Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Should I buy a Galaxy Note 8 or wait for the Galaxy S9+?

It's the discussion we have every single year.

With Samsung's continued strategy of launching both a Galaxy S flagship and a top-end Galaxy Note each year, it creates an odd middle ground for some people where they struggle with deciding to buy the latest Galaxy or wait for the new one just six months away. Right now we're talking about the Galaxy Note 8, which has been out for over three months now, and the Galaxy S9+, expected to launch as early as late February 2018.

So for those on the fence still, who should buy a Galaxy Note 8 and who should wait for the Galaxy S9+? Well we can't say for sure in every case, but we have the information you can use to decide whether to get a phone now or play the waiting game.

Reasons to wait for the Galaxy S9+

If you're willing to wait, there will always be a better phone on the horizon. Whether that's for the Galaxy S9+, or some other phone, you know if you wait longer there will be newer and better phones coming. Even though we don't know the specifics, we can easily expect that the Galaxy S9+ will be better in many ways than the Galaxy Note 8. No phone can beat Father Time.

Based on the latest rumors, there are some specific areas where the Galaxy S9+ will seem appealing to those currently checking out a Note 8. We can expect a jump in battery size for the S9+, somewhere in the range of 200mAh, which is on top of a battery that was already larger than the Note 8. It'll also come with the latest specs and a slightly faster processor, for what it's worth — but the Note 8 is hardly a slouch in the spec sheet as it is.

Samsung Galaxy S9: Rumors, Specs, Release Date, and More!

A bump in specs, bigger battery, dual cameras and better fingerprint sensor are all reasons to wait.

Then comes the changes in security. Early renders show a fingerprint sensor that's situated on the back still, but underneath the camera lenses in a place that should be much easier to reach than the current placement — plus, you shouldn't accidentally smudge the camera lens in the process. Iris scanning is also rumored to be improved, which we all know has room to grow and if it were both faster and more accurate would remove the need for the fingerprint sensor, at least for initially unlocking the phone itself.

The Galaxy S9+ is also expected to add the same type of dual-camera setup as the Note 8 currently holds exclusively, which is simply one less reason to keep your eyes on the Note 8. We don't yet know much about the actual functional improvements in the camera, though — the Note 8 is working with a pretty great pair of cameras, but we would expect Samsung to make another jump on the Galaxy S9 and S9+ to challenge the rest of the industry that has caught, and even surpassed, its cameras.

Reasons to buy a Galaxy Note 8 today

The biggest reason to just buy the Galaxy Note 8 today rather than wait for a successor is that it's actually available to buy. Most people can't just wait a few months to get a new phone ... and if you can, is it really worth not having a new phone just so that in the future you can get a different one? Chance are if you buy today you could enjoy your Note 8 for a good three or four months before the Galaxy S9+ is widely available — and at that point, you could decide what to do once again.

In many ways, the Galaxy S9+ will just match the Note 8's innovations.

The Note 8 is also still a really good phone. If you're not thinking so much about the price, which still hovers around $925, the Note 8 is a wonderful phone for Samsung fans. It still has a fantastic spec sheet that the Galaxy S9+ is expected to just match in some areas, like RAM, and only exceed slightly in others, like processor speed and internal storage options. And being just a few months old, the Galaxy Note 8 is still right at the front of the line in terms of software updates and support — even once the Galaxy S9 and S9+ are out.

And when the Galaxy S9+ is out, that doesn't mean it will completely supplant the Galaxy Note 8 in all areas. The Note 8 has a fantastic 6.3-inch display that actually made many strides in quality beyond the Galaxy S8+ from just six months prior — so while the Galaxy S9+'s screen may be a big step from the GS8+, it won't be so much better than the Note 8. Your Note 8 will still feel perfectly modern in terms of display tech and size. Also, no matter what's included in the Galaxy S9+ it definitely won't have an S Pen — so if that's in any way a driving factor for your Note 8 purchase, there's no other way to get it than with a Note.

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The Galaxy S9+ is shaping up to be a really nice phone overall based on early rumors, but Samsung isn't releasing it with the goal of supplanting the Galaxy Note 8. It will be for the Galaxy S7 and S8 owners out there looking for an upgrade, or those who haven't yet made a jump over to Samsung's latest devices from a competitor — not for stealing the Note 8's thunder or making those S Pen-loving buyers rethink their decision.



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