LG continues the trend of teasing new features of its upcoming flagship, the LG V30 by releasing another video teaser. In this teaser, LG showcases the ‘premium audio quality’ that the LG V30 will possess. The ‘V’ series has been known to feature top-notch media consumption qualities and LG has admitted that the V30 won’t be any different.
It was earlier reported that the LG V30 will feature a Quad DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) and this video confirms it. LG had paired up with Bang & Olufsen Play, a Danish premium audio brand in the past. The LG V20 retailed with Bang and Olufsen earphones and the G5 had a B&O audio module. The new LG V30 is also expected to feature B&O earphones. The company claims the feature will allow users to optimise their sound simply by touching displays and adjust tone depending on genre. Through the Sound Preset, users can optimise tone into four categories, namely balanced, clear, live and low-pitched. The Digital Filter also allows users to choose echo in three categories: short, slow and sharp.
In a blog post, LG announced that the V30 will have a 6 inch 2880 x 1440 px OLED display. The advantage of an OLED display is the operational response time, which is a lot faster than LCD. This accelerated response time effectively eliminates afterimages, an important consideration for action movies and VR. This, combined with the Quad DAC will make the LG V30 an ideal device for media consumption.
According to LG, the LG V30 will also be the first smartphone to feature a camera unit with an f/1.6 aperture. Compared to the f/1.8 aperture cameras on the iPhone 7Plus and the Samsung Galaxy S8+, the camera on the LG V30 will let 25% more light to pass through. The glass lens also delivers greater light-collecting ability than a plastic lens as well as better colour reproduction. The camera will feature laser detection AF, optical image stabilisation and electronic image stabilisation.
LG confirmed that the V30 will run Android 7.1.1 Nougat with LG UX 6.0+ on top. UX 6.0+ will offer a lot of personalisation options such as the semi-transparent Floating Bar for quick access to frequently used functions. The Floating Bar can be disabled when not needed. The new Always On Display can be customised to display Quick Tools, Music Player or a personal photograph. The LG V30 will also feature new security updates such as facial and voice recognition.
LG will launch the V30 on August 31 at IFA 2017 in Berlin and will go on sale soon after the launch in major European and US markets. The phone is expected to be launched in India in the month of October.
Samsung launched the highly-anticipated Galaxy Note8 in New York on August 23 during its ‘Unpacked 2017’ event. Priced at Rs 74,999 the Galaxy Note8 is the first Samsung to feature a dual-camera setup. Both the cameras are 12 MP and both have OIS, one has a wide lens while the other a telephoto lens. The Galaxy Note8 also has an IRIS scanner on the front, sadly the fingerprint sensor still sits on the back of the phone next to the cameras.
Apple looks all set to launch the new iPhone on September 12. Apple has been hosting its iPhone launch events in September since 2012. September 12 also falls on a Tuesday, which is in line with the previous iPhone announcement events. It is rumoured that the main iPhone 8 will be available in extremely limited numbers at launch. Along with the new iPhone 8, the launch of the iPhone 7S, 7S Plus, Apple TV with 4K video output, LTE enabled Apple Watch is also expected.
The follow-up to last year’s lineup of Pixel devices, the pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2 could be launched on October 5th according to a tipster. This tip comes after specifications of the Pixel 2 were leaked through an FCC filing document. In his tweet, Evan Blass claims that both the devices will have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 836 chipset, instead of the much-anticipated Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset.
Google officially launched the next generation of its Android OS, 8.0 Oreo during the first Solar Eclipse in the USA since 1917 on August 21. The Google Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2 are tipped to be the first sdevices to run Android 8.0 Oreo while many other smartphones will soon follow suit.
Features such as the new picture-in-picture mode, auto fill framework, notification dots and much more will be available when the Android 8.0 Oreo starts rolling out to devices later this year.
Lenovo-owned Motorola is set to launch the Moto G5S Plus in India on 29th August. The smartphone will be an Amazon exclusive in the beginning and will be available at offline retailers later.The Moto G5S Plus’ widely speculated feature, the rear mounted 13MP dual-camera with an f/2.0 aperture and dual tone LED flash, comes with video stabilization and 4K video recording at 30 FPS.
Nikon has announced a new full-frame DSLR, the D850. The announcement coincides with the company’s 100th anniversary, hoping to fulfill the wish-lists of professional photographers. Nikon seems to be aiming for portrait photographers, sports shooters, event photographers, etc.
