Samsung Galaxy Note8 smartphone - pros and cons

The smartphone of which company will be a faithful friend and best assistant in business and entertainment? How to choose the best manufacturers of devices in 2018, if the market has a huge number of popular models of the most diverse functionality and attractive prices? This article will review the main advantages and disadvantages of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, a worthy flagship of a large company from South Korea.

External appearance

What is the first thing that catches your eye and is evaluated instantly? Smartphone design.

Thoughtful to the smallest detail. With strict, clear angles. He literally betrays a businesslike and orderly man in his master. Externally resembling its predecessor Samsung Galaxy s 8+, the "younger brother" is much different. First of all, the lack of curvature of the screen, which are present in both models of "eights" of the S series.

Especially picky users complained about the "slipperiness" of the device, which should be handled very carefully. For the safety of your smartphone and your own nerves, it is better to immediately purchase a protective case. It's calmer with him.

S Pen

Buying a model from the Note line, if you are not interested in their proprietary stylus, is pointless.

Many Note8 fans admitted that it is the stylus-pen that determines their preference and popularity of the model in their personal rating.

Now a little about the capabilities of the famous S Pen.

The pen reads as many as 4096 pressure levels and glides across the screen without any problems. There will be no unpleasant feeling, as if a solid object is scraping on the glass. Samsung engineers thought about this and took into account consumer preferences. The stylus now moves very smoothly and naturally. As soon as the stylus is removed from the slot, a list of applications for it appears on the screen. Even coloring pages are present.

The S Pen makes it easy to give way to your inner artist, as drawing with it is a pleasure.

The Google Play store has a large number of apps designed for the pen. With their help, you can make beautiful and vivid sketches in just a few minutes right on the phone screen, imagining it as an easel. The stylus will appeal to those who have always dreamed of drawing, but various circumstances hindered this. Now there are no barriers to creativity.

The stylus will help out even when you urgently need to write down important information, and there was no diary or pen at hand. In the Note8 model, you can write notes even when the screen is off. Remember that food was not purchased for the cat? Record on the screen. The pet will be well-fed, and the Note8's piggy bank will be replenished. This is a real digital notepad with endless pages. When the screen is off, only 100 patterns can be saved. Then the display will have to be turned on.

Pen - translator

The smart stylus can recognize handwriting. To get a translation of an interesting phrase or word, you just need to hold it down on the screen.If the site is in English, we point at the unfamiliar word "magic pen" and get an instant translation. This works not only with simple text, it will work great with a sign or any picture. First you just need to take a photo.

The S Pen is hard to lose and impossible to forget.

Losing the stylus is almost impossible. If you have gone somewhere with your phone, and the stylus is left lying alone on the table, it doesn't matter. The smart S Pen sends a notification to the phone that the stylus has been weaned from the smartphone. Therefore, you can not be afraid of missing the pen.

By the way, the stylus also works reliably under water. If inspiration struck during the swim, that's even good.

The screen you dream about

In 2018, it can no longer be said that the screens of the Samsung Galaxy s8 Plus and Note 8 are equal. Display Mate announced that the Note has a 22% brighter screen, improved color reproduction and better viewing angles.

Whatever the ambient lighting, the picture on the display will remain clear. The bezel-less screen and richness of colors are present in full. It will be comfortable to both type text and take pictures with one hand. The Note8 is much more comfortable in the hand than the s 8 Plus, despite its solid 6.3-inch diagonal. Added support for HDR 10.

The disadvantages of the screen are also present. The display is completely unresponsive to finger touch underwater. SPen handles this. Therefore, should this feature be considered a disadvantage?

Always on display

The Always on display function, loved by many users, has not bypassed the Note 8. When the time is visible on the locked screen, the icons of missed notifications and calls are the Always on Display. It is very convenient that you do not need to constantly unlock your phone so as not to miss important things.

