A few days back, I did a post listing the 5 things I love about the Samsung Galaxy Note 8. Since nothing is perfect in this world, I decided to do another posting listing the five things I do not like about the phone.
The Battery
With the Galaxy Note 8, Samsung decided to go with a 3300 mAh battery which is bigger than the one on the Galaxy S8 but slightly small compared to the 3500 mAh battery on the Galaxy S8+ (plus). I do get that Samsung wanted to be conservative with the battery given the debacle that was the Galaxy Note 7 last year. Some of the Note 7 issues caught fire as a result of the battery forcing the company to discontinue the device.
With the Note 7 disaster, Samsung said that it had implemented an 8 point battery test for all its devices going forward. With such tests, I expect to see a slightly bigger battery that can last for a day or two. If you know about the history of the Note devices, then you probably know about their huge sizes and batteries as these devices are meant for those looking for productivity smartphones. You can’t be very productivity if you have to charge your phone after every 6-8 hours.
Another point, the Note 8 has a 6.3 inch AMOLED display that is very bright. You can change the resolution of the display to conserve the battery but then again, do you buy the phone with such a good display just to keep it at the lowest resolution? Just find a way to include a big battery on the Note devices Samsung.
No Stereo speakers
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 has speakers at the bottom next to the MicroUSB port. This speaker is good but I have seen better. I have been using the Huawei Mate 9 that I think has better speakers. With the Note 8’s infinity display, you do not have much to work with when watching movies or videos. Most of the times I end up with my hands covering up the speaker grille and as expected the sound doesn’t come out so well.
Samsung includes a pair of AKG earphones with this phone and that is good but I would have hoped to get stereo speakers for an even better experience.
Fingerprint Placement
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 has the fingerprint scanner mounted at the back next to the dual camera setup. The fingerprint sensor is so high up that I have trouble reaching it most of the time. Even after using the phone for 3 weeks, I still have problems reaching the fingerprint scanner.
Of course Samsung will argue that you can use the Iris scanner or face recognition but not everyone wants that and they do not work all the time especially when it is so bright outside. Can the company just have the fingerprint scanner below the camera just like every other brand.
Unmappable Bixby Button
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 comes with a dedicated button to activate its proprietary digital assistant, Bixby. This is an AI assistant and is a nice addition to Samsung’s ecosystem but not everyone will be using it. I use it a lot for the review I am working on but I don’t think everyone who buys the Note 8 will be using it regularly. The problem is you cannot remap it to perform different things on the phone. For example, I wish it was possible to remap it to open a certain app that I use regularly.
Also Read: Samsung Will Update Its Smartphones With Android Oreo In Early 2018
