The Galaxy Note 8 was launched yesterday as expected and it's also available for pre-order from various carriers and the Samsung web store. However, is there any advantage that the Note 8 offers to its customers that the S8+ doesn't? I mean, should you choose the more expensive and newer stylus wielding Note or the less expensive S8+ with a bigger battery?

There are four main differences in between the two behemoths from Samsung and they are as follows.

Rear Camera

The rear camera will still need to be tested and seen in comparison before a conclusion can be drawn, but there is no doubt that the Note 8's dual module will beat the S8+'s single but impressive camera in the end; at least in certain aspects like optical zoom, wider angles, true bokeh effect, etc.

S-Pen

The stylus is an impressive add-on which will be useful for people who actually use it, especially the digital artists among us. However, for the majority of the people, it's just something that you will use less and less of within just a few weeks or less.

Display

The 0.1 inch increase in size is nigh-insignificant according to me and everything else about the two displays are identical.

Battery

The Galaxy S8+ sports a 3,500mAh battery, while the Galaxy Note 8 sports a smaller 3,300mAh battery, in spite of sporting a bigger display than the S8+. It doesn't make sense to me, but for brevity's sake let's just say that the S8+ is a clear winner here.

Finally, you should know that the newly announced Gear VR headset is the only one which will work with the new Note 8, while all previous gen, VR-compatible smartphones from Samsung will work fine with the new headset. This means that the S8+ will work with both, but if you have plans to use VR with the Note 8, your older Gear VR headset will become junk! All things considered, I would say, stick with the Galaxy S8+ for now, unless you REALLY need the better camera and the stylus.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

As expected, the Galaxy Note 8 finally went official hours ago at an exclusive Samsung event in New York City. To no one's surprise, the Note 8 looks exactly like it did in the leaked images and carries the exact same specifications from those leaks as well. Nevertheless, it is a wonderful smartphone and here's a clean and confirmed final look at its specs on paper.

Dimensions: 162.5 x 74.8 x 8.6 mm (6.40 x 2.94 x 0.34 in)

Weight: 195 g (6.88 oz)

Corning Gorilla Glass 5 back panel

Single SIM (Nano-SIM) or Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)

 - IP68 certified - dust/water proof over 1.5 meter and 30 minutes

- Stylus

- Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified)

Display: 6.3 inches (83.2% screen-to-body ratio) Super AMOLED, 1440 x 2960 pixels (~521 ppi pixel density) QHD+

Corning Gorilla Glass 5 Protection

 - HDR10 compliant

- 3D Touch (home button only)

- Always-on display

- Grace UX UI

Android 7.1.1 (Nougat)

Chipset: Exynos 8895 Octa - EMEA/Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 835 - USA & China

CPU: Octa-core (4x2.3 GHz & 4x1.7 GHz) - EMEA/Octa-core (4x2.35 GHz Kryo & 4x1.9 GHz Kryo) - USA & China

GPU: Mali-G71 MP20 - EMEA/Adreno 540 - USA & China

microSD, up to 256 GB (dedicated slot) - single-SIM model

microSD, up to 256 GB (uses SIM 2 slot) - dual-SIM model

Internal storage: 64/128/256 GB, 6 GB RAM

Primary camera: Dual 12 MP, f/1.7 & f/2.4, OIS, phase detection autofocus, 2x optical zoom, dual-LED (dual tone) flash; 1/2.55" sensor size, 1.4 µm pixel size @ 26 mm, 1/3.6" sensor size, 1.0 µm pixel size @ 52 mm

Geo-tagging, simultaneous 4K video and 9MP image recording, touch focus, face/smile detection, Auto H

Video 2160p@30fps, 1080p@60fps, 720p@240fps, HDR, dual-video rec.

Secondary camera: 8 MP, f/1.7, autofocus, 1/3.6" sensor size, 1.22 µm pixel size, 1440p@30fps, dual video call, Auto HDR

3.5mm jack 

 - 32-bit/384kHz audio

- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic

Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot

Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, EDR, LE

NFC: Yes

USB 3.1, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector

Iris scanner, fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, heart rate, SpO2

- Samsung Desktop Experience support

- Fast battery charging (Quick Charge 2.0)

- Qi/PMA wireless charging (market dependent)

- ANT+ support

- Bixby Voice natural language commands and dictation

- MP4/DivX/XviD/WMV/H.265 player

- MP3/WAV/WMA/eAAC+/FLAC player

- Photo/video editor

- Document editor

Non-removable Li-Ion 3300 mAh battery

Colors: Midnight Black, Maple Gold, Orchid Grey, Deep Sea Blue

Price: N/A (Expected to be more than 1,000 Euros)

The modular design for smartphones is nothing new really and a lot of the companies have already tried or are currently trying their hands at the concept. However, they have not tuned out to be the revolution as many had hoped they would be. The Moto Mods, LG G5 and the most talked about Essential Phone by Andy Ruben himself sported/sports modular concepts. However, Samsung has so far stayed away from modular designs when it comes to smartphones. According to a new report by SamMobile, all that is about to change because the Galaxy S9 is rumored to be Samsung's first modular phone.

Similar to what Lenovo has done with the Moto mods and the Moto Z smartphones, the Galaxy S9 could be sporting magnetic pins at its back for accessory attachments. Of course, this is just a rumor at this point, but would you like to see Samsung adopt something like this? Or do you prefer the tried and tested old design? Let us know in the comments.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

We know from an official announcement that the Galaxy Note 8 will be unveiled in NYC this Wednesday on August 23, but now we also have a release date, thanks to Evan Blass from @evleaks on Twitter. The famous leakster informed everyone a few hours ago that Samsung will be opening the pre-orders on August 24, which is the very next day after the Galaxy Note 8's unveiling this Wednesday. He also revealed that the smartphone will be available for purchase from stores starting September 15.

Evan Blass was full of information today as he gave out even more info regarding the Galaxy Note 8 in the same post. According to him, if you pre-order the Galaxy Note 8 in the US, you will either receive a 256GB microSD card + convertible wireless charger or a Samsung Gear 360 camera, but the choice is up to you. A point to be noted is that these dates only apply to the US, South Korea and a few select nations in Europe. The rest of the world will likely have to wait a bit longer.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

Although we are still a few days away from the Note8's official unveiling, this leak is showing us pretty much everything that there is to see. Of course, this isn't the real thing, not even a prototype, but what you see here is exactly what you are going to see on August 23 in New York at the unveiling event. What does that mean you ask? It means that this is an official dummy unit; the likes of which are generally used to showcase new smartphones at retail displays. Apart from the fact that it won't turn on, it's identical to the Galaxy Note 8 in every other way.

The pictures were leaked online on Weibo in China, as is often the case these days. While it's the cleanest and most satisfying look at the device that we have had so far, it didn't surprise us because we have seen it all before, thanks to previous leaks. What do you think of Samsung's upcoming stylus-wielding, dual-camera beast after taking a look at these images? Let us know in the comments.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)