Samsung launches Galaxy Note 8 in India with Bixby voice-assistant

The much-awaited Samsung Galaxy Note 8 has been launched in India today- the phone which is set to rival Apple's iPhone X, iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus in India.

The craze for the device is such that according to a report the Samsung has received around 72,000 pre-bookings for Galaxy Note 8. Around 2.5 lakh registrations have been done so far- 1.5 lakh on Amazon and the remaining on Samsung official website.

Speaking at the launch of the device, Samsung's President and CEO SouthWest Asia, H C Hong said, "Samsung has 68 percent market share in the premium smartphones. We are committed to partner in the growth of this young India by building innovative devices that the young India wants."

Asim Warsi, Senior Vice President further added, "The Galaxy Note 8 is the most powerful device from Samsung. The device will literally help you Do Bigger Things."

The Dual SIM Galaxy Note 8 runs on Android  7.1.1 Nougat and sports a 6.3-inch QHD+ Super AMOLED display with a pixel density of 521ppi. The phone is powered either by Snapdragon 835 SoC or Samsung Exynos 8895 SoC(the Exynos processor has four cores clocked at 2.3 GHz and four at 1.7 GHz). The device comprises of 6GB of LPDDR4 RAM.

The phone sports a dual rear camera setup, with one 12-megapixel sensor sporting a wide-angle lens, Dual Pixel AF, and a f/1.7 aperture, while the other 12-megapixel sensor has a telephoto lens with autofocus and a f/2.4 aperture. The front facing camera has an 8-megapixel sensor with autofocus and a f/1.7 aperture. The phone comes with 64GB, 128GB and 256GB of internal storage(with an option to expand up to 256Gb via a microSD card) in a hybrid dual SIM configuration.

Samsung’s own personal digital assistant, Bixby will be available for India on the Note 8 (as well as Samsung Galaxy S8) and has been optimized to understand English in Indian accents. Bixby Voice capability will be available in India from September 30. The Galaxy Note 8 includes wireless charging as well as boasts of IP68 dust and water resistance.

Additional features include 4G VoLTE, dual-band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) )Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth v5.0, USB Type-C, NFC, GPS/ A-GPS, NFC, and MST. The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 includes an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, barometer, digital compass, gyroscope, heart rate sensor, an iris sensor, and proximity sensor. The smartphone has three biometric unlocking features - fingerprint scanner, facial recognition, and an iris scanner. It is powered by a 3300mAh battery with wireless charging.

There are a few additional offers thrown in with the Galaxy Note 8. Firstly, the company will offer a one-time screen replacement and a wireless charger. For those consumers who would be using HDFC credit cards for the payment will get a cashback of Rs 4,000. The phone will be available in two color variants- Classic Midnight Black and Dazzling Maple Gold. The Galaxy Note 8 is priced at Rs 67,900 and will be available from September 21 on Amazon and Samsung official website.