many things, we can look at the Galaxy S8 for clues at what to expect from the Note 8’s camera. Currently there are various rumors attached to the S8, ranging from a dual-lens 12MP and 13MP pairing all the way to a 30MP single-lens camera.
But, given the current trend for dual-lens cameras, and the fact that there seems to be an unspoken agreement among phone manufacturers that more pixels does not equal better, a dual-lens camera is our best guess right now, though it’s looking like the S8 is most likely to have just a single-lens camera.
We’d also imagine that whatever camera it gets will have optical image stabilization, given that the Note 7 does.
The front-facing camera meanwhile could be upgraded from 5MP to 8MP, as exactly that change is rumored for the Galaxy S8.
TechRadar’s take: A dual-lens camera of around 12MP is our best guess.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 battery
The battery is likely to be big, and support fast charging. The juice pack in the Note 7 is 3500mAh and we’d expect at least that much from the Galaxy Note 8.
Samsung has now revealed its findings from the Galaxy Note 7 battery fire investigation and confirmed it plans to ensure future phones won’t suffer from the same fault.
To make sure it doesn’t happen again, Samsung is implementing an “8 point battery safety check” on all future devices. If the Galaxy Note 8 does happen, we can expect Samsung to put a big focus on the battery.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 OS and power
Hottest leaks:
- A powerful 3GHz+ octa-core processor
- Android Nougat or Android O
Samsung tends to either use its own Exynos chips, or Snapdragon chips, or a combination of the two, with different regions getting different processors.
But in the Note range it always uses one of the best available chips, which by the Note 8 is likely to mean at least the Snapdragon 835, or the Exynos 8895, which is supposedly a 3GHz octa-core chip.
But the Note 8 may have something even faster. It’s also sure to have a lot of RAM – 4GB is the absolute minimum, since that would be a match for current flagships, but 6GB or even 8GB isn’t out of the question.
The operating system will of course be Android, either Nougat or Android O, and it’s sure to be overlaid with the latest version of Samsung’s TouchWiz interface.
TechRadar’s take: The fastest mobile chip around and 6GB of RAM are our best guesses, but whatever the Note 8 uses it’s sure to be a real powerhouse.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 other features
Hottest leaks:
- A stylus with a speaker
- An iris scanner
- An AI assistant
The S Pen is one of the standout features of the Note range, and it’s sure to return for the next model, but it’s likely to get better, and a patent points to a stylus with a built-in speaker.
What the speaker would do isn’t clear, but it could potentially read notes back to you, or work in combination with the phone’s speakers for louder audio.
An iris scanner is a likely Note 8 inclusion, given that the Note 7 had one, and apparently it will be more secure this time, though the fingerprint scanner is sure to return too. The phone is also likely to be dust and water resistant, have a microSD card slot and charge via USB Type-C, given that its predecessor did.
An AI assistant, built by some of Siri’s creators, and confirmed to be called Bixby, is also an obvious addition, since Samsung has already confirmed it for the Galaxy S8.
Other possible features include a mini projector – which has been rumored for the S8.
TechRadar’s take: The S Pen will likely improve, but we’re not sold on the speaker idea. Most of the Note 7’s features will also probably return – including the iris scanner.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 price
All we have to go on for now is the price that the Galaxy Note 7 launched at, but it’s likely that the Note 8 will have a similar price tag. In which case, you can expect to pay around $850/£749/AU$1,349 for it.
TechRadar’s take: The Galaxy Note 8 is sure to be expensive, but probably won’t be much if any more than the Note 7.
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