Eyeing deeper India growth, Samsung unveils Galaxy Note8 at Rs 67,900

In a bid to make further dent in Apple’s market share in India as the Cupertino-based tech giant prepared to launch new flagship devices in the US, Samsung on Tuesday launched its premium Galaxy Note8 device with ‘Bixby’ digital assistant and an enhanced ‘S Pen’ in the country at Rs 67,900.

Note lovers can pre-book the device — that comes with 6GB RAM and 64GB internal memory and expandable up to 256GB — from September 12 at selected retail stores and online on Samsung Shop and Amazon.in.

The device will be available in India in Midnight Black and Maple Gold colours, starting September 21.

“2017 has been our most exciting year as we established our leadership in the Indian market. Galaxy S8 broke all previous records with 68 per cent market share in the premium-segment smartphones,” HC Hong, President and CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia, told reporters here.

“We are a committed partner in the country’s digital growth. Samsung is now expanding the capabilities of its Chennai manufacturing plant. Recently, the compant expanded its Noida plant,” Hong added.

Samsung will also introduce voice capabilities with ‘Make for India’ innovations in its intelligent interface ‘Bixby’ in the next few weeks. ‘Bixby’ — which would also be available on Galaxy Note8 and Galaxy S8 & S8+ devices — has now been optimised to understand English in Indian accents.

“This time, we have made the Galaxy Note8 bigger and better and added ‘Make for India’ innovations that will transform lives yet again,” Hong said.

Galaxy Note8 users will get a double data offer on Jio under which, they can get up to 448GB of extra 4G data over eight months as well as complimentary Jio Prime membership.

The 6.3-inch Galaxy Note8 has Quad HD+ Super AMOLED Infinity Display that lets you see more and scroll less. The device sits comfortably in one hand and with ‘S Pen,’ people can communicate in more personal ways.

Since its introduction, the ‘S Pen’ has been one of the Note’s defining features. With Galaxy Note8, the ‘S Pen’ unlocks new ways to write, draw and interact with the phone and communicate with friends.

It has a finer tip, improved pressure sensitivity3 and features that enable users to express themselves better.

The rear camera comes with two 12MP lenses — wide angle and telephoto. Both are equipped with Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) for sharper photos and videos.

Galaxy Note8’s ‘Live Focus’ feature lets you control the depth of field by allowing you to adjust the “bokeh” effect in preview mode and even after you take the photo.

The device is also equipped with an industry-leading 8MP ‘Smart Auto Focus’ selfie camera.

Housing 3,300mAh battery, Galaxy Note8 supports the most advanced wireless charging capabilities yet.

