How the Galaxy Note 8 compares to the Note 7 and Note 5

Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8 is here and fans of phablets can breathe a sigh of relief.

The company’s latest device continues the company’s trend of releasing a beefed-up, gargantuan version of its flagship Galaxy S devices, that doesn’t skimp on specs or battery life.

The Note 8 is large, it’s powerful, it’s long-lasting, and yes, it still retains the Note line’s staple S Pen. That being said, how does the Note 8 compare to its older Note siblings?

The first major point of comparison is the Note 8’s screen. The new phablet features a 6.3-inch, bezel-less display, carried over from the S8 and S8+, and it truly does look stunning — 83.1 percent of this device is screen, and it shows. The bezel-less display removes the phone’s forehead and chin, and unlike its older siblings, the Note 8 has its fingerprint sensor on its rear. 

The Note 8 has 6GB of memory, in comparison to the Note 7’s and the Note 5’s 4GB. It also comes with 64GB of internal storage, just like the Note 7 and one model of the Note 5 — which also came in a 32GB and 128GB variant. You can also upgrade the Note 8’s storage with an SD card, meaning you can add an additional 256GB of internal memory. 

Continuing a trend established by most of this year’s flagship devices, the Note 8 features a dual-camera set-up. The dual, 12-megapixel cameras have a f/1.7 and f/2.4 aperture, that allow for a whole host of digital photography tricks.

Of course, there is one notable area where the Note 8 is actually a regression from its Note 7 predecessor: battery size.

Rest assured, dear reader, there will be no explosion puns in this story. The Note 8 has a 3,300mAh battery, in contrast to the Note 7’s 3,500mAh. The decision to release the Note 8 with a smaller battery speaks to Samsung’s commitment to reducing the battery size on all of their current-gen flagship devices, as a direct result of the Note 7’s battery issues.

For those would-be Note 8 owners concerned about battery life, however, there shouldn’t be much reason to worry. Between the Snapdragon 835 processor and the fact that the Note 8 is running a restrained — for Samsung, anyway — skin of Android 7.1, the device will no doubt be able to last through a day of heavy use.

While the Note 8’s specs are undeniably beefy, it really should be stated that the device shares a number of philosophical similarities with its older siblings. The Note line of phablets is Samsung’s way of taking their Galaxy S flagships and making them bigger, while adding an S Pen.

As a result, the Note 8 is certainly the best device Samsung has ever released, but it nonetheless continues the bigger, badder trend that the Note line has previously established.