Samsung’s next Unpacked event is arriving right on schedule — and all signs point to it bringing the Galaxy Note 8 along for the ride. The big show lines up with the phablet’s traditional release schedule, and the graphic appears to show an Infinity Display version of the Note 8, along with the requisite S-Pen (don’t call it a) stylus.
While it’s far from the first big event the company has thrown since the Note 7 proved to be an unmitigated and seemingly endless disaster, the unveiling will be yet another very public trial for the company as it attempts to put those bad vibes behind it for good.
Unpacked is being held August 23 in New York City, a week or so ahead of the IFA tech show in Berlin, where the company released the first version of the phablet way back in 2011.
There was some speculation in the wake of fallout that Samsung might abandon the Note name altogether, but prior to the exploding battery saga, the product was one of the company’s most popular global offerings. Since then, speculation has centered around what’s expected to be premium pricing for the handset — at around $900 for an unlocked version of the phone.
Those same rumors also put the phone’s display at 6.3 inches — just a hair over the Galaxy S8 Plus’s 6.2-inch screen. That seems to fly in the face of the “Do bigger things” slogan gracing the invites also tweeted out by Samsung social media, but it is still considerably larger than the Note 7’s 5.7-inch screen. Also, that’s still a really, really big phone, so, it’s all relative, really.
The aspect ratio and design language aren’t expected to change much, which is good news. The S8 is a lovely piece of hardware that manages to cram a big screen into a surprisingly small footprint.
Other pretty reasonable rumors include the Snapdragon 835 processor the company was reportedly hogging for inclusion on the S8 and a 3,300 mAh battery — that’s a downgrade from the Note 7 and the S8 Plus, both of which sported a 3,500 version. Though, given what happened last time around, it’s hard to blame the company for being overly cautious, I suppose.
An Infinity Display and Bixby (which, as of this week, finally includes voice commands) seem like pretty safe bets, too. After all, the company loves consistency across the Galaxy line. Though, with just a 0.1-inch difference in screen size, Samsung may have a tough time differentiating the perennial favorite device from the new Plus addition to the Galaxy line — beyond the inclusion of the S-Pen, of course.
Hopefully the company’s still has some tricks up its sleeve, while managing to not fly too close to the sun this time around. Whatever the case may be, we’ll be on-hand at the NYC event, watching it unfold live.