Unlike the D810‘s 36.2-megapixel sensor, the Nikon D850 is built around a back-side illuminated(company’s first) 45.7 megapixel CMOS Sensor and can push the images at 7 fps, or 9 fps with the optional battery grip. Courtesy, the new Expeed 5 image processor, you can buffer up to 51 frames of 45.7-megapixel 14-bit RAW images, or 170 frames at 12-bits. It has the exact same 153-point (99 cross type) autofocus system used in the D5 with 99 cross type sensors and multi-cam 20K autofocus.
Nikon claims that the D850’s 45.7-megapixel sensor has an “unprecedented combination of resolution, dynamic range, ISO, and processing power.” In a bid to capture incredible detail, the company took a pass on the optical low-pass filter (OLPF). No mention of the manufacturer yet, but the fact that Sony uses a similar sensor on its 42-megapixel, full-frame Alpha A7R II, makes it quite certain.
D850’s video capabilities include shooting 4K UHD footage at 30 or 24 frames per second, and 1080p video at up to 120 fps. The camera can also record uncompressed 4:2:2 8-bit 4K UHD footage to an external recorder via HDMI port while recording locally to a card at the same time. Furthermore, the D850 offers an 8K time-lapse video mode.
The Nikon D850 also has a “silent shooter” mode, to shoot in “complete silence” using Live View and the electronic shutter. Other features include a tilting 3.2-inch touchscreen, radio flash control, three sizes of RAW files and a battery which offers 1,840 shots at full resolution or 70 minutes of video on a single charge.
The Nikon D850 comes with a weather sealed magnesium body, dual card slots, illuminated buttons, focus stacking and WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity. Nikon’s flagship camera seems to be a strong contender as compared to Canon’s 50.2-megapixel 5Ds, Fujifilm’s $6,500, 51.4-megapixel GFX 50S and the Sony’s A99 II SLT.
Nikon’s flagship camera, D850 costs $3,299 for just the body and an additional $400 for the MB-D18 Multi Power Battery Pack. The digital SLR camera is reported to arrive in September 2017.
Google Chrome will soon allow users to permanently mute websites, a long awaited feature that will cheer millions who suffer from auto-playing videos on websites. According to a report, the feature is currently available in the experimental Canary build of the browser and will soon roll out with future Google Chrome update. For those of you who want to give this feature a try, run it with the –enable-features=SoundContentSetting switch, as the feature is off by default.
Google’s François Beaufort announced on his Google Plus account, that the Chrome team is still “experimenting with a setting to mute/unmute a website directly from the Page Info bubble.” explaining that “This will give you more control about which website is allowed to throw sound at you automatically.”
As of now, a user can mute tabs in Chrome by right clicking on them, but the process is canceled out once you close the tab or the Chrome window. But with this feature, a user will be able to permanently block sound on a particular domain. In short, websites on which you disable sound will remain disabled or muted until you turn them back on.
Google Chrome already has various toggles for Flash, JavaScript, notifications, etc. and the soon-to-be-added sound toggle will work in a similar way.
According to the update given by François Beaufort, it might be a few weeks or months before we see the feature on Google Chrome.
Lee Jae-yong, the son of Samsung’s ailing chairman and vice chairman of Samsung Electronics has been found guilty of perjury, embezzlement, and bribery in South Korea. The presumed heir to the Samsung empire was sentenced to five years in prison on Friday, which was shorter than the 12-year prison sentence prosecutors had sought for.
Lee was arrested in February and was found guilty by a three-judge panel of Seoul Central District Court. Along with the Lee, four other Samsung executives were accused of offering bribes to former South Korean president Park Geun-hye. Prosecutors alleged that Lee and the other executives gave 43.3 billion won (approximately $38 million) in bribes to Park in exchange for government support for a merger that helped him tighten control over Samsung. The court also found Lee guilty of perjury for falsely testifying at a parliamentary hearing on the scandal, concealing criminal profits, embezzlement and hiding assets overseas. Contrary to which, Lee Jae-yong denied any wrongdoing, and his lawyers are expected to appeal the verdict. Regardless, the court stated that there was sufficient evidence to prove prosecutors’ charges.
