Samsung Makes Radical Galaxy Note 8 Design Changes

It’s a big year for the Galaxy Note 8. Having nearly destroyed the once-beloved brand in a cloud of battery explosions last year, Samsung is back and it has a surprise in store…

In a new research note obtained by 9to5Mac, Ming-Chi Kuo (famed as the most accurate Apple analyst in the world) reveals Samsung is going to provide the Galaxy Note 8 with a game changing dual camera.

Benjamin Geskin

Galaxy Note 8 concept based on the latest leaks by Benjamin Geskin

Describing it as “the most important upgrade” in the Galaxy Note 8, Kuo says it will include a

3x optical zoom, 12MP wide-angle CIS supporting dual photodiode (2PD), 13MP telephoto CIS, dual 6P (six element) lenses and dual optical image stabilisation.

Kuo is so confident in the capabilities of the new hardware he claims: “[The] Note 8’s dual-camera will be much better than that of iPhone 7 Plus, and likely match that of OLED iPhone.”

Given the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus have incrementally upgraded camera hardware, this is a big move from Samsung. Especially after it chose to fit the Galaxy Note 7 with the Galaxy S7’s camera last year. Leaks suggest dual cameras were due for the Galaxy S8 until the last minute (image below), so this hold-over its loss is potentially a big boost for the Galaxy Note 8.

Benjamin Geskin

Galaxy S8 prototype shows a dual camera nearly made it to the final design, now it looks destined for the Galaxy Note 8

Elsewhere Kuo says Samsung will continue its big screen obsession with a massive new 6.4-inch OLED display matching the same 18.5:9 aspect ratio of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus and sharing their native QHD+ (1440 x 2960) resolution. It will also match these phones with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 or Exynos 8895 chipset, varying by region.

What does look to be off the cards for the Galaxy Note 8 is the 4K display rumoured earlier in the year. This would be nice for VR, but otherwise has little value and wastes battery life.

If Kuo is right then Samsung has an incredibly strong lineup for 2017. 

The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus arguably impress more than the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus with which they will compete for the majority of the year. Then the Galaxy Note 8 will launch shortly before Apple’s redesigned 10th anniversary iPhone.

Kudos Samsung, kudos. 

Credit: Gordon Kelly