Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Price in India, Starting at Rs.43990

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is a phenomenal phablet and is a perfect device for content creators. The S-Pen is really useful for those who likes to scribble around and take quick notes and that 6.3-inch display is just gorgeous. The dual cameras are stunning and the overall performance is superb. The premium build quality and astonishing design also commands a high price tag. Hence, the Note 8 is not for all but whoever can afford it should really go for it. Its only contender right now is the Apple iPhone X but it costs even more. You can also go for the Samsung Galaxy S8+ or Apple iPhone 8 Plus if you're looking for other smartphones in this range.

Samsung had faced a horrid time with the Galaxy Note 7 but the company kept the Note brand alive with the Note 8. It was a very brave decision from Samsung but it has paid rich dividends as well. The Galaxy Note 8 was launched in India back in September 2017. Its design is based on the Galaxy S8 series and it takes the Note series' legacy forward. In our Samsung Galaxy Note 8 review let us find out if the premium price tag is worth your hard-earned money or you should skip it for other cheaper options in the market. However, take a closer look at its specifications first.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 rocks a 6.3-inch Quad HD+ display, that is powered by an Exynos 8895 octa-core processor and 6GB RAM. There is 64GB of internal memory, that is expandable up to 256GB. The phone runs on TouchWiz UI based on Android 7.1.1 Nougat OS. There are two 12 megapixel rear cameras and a 8 megapixel selfie shooter. A fingerprint scanner is awkwardly placed at the back. There is 4G VoLTE and Dual SIM connectivity. We also get the usual WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (Dual Band) VHT80 MU-MIMO, 3G HSPA+, Bluetooth 5.0 LE, NFC, USB 3.1 Type-C and GPS with GLONASS. In the battery department, there is a 3300mAh battery under the hood with fast charging support (wired and wireless). The Galaxy Note 8 boasts of some sensors including barometer, gyroscope, accelerometer, magnetometer, heart rate, Iris, proximity and ambient light sensors.

The design of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is based on the Galaxy S8 series and it does look stunning. It certainly is an ultra premium phablet with a bezel-less design. The Note 8 is made up of glass and metal and the build quality is simply amazing. It has a massive 6.3-inch display and hence has a long footprint in spite of having minimal bezels. You will have to use it with two hands as one-handed usage is very tough and you might end up dropping the phone. The Note 8 is also IP68 rated, which makes it water and dust resistant. It is quite slippery with the glass back and thus we would suggest you to use a strong protective case. In case you drop the phone and shatter the glass on both sides, it will cause a serious dent in your wallet for sure.

Starting with the back side of the Note 8 first, we have the dual cameras sitting in the middle of the top half along with the LED flash, heart rate sensor and fingerprint sensor on its right. Below the camera, we find the Samsung branding which is engraved under the glass body. The back cover is obviously not removable but a 3300mAh battery sits inside it. Now coming to the front side, we find a 6.3-inch display along with the selfie camera, earpiece, LED notification and a set of cameras and sensors for Iris scanner and Facial Recognition. There is nothing below the display as the home button is located under the display and we get two other on-screen buttons for navigation. On the right side, we have the power/lock button while the volume rockers and Bixby assistant button are found on the left. At the bottom, we have the USB Type-C port in the center, loudspeaker, primary microphone on the right and 3.5mm audio jack on the left. The stylus pen gets into the phone through an opening at the extreme right. The hybrid SIM slot tray and a secondary microphone are found at the top. Overall, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 has incredible hardware, premium design and great build quality.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 rocks a massive 6.3-inch Infinity display with a resolution of 2960 x 1440 pixels (Quad HD+). It is indeed a huge display for a phone but since we get an awesome bezel-less design, the footprint is much smaller. The device is quite tall and the display has an aspect ratio of 18.5:9. It looks gorgeous and is similar to the ones found in the Galaxy S8 series. The texts, pictures and videos look amazing on this display. It is very bright, vivid, sharp and colorful. The viewing angles are great and sunlight legibility is brilliant as well. It also supports HDR 10. This Super AMOLED panel from the house of Samsung is certainly the best display in the mobile world right now. It is tailor-made of consuming high-definition content. It also has Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection over the screen that saves it from daily wear and tear but please do not drop this phone ever as it has chances of shattering the display and it will cost you a fortune.

The touch response of the Galaxy Note 8's display is buttery smooth because of the Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection, lag-free UI and curved edges. Overall, the display of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is the best in the smartphone industry right now and you will just love it.

When it comes to performance, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is a beast. The phablet is powered by an Exynos 8895 octa-core processor just like the Galaxy S8 series in India while the American variant is powered by a Snapdragon 835 chipset. Both these processors from Samsung and Qualcomm are identical in performance and are based on the same 10nm architecture. They perform extremely efficiently and can run any apps and games with ease. The multitasking performance is great because of the 6GB RAM onboard. We get around 4GB of free RAM most of the times, even after running several apps in the background. You can also play all kind of high graphics intensive games on this device without facing any lag and it looks stunning on this Quad HD+ display. The Galaxy Note 8 comes with 64GB internal storage, out of which we got around 55GB of free space. Being one of the most premium smartphones in town, it should have had 128GB storage in the base model or Samsung should have released a 128GB variant. Anyway, you can upgrade it to 256GB by inserting a microSD card but you have to sacrifice a SIM card slot. Just like the Galaxy S8 series, the fingerprint sensor of the Note 8 is also awkwardly placed near the primary camera. It is very difficult to reach but it does work very accurately and quickly. You can make use of the Iris scanner and Facial recognition for unlocking the phone and they also work pretty well.

