Samsung Galaxy Note 8 'confirmed' to be one huge device (and more)

Dubai - Apparently, even an S Pen with a speaker is coming

Not so long ago we received the invite for the unveiling of the Galaxy Note 8. Today we look at the latest rumours on Samsung's bid to bury the bad memories of the Note 7.
Mind you, some of them are said to be 'confirmed'.
First up, its size. For your reference:
 

 
From left to right, the 5.8-inch Galaxy S8, 6.2-inch Galaxy S8 Plus and the 6.3-inch, 19.5:9-aspect ratio Galaxy Note 8. It would be Samsung's biggest premium device. No wonder their tagline for this is 'Do Bigger Things'.
Notice that the Note 8 also basically keeps the silhouette of the S8s.
Basically, all the leaks we've seen showing the purported Galaxy Note 8 design gives us clues that we're in for a treat.
The timing for Samsung is perfect. Sure, they've traditionally launched its flagships before Apple month - AKA September - but this is different. If those leaks are to be believed (don't we always do?), then it looks like Seoul is ready to steal Cupertino's thunder.

What we know so far:

According to the Worldwide Web of Leaks, here's what's we could expect from the Note 8:
. Less bezels. A photo on Weibo, China's answer to Twitter, allegedly shows that it has thinner bezels; the top bezel is reportedly at just 6.7mm, a tad slimmer than the already-slim 7mm of the S8+.
 

 
. Infinity and beyond. Haters, admit it: even you have to be impressed by the Infinity Display on the S8 gizmos. Samsung has apparently taken a step further on the Note 8. Makes sense, since the Note should be bigger than the S series - even by just a measly inch. That'll break the 5.7-inch tradition we've known since the Note 3.
. A 4K ultra-HD display? Well, that'll make it better than your 4K TV. Samsung may have already achieved that with the full-HD S8, but reports have it that they'll go all-out with a 4K ultra-HD screen on the Note 8. Again, it makes sense if you tag this with a recent report from the Korea Herald, which states that Samsung is working on 'massively increasing' the Gear VR's pixel density; they should work together well, right?
. Dual-camera. When Ming Chi Kuo speaks, you definitely have to listen. The revered tipster has sent word that the Note 8 is due for a snapper upgrade, and this would come in the form of a dual-lens camera. How those lenses stack up remains a mystery for now. But given Samsung's expertise in cameras, expectations will be high for this. And his latest word on this? He says the dual-lens camera on the Note 8 will be the 'most important upgrade' and will be 'much better' than the iPhone's and LG G6's, and will be made up of one 12MP wide-angle camera and 13MP telephoto sensor.
 

 

. S Pen with speaker? You read (and heard) that right (though not exactly new). Patently Mobile was able to track down a feature on the Note's stylus that's really interesting: a speaker on top. What's it for? Take a call with it? Alert? Dictation? Stuff read to you? No one knows for sure yet.
 

 
. Biometrics in question. Samsung went gung-ho with biometric features in the S8, but we may be in for a few tweaks in the Note 8. An anonymous Samsung official, speaking to Korean site Naver (Korean proficiency required here), was quoted as saying that a fingerprint scanner won't be embedded into the screen contrary to what was widely expected (alright, alright, that's English). The reason is because they couldn't perfect the trick in time. Forbes also reports that while Samsung has been indeed working on it, it's a tough call. Meanwhile, as far as the iris scanner is concerned, Samsung is expected to rework this, thanks to a group of hackers who were able to bypass this on the S8.
There's a lot more to this saga, and these are the juiciest so far. We can also expect more rumours to crop up in the coming days.
The Galaxy S8 and S8+ have impressed a good number of users and observers, proving that you can't put a good name down for that long. But, for all intents and purposes, it's the upcoming Note 8 that will provide the vindication Samsung needs, that in-your-face gizmo that will bring back the light into its Galaxy once plunged into darkness (and flames).
- alvin@khaleejtimes.com

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