Samsung will reveal its all-new Galaxy Note 8 on August 23, with the flagship smartphone expected to go on sale in selected markets – including Australia – in September.
It's also the device which Samsung hopes will wash away the woes of the Note7 – which began with spontaneously-combusting batteries and ended with an unprecedented global product recall and a complete axing of the line.
Samsung's largest ever phone
The Note 8 is tipped to continue the push towards supersizing with a 6.3 inch screen sporting the same frameless 'infinity display' – an edge-to-edge AMOLED screen, the same as that of the Galaxy S8 series – making it Samsung's largest ever 'premium' smartphone.
This will provide plenty of on-screen real estate for the digital S-Pen stylus, which is certain to boast a few new productivity-oriented tricks.
However, Samsung's Galaxy Note 8 is also expected to ride another trend: that of larger price tags. This smartphone's sticker is estimated to be around the $1,500 mark.
Other Galaxy S8 hand-me-downs will include the Bixby voice assistant, which has previously been available only in the South Korean market but now looks ready to expand its language set to include English.
The Note 8 is said to pack two 12 megapixel cameras, sitting on aside the other, with Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 835 processor married to a generous 6GB of RAM.
All this, and wireless earbuds too?
Also rumoured but less certain: a simultaneous launch of wireless Bluetooth earbuds, Samsung's rival to the Apple AirPods but with inbuilt noise-cancelling technology.
These 'S-buds' may be bundled with the Note8 but would also be available for seperate purchase to use with the Galaxy S8 devices.
Happily, the Note 8 is also rumoured to sport a standard 3.5mm headphone jack.
Samsung is believed to have opted for a 3,300 mAh battery in the Note 8, which would be slightly smaller than the 3,500 mAh cell of the Galaxy S8+ and could have an impact on how much time the phone can deliver between recharges.
Full details on the Note 8 will be released following Samsung’s annual Galaxy Unpacked launch event at New York on August 23.
David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
06 May 2016
Total posts 33
I would wait and see more feedback after the launch before buying any of the Samsung phones. Mates told me the S8 wasn't that great either.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
11 May 2015
Total posts 30
Purchased a Samsung Note 5 dual sim when I was in Hong Kong last year. The Notes are great phones, this is my second and I love them. However all Oz telcos will be stopping the 2g service shortly and that means dual sim functionality will be lost, down to only one functioning sim slot. Why cant we purchase dual sim phones in Oz? Here's hoping the new Note 8 will also be available with dual sim (3g +4g) even if I have to buy it on my next OS trip.
19 Sep 2015
Total posts 21
Loving my S8, so here's to hoping this is as good. Dual camera, Snapdragon 835, you can't really go wrong
Singapore Airlines - The PPS Club
14 Nov 2013
Total posts 40
will be a great upgrade from my note5
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