Samsung Galaxy Note8 vs Galaxy Note7: Key upgrades you need to know

Samsung unveiled the eagerly awaited Galaxy Note8 at the company's grand Galaxy Unpacked 2017 episode 2 event in New York city on August 23.

2016-series Galaxy Note7 was one of the top, if not the best phablet, equipped with good hardware and S Pen capabilities, which no other 5.5-inch plus phone could offer. It was poised to pummel un-inspiring Apple iPhone 7 (& 7 Plus) series to the ground, but the faulty battery ruined the Galaxy Note series.

Also read: Google Android Oreo vs Android Nougat: What's changed?

Now, almost 10 months after the battery flub, Samsung is back with a bang. The new Galaxy Note 8' has a good design language, powerful processor and hopefully a fool-proof battery.

To give a better perspective, we have pitted the new Galaxy Note8 against the Galaxy Note7.

Samsung Galaxy Note8 vs Galaxy Note7: Design and Display

The Galaxy Note7, when it launched in 2016, came up with a new design. The phone boasts a dual-edge display wherein the phone's screen will extend towards the edge on both the right and left side, unlike its predecessor, which came with a flat display panel.

On the front, it sports a 5.7-inch QHD (2560x1440p) screen with a pixel density of 518 ppi (pixels per inch) and is protected by the Corning's latest Gorilla Glass 5 shield. It is world's first device to boast such a display protection guard.

Dimensions: 153.5 x 73.9 x 7.9mm

Weight: 169g

On the other hand, Galaxy Note8 is bigger and more beautiful than its predecessor and rival brands.

Galaxy Note8 comes with a 6.3-inch QHD+ (2960x1440p) Super AMOLED Infinity Display on the front and have a 521 ppi display density and visually appealing shell with good mix of metal and glass cover on top. It is protected by Gorilla Glass 5 shield.

The 18.5:9 aspect ratio and Mobile HDR Premium certification guarantee ultimate viewing experience than any other rival phablet brand in the industry.

Dimensions: 162.5 x 74.8 x 8.6 mm

Weight: 195g

The key improvement is the additional camera on the rear and thankfully, Samsung has made thoughtful adjustments to the camera and the fingerprint sensor positions.

The company has incorporated LED flash and sensors in between to leave a small gap between fingerprint scanner and the camera, and to a certain extent, it will help avoid unintentional touching of the camera lens while using the fingerprint sensor.

Both models boast IP68 certification, meaning device owners will be able to take it for a dip in the swimming pool (or any fresh water bodies like pond/lake/river, but not salty Sea/Ocean). The Galaxy Note8 has IP68 dust-and-water resistant certification, and the device can survive in five feet under water up to 30 minutes.

Samsung Galaxy Note8 vs Galaxy Note7: Processor, RAM and Storage

Depending on the region of sale, Samsung Galaxy Note7 came with two variants. The device bound for US and China came with Snapdragon 820 quad-core processor and the device headed to India, Europe and rest of the global regions housed 14nm-based 64-bit class Samsung Exynos 8890 series octa-core CPU.

Both the Galaxy Note7 models come with 4GB RAM and 64GB (UFS 2.0) inbuilt storage expandable up to 256GB.

It's the same for Galaxy Note8. For US and China, the company will send devices with 10nm architecture 64-bit class Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (MSM8998) octa-core (2.35 Kryo cores x 4 + 1.9GHz Kryo cores x 4) CPU.

To other parts of the country, the Galaxy Note8 will have 10nm architecture 64-bit class Samsung Exynos 8895 octa-core (2.3GHz cores x 4 + 1.7GHz cores x 4) CPU.

Both variants come with 6GB RAM and have 64GB/128GB/256 internal storage options expandable up to 256GB via microSD card.

Samsung Galaxy Note8 vs Galaxy Note7: Camera

Besides the design language, second biggest change we see between the two iterations is the camera.

2016-series Galaxy Note7 houses single 12MP camera with Dual-Pixel lens, f/1.7 aperture and smart OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) feature. On the front, it has a 5MP snapper with f/1.7 aperture.

On the other hand, the Galaxy Note8 boasts of a dual-camera system-- one 12 MP primary camera (Wide-angle lens with f/1.7 aperture and dual-pixel autofocus) and a 12 MP Telephoto camera (f/2.4 aperture and 2x Optical Zoom) with OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation), and on the front, it features an equally impressive wide-angle 8MP snapper with f/1.7 aperture.

Samsung Galaxy Note8 vs Galaxy Note7: Battery

Galaxy Note8 comes with 3,300mAh battery, almost six percent less than Galaxy Note7 (3,500mAh).

Though the cell capacity is smaller, users can expect the phone to run for the whole day, as the new phone has advanced 10nm architecture-based processors with improved efficiency.

Most importantly, Galaxy Note8 is much safer than the Galaxy Note7.

After the battery defect incident in late 2016, Samsung set up a broad range of internal quality and safety measures to improve the product safety, including the 8-Point Battery Safety Check (BSC) and additional protocols like multi-layer safety measures. Galaxy Note 8 has undergone the tests before getting the nod for mass production. Rest assured that the device will not go up in flames.

The Galaxy Note8 is also coming with Type C USB-based quick charging port and fast wireless charging.

Samsung Galaxy Note8 vs Galaxy Note7: S Pen

Both the models' S Pen have same features, the only improvement we see in the 2017-series is the enhanced pressure sensitivity. 

Another note worthy aspect is the Screen off memo that allows the user to take up to one-hundred pages of notes as soon as they remove the S Pen, pin notes to the Always On Display (AOD) and make edits directly from the AOD, as well.

Samsung Galaxy Note8 vs Galaxy Note7: Value-added features

Bixby digital assistant:

The new Galaxy Note8 comes with Bixby digital assistant. It can support almost every task that the application is capable of performing using the conventional touch gesture command.

As of now, Bixby takes commands in English and Korean, capable of working more efficiently only with Samsung's proprietary apps and select third-party apps.

Samsung has promised to make Bixby compatible with more applications, and international dialects, as well, in coming days.

Samsung DeX:

Users, with the help of the display dock, can convert the Galaxy Note8 into a mini-computer via DeX. It will offer new adaptive user experience on a big screen with optimised look and behaviour of apps as per user preferences to provide a PC-like experience.

Also read: Samsung unveils Galaxy Note8 with Infinity Display, top-notch dual-camera; price, availability details and more

Key features of the Samsung Galaxy Note8 and Galaxy Note7: