Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Release Date, Specs Rumors: Next Phablet Could Be Revealed Later This Year
As the world anticipates the arrival of the Samsung Galaxy S8 this month, it is believed that the Galaxy Note 8's launch will also happen anytime later this year.
Tech Radar suggests that the South Korean electronics company traditionally follows a stringent timeline of production and a release schedule of its flagship devices, thus the Galaxy Note 8 will most likely hit shelves in 2017.
The same report suggests that Samsung might prefer to launch the Galaxy Note 8 a bit earlier than the Galaxy Note 7 did, which was September 2016, so their phablet flagship slot will not have to be empty for two years.
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Though they introduced the Galaxy Note 7 last year, the world knows about its sad story that caused it to only last for just a couple of months since its release. Some say it is like Samsung never even had a phablet flagship in 2016.
There is also no question about the Galaxy Note 8's existence. Despite the debacle that the company faced with its predecessor, the Galaxy Note 7, indicators quickly surfaced that Samsung will not stop developing their premium phablet line.
For example, Samsung introduced the Galaxy Upgrade Program that they first offered to the South Korea market, promising that consumers who will enroll to it and go back to using the Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge will get a 50 percent discount once the Galaxy S8 or Note 8 hit the shelves.
Also, reports last month have it that Samsung has already provided an internal codename for the Galaxy Note 8, which is "Baikal," and this signifies that the phablet's development is in full swing.
In terms of specifications, the Galaxy Note 8 is speculated to run with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 just like the Galaxy S8. There is also a possibility that the Qualcomm-run variant is only meant for the U.S. consumers while other regional markets will get an Exynos 8895-powered device. This is more likely the same case for the Galaxy S8.
For the sake of comparison, there is not much different between the two processors. The Exynos 8895 has four cores of 2.5-gigahertz chips plus four cores of 1.7 GHz. The Snapdragon 835's rig has almost the same, with four cores of 2.45 GHz and another four cores of 1.9 GHz rig.
Just like in the Samsung Galaxy S8, the Note 8 is rumored to ditch the physical home button for thinner bezels and a bigger screen ratio. Other possible features of the upcoming phablet are the rear-side fingerprint scanner, a sensor for iris scanner, a Blue Coral color option, and the same IP68 water and dust protection rating.
