We can tell that we’re getting to the latest Samsung announcement because the leak steamroller is picking up speed and starting to make its way downhill, flattening other news as it passes. The Galaxy Note 8 is the current topic of conversation and a couple of image leaks, of official press renders this time, have left us in no doubt what we’re going to be dealing with at Samsung’s 23 August announcement.
Both leaks come by way of prolific leaker Evan Blass (also known as @evleaks), with the first being a front-on shot of the Midnight Black Note 8. Which, at a glance, looks a whole lot like the Galaxy S8 until you notice its extra vertical length.
Soon afterwards came a much more comprehensive leak, the front/back/sides/stylus press shot seen above. The relationship to the S8 line is still strong but there are obvious differences to be seen as well. The rear configuration shows that while Samsung have kept that frustrating fingerprint sensor location, there’s a dual camera to smudge your fingertip over now as well. Plus, you know, the whole stylus thing. Can’t quite see where it’s going to recess into the phone, though.
Speaking of cameras, Samsung itself seems to have dropped a few hints as to how the Note 8’s dual camera system will work. Discovered by 9to5Google, Samsung arm Samsung-Electro Mechanics has published information for a dual camera system that lines up extremely well with current rumours of the Note 8’s shooter.
In brief, Samsung’s sensors will be capable of 3x optical zoom (going one better than the iPhone 7) before, we assume, the camera has to switch over to the less detailed digital zoom system. The dual cams will be able to slightly alter the perspective of an image, post shot, and the setup is apparently also going to be able to contribute to even better low-light performance. It looks like it will combine data from the dual sensors to create brighter nighttime images. Lastly, Samsung’s cams will feature depth-of-field effects. If, that is, the list of hardware features actually is for the Note 8’s cameras. It seems likely that it is but we’ll know all on 23 August.
Source: SamMobile 1, 2, Engadget