Sleek, sophisticated and stylish are words that spring to mind when describing the new Samsung Galaxy Note 8.
I had the pleasure of using the newest addition to the Galaxy family over the past couple of weeks, and found it to be exceptional in almost all respects. Unlike my hubby, I’m not a techy, just a slightly technologically impaired stay-at-home mum. My smartphone however is my constant companion and invaluable assistant. The Note 8 did not let me down.
I particularly enjoyed the slightly taller and slimmer design, which fit very comfortably in my petite hands which is a testament to the design from Samsung given that the screen size is 6.3 inches. Although I did find that the infinity style screen caused me some problems, perhaps just from the way that I hold my phone, but it caused me some frustrating errors when typing messages. It does have the ability to reject the palm on the edges but it can still be a bit hit and miss.
The camera is excellent. I take a lot of pictures and videos of my daughter and our various pets, and although I have fairly limited idea about camera settings and such, the Note 8 made it easy to take excellent quality photographs and video. And if you are inclined to play around with settings and filters and such, there are a few adjustments you can make. The dual lenses allow for great depth of field effect, giving photographs a much more professional look.
Another feature I enjoyed was the blue light filter, which adjusts the light the screen emits so as to cause less eye strain, particularly helpful if you are reading a lot.
One of the highlighted features on the Note 8 is Bixby. The phone even has a hard button on the side allowing you to launch Bixby from the lock screen. I can’t say I really had any use for Bixby, but I’m sure some people will love it since you can use the camera to take a picture of a landmark and have Bixby suggest things like restaurants or attractions that are nearby to what you took a picture of or find similar images on the likes of pinterest.
The battery life of the Note 8 I found to be pretty weak in comparison to what has become standard for smartphones. However, I do understand that Samsung purposely made the battery for this phone less powerful so as to avoid the explosive issues that occurred with the Note 7. So having to charge the phone every night is a small price to pay for it not exploding in my face.
The other really neat feature, which I confess I kept forgetting about, is the stylis. The S pen allows you to write notes while your phone is locked, make notes directly on your screen, or make Live notes which are little animated drawings or messages you can create and then send to your friends or share on FaceBook or whatever. You can also use the S pen to handwrite your messages which the phone then translates into text.
Overall Samsung have done a fantastic job with the Galaxy Note 8, the impressive screen and impeccable camera marks a resounding comeback for the Note smartphone even if they have been a little extra cautious when it comes to battery life.