Samsung Galaxy Note 8 launched in 2017 and after one year of using it, it still pack quite a punch with key specs:
- 6.3-inch quad-HD+ AMOLED HDR display
- Exynos 8895 (International Variants)
- 6GB RAM, 64GB storage
- 3300 mAh battery, Wireless and fast charging
- Android 8.0
- 12-megapixel dual camera: 1x telephoto (f/2.4, OIS) and 1x regular wide-angle (f1.7, OIS)
- 8-megapixel (f1.7) selfie camera
- IP68-certified waterproof
S-Pen with 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity
Performance
Samsung own Exynos 8895 processor system-on-a-chip performs great. It is almost identical to the performance of Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+, but with 6GB of ram, it keeps more application on the system.
Geekbench 4 score for this phone is around 2010 for single core test and 8900 for multi core test. It also score around 180000 in Antutu. Not a bad score for 2018. You can definitely play games without any issue with this phone.
Using it daily, there is no issue. All apps run smoothly. Browsing and playing games run smoothly. However some games which are not optimized especially older games which can make the game feels slow.
Samsung introduces Samsung DeX with Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+. Here, the performance is improved due to the higher memory. However you won't really use it since as of now, you will need DeX Station to use this feature.
Display
Note 8 has a great resolution of 2960 x 1440 px with 521 ppi. However, by default you are running at 1080 ( 2220 x 1080 px ). In most cases 1080p is enough. Display is sharp enough, text are clear and you won't really notice the difference. Color in Samsung display is vibrant as always. Nothing to complaint about the display. Even in 2018, it still has one of the best display in a smartphone.
Battery Life
Note 8 has a battery of 3,300 mAh which is not that much by today's standard. However, after the incident with Note 7, i think Samsung is playing safe.
Samsung has increased its QC and all of note 8 battery is properly tested.
The battery only last half a day on intense use with dual sim and dual whatsapp.
Playing games drains the battery more slightly and you might need 2-3 charges a day if you use your phone to play games. 3-4 hours of screentime is to be expected.
Camera
Note 8 camera is good but not great in 2018. It was great before but with the new phone like Mate 20 Pro and Iphone xs max, note 8 can be considered decent. It has dual camera so you can have live focus ( bokeh mode ). You can even adjust the blur after you take the picture which sometimes can be quite handy. Colors are well represented. My only complaints are when you take pictures of moving object. Samsung camera phone has never been good in taking pictures of moving object. The result can be blurry.
Videos are great. You can record in 4K with smooth OIS but my favorite mode is the 60 fps. Videos become really smooth and fast. Video are clear. Samsung Camera also captures one of the best voice recording. Even better than competitor. Note 8 video options include modes like Slow Motion and Hyperlaps.
Overall
7/10 ( 2018 )
Overall i do think that Note 8 still have some edge even in 2018. Great Display, OK performance and good camera. Battery life can be disappointing but overal experience is good. I give it 7 out of 10.