Judge Kim Jin-dong said “The essence of this case is the unethical bond between politics and money,” and “I hope that power will be used to serve all people and that big businesses will act with social responsibility, through legal economic activities.”
Although, the Samsung chief was found guilty in today’s verdict, it doesn’t necessarily scuttle his chances for succeeding his father. But, due to the Chinese tradition of “filial piety”, the role of chairman may not pass down to Lee Jae-yong until his 75-year-old incapacitated father passes away.
Samsung has recently bounced back from what was a slow year in 2016 due to recalls involving its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, and had success with the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ and the newly launched Galaxy Note 8, but the criminal conviction of Samsung’s chief is a blow for the company and is bound to impact the smartphone maker’s credibility and reputation on the business side of things, if not consumer.
The successor to the Moto X Style, the Moto X4 has skipped a few “speculated” release dates and is now back in the spotlight after its FCC filing document got leaked.
Just like with the Google Pixel 2’s FCC certification documents, specifications of the Moto X4 have also been leaked. As per the listing, Moto X4 is said to boast NFC for faster file transfer and contact-less payments and most importantly it will support the latest Bluetooth v5.0. The smartphone will have a 5.2 inch 1920 x 1080 px AMOLED display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on top for protection. The device will have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 chipset and a 2.2GHz octa-core processor with 5GB RAM and 64GB onboard storage which will be expandable via microSD card. Graphics will be handled by the Adreno 508 GPU.
On the camera front, the smartphone will feature 12MP dual cameras. The primary camera is an RGB sensor while the secondary camera comes equipped with a monochrome sensor for black-and-white images and more detailed coloured images. On the front is a 16MP camera with a wide-angle lens. The Moto X4 will be IP68 certified water and dust resistant unlike the splash resistance on previous Moto phones. The fingerprint sensor will be placed in front of the device just below the screen.
The Moto X4 is rumoured to be priced at around Rs 26,500 for the Indian market when it arrives. Motorola is scheduled to announce the Moto G5S Plus in India on 29th August, and the Moto X4 could be unveiled at the IFA in Berlin on 31st August. Busy days ahead for Motorola.
The Lenovo Yoga 720 is a powerful laptop that can be transformed into a tablet as it has a touch-enabled display. The laptop has a 13.3 inch 1920 x 1080 px IPS multi touch display. The laptop runs Windows 10 Home and is powered by a 4 cell battery which promises up to 10.5 hours of run-time. The variant we have unboxed has the 7th generation Intel i7-7500HQ chipset, the dual-core processor is clocked at 2.7 GHz with 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD while graphics are handled by the Intel HD620 GPU.
The laptop is available in three colours, Platinum Silver, Iron Grey, and Copper. Let’s unbox the Lenovo Yoga 720 and check what’s inside the box
The Lenovo Yoga 720
Charging brick
Charging Cable
Documentation
With the price starting at Rs 74,500 the Lenovo Yoga 720 features a chiclet style keyboard and a fingerprint sensor that sits below the bottom right corner of the keyboard. The trackpad supports multi-touch and the JBL stereo speakers are placed on the bottom side of the laptop below the vents. The power button sits on the right side of the laptop along with a traditional USB 3 port which is accompanied by 2 USB Type-C with Thunderbolt ports and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The laptop weighs at 1.3 kilograms and can be folded into a tablet.
The Xiaomi Mi 5x was launched in the China market last month, the phone is a mid ranger with a dual camera setup. While Xiaomi is planning to launch it in other markets, there is no clarity on when and if the phone will ever make it to India. This new phone from Xiaomi has a 5.5-inch 1920 x 1080 px IPS LCD display. Unlike a lot of smartphones from 2017, the Mi 5X has a considerable amount of bezels around the display. The smartphone is powered by a 3,080 mAh battery with fast charging capabilities through the USB Type C port, although, the included charger does not provide a fast charge. The Mi 5X has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chipset, 2.0 GHz octa-core processor, 4GB RAM and 64GB onboard storage which is expandable via microSD card up to 128GB. The Mi 5X runs Android 7.1.1 based on MiUi 8.5, this is a China edition ROM. However one can install Google Apps.
