Samsung to Unveil Galaxy Note 8, Before iPhone 8, This August

Samsung to Unveil Galaxy Note 8, Before iPhone 8, This August
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Samsung plans to hold a special media event sometime in “mid-August,” where the company will announce its flagship Galaxy Note 8 handset, according to a report from Reuters — in a move entailing that Sammy is looking a few steps ahead of the curve by trying to beat Apple to the punch.

The report cites “a source with knowledge” of the South Korean-company’s plans, who wished to remain unidentified due to their lack of authorization to speak publicly. They indicated that the Galaxy Note 8 will feature a design markedly similar to the Galaxy S8 and S8+ flagships, but will increase the display size to around 6.4 inches or larger, according to GSMArena, who also cites that we could see a formal announcement on or around August 26, 2017.

Other notable features of the Galaxy Note 8 are slated to include a dual-lens camera system similar to that employed on Apple’s iPhone 7s Plus — with one lens being a standard photo lens, and the other being capable of 2x optical zoom, which would guarantee similar depth-of-field capabilities when its ‘Portrait mode‘ is enabled.

Aside from that, we can expect the Note 8 to feature a spec set similar to the Galaxy S8 and S8+, including an edge-to-edge OLED display that curves around the edges of the device, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC, wireless charging, IP68 water- and dust-proofing, and more — all bundled into a ‘glass sandwich’ design.

While the Note 8’s feature set sounds fantastic right now, it’s important to realize how much is riding on its success. Last year, Samsung made a similar move to rush its Galaxy Note 7 flagship to market in order to beat Apple’s iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. However, as you may recall, the move ultimately backfired tremendously when the Note 7 was pulled from the market amid a whirlwind of reports about fires and exploding devices, which were caused by what Samsung identified as a “flaw in the device’s battery design.”

Given that the flaw ultimately cost the company upwards of $5 billion, however, with little more than a heap of smoldering ashes to show for it, Samsung implemented a new 8-point battery testing program that will (hopefully) prevent history from repeating itself. So far, Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and S8+ have been selling well (though not as well as the company might’ve been hoping) — and, so far, there have been no reports about exploding batteries in the S8, so that’s definitely a sign that things may be looking up for Samsung.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy-maker is still trying to pull a major one-up on Apple by beating the iPhone 7s, 7s Plus, and (most notably) the high-end iPhone 8 flagships to market — the lattermost of which is expected to boast features very similar to the Note 8, such as a larger OLED display, wireless charging, advanced 3D camera technology, and much more. While the iPhone 8 is expected to be unveiled sometime in September, several reports have indicated that due to less-than-stellar manufacturing yields, the high-end device may not begin shipping to customers until at least October or November — potentially giving the Note 8 several months to bask in the limelight before it faces any major competition.

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]

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