A real-life photo allegedly showing the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 8 with S Pen has surfaced online, offering a glimpse of the device in the wild.
The image shows the front panel of the purported device, with a sleek form factor and nearly bezel-free display, along with the S Pen stylus that's always been part of the Galaxy Note experience.
The leaked photo doesn't come with any other information such as spec details, purported release, or anything else, and it's worth pointing out that its authenticity is questionable.
Is This The Samsung Galaxy Note 8?
The device shown in this image bears an uncanny resemblance to the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus - too uncanny, too be honest. While it wouldn't be surprising to keep the same overall design language for the Galaxy Note 8, just hitting copy-paste in a bigger form factor + S Pen seems too lazy and unlikely.
Samsung is expected to retain the same design language with minimal screen bezels and the 18.5:9 aspect ratio, but build on it and come up with a more refined Galaxy Note 8 that would also boast features absent in the Galaxy S8 series.
For instance, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is expected to rock a dual rear camera setup and an in-display fingerprint scanner, both of which were initially rumored for the Galaxy S8 family but never made it.
On the other hand, this leaked image only shows the front of the device and it does fall in line with previously leaked concept images that surfaced earlier this week, envisioning what the Galaxy Note 8 could look like.
That said, while we wouldn't vouch for the accuracy of this new leak allegedly showing the Galaxy Note 8 in the wild, we can't truly dispute its authenticity for sure either. The in-display fingerprint authentication, if indeed in the mix, wouldn't show in the photo anyway, while the rumored dual rear camera setup would remain unconfirmed since the photo only shows the front panel.
In the eventuality that this really is the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 8 in real life, it looks like the phablet will come with a dedicated Bixby hardware key just like the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, allowing users to summon Samsung's smart AI assistant more quickly and easily. The dedicated Bixby button can also be remapped for those who would rather use it for some other application.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Rumored Specs
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is expected to pack the same Snapdragon 835/Exynos 8895 processing options (depending on market) as the Galaxy S8 series, 6 GB of RAM, up to 256 GB of native storage space expandable via microSD, and possibly a 4K display. Being part of the Note series, the Galaxy Note 8 will also come with an S Pen that might boast upgraded capabilities.
It's all still in the rumor state for now and the Galaxy Note 8 is not expected to hit the market until August, but the device is nonetheless expected to boast top-notch specs and features all around.
Historically, the Galaxy Note series has been more powerful than the S series and this year things should be no different, especially considering that the Galaxy Note 8 has to make up for the whole Galaxy Note 7 fiasco. No additional information is available at this point, but we'll let you know as soon as we learn more. In the meantime, take all leaks and rumors with a grain of salt until Samsung makes things official.
