The new Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will be available in Singapore on September, in the colours of black, gold and gray.

Note 8: A worthy challenger to iPhone 8

The Note 8 is a gorgeous machine, an artful combination of curved metal and glass.

Compared to the Galaxy S8 and the Note 5, it is lengthier and more straight edged.

The much vaunted Quad HD+ Super AMOLED Infinity display comes in at 6.3 inches, giving you more screen real estate and is the biggest screen ever on any Note device. The Note 8 is capable of HDR and could be your favourite portable entertainment device.

S-Pen: Translates up to 71 languages

The S-Pen in the Note 8 is a marked improvement from its predecessor. With a finer tip and improved pressure sensitivity, it should make Note fans really happy, and is definitely a selling point for those who are not converted yet.

One feature is Live Message, giving users the ability to share animated texts/drawings across a multitude of apps and showing off their creativity.

For those constantly on-the-go, the S-Pen’s Translation feature will translate swiftly not only individual words, but also whole sentences up a whopping 71 languages. Even units and foreign currencies can be converted instantly.

Dual cameras: Wide-angle and telephoto lens

The Note 8 now sports 12MP dual cameras with dual Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) on both the wide-angle lens and telephoto lens.

This means your pictures will turn out great even if you use 2x optical zoom. In low-light environments, the wide-angle lens perform extremely well, as the Dual Pixel sensor comes with rapid Auto Focus to capture all the details.

The new Dual Capture mode will use both rear cameras to take two photos simultaneously, one close-up with the telephoto lens and the other with the wide-angle shot. And for your selfies needs, the 8MP Smart Auto Focus front-facing camera is more than adequate.

Bixby vs Siri vs Alexa vs Google Assistant

The Note 8 comes with Bixby voice, with a dedicated Bixby button by the side.

The voice assistant is integrated into the majority of the apps on the Android ecosystem, which allows it to carry out functions that are both general and specific to the apps, even if there is incomplete information when given a command.

Bixby is also capable of understanding context. One example that was mentioned is that if you set a reminder to get milk after work, Bixby will remind you of that task only when it detects you have left your workplace, which is definitely useful for those that are forgetful.

The premise of Bixby is simple, it helps you get things done with less fuss, and is smart enough to do it all.

Some final thoughts on Note 8

Every iteration of the Note has seen an improvement, and the Note 8 is no different.

With 6GB of RAM, expandable memory up to 256GB, and the Exynos 8895 CPU, the Note 8 performs snappily as advertised. Multitasking is a breeze and overall performance can be described as smooth as butter.

The Note 8 is also IP68 certified, even the S-Pen is water and dust resistant.

The Note 8 will be available from September 15, at a recommended retail price of S$1,398. The colours will come in Midnight Black, Maple Gold, and Orchid Gray.

Top photo from Samsung Mobile Facebook page.

The article was first published on Geek Culture.