Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8 is the best smartphone on the market and the $1500 device you deserve

FORGET the expensive iPhone X, Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8 is the premium handset customers deserve. Here is why it’s the best phone on the market.

REVIEW:

WHEN Apple announced the $A1829 iPhone X, I was quick to dismiss the product suggesting Samsung’s $A1199 S8 was far better value for money.

And even though I was impressed with Oppo’s R11, Sony’s Xperia XZ Premium and Huawei’s P10, I found myself constantly going back to Samsung’s S8.

I truly believed it was the best smartphone currently on the market and knew it would take something very special to convince me otherwise. Then Samsung released the Galaxy Note 8.

If the Galaxy Note sounds familiar it’s because it was the phone that Samsung globally recalled last year after multiple cases of exploding batteries that had the company in damage control.

So when the company announced the Galaxy Note 8, it hoped the phone would be able to resurrect the device’s legacy from the ashes — literally.

And has it been able to achieve this goal? Let’s just say I might have a new favourite device.

There is no denying the $A1499 Note 8 is an expensive phone, but it’s still cheaper than Apple’s 64GB and 256GB iPhone X models, which cost $A1579 and $A1829 respectively.

DESIGN

Just like it has in previous years, the Galaxy Note 8 takes the design fundamentals of the current Galaxy S model and puts them on a much larger device.

The device has a 6.3-inch 2960x1440 pixel Infinity Display, which has removed almost all of the bezel and physical home button to give customers the most screen possible.

The physical home button has been replaced with a virtual key on the bottom of the display, while the fingerprint scanner has been removed to the rear of the device.

The location of the fingerprint scanner is still something I am not 100 per cent sold on because it can create smudges on your camera, although it’s better than Apple’s decision to completely remove the feature in order to create an edge-to-edge display.

Apple’s iPhone X also has an ugly and distracting bar at the top its screen, which has already attracted criticism from smartphone users.

I’m glad I’m not the only one who finds the black bar on the #iPhoneX annoying, Steve would not let that fly. Just awful

— Snakeyes11 (@Snakeyes11) September 17, 2017

the iPhoneX had me up until I saw some screenshots / hands-on video, that black bar at the top is so jarring. Going to Note 8 instead.

— Anton (@Antonlovesdnb) September 17, 2017

While Samsung’s flagship phablet might felt larger at first, I quickly got used to the size and had no issues using or holding it in my hand.

The screen uses Super AMOLED technology which has been certified by the UHD Alliance for Mobile HDR Premium — this means it’s capable of displaying the same vibrant colours, high contrast, and inky dark blacks seen on an HDR enabled TV.

Admittedly HDR content for mobile is still rare in Australia, but with Netflix adding the Note 8 to its list of supported devices, you should have some quality choices.

Both the front and rear of the device are made of glass, with a metal frame wrapping around the perimeter holding it all togethe - it blends seamlessly when using the black device.

The rear camera has also been designed to sit almost entirely flush with the surface.

Located on the bottom of the Note 8 is the single bottom-firing speaker, USB-C charging port and Samsung’s S-Pen stylus which is ejected from the phone.

The S-Pen is small, responsive and easy to use, with a menu showing all of it’s functions appearing on the screen when the stylus is ejected.

I have found the feature most useful when scribbling down quick notes on the fly or when I want to get on the tune using the Live Message feature — something that turns my S-Pen stylus scribbles into GIFs that are sent through Facebook Messenger.

The note 8 has a virtual home button and fingerprint scanner on the rear of the device.

CAMERA

The Galaxy Note 8 is the world’s first smartphone with two 12MP rear cameras with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) on both the wide-angle lens and the telephoto lens — this means blur-free photos from either sensor.

The dual camera is also a nice change from the Galaxy S8, which I criticised for only had one.

I have found the camera to be fantastic, especially when using Samsung’s ‘Live Focus’ feature that allows you to create the bokeh effect seen with many smartphones using dual cameras.

The phone also offers fantastic 2X zoom capabilities that offer detail and quality to get any smartphone photography enthusiast excited.

Other than the dual camera, photography is relatively similar to the S8 and includes shooting modes like panorama, slow motion, virtual shot, and a pro mode with full manual controls.

During my experience, I found the camera to take highly detailed shots with vibrant colours and fantastic dynamic range in both low and full light.

The 8MP front-facing camera on Note 8 is also high quality, with Samsung’s smart autofocus ensuring sharp and clear selfies.

This photo of my tomato tree showcases my Don Burke-esque skills and the power of the Galaxy S8 Camera.

EVERYTHING ELSE

Unlike the iPhone X’s limited passcode and facial scanning technology, the Note 8 offers those options, plus fingerprint and iris scanning to unlock the device.

There is no need pay more for additional storage like is the case with Apple’s iPhones, with an extra 256MB able to be added using a microSD card.

The Note 8 also includes wireless charging and has IP68 water and dust resistance (IP68) — making it fully protected from dust and able to handle being submerged in 1.5 metre of static water for up to 30 minutes.

This rating is superior to the forthcoming iPhone X’s IP67 rating, which offers full dust resistance but can only be submerged in 1 metre of static water for up to 30 minutes.

Even more impressive is the ability to use Samsung’s S-pen on the display even when it is wet.

The 3,300 mAh battery ensures you would easily get a day’s use out of the device with regular usage and fast charging will help you top up quickly when needed.

Under the hood, the phone is powered by Samsung’s octa-core Exynos 8895 CPU and 6GB of RAM supporting all the usual 4G network bands.

Also included on the phone is Bixby — Samsung’s own personal assistant to rival Siri and Google Assistant.

Bixby can be used to control home automation, set reminders and has the ability to scan a product to find more information.

Thankfully the feature has been improved since the release of the S8 and now works better with our unique Aussie dialect.

The phone also comes standard with the Android 7.0 Nougat operating system, with Samsung’s own skin overplayed, which is nice, clean and easy to use.

Admittedly the Galaxy Note 8 is much closer in price to the cheapest iPhone X model, yet I feel it’s far superior in majority of its functions.

If you don’t want to drop $1500 on a smartphone I would recommend the Galaxy S8, although if the dual camera and stylus seem like a welcomed addition, the Note 8 is your best choice.

Obviously we will need hands on with the iPhone X before we can fully make this claim, but on paper the winner is pretty clear cut.

What smartphone will you be buying? Continue the conversation in the comments below or with Matthew Dunn on Facebook and Twitter.

Originally published as Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8 is the best smartphone on the market and the $1500 device you deserve