Especially helpful at meetings. The only downside is that it reduces the battery level by about 10%. To save battery, it's best to turn it off.

Camera with two eyes

The main advantage of Samsung flagships is the main camera. Both Galaxy Note 8 camera modules now have optical stabilization.

The world's first smartphone with optical stabilization on two lenses. The rear camera has "2 eyes" of 12 megapixels, the first (f1.7) and the second (f 2.4).

The good news is that the popular slow-motion and smooth Sloumo videos can now be filmed with an increase, and not lose quality.

Speaking of sloumo. The disadvantage is that in this mode you can save not the entire video, but only a small fragment by moving the slider with your finger. Again, if this function is used infrequently, then this minus will even be imperceptible.

When video recording is in progress, you can safely enlarge the image, and the picture quality will not be lost. The maximum size in which the video is shot is 4K. The second module is used for optical zoom.

Autofocus on the Note 8 is blazing fast. Using the "dynamic focus" function, you can blur the background in the photo, or separate parts of the frame.

Front camera

We live in the era of “selfie”. Therefore, fans of this type of shooting will like the Note 8 front camera, which has 8 MP, and in terms of aperture it is not inferior to the main one (f 1.7). Selfies are very high quality, even against the light. Poor lighting is generally not a problem for the Samsung Note 8 camera. There is also the possibility of shooting video, 1440 -p, 30 frames / s frequency.

Photos taken with smartphone Note8

1. How the rear camera shoots in the sun:

2. How to photograph at night:

3. Photo at dusk:

Wide-angle main camera, and second narrow (distance 26 mm and 52 mm). Sharpness and lack of blur is visible perfectly.

Features, functionality and filling

Each user has their own selection criteria. Some people watch reviews, others listen to the ratings of the highest quality smartphones. But the point that worries everyone is how much memory the manufacturer offers.

Memory

The Note8 smartphone has 64 gigabytes of internal memory.

There are models with 128 and 256 GB to choose from. It is possible to put a memory card up to 256 GB micro SD format (it is better to choose a branded one from Samsung). The phone is equipped with dual sim, which means “two sim cards”. There are only two card slots. You will have to choose which is more important - a second SIM card or the ability to expand the smartphone's memory.

If the 64 gb version is selected, then only 53 will be available to the user, the rest will be occupied by the system.

RAM

RAM in Note 8 - 6 GB. System processes will almost always fill about 3.1 gigabytes. Despite the increased storage capacity (compared to the Galaxy s8 +, which has 4GB of RAM), there is almost no difference. This cannot be called a disadvantage, but it cannot be attributed to advantages either.

The processors that are installed in the eighth Note model are of two types: Exynos 8895 and Snapdragon 835. Snapdragon is not supplied to Russia. It only goes for China and the United States. Russian users can be content with only Exynos 8895. Octa CORE: 4x cores - 2.3GHZ and 4x cores - 2.3GHZ. The Exynos is pretty good, but the US version with Snapdragon is faster.

For fun

For games, the Galaxy Note 8 is good - it heats up slightly, toys don't slow down, don't fly out. The device has support for a game mode, which, when selected, improves graphics, sound and performance for more enjoyment of the game. The smartphone slowed down only when testing GTA San Andreas. And then, this is more of a problem for GTA, not a device. So, tired of business and fuss, you can go through a couple of levels in your favorite toy with great comfort.

Battery

With the Note 8's battery, things are sad. The battery capacity is only 3300 MAH, which is not enough with such a screen diagonal. Manufacturers can also be understood - after cases of overheating and mass breakdown of the Note 7 model, they reinsure themselves. But even the earlier Galaxy s 8 + has 3500 MAH.

Taking off the phone from charging in the morning, at 6 o'clock, and with average use - you have to put the charge already at 4 pm. For comparison - with the same use, s 8 + lived until the evening. The Note 8's autonomy, unfortunately, is not particularly pleasing.

