It’s been more than a year since Samsung launched it’s flagship Galaxy Note 8 last year on 23 August, 2017 at it’ ‘Unpacked’ event. I was very excited for trying out the device, especially after the debacle that the Note 7 was. Samsung had tried out an all-new design language with the Note and S series devices last year, which it called Infinity Design.
 
The phone was one of the largest devices in the market, and also one of the most powerful. It had one of the best cameras of last year, second to just the Google Pixel 2XL. Fast forward to this year, Samsung have launched the Note 8’s successor, theSamsung Galaxy Note 9. The Note 9 is mostly a software improvement, with the design being the same. After the release, Samsung significantly reduced the price of the Note 8. So, does the Note 8 still carry enough weight to be considered at its price of around Rs. 40000? Let’s find out:

What is still good?
 
1) The Infinity Display
 
There’s one thing that Samsung does exceptionally well: that is making displays. The 6.3inch QuadHD+ Super Amoled panel on the Note 8 is still as good as it was last year. It is still one of the best displays that you can find on smartphones, even considering this year’s flagships. The display is extremely vibrant, with good colour reproduction and sharp images.
 
2) Performance
 
Most of 2018’s flagships carry the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, Samsung Galaxy Note 9 included, but that does not mean that the Snapdragon 835 in the Note 8 is anything bad. It still carries the punch to cut through most of your daily tasks without breaking a sweat. One place where it shows slight lag is while running graphic intensive apps or playing games. I compared the Note 8 to the Note 9 side by side, and you won’t be surprised that the Note 9 was faster, but by a very small margin.
 
3) S-pen
 
The main feature of the Note series that sets it apart from other large-screened phones is the S-pen. There is practically no other smartphone stylus that comes close to the S-pen in terms of usability and functionality. Though, with the Note 8, you’ll miss out on some of the remote S-pen functionality, it still makes for a pretty neat device. You can write notes, mark-up photos, sign PDFs, and do much more with the S-pen, just like on Note 9.

What isn’t so good?
 
1) The small battery
 
With large phones, you expect large batteries, right? I know I do. But after the disaster that Note 7, Samsung played it safe and installed a small battery at 3300mAh in the Note 8. The battery is by no means small, but in a device with a 6.3inch display, you expect something bigger. The battery was able to last a full ay at average use, but nothing more. The battery was one of the biggest improvements in the Note 9. If you’re a power user who does lots of power-intensive activities, you might consider giving the Note 8 a skip.
 
2) Camera
 
This might be a controversial point, but the Note 8 had a great camera, but only till the Google Pixel 2XL was not launched. I found too many problems with the camera like the video resolution maxed out at 4K 30fps, and how the photos were too over sharpened. The photos looked somewhat unrealistic, with too sharp images and very cold temperatures. But notwithstanding, the Note 8 had a pretty good camera all things considered, but the Note 9 has a much better camera, with exceptional low-light performance because of the dual-aperture lens system.

Verdict
 
Even with all its drawbacks, the Note 8 was still a pretty good device. After one year also, it still carries the weight to make its presence felt in the smartphone environment. If you are a person who wants the S-pen functionality, and a capable device without breaking the bank for the premium price of the Note 9, the Note 8 would be the perfect device for you.