Samsung Galaxy Note8 Review: Stunning Phablet with Amazing Camera

The next-gen Note series phone is here with loads of improvements and power packed hardware. The gorgeous design with infinity display, excellent stylus and amazing software, all in one pack.

Amazingly beautiful

As like previous, Galaxy S8, Note8 is also designed with similar aesthetics but has slightly sharper edges and a squarer camera module. The iconic InfinityEdge design with ultra-thin top and bottom bezel and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection, makes it look great out of the box.

The back is also protected by glass adding more beauty to the entire body, but after using the device for a little while, it attracts smudges. Galaxy Note 8 is IP68-certified, meaning it can survive in some bad weather conditions easily and even accidental drops.

At the front, it holds a camera and iris scanner along with the earpiece and an LED notification light. The fingerprint sensor and dual camera setup with dual LED are placed at the back along with heart rate sensor.

The 6.3-inch screen device has smart balance making it easy to carry in one hand, yet it can feel bulky to some. Samsung added one hand operation feature to make it more usable single-handedly.

Amazing Screen and Camera

6.3-inch QHD+ Super AMOLED display is quite vibrant and smooth to operate. The brightness levels are pretty much high, enabling you to use in any light conditions without any sort of trouble.

The AMOLED screen produces rich colors so you can enjoy movies, games and other contents with the breeze. No doubt, you can use the screen from various angle without losing color and other details.

Note8 comes with two sensors at the back - 12+12MP.

The main camera is excellent to capture clear, colorful and detailed images. Plenty of modes available for different shooting modes as well as pro mode is there for further customization. Even night shots are great however the deep dark shots come with some visible dithering creeping in. It is capable of capturing slow-motion video at 720p at 240fps.

The front camera is also perfect for clicking natural shots with loads of details and colors.

Bixby and S Pen

The smartphone is loaded with so many unique features including Bixby that comes with a dedicated button. Samsung’s personal assistant has learned a lot since its launch to respond to commands in English. You can do the whole lot of things with it as like Open Facebook and write a new status, open Settings, make a phone call and operate camera.

Samsung is offering more customizable experience to consumers and loads of Edge apps to add as per your taste. It also has split-screen option to open up two different apps simultaneously.

The S Pen stylus sits in its own dedicated nook and doesn’t have battery. Using the pen, you could remind your old school days when you were writing on paper, but now it's on screen. The digital writing experience it amazing as the over 4000 pressure sensitivity points, even the tiny adjustments in pressure will change how your scribbles appear. The PenUp app has various options like a digital coloring book, built-in notebook shrinks your messy writing so it goes between the lines. You can easily access all the tools from the S Pen menu.

Performance

The Note8 is backed by powerful hardware that let you play with the device without any worries. While using the phone for more than three weeks, I loaded several apps and games. It was able to handle more than 10 apps simultaneously without any hiccups.  Playing high graphics intensive game like Fifa, Asphalt, NFS, etc. was a breeze, even while switching between them, there was no visible lag.

The phone battery gives you enough juice to last for more than a day even with heavy usage. In moderate usage, it can easily last for more than 48 hours. In video loop test, it manages more than 12 hours of backup when watching videos over wifi with full brightness and volume.