Everything you need to know about the new Samsung Galaxy 8

Samsung’s President of Mobile Communications, DJ Koh says that they will never forget what happened before with the explosive Note 7 and it would appear Samsung have worked hard to not only prove they can fix it but that they have what it takes to win us back. To the point that they have dedicated their newest iteration of their large-screen-pen-wielding line to the loyal fans who defended the predecessor.

“The Note 8 is made for people who want to do bigger things,” says Justin Denison, senior vice president of product strategy. And now with the new improvements they hope these people can continue to do so and more.

Here is everything you need to know about the new phone:

The Infinity DisplayOriginally launched in March on the S8 and S8 Plus, the new Note 8 will be packing a 6.3 inch Infinity Display, the largest screen ever on a Note device. The graphic quality of your screen promises a clearer more cinematic experience with QHD Plus Graphics producing 2960 x 1440 resolution at a pixel density of 521ppi.

CameraJumping on the dual camera bandwagon the Note 8 now packs 2 cameras that uses dual capture to take each photo twice. The first is a wide-angle lens and the other a telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom. Also for the first time in any smart phone the Note 8 has optical stabilization in both cameras meaning you will still get clear photos and videos after your third tequila.

With the new Live Focus setting you can adjust the blur and focus in the background of your point of interest, in real time or after the fact. This allows you to recreate the effect often seen in photos taken by people who actually use fancy cameras.

Plus the dual pixel sensors means that you can capture better photos and videos in low light – meaning more tequila.

The S PenNow with a finer tip and greater pressure sensitivity means that every stroke is more precise than any that have come in the Notes before. Which will come in handy with Pen Up’s new colouring in book templates, a trend which has yet to die.

You can also send a more ampted up version of the iMessage scribble templates with Live Message using the S Pen to send legible handwritten notes and animations in the text messages.

The new and improved Screen Off Memo now allows you to write up to 100 pages without ever turning on your screen.

S Pen also translates for you; converting language, measuring units and foreign currencies to your preferred settings.

App pair
You can now pair up your most used apps together with App Pair, a customizable short cut that allows you to instantly use of the phone’s Mulitwindow function. So now on a roadtrip you can run music and maps together at the same time – although we do not recommend playing on your phone when you drive.

Bixby
Another innovation from the new Galaxy S8 to comes to the Note is Bixby, which works with you and learns how to make your phone work best for you. Bixby is an automated combination of voice and vision control, intuitive home screens, quick commands and intelligent reminders. So with simple press of the Bixby button you can launch Bixby Voice and speak customizable quick commands that do all the admin of a task for you. such as launching your camera in preferred settings, take a photo and save your photo in a preferred file all after saying the words “food photo.” The terminator would be proud.

Dex
In case you didn’t already carry too much of your work into your personal life you can now go even further as the Note 8 is now compatible with Dex. The Dex Station for all intensive purposes allows you to turn your phone into a fully-fledged computer, allowing you to expand your mobile apps onto a bigger screen by hooking it up to a monitor and keyboard.

NITTY GRITTY

• It now runs on a 10 nanometer processor and a full 6 Gigs of RAM.
• It comes standard with 64 gigs of storage but also has a microSD slot.
• There are now 6 different locking systems including iris scanning like in spy movies.
• It continues have wireless charging and to be dust and water resistant
• Available in Midnight Black, Orchid Grey, Maple Gold and Deep Sea Blue.
• Comes specially made Hammond headphones can plug into the standard headphone jack and we are very gratefully to hear it (side-eye at the annoying Apple Airpods).

OVERALL EXCITEMENT RATING: High. Nice come back, Samsung.

You can preorder the phone at samsung.com/za/smartphones/galaxy-note8