The Next Big Thing Is Here!
Yes, folks, I’m talking about the Samsung Note 8. If you subscribe to our newsletter, you’ll know that I have been waiting on this since LAST YEAR, and finally got mine on September 7th. Originally, my attitude about the phone before I received it was mixed; I was excited to have a new Note, but a little disappointed that Samsung had omitted some of the features that would REALLY have knocked the iPhone out of the park – namely, the under-screen fingerprint reader and folding display. After watching a few Youtube pre-release reviews, I was feeling a bit less stoked…All the apprehension and underwhelming expectation died once I ACTUALLY had the phone. When viewing some of the reviews on Youtube, I found myself thinking, “Hmm, this guy has a point…” but in practice, I found those mediocre-to-negative reviews were nitpicky and very particular. For example, there are quite a few reviews complaining about the battery size in the Note 8 (3300mAh), especially compared to the S8 Plus. In theory, that sounds like a legitimate gripe. In practice, I have 40% longer battery life on my Note 8 than on my S7 Edge (which has a 3700mAh battery), and I use my Note 8 a LOT more than my S7 Edge (which I am keeping as my work phone).I’ve heard that once you use the Note line’s stylus with their respective phones, you never look back; there is certainly a die-hard and nearly cult-like following for Note series phones, with many people refusing to give up their Note 7’s until they were “bricked” by Samsung. Seeing that level of passion about a simple stylus always struck me as, well, dramatic.But then I got one.Now, let me be clear: getting my Note 8 did not turn me into some stylus-toting maniac, running around glossy-eyed, and tapping on every screen I could find while preaching about its wonders. What did happen, however, was remarkable nonetheless. I never thought I would use the stylus, or thought that I would use it very rarely; after all, this is a touch screen smartphone. But the more I use it, the more I WANT to use it. I can’t describe it as anything other than addictive. *scratches neck*Then there are the specs: 6gb RAM, dual 12MP rear cameras (both with optical image stabilization) and 8MP front facing camera, Iris scanner, voice and facial recognition (for password), USB-C port, and Bluetooth 5.0. Then you have the old stuff from last year’s phones like IP68 water resistance, built in wireless charging, and expandable storage via micro SD…Oh, and it has a headphone jack. :)