Samsung has made its biggest and most beautiful Galaxy Note yet.
The brand Samsung is synonymous with one thing – its screens. Whether
it’s the electronics giant’s TVs, tablets, laptops or smartphones, you know
that the screen is going to stand out.
With the Galaxy Note 8, the electronics giant has built not only its
biggest but brightest display in the Galaxy range.
And there’s an even brighter side to this – for the screen to be
legible under sunlight, it has to be very bright. So it goes without saying
that you’ll have no problem viewing the Note 8’s display outdoors.
Just like with the Galaxy S8/S8+, Samsung has chosen to make the screen
larger by making it longer. So you see more and scroll less, and won’t have a
problem gripping the phone comfortably as its girth remains slender.
However, the result is an unusual aspect ratio, so some apps and most
videos won’t fit the screen entirely. Samsung has a simple solution – it can
blow up the app and videos to fill up the screen but a little will be lost on
the sides.
One last thing about the screen – it supports mobile HDR (high dynamic
range). So HDR shows like the Marvel’s Daredevil on Netflix would look even
more vibrant on the Note 8’s screen.
At this point there isn’t much HDR content but with YouTube now
supporting HDR, things will change soon.
Your eyes only
The Note 8 packs an iris scanner for authentication and an improved
front-facing autofocus camera for facial recognition.
The iris scanner had no problems recognising my eyes even though I
wear specs. It was accurate and fast almost all the time, only occasionally
prompting that I should open my eyes wider in the mornings.
Or you can use the fingerprint sensor – like the S8/S8+, the
fingerprint scanner is on the back but takes a little getting used too as it’s
high up and off centre.
So I actually prefer facial recognition even though it’s less secure
because it’s the easiest to use.
The Note 8 also has a Secure Folder for keeping your personal files and
even apps safe from prying eyes. Apparently it’s protected by its
defence-grade security system, Knox, so you know it’s really safe.
It also has a function for keeping your work and personal life separate
– the Dual Messenger feature can clone your messaging apps. For instance, you
can have two Facebook apps, one logged into your business account and the other
into your personal one.
Solid stylus
The S Pen has been mightily upgraded, now with a tinier nib (0.7mm vs
1.6mm on Note 5) that’s able to detect double the pressure levels (4,096 vs
2,048 levels). In other words, it makes writing feel more natural than ever.
What I like about the S Pen is that I can start scribbling as soon as I
eject the stylus from the holder, without having to unlock the smartphone.
And if you have the Always On Display mode on, you can just pin the
note to the screen.
You can even record your writing and drawings and send it as animated
GIFs on any platform that supports the standard (and most do). You can, of
course, choose to add sparkles and neon lighting to make your message livelier.
In fact, Running Man’s star Song Ji-hyo will be coming to Malaysia for
the launch of the Note 8 on Thursday (Sept 21) to demonstrate this feature
which is called Live Message.
And just so you know – you can even write notes when the phone is wet,
you know, just in case you have a Eureka moment in the bathtub.
The S Pen also has other tricks up its sleeve such as being able to
magnify images and text, and translate words (including text in images) and
now it supports up to 71 languages.
On the double
The Note 8’s main distinction is that it’s the first Samsung Galaxy
smartphone to feature two 12-megapixel cameras on the back.
One has a wide-angle lens and the other a telephoto lens but both have
OIS (optical image stabilisation) so you don’t have to worry about shaky hands
when shooting stills.
One of the main reasons for having two sensors is so that you can shoot
photos with the Bokeh effect made popular by DSLRs. The effect – Samsung calls
it Live Focus – makes the subject stand out by blurring out the background.
While most phones allow you to adjust the Bokeh effect after you shoot
the photo, the Note 8 actually allows you to adjust it before you take the
photo.
The photos turned out really nice overall although the Bokeh effect
could do with some improvements to make it look more natural.
Live Focus also has another handy feature – it can take two shots
simultaneously with a press of a button so you’ll get a close up shot and a
zoomed out shot.
In terms of battery life, Note 8 had no issues lasting until the end of
the day with standard usage which is not bad considering that it has a smaller
battery and a bigger screen. The battery has also undergone extensive tests to
ensure that it’s safe.
Comments
Post a Comment