The phone is available in Black, Gold and Rose Gold colour variants You Can Buy it here. Inside the Box we get:
Xiaomi Mi 5X
Sim ejector tool
Documentation
2A wall charger
USB Type C cable
The phone has an all-metal build and features a dual-camera setup at the back along with a fingerprint sensor. The phone has 12MP dual-cameras with the secondary camera equipped with a telephoto lens for 2X lossless optical zoom. The camera app has a portrait mode very similar to the one on iPhone 7 Plus with features that include a portrait mode, blurring out the background. The dual-cameras are also capable of recording 4K videos at 30 FPS and 720P videos 120 FPS. On the front is a 5MP camera that records 1080P videos at 30 FPS.
Watch the unboxing video below, and stay tuned for our full review. Check Best Price
The world could witness new iPhones in less than a month as Apple is expected to hold the all-important launch event on September 12.
Apple has been hosting its iPhone launch events in September since 2012. September 12 also falls on a Tuesday, which is in line with the previous iPhone announcement events. A lot of people were speculating between September 5 and September 12, this should be clarified soon as Apple’s press invites should be appearing in inboxes soon. This news might convince a few iPhone buyers to hold off on their credit cards for a little longer. Apple is going to release the final version of iOS 11 at some point between September 12 and September 22.
Apple is also probably going to announce a new version of the Apple Watch. The main change with this new watch could be that it’s going to haveLTE connectivity. There could be a small update to the Apple TV as well with 4K video output.
If certain reports are to be believed, Apple will, in fact, launch three different iPhone’s this year, iPhone 7S, iPhone 7S Plus and the iPhone 8. The marquee phone, of course, is going to be the iPhone 8 or whatever Apple decides to call it at the end with a reportedly bezel-less display and vertically mounted dual-camera setup. Apple will also finally introduce wireless charging to its iPhone lineup after a component was leaked online. The iPhone 8/X/Pro will also feature better cameras which will reportedly record 4K videos at 60 FPS. Another headlining feature will be 3D facial recognition, dubbed as ‘FaceID.’ The smartphone is expected to break the thousand dollar barrier and cost around $1,100 for the base variant.
Apple may also announce newer AirPods as the previous generation ones leave a lot to be desired from. The event will be followed up by a pre-order phase before the iPhones start to become available in stores. It is rumoured that the main iPhone 8 will be available in extremely limited numbers at launch.
Reliance launched the 4G feature Phone, JioPhone at the company’s 40th AGM in July. During the unveiling, Reliance Jio offered a preview of how the JioPhone might look like along with a list of features. The phone was launched at an “effective price” of Rs 0, with a one time security deposit of INR 1500. The deposit will be refundable after a period of three years at the time of return. The 4G enabled JioPhone, which was in earlier the beta testing phase is up for pre-booking now. As the company stated earlier, the feature phone will be distributed on a ‘first come first serve’ basis to those who pre-booked the handset.
Reliance Jio has revealed the full specifications of the phone on its website. Apart from being effectively free, here are other features of the “India Ka Smartphone” that might interest the buyers.
Apart from the standard phone features, the single Nano-SIM (contrary to the earlier rumors of dual SIM feature) Jio Phone runs on KAI OS (OS version of the Firefox OS) and comes with a a 2.4 inch display. The 4G VOLTE feature phone is powered by 1.2GHz Spreadtrum SPRD dual-core processor with 512 MB of RAM along with 4GB of internal storage which can be further expanded up to 128 GB via a micro SD card. The handset is powered by a 2000mAh battery and has a 2-megapixel rear camera at the back and VGA front camera.
As announced during the launch, the JioPhone comes with Jio Assistant which allows voice enabled search. A user can open apps, search on Google or even compose a message using the Jio Assistant. Built for the Indian market, the voice enabled research works in two languages, English and Hindi. The handset can be connected to TV via JioMediaCable and is preinstalled with a browser and Jio apps like Jio Cinema, Jio Music etc. The phone has regional language support and comes in 22 languages including Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, etc.
Catering to the Indian audience, Reliance Jio has kept the phone’s design familiar and is easy to use, unlike the complex smartphones available in market. The handset is available in black and has in-box accessories which include battery, charger, handset, service guide, warranty card and SIM card.
The JioPhone, which is manufactured by Indian engineers, as the company claims, also has an additional security feature. In case of emergency, the user just needs to long press number 5 on the JioPhone and a distress message will be sent to all registered contacts.For a price of Rs 0, the Reliance JioPhone offers a host of features along with 4G VoLTE support, unlimited voice calls . The handset can be booked on this link.
