Samsung Galaxy Note 8 First Impressions

ide-angle view of a close-up shot.

Bixby: The Note 8 has a dedicated button for Bixby, Samsung’s voice assistant. The voice assistant is smart in some ways – it can recognize what’s in your photos, for example – but still works with a limited number of apps. Samsung is adding more support, however, including for the music service Spotify.

What I would have liked to see: There are some gripes, of course. The fingerprint reader, which was clumsily placed next to the camera lens, is in the same awkward spot. And the Note is still large and somewhat unwieldy to hold if your hands aren’t that big – though the ability to get more screen real estate out of a device that’s physically smaller helps ease that concern.

Of course, evaluations of the more practical considerations – battery life, speed and daily use – will have to come upon further review when I have more time to spend with the phone.

Conclusion: So who should buy it?
Devotees of the Note line should be very pleased, particularly coming from the Galaxy Note 5 – Samsung skipped the Galaxy Note 6 for branding reasons. If you must have that huge screen, the stylus and/or the multitasking features, this is the best option on the market. The Galaxy Note 8 is the Samsung also slightly squared off the edges of the Galaxy Note 8 as compared to previous models, which makes the phone much easier to hold than their slippery predecessors.

For those wondering whether the Galaxy Note 8 will have the similar battery issues as the Galaxy Note 7, Samsung has said that it learned its lesson and as a result applied new safety standards when making the phone.

This is Samsung’s premium device, and should be thought of in competition with the iPhone 7 Plus, or whatever upcoming Plus model may appear in the fall.

For most, it will be worth a wait to see what Apple has on offer – which also, conveniently, gives the Galaxy Note 8 time to work out any potential growing pains.

The Galaxy Note 8 goes on pre-order on August 25, and hits store shelves on September 15. Prices at carriers will vary, based on the way consumers choose to pay for the phone. But, as a sense of the price, buying the phone through AT&T will cost $949.99 (roughly Rs. 61,000).

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