Talking about connectivity, the Galaxy Note 8 from the house of Samsung supports Dual SIM and is 4G VoLTE enabled, where both the SIM cards support 4G. There is support for Bluetooth 5.0, NFC and USB Type-C charging as well. Coming to the battery section of the Note 8 and to start off it does not blast like the Note 7. Jokes aside, the 3300mAh battery under its hood does support both wired and wireless fast charging. You will get about one day of battery life with normal to moderate usage as the display draws a lot of power.

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is insanely fast and mostly blows away the competition.

The Galaxy Note 8 is the first smartphone from the house of Samsung to sport dual rear cameras. We get two 12 megapixel cameras at the back but they are identical to the Galaxy S8 series in terms of performance. However, the second lens is being used for clicking portrait (Live Focus) images along with getting 2x optical zoom. The zoomed-in shots are not blurry because the second lens also has OIS. Normal images shot with the main sensor look amazing and we get a lot of detail and accurate colors. However, the color tone is on the warmer side. Focusing is also extremely quick and they perform very well, even in low light conditions. Thanks to the f/1.7 aperture, the cameras are able to click great macro images with natural depth of field. Low light photos also have excellent details and color accuracy. HDR photos of landscapes look spectacular as well. Now coming to the front camera, the 8 megapixel sensor takes great selfies, even in low lighting. They are pretty detailed mainly because of the f/1.7 aperture.

The camera interface of the Galaxy Note 8 is very simple to use as it has a clean look. We get a lot of modes and filters such as Pro, Panorama, Slow Motion, Hyperlapse, Food and more. You can use the Pro mode to make most use of the cameras but you have to know photography for that but you can also get great results with the simple Auto mode. In terms of video, the primary camera can record in 4K with VDIS support while the selfie camera can shoot 2K videos. Both of them offer great video quality along with stunning audio as well. Overall, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 comes with a brilliant set of primary cameras at the back and a great selfie camera on the front as well.

The four machine grilled speaker holes of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is placed at the right bottom of the device beside the primary microphone and USB Type-C port. The audio quality of the loudspeaker is very good and is quite loud as well but Samsung is still stuck with mono speakers and has not given stereo speakers. In a premium phone like Note 8, we expect the best of everything but sadly stereo setup is not available. However, Samsung has managed to stick with the traditional 3.5mm audio jack while other premium smartphones have mostly got rid of it. It can be considered a plus point for you if you're already invested in premium headphones. It has a native music app that supports most of the audio file formats including FLAC and hence you will not have to download any third-party music app. You can download apps like Saavn or Apple Music for streaming songs and podcasts.

As expected, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 can easily play 4K videos without any lag or stuttering and the videos look stunning on the 6.3-inch display. You can also stream HDR 10 content from Netflix as it officially supports it. Just like the S8 series, the Note 8 also comes with the bundled AKG headphone and it sounds superb. Hence, you will not have to spend on a pair of earphones again. Overall, the audio and video quality of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is top-notch and it comes with a great bundled headset but stereo setup is missing.

Out of the box, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 runs on Samsung Experience UI 8.5 based on Android 7.1.1 Nougat OS. It will be receiving the Android 8.0 Oreo update in the near future and should also get the Android 9.0 P update later. The UI of the Galaxy Note 8 has been re-engineered just like the S8 series, so that you do not have to reach the bottom of the display all the time. Hence, by default, swiping up or down anywhere on the home screen will take you to the app drawer but you can also choose to disable the app drawer and have all the app icons on the home screen. Since this display has an aspect ratio of 18.5:9, Samsung had to optimize its launcher and all the in-house app to take advantage of the taller display but a lot of third-party apps without optimization do not support it and hence we get to see black bars with an aspect ratio of 16:9. This will certainly improve as more developers optimize their apps over time. The edge panels appear when you swipe inwards from your preferred edge. It will show shortcuts or information in a column and there are loads of panels that you can choose from. We also get Bixby, the new intelligent assistant from Samsung. The Note 8 also comes with a dedicated Bixby button below the volume rockers. You can set contextual reminders, show your S Health information along with news, calendar and suggested apps. Talking about an important feature of the Note 8, we now come to the S-Pen. There are some new features in the Settings app, where you can toggle different functions like Air View, that gives you a pop-up or preview of images, extra menu information and more. You can choose what action to take when the S-Pen is removed from its silo. You can also add up to 10 of your own app shortcuts to the carousel. You can take notes or write on a blank canvas, the possibilities are endless. We also get a lot of pre-installed Samsung, Google and Microsoft apps on the Note 8 and most of them are very useful but you can also choose to remove them. In case you do not like the icons or the design of the UI, you can always install a third-party theme like Pixel Launcher. Overall, the UI of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 feels very snappy, looks modern and is optimized for the S-Pen.