Google officially launched its latest Android OS, 8.0 Oreo during an event that ‘eclipsed’ the Solar Eclipse on August 21. Developers have had access to a preview version of Google’s latest mobile operating system since mid-March, with updated versions releasing in May, June, and July.
The new OS comes with a lot of new features and under the hood upgrades for better user experience. Highlights of new features in Android 8.0 Oreo
A new picture-in-picture feature allows users to continue operating the device without interruptions for things like watching a video.
Users can now organise notifications into custom channels and modify the alerts for the entire channel.
An auto fill framework in the operating system makes the repeated filling of forms easy for the user.
Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) can specify a look and feel for the UI by choosing between various icon shapes by using Adaptive Icons
Smart sharing feature allows the operating system to guess the context of a photo, and pick the best application to hand the image over to.
There are also background execution limits, which ensures that applications running in the background don’t use up a lot of system resources.
A lot of you must be wondering whether your Android device will be updated to 8.0 Oreo or not. Let’s find out
Google Devices
This is a no-brainer. If you own the Nexus 5X, 6P or the Google Pixel or the Pixel XL, an Android O update isn’t far away. Google Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2 will be the first devices running Android 8.0 Oreo when they’re launched and an update to the Nexus devices and previous gen Pixel smartphones will follow soon.
Samsung
Samsung launched the Galaxy Note 8 running Android 7.1.1 Nougat and promised an update to Android Oreo in the coming months. This suggests that the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ may also receive an update before the mid-2018 launch of the Galaxy S9. Samsung’s mid-range devices may also receive an Android Oreo update but later next year.
HTC
HTC has officially announced that the HTC 10, U Ultra and the new flagship U11 will receive the Android Oreo update in the coming months.
OnePlus
Carl Pei has announced that Oneplus 5, 3T and 3will all receive Android 8.0 Oreo update. However, it was also announced that this update will be the last Android OS update for last year’s OnePlus 3 and 3T.
Motorola
Moto Z2 Force, Z2 Play, G5S, G5S Plus, G5 and G5 Plus are all in line to receive an upgrade to Android 8.0 Oreo keeping up with Lenovo-owned Motorola’s promise.
Lenovo
Lenovo recently dropped its custom VibePure UI for pure Android skin and promised that the K8 Note and other K Note devices will receive the Android Oreo update. The timeline though is not confirmed.
LG
LG is on the verge of launching its late 2017 flagship, the LG V30 on August 31. The phone will most likely run Android 7.1 Nougat and will be updated to Android Oreo later on. Along with the LG V30, LG G6, LG V20, and V10 might also receive the update in the coming months.
The Galaxy Note 8 wasn’t the only device announced at the launch yesterday. Samsung confirmed that the company is releasing another iteration of the Gear VR headset as the previous variant wasn’t big enough to fit the newly launched Note 8. The new Gear VR headset is designed to support the Galaxy Note 8’s 6.3-inch display and can be paired with Samsung’s new wireless controller. Apart from the size difference, no such significant difference could be spotted between the new and the previous Gear VR.
Both the devices are powered by Oculus and come with a physical controller which offers quicker selection and interaction, Samsung claims. The Gear VR headsets feature a wide interface and an ergonomic design for an interactive and immersive gaming session.
The Gear VR launched a few months back had a 101-degree field of view and the latest edition is no different. The previous iteration was compatible with the Galaxy Note5, S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+, S7 and S7 edge and the S8 phones. It appears to be that Samsung didn’t put in much thought whether the device would be capable of supporting the next Note or not. Hence, the new and bigger Gear VR headset.
The Gear VR (Galaxy Note8 Edition) will support Android Lollipop 5.0 or later devices. The headset weighs 345 grams and will be compatible with Galaxy S8+, S8, S7, S7 edge, S6, S6 edge, S6 edge+ and of course the Galaxy Note8. The Gear VR headset can be connected via Bluetooth, USB Type-C & micro USB and has an additional USB Port, Type-C for power connection, OTG USB Memory, 3rd-party controller.
Samsung promises that the new Gear VR will let you explore the multi-dimensional worlds in virtual reality, offer enhanced gaming experience with organic, intuitive responses, etc. Well, you won’t have to wait too long to find out as the Gear VR – Note8 Edition, which costs $129.99 (approximately Rs. 8,325) is already available on the company’s website for ordering.
