On the official Samsung Australia website, a page ha opened up earlier today which is indeed dedicated to the Galaxy Note 8's pre-registration, as you can see from the above screenshot. However, before you become too excited, we will have to disappoint you a little. The page isn't active yet and the only thing you can do on it is read the line, "Do bigger things."

We had hoped that it would at least reveal some information or the other about the Galaxy Note 8, given we are now less than a month away from the launch date (August 23), but no such luck here unfortunately. Nevertheless, that doesn't mean we don't know what to expect already and if you are in any doubt, read the following spec sheet based on reliable rumors.

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 835/836 SoC
• 6.3-inch borderless QHD+ Super AMOLED display at 18.5:9 aspect ratio
• 6GB of RAM
• 128GB internal storage
• Dual 12-mp rear cameras with 3X optical zoom
• Android Nougat 7.1.1

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

Samsung is the global leader when it comes to smartphone sales and market share, but that doesn't mean it's the leader everywhere. Being the most populated and prospective nation in the world, China is now one of the biggest markets for smartphones in the entire world as well. In spite of seeming like the perfect match for each other, Samsung's hold over the local market in China has been reduced to a mere 3% at the end of Q2 2017; the lowest for the company in any other nation where it has a significant presence.

If you are wondering why it is so, there are two main factors at play here. Firstly, the political relationship between South Korea and China is not going very well at the moment. This has resulted in a number of customers rejecting Korea-made products In favor of products from local manufacturers like Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo, Huawei and the like. Secondly, the competition from the local manufacturers is too steep for Samsung to match up with them under the current situation. In fact, Apple isn't doing too well in the country either as their share in the Chinese market dropped from 8.5% to 8.2% in just a year. Nevertheless, the American company is still doing a lot better than Samsung, given that their market dropped from 7% to just 3% at the end of Q2 2017 in a quarter-on-quarter comparison with 2016.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

The Galaxy A7 (2017) edition was released just a few months ago and it's usually way too early to be seeing any traces of the upcoming Galaxy A7 (2018). However, it looks like we are wrong in thinking so because the A7 (2018) has apparently made an appearance on GFXBench! Not only has it made an appearance, but the show has clearly revealed most of its key specifications as well. Do check the screenshot out to know more on what we are talking about here.
The key specs revealed by the leak include the following:

1080p display
2.1GHz octa core CPU
Mali-G71 GPU
4GB RAM
32GB in-built storage
16-mp rear camera
Android Nougat 7.1.1

I will admit that it's kind of strange to see the leak so early, but this seems to be authentic. The Mali-G71 GPU is good news though because it is the same one that's powering the Exynos 8895 within the Galaxy S8 at the moment. If true, the it will mean great gaming performance and 4K video recording capabilities, provided that Samsung doesn't cap the camera's capabilities or the A7 (2018) isn't limited by the sensor's imaging capabilities.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

If the latest rumor is to be believed, then the Galaxy Note 8 will come with wireless headphones right in the box. Does it mean that it won't sport the 3.5mm headphone jack? Actually, it doesn't really mean that at all! All renders that we have seen so far show the headphone jack clearly so there's no reason to think so yet. However, that leads us to the question then why is Samsung making this move? Is it a way to show some love towards loyal Note customers who are still willing to put their money down for a Galaxy Note 8 even after the infamous disaster with the Note7? Probably, but there's more to this move than just that.

Apparently, the earphones will come equipped with Samsung's own voice assistant, Bixby. If the rumor/report does turn out to be true, then it would make sense as to why Samsung would be bundling in a pair of high quality wireless headphones with the Galaxy Note 8, even after retaining the headphone jack. What do you think? Is there any truth to this or is it just wishful thinking?

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

While the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus are fantastic devices, there are a few things about the two smartphones that are not exactly perfect and the underpowered 3,000mAh battery on the regular S8 is one of those things. The S8 Plus on the other hand has a decent enough 3,500mAh battery, but it isn't anything to write home about either. However, the Galaxy S8 Active will change all that with its 4,000mAh battery when it comes out. It's a shame that it will be exclusive to the United States and that too on AT&T only.

Check out the images in this article which comes to you thanks to a Samsung employee in possession of a Galaxy S8 Active prototype in San Francisco. The phone is going to be made mostly out of polycarbonate with metal on the sides for extra protection. There will not be an Active button on the S8 Active, unlike all its predecessors but it will sport the Bixby hardware button just like the regular Galaxy S8s. All other specs are the same, but the model number on this one will be SM-G892A. Are you waiting to pick one up?

Via: SamMobile

Saikat Kar (the-enthusiast)