Samsung Note 8 - My Limited hands On Experience.

[BandOfBrothers]

Hi Guys. 

I visited my local Samsung Experience Store today and have spent a few hours playing with the working demo model of the Samsung Note 8. 

Taking into account it has the retail store build experience on it which restricts certain things and obviously I couldn't take or make a call or text. 

It's Ui is as slick as to be expected and aesthetically looks and performs just like my s8. 

The extra real estate (Display) will come into play for those that multi task and watch videos and play games etc not to mention the various ways it can be used for business usage. 

Unfortunatley they had no s pens inserted for obvious reasons so I couldn't try out that part sadly which is a main point of it. 

However that said the other features I could use were fluid. 

I'm no expert in picture taking but it was certainly on par with my s8 and did look more detailed and comes with lots of settings to satisfy even the experts I'm sure.

Have I mentioned yet how BIG it is ? 

I compared it to my s8 and my s8 is tiny in comparison. 

That said it's still comfortable to hold but is still slippery so a case or skin or bumper would be advisable. 

Sadly even when shuffling the phone up in my hand it was a stretch to reach the fingerprint sensor but that said the iris scanner and facial recognition are viable alternatives. It's a bit better than the s8 phones because the sensor isn't right next door to the camera Lens  so less camera smudges from.touching it accidentally but that said when I use my fingerprint I'm now trained to slide my finger in from the edge of the phone !

I opened around 20+ apps and the 6Gb of internal RAM kept them open as far as I could tell. 

Will I upgrade to the Samsung Note 8 from my Samsung Galaxy s8 - No... well maybe... No.... Well quite possibly.  

I've viewed quite a few YouTube reviews on the phone but I'm going to be interested in watching real end user opinions and hands on reviews too. 

Just to mention it's BIG. 

[DRUIDDOODE]

Ha ha your mind changing on wether you will get the note 8 is cracking me up.

I am sure when you decide you will still get a good price for your s8 if you decide to sell it on like your last device.

I was curious why ram is always kept to a minimum 

So on further reading more ram is not always better as far as I can understand 

It seems optimisation is the key.

The size is huge of note 8 I haven't seen one but have seen one in side by side picture next too other devices

[BandOfBrothers]

I never say never ! @DRUIDDOODE  

In regards to RAM my opinion is unused Ram is wasted Ram so yes optimisation is key here. 

For example my previous iPhones had 1Gb of Ram and run very well but that's because Apple make iOS for their devices. 

Android is fractured across many handsets and people like Samsung for one example put their own skin over it such as TouchWizz or the new Grace Ui. 

The problem with my iPhones is that when I got to around 5 open tabs the pages would refresh so information had to be redownloaded spoiling the user experience. Much better now they've increase their Ram Specs. 

With my s8 with 4Gb I've regularly had approximately 15 tabs open and they've not refreshed due to how well it manages its memory and resources.  

I can see why they've added 6Gb of Ram into the Note 8.

Did I mention how BIG it is.... lol. 

[DRUIDDOODE]

Ha ha unbelievable 

[BandOfBrothers]

Update. 

Silly me the s pens are separate at the side of the Note 8 phones so now I've been able to use the s pen and it's solid, and very responsive. 

One thing I couldn't get an answer On in Store was how the New App pair feature worked and how the pairing was achieved. The instore Samsung rep had no idea and appeared to not know about this feature. I had to explain to him what it was !

This is me holding the Note 8 with my thumb stretched out to give an indication on size for me. 

[DRUIDDOODE]

Jus of the top of my head I can think of a few uses of the pen like writing instead of typing on forums Artist on the go and travelling writing songs when inspiration strikes 

The 2 app feature for me i wouldn't get any use for at the moment.

 as I'm writing maybe they should start developing apps that can interact with other apps using the 2 app feature like a modular system  rather than separate apps 

with all that power with the dex and the cloud I can see there could be some thing huge starting here.

fascinating 

[BandOfBrothers]

The option to be able to add a written note whilst the screen is at sleep could be handy @DRUIDDOODE

It also has the capacity to add 100 notes. 

Other than that I'd probably forget it's there !

Be good for those who are tired of always wiping there screens free of fingerprint smudges.

I'd certainly use the App Pair option however as I currently use the Split Screen Options on my s8 so this App Pair option would mean less button presses accessing split screen making it more fluid to use.

I've spoken to a Samsung Moderator who has explained how it works and how 2 apps are smart paired.

I've seen the Dex in action and yes with the larger 6Gb of Ram in the Note 8 I can see it shining. 

For me I haven't used a desktop set up for years. My last one was a Dell Computer over 10+ years ago. 

I now occasionally use a MacBook Air and mainly use an iPad Air for my Go-To at home and s8 for my daily driver. 

[fairywishes1]

Thanks for the Fab review on the Note 8. Have been waiting for it to be launched before deciding between it or the S8/S8+.

Just traded in my S4 and using my Hubby's old Smart Ultra 6 till I decide and tbh it's driving me nuts I miss the S4 so much.

Am just so worried about the screens being fragile :0(

[BandOfBrothers]

My advice @fairywishes1  is to spend sometime using the working demo models side by side. 

If screen size isn't an issue for you then the s8+ is a powerful phone. 

The Note 8 brings a slightly bigger screen, duel camera, s pen which is why many like the Note series and 6Gb of Ram over the 4Gb of Ram in the s8 although personally I wouldn't read too much into that.

Gorilla Glass 5 is a strong material but like any phone if the worst happens and is dropped then factors such as the height, velocity, type of ground its dropped on, angle it hits etc is key. 

The curved edges on the s7 edge, s8 and s8+ and Note 8 do add the factor that if a phone hits the floor directly on the curved area then it's a kind of weaker point. 

As they are slippery to hold imo I use a RhinoShield Bumper coupled with a dbrand Black Dragon back skin and Samsung Screen Protector to add protection but in a minimalist way. 

I would definitely suggest putting the phone into some sort of case to add grip and protection. 

[DRUIDDOODE]

Hi don't forget that the free dex that's been offered at the moment won't be there indefinitely which should make the experience even sweeter