Google Pixel and Pixel XL launched last year on October 4th to great anticipation. A new leak claims that the second generation Pixel phones will debut exactly one year after their older siblings, on October 5th. The tweet sheds light on another component of the device which is heavily rumoured, but, with no real evidence.
Google's second-generation Pixel handsets, powered by Snapdragon 836 SoC's, will be unveiled on October 5th.
In his tweet, Evan Blass claims that both the devices will have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 836 chipset, instead of the much-anticipated Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset. More details about the new Pixel devices were leaked through an FCC filing by HTC confirming that the Taiwanese smartphone maker will be handling the smaller of the two variants, the Pixel 2.
Also, back in March, Bharat Nagpal had posted on his official Facebook account sharing information about the same chipset (Snapdragon 836), and that it will first show up in Pixel devices.
An interesting detail revealed by the filing was a feature called “Active Edge”, which is similar to the squeezable frame feature on the HTC U11. The difference here is that the squeeze will be programmed to launch the Google Assistant. In the filing, the “8998” in the baseband revealed that the device would either have a Snapdragon 835 or the updated, as-of-yet unreleased 836. There have been renders of the Google Pixel 2 suggesting that the 2017 flagship will ditch the headphone jack. The device will also sport a design similar to its predecessor’s with big bezels around the screen and a smaller glass window at the back.
The smaller Pixel 2 will reportedly sport a 5 inch 2560 x 1440 px AMOLED display and still have large bezels around the screen, unlike many flagships of 2017. The Pixel XL 2, on the other hand, will feature a more “2017 flagship design” with thin bezels around a 6 inch 2560 x 1440 px AMOLED display. The devices will run on 3,ooo mAh battery and 3,500 mAh battery respectively.
Samsung has just announced the Galaxy Note8 for global markets and the phone is said to go on sale in September some time. However, for the south Korean company getting their Note series back on track will be a bigger game. Markets like India majorly remained unaffected by the Note7 recall, because the Galaxy Note7 was never launched in said markets. Samsung has a huge void to fill in the premium upmarket business phone segment, which was ruled by the iPhone 7 Plus thus far. Considering that officially any revisions to the iPhone will go on Sale in India starting October, Samsung may get the upper hand by launching the Galaxy Note8 in September in India.
The Galaxy Note8 which has a similar Exynos processor for the India market will also launch only in two variants in India, the 64 GB and 128 GB storage options, with fewer colours available at launch. The 256 GB variant and other colour options will be launched later in the year. The new Galaxy Note 8 also features IP68 water and dust resistance which also applies to the new S Pen which is independently IP68 rated. The Note8 will also have a dual sim/hybrid tray in India, allowing for either one sim card + expansion via micro SD for upto 256GB of additional storage or two SIM cards.
Samsung’s new Note is also the first Samsung smartphone to be featured with dual cameras, both are 12 MP and both have OIS, one has a wide lens while the other a telephoto lens. The Note8 also has an IRIS scanner on the front, sadly the fingerprint sensor still sits on the back of the phone next to the cameras.
Samsung will also launch the phone with several offers including a zero percent instalment (or EMI) option that will allow potential owners to buy the phone without worrying about the hefty price tag. Samsung will also bundle up the wireless charger for those who pre order. The updated Samsung Dex docking station will also receive and official launch in India alongside the Galaxy Note8.
After today’s much-anticipatedlaunch of the Samsung’s new Galaxy Note 8, the company hopes to rebuild consumer confidence and reinvigorate the Note series. Until last year, the Galaxy Note series was amongst the top flagship devices but, the recall of the Galaxy Note 7 due to battery issues had a significant impact on sales and consumer perception. So, from the Galaxy Note 7 to the Galaxy Note 8, what has changed?
The new standout feature – Dual-lens Camera
Unlike its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is equipped with a horizontally placed two 12-megapixel cameras at the back with a fingerprint scanner right next to it. Many criticized the odd placement of the fingerprint sensor at the back when the Galaxy S8 was launched, and nothing has changed on this front in the Galaxy Note 8.
The 12MP primary camera has a wide-angle lens with an f/1.7 aperture whereas the secondary 12MP camera has a telephoto lens with an f/2.4 aperture. The dual-camera setup is capable of 2X lossless zoom and other features such as Bokeh effect and selective focus for background blurring. The rear camera setup records video in 4K at 30 FPS and features phase detection autofocus, dual optical image stabilization (an industry first, claimed by Samsung) and an LED flash. On the front is an 8MP camera with an f/1.7 aperture which captures 4K videos at 30 FPS whereas, the Galaxy Note 7 had a 5MP front camera with 1920×1080 full HD video recording at 30fps.
Another widely anticipated feature is the new and improved S-Pen.
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Similar to the Note 7 stylus, the new S Pen is water resistant and has more levels of pressure sensitivity. The latest S-Pen features include capability of taking notes up to 100 pages in the Screen Off Memo mode, a live messages which are saved as GIFs and the user can also hand-write a message or picture with the S Pen. Also, the translate feature, introduced on the Note 7, is making a come back in this year’s Note 8. To translate a sentence, a user has to simply highlight the text and the S Pen will instantly translate the sentence into 71 languages.
On the design front, both the Galaxy Note 8 and the Note 7 feature Corning Gorilla Glass 5 panels on the front and the back. Samsung is offering an almost all-screen front with a metal and glass body design along with a built-in stylus. The smartphone sports a 6.3 inch 2960 x 1440 px Super AMOLED display with curved edges. With an 83.1% screen-to-body ratio and almost bezel-less design (compared to the Note 7), Samsung is aiming to rival other similar flagship devices.
Coming to what’s under the hood, the newly launched Galaxy Note 8 runs Android 7.1.2 Nougat with a promised update to 8.0 Oreo in near future.
Galaxy Note 7
As is with all Samsung flagship devices, the Galaxy Note8 will ship with two different chipsets, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, 2.45 GHz octa-core processor with Adreno 540 GPU for USA and China, and the Exynos 8895, 2.3GHz Quad-Core (Custom CPU) + 1.7GHz Quad-Core (Cortex-A53) with Mali-G71 MP20 for the remaining markets. The device will have 6GB RAM and onboard storage options of 64GB/128Gb/256GB which will be expandable via microSD card up to 256GB.
Powered by a 3,300 mAh battery with QuickCharge 2.0 via USB Type C port and the rear glass panel allows the Galaxy Note 8 to support wireless charging. Thanks to Galaxy Note 7’s 3500mAh faulty batteries, Samsung has opted for a slightly smaller battery for its new flagship.
For added security, Samsung is offering plenty of biometric security options to choose from, such as iris scanner and facial recognition, apart from a fingerprint scanner. The Galaxy Note 7 was amongst the first of Samsung smartphone to feature iris scanner for unlocking the device.
The smartphone will be available in four colour variants (two of which were leaked ahead of its launch)– Midnight Black, Orchid Gray, Deep Sea Blue and Maple Gold.
In term’s of how the Galaxy Note 8 will stack up against it’s recalled sibling, the Galaxy Note 7, here’s a little something to help you figure out.
Specifications
Galaxy Note 8
Galaxy Note 7
Price
£869 (Approximately Rs. 71,100)
Launched at US $ 849.99 (Approximately Rs. 59900)
Dimensions
162.5 x 74.8 x 8.6mm
153.5 x 73.9 x 7.9 mm
Weight
195 grams
169 g
Design
Corning Gorilla Glass 5 Front
Corning Gorilla Glass 5 Back
Metal Frame
Corning Gorilla Glass 5 Front
Corning Gorilla Glass 5 Back
Metal Frame
Colors
Midnight Black
Orchid Gray
Deep Sea Blue
Maple Gold
Blue Coral
Gold Platinum
Silver Titanium
Black Onyx
Display
6.3-inch Super AMOLED
5.7-inch Super AMOLED
Screen Resolution
2960 x 1440 px
2560 x 1440 px
PPI (Pixels Per Inch)
521ppi
518ppi
Display Protection
Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Chipset
Option 1: Qualcomm Snapdragon 835
Option 2: Exynos 8895
Option 1: Qualcomm Snapdragon 829
Option 2: Exynos 8895
CPU
Snapdragon 835 Variant: Octa-core 2.45 GHz
Exynos Variant: 4×2.3 GHz custom CPU and 4×1.7 GHz Cortex-A53