The fast charging function is supported and easily charged from the included charger in one hour and thirty minutes.

operating system

In 2018, the old version of the Android 7.1.1 Nougat operating system was replaced by the new Android 8 Oreo, and even received several important updates. The firmware works smoothly and without freezes. But there is a small drawback - not all applications are optimized for an aspect ratio of 18: 9. It remains to be hoped that they will correct it.

Samsung's proprietary shell may not appeal to fans of "pure" Android, but there are other popular models for them. Everyone else will be able to enjoy a pleasant looking shell that is very functional. You can customize almost everything, the interface is beautiful and neat. More is not necessary.

Bixby button

Most users get in the way of the Bixby assistant button, and that's it. Because it has not yet been Russified, and there is no benefit from it - only it is pressed at the wrong time.

When Bixby begins to understand Russian, the benefits will increase significantly, but for now - you can reassign the button to another function. For example, move the camera activation there. Or Google Assistant.

Unlocking

There are several ways to unlock the Samsung Galaxy Note 8:

1. Using the owner's face - users claim that it works the most efficiently.
2. On the retina of the eye - there are problems with recognition, especially in the sun.
3. By fingerprint - you can add multiple fingerprints, works well. Minus in the location of the scanner itself. It is located in an inconvenient place, many users have abandoned this unlocking method. Given the impressive dimensions of the phone, not everyone can reach the scanner.
4. Graphic drawing - the degree of protection is low, it is not recommended to use it.
5. Without a way to protect, just slide your finger across the screen. Anyone can access the data. Better to choose at least minimal protection.

Moisture protection

Note 8 is ready to withstand immersion in water for no more than 30 minutes, and even shoot video or take a photo there. The protection of the case against moisture according to ip68 standards guarantees this.

Equipment

Together with the smartphone itself, the package includes:

1. OTG - an adapter to connect a flash card;
2. Cable for connecting to a computer and charging;
3. Charger supporting fast charging function;
4. Tweezers for changing tips for S PEN and the tips themselves;
5. Adapter from MICRO usb to Type -s;
6. Headphones from AKG;
7. Replaceable ear pads for headphones (three sizes).

Sounds of music

Samsung manufacturers and engineers have tried and, not succumbing to the provocations of competitors, left in the Galaxy Note 8 everyone's favorite 3.5mm jack.

Wireless headphones for this model can be purchased separately, for about 13,990 rubles for 2018.

Complete headphones from AKG sound no worse, the sound is at a very high level. Anyone who likes bass or wants to increase the lower frequencies - please. There is a built-in equalizer that can be adjusted according to the wishes of the user.

Tracks can be downloaded to the library even from your own computer, even from Google Play, which is preinstalled by default. The choice is huge, there would be a desire.

The speaker is true, only one. It's hard for him, but he's coping. The manufacturers decided not to install dual stereo speakers. The sound is loud and clear, but no different from the s 8 +.

Disadvantages vs Advantages

Having carried out a capacious review of the flagship Samsung Galaxy Note 8, all its pros and cons became visible. Let's list them.

1. Screen. Diagonal 6.3; 2960 by 1440, 521PPi;
2. Design and assembly;
3. Ergonomics;
4. Display;
5. Memory and card slot;
6. Iron;
7. Heat;
8. Games fly;
9. Communication (no problem with signal interruption);
10. Cameras;
11. Stylus;
12. Interface;
13. IP68 enclosure protection.

1. Slippery body;
2. Case material glass (dropped and broken);
3. Autonomy of work;
4. Sound;
5. Unlocking;
6. Cost.

conclusions

The main competitor to the Note 8 remains the Samsung Galaxy s 8 Plus. Identical set of features, only there is no stylus and no dual camera.

And if you don't see the difference, it's up to the consumer to decide. The Galaxy Note 8 price for the fall of 2018 is 59,990 thousand rubles. On s 8 Plus 49,990 thousand rubles.