CAPE TOWN - The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 was launched with an extreme amount of pressure to steal back the hearts of Note lovers after the traumatic experiences that occurred with the Note 7 battery problems.
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At a live stream event in Johannesburg, Samsung announced that the Note 8 arrived in South Africa on September 22 with a hefty retail price tag of R18 499.
Personally, This is very expensive but if you want great features on a cell-phone then one would have to pay a lot of money.
OUR EVALUATION OF THE NEW NOTE 8:
Firstly, Let's focus on the screen.
WATCH:
The device has a larger screen which is 6.3-inch Quad HD which is an inch larger than the Note 7 and has a Super AMOLED Infinity Display aimed to let you see more and scroll less. There are now two cameras on the back aka a dual camera with 12 MP (Megapixels), a first for a Samsung flagship smartphone.
The camera also has Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) with X2 optical zoom and 10X digital zoom. The front or selfie camera has 8MP.
It takes great quality portrait photos, and you can even edit the depth of field post-capture.
To combat the battery problem that the Note 7 had, Samsung reduced the Note 8's battery size. Hopefully, this will help but we will only know as time goes on and if there are any accidents to report.
Samsung isn’t pushing the battery life boundaries of the sizable Note 8. It has a 3,300mAh battery, while the Note 7 and S8 Plus have a 3,500mAh power pack.
The Note 8 acts like a big canvas for important handwritten notes, doodles and offers you the colour feature allowing you to colour in different images and share with other note users. The device features Infinity Display larger than the Note 7 at a size of 6.3 inches, making it the largest display on a Samsung smartphone.
Unfortunately for me, having small hands the size was a challenge but if you enjoy big sized-phones then great. The Note 8 also features a dual camera with both lenses built with optical image stabilisation, making for crisper photos.
The device also only has a bottom-firing speaker and has no dual front-facing speakers.
S-Pen Features
The S Pen stylus returns with a square shape, finer tip, improved pressure sensitivity and upgraded features.
The features consist of:
1. Screen write which allows you to write notes on any screen even on your lock screen.
2. Live message which allows you to create GIF messages
3. Translate which will translate any text found in a message or online in 71 languages. It also converts units and foreign currencies.
4.Magnify which allows you to enlarge any image or text that you would need to enlarge in order to see better.
5. Smart select used for selected a certain area then crop it in any way that you desire.
6. Notes which is the main feature of the phone allowing you to doodle or create any notes.
7. Colouring which acts as a colouring book app for the Note 8 and allows you to share your artwork with other note users.
The Note’s usual oval-shaped fingerprint sensor home button is no longer there but can now be found at the back of the device. Bixby,The Samsung Personal Assistant has a home button located below the volume buttons.
Bixby operates via voice, touch or text commands. Bixby can be personalised to your own needs via Quick commands, which is a feature that allows you to easily create a custom voice command. However, working with Bixby takes a lot of time as you need to train it to understand your needs. Also, It can't always hear you correctly. Personally, The phone is great but it has a lot of features I wouldn't use and it is expensive. The device is also similar to the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus.
If you take a lot of notes and have the money to get this phone then I would say it will be worth it. It has a beautiful display, the camera is amazing and I feel that the video quality is better than the s8 and S8+