Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Note 8 should have a new number, “8,” which should stand for “new beginning,” and in one sense, it’s real: after all, the Galaxy Note 8 will be the first Galaxy Note successor of the infamous Galaxy Note 7 that was recalled twice last fall. In another sense, the Galaxy Note 8 may not prove to be a new beginning for Samsung, as some seem to think that the device will end up too similar in specifications to the Galaxy S8+, announced earlier this year. Regardless of where you stand, here’s what you can expect at the Galaxy Note 8 Unpacked 17 event in NYC on August 23.

Samsung will seemingly announce just one Galaxy Note device this year, the Galaxy Note 8, as opposed to two Galaxy S phones such as the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ (announced in April of this year). Here’s what to expect from it.

Display

The Galaxy Note 8 is expected to feature a 6.3-inch, dual curved Infinity Super AMOLED display with a Quad HD+ (2,960 x 1,440p) screen resolution and an 18.5:9 aspect ratio. The display will be slightly wider than that of the Galaxy S8+ with its 6.2-inch display, which means that the size difference will be practically impossible to notice at an eye glance. Galaxy Note 5 owners will notice the difference, though, when the Galaxy Note 8 is placed alongside the 5.7-inch display of the Galaxy Note 5.

The 18.5:9 aspect ratio will also stand out when compared to the 16:9 aspect ratio of the Galaxy Note 5, but it could also pose problems for those who favored the old aspect ratio and are concerned about the amount of supported content the new aspect ratio provides. Samsung has done everything it can to make sure that the transition is smooth, but, even with a button that lets you extend images and content across the screen, some content will not appear due to lack of support.

Hardware Specs

The new display and aspect ratio are set in stone at this point, but so is the new 6GB of RAM. Samsung seems to have decided that in order to stay competitive in the mobile market, it must move the RAM race ahead by gracing the Galaxy Note 8 with additional RAM. We expect Samsung to also bring Bluetooth 5.1 to the Galaxy Note 8, a step up in Bluetooth performance from the 5.0 standard of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, and a huge step up from the Bluetooth 4.0 standard in the Galaxy S7 series.

The battery will likely be smaller than that of the Galaxy S8+, with the Galaxy S8+ having a 3,500mAh battery as opposed to the 3,300mAh battery that’s expected inside the upcoming Galaxy Note 8. While former Galaxy Note 7 owners could see this as a step down, and some consumers anxious about getting the Galaxy Note 8 and passing up the Galaxy S8+ could share the same opinion, it’s also a fact that Galaxy Note 5 owners who have been itching to upgrade will see the battery climb by 300mAh.

In a move that will have some happy, the Galaxy Note 8 should bring dual rear cameras, one called the primary camera and the other known as the telephoto lens. All eyes will be on the telephoto lens that is said to have a 12MP camera sensor like the primary camera but with a smaller f/2.4 aperture instead of the f/1.7 aperture of the primary rear camera.

There are some standards that will remain in place, some things that we view as predictable when it comes to the upcoming announcement and device. Samsung will utilize the same SoCs (Exynos 8895, Qualcomm Snapdragon 835) for the Galaxy Note 8, also in line with the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ from earlier this year. The new device will probably maintain the same 64GB of storage we’ve seen on the Galaxy Note 7 and Galaxy S8 series’, with the same amount of microSD card storage (up to 256GB).

The IP68 water and dust resistance of the Galaxy Note 8 and its water-resistant “intelligent S Pen” should prove to be expected considering that the upcoming device is following after the Galaxy Note 7 from last fall. USB Type-C charging makes sense too, as this charging standard is an Android mandate for high-end devices now, and yes, wireless charging should be here to stay as well. The iris scanner should make a return, and the fingerprint sensor, on the back of the Galaxy S8 series, is expected to remain in place with the upcoming productivity phablet. And Bixby, Samsung’s rather new AI assistant, will likely have some upgraded capabilities too.

Design

The Galaxy Note 8’s design will seemingly have some continuity with the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, as the device is expected to be dual-curved on the front and back. The Galaxy Note 8 should be water-resistant, a trend for the Galaxy Note line that began with the Galaxy Note 7, and the fingerprint sensor will most presumably make a return right where it was on Galaxy S8.

The heart rate monitor for the Galaxy Note 8 may shift, all due to the horizontal dual rear cameras that could grace the back of this device. The front of the handset will house the speaker, front-facing camera and iris scanner.

The volume and Bixby button layout should be nearly identical to that presented on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. The S Pen will remain in the same place it occupied on the Galaxy Note 7 and Galaxy Note 5, though the speaker design could differ slightly from recent Galaxy flagships.

Midnight Black and Maple Gold will seemingly be the colors available at the point of release, but the Orchid Gray color of the Galaxy S8 series and the new-yet-mysterious Deep Sea Blue will prove to be a variation on the old Coral Blue color that emerged with last year’s ill-fated Galaxy Note 7. Other rumored colors include Dark Blue, Arctic Silver, and Pink. Galaxy Note 5 owners who upgrade to the Galaxy Note 8 will discover that the Black Sapphire color of the Galaxy Note 5 is no more, unfortunately.

Features

We do expect a first for the Galaxy Note line with the Galaxy Note 8: built-in AKG audio. Samsung purchased Harman International for $8 billion and completed its acquisition earlier this year, but this acquisition purchase came after the second recall of the Galaxy Note 7 – which means that Galaxy Note users have yet to experience the high-performance audio quality of AKG Audio. Photo leaks from earlier this year have shown the device in a gorgeous Silver with the branded “AKG Audio” on the back of the device. Samsung has already provided AKG earphones for Galaxy S8 buyers in the box, but Galaxy Note 8 users will actually get built-in AKG Audio sound, not just AKG earphones. If you’ve experienced the excellent bass sound of the AKG earphones on the Galaxy S8, prepare to be blown away by the in-built, noise-cancelling AKG audio expected to be on the Galaxy Note 8.

As for the Galaxy Note 8’s S Pen features, expect to see at least two new ones, full sentence translation and currency conversion. The Galaxy Note 5 brought features such as Screen Off Memo and Scroll Capture, and the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7 brought new features such as Magnify, Glance, and Translate (phrase translations, not full sentence translations). The Galaxy Note 8 could be capable of translating sentences from one language to another and converting currency prices from one form to another using the S Pen. And yes, the Edge panels (Apps Edge, People Edge, etc.) will all return to the Galaxy Note lineup in what will hopefully be a device to remember (in a good way, that is).

Bottom Line

To sum up, what can you expect on August 23 in the Galaxy Note 8? You can expect a gorgeous display with upgraded resolution, size, and aspect ratio; a new SoC in the Galaxy Note lineup that is breaking the battery capacity mold; dual rear cameras, a primary and a telephoto lens with optical zoom and some new capabilities; durable water and dust protection from the elements, an S Pen that’s just as bold as the phone itself; and a battery that, in line with the Snapdragon 835 SoC for US buyers, should provide all-day stamina. Pre-orders are expected to begin soon after the official announcement.

Will Samsung chart a new beginning with the Galaxy Note 8? You’ll be the judge.

Watch the livestream or view our roundup of everything we know thus far at the links below.

http://devs.droidturf.com/samsung-galaxy-note-8-roundup-know-thus-far/

Stay tuned to none-other than Droid Turf for all coverage out of Unpacked 17, as we’re your one stop destination for extensive coverage of the Android Ecosystem.

