The revolution is complete. In just five months Samsung has completely changed the face of its top of the range smartphones, also bringing a breath of fresh air within the world of telephony. So much has passed from the release of the Galaxy S8 and S8+ (March 2017) to the presentation of the Galaxy Note 8 (August 2017).
Samsung has focused everything on design, deeply changing the face of its devices. It kept some features, such as the curvature of the screen on the edges, but completely changed everything else. Fingerprint sensor moved to the back, upper and lower bezels practically null and sensor to use iris scanning or face recognition to unlock the smartphone. A completely revised design, with the uniqueness of the Infinity Display, the new screen with 18.5:9 image format, designed specifically to take full advantage of TV series and video games.
All three smartphones have these features in common and mark a boundary with all other devices from the South Korean company. Choosing between Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+ and Galaxy Note 8 is not easy: although they have a very similar design, each smartphone has its own peculiarities. For this reason, before going to purchase it is necessary to know the data sheet of all three devices to be able to compare them at best and understand which one best meets your needs. Here is a comparison between Samsung Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+ and Galaxy Note 8.
Technical characteristics Galaxy S8, S8+ and Galaxy Note 8
To make a comparison between smartphones you can only start from the technical characteristics. Although in this case we are talking about three quite similar devices.
Let's start with the latest device launched on the market: the Galaxy Note 8. Samsung's new top-of-the-line phablet mounts an Exynos 8895 chipset, supported by 6GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. The memory can be expanded up to 2TB with a microSD card.
The Samsung Galaxy S8+ mounts the same SoC, the Exynos 8895 supported by 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, expandable with a microSD card up to 2TB.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 has the same features as the Plus version: chipset Exynos 8895 supported by 4GB of RAM and makes 64GB of internal memory expandable with a microSD up to 2TB.
Screen and ergonomics
Size makes a difference. Especially when it comes to smartphones. By now it has been cleared that the top of the range must have at least a 5.5-inch screen. Samsung has gone further, and thanks to the Infinity Display has managed to increase the size of the screen, shrinking those of the smartphone. The credit goes to the new design and the lack of bezels. Logically, both the Note 8 and the Galaxy S8 and S8+ mount an Infinity Display screen, but with different dimensions.
Let's start with the smallest, the Samsung Galaxy S8. The device mounts a screen with a 5.8-inch diagonal with 2960 x 1440 pixel resolution and 570ppi. The Galaxy S8+, on the other hand, has a screen with a 6.2-inch diagonal with 2960 x 1440 pixel resolution and 529ppi. Finally, the Galaxy Note 8 has a display with a diagonal of 6.3 inches and a resolution 2960 x 1440 pixels with 522ppi.
As for ergonomics, all three smartphones offer a good grip, but the best is probably the Galaxy S8, which thanks to its smaller size allows you to reach more easily the fingerprint reader located at the rear.
Photographic compartment
The big difference between the Note 8 and the Galaxy Note 8 is the photographic compartment. For the first time, Samsung has mounted a dual rear camera on its smartphone and it did just that on the Galaxy Note 8.
And let's start from the latter to analyze the features of the photo compartment. The Galaxy Note 8 mounts a dual 12-megapixel rear camera. Both sensors are stabilized, but they have some differences. The first lens is a 24mm wide-angle lens, while the second is a telephoto lens. Thanks to the two lenses, it is possible to take pictures with the bokeh effect. Movies, on the other hand, are recorded with a resolution of up to 4K. The front camera is 8 megapixels.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ share the same photographic compartment. At the back, we find a 12-megapixel lens with optical stabilizer and that records videos with a resolution up to 4K. In the front, however, the camera is 8 Megapixels.
Battery and accessories
A feature not to be underestimated is the battery. All three smartphones have a very powerful technical compartment that requires enough power to run. The Galaxy S8 mounts a 3,000mAh battery, while the Galaxy S8+ a 3,500mAh battery. For the Galaxy Note 8, Samsung made a very particular choice, mounting a 3,300mAh battery. Smaller than the Plus version of the Galaxy S8, despite a better spec sheet. Probably the Korean company has done a great job under the point of view of optimization between the hardware and software parts.
As for the accessories, the Galaxy Note 8 has a peculiarity that the other two smartphones do not have: the SPen. The stylus, a unique feature of the Note series, embellishes the device and increases the things you can do with the smartphone. For example, you can find out the meaning of foreign words by simply bringing the SPen to the screen or you can draw animated GIFs on the screen and send them to your friends.
Price
As far as prices are concerned, it is necessary to make some distinctions: between that reported on the Samsung website and the street price the differences can be as much as 100-200 euros. But for this guide we will take as reference the prices reported by the South Korean company on its website.
To buy the Galaxy S8 you need to shell out 829 euros, while the price of the Galaxy S8+ is 929 euros. With the Galaxy Note 8, Samsung for the first time came close to 1000 euros. The smartphone, in fact, costs 999 euros.
Which smartphone to choose
And now we come to the hardest part. That of deciding which is the best. Without fear of being contradicted, we can say that the best is definitely the Galaxy Note 8, especially for the technical features. In addition to mounting 6GB of RAM also has a dual rear camera, features that the other two devices do not have. Above all, the 6GB of RAM ensure high performance without any kind of compromise and with the ability to use many applications simultaneously. The SPen also allows you to interact with the screen in an innovative way and using special features. The only flaw is the battery, perhaps a bit limited for the internal components of the device. If you do not have budget problems and are looking for the best smartphone, the choice can only fall on the Galaxy Note 8.
If, however, you consider the screen of the Note 8 too bulky, you can opt for the Galaxy S8. The performance is slightly lower, but still allows you to use the smartphone with any kind of application. And in terms of money, you save 170 euros that can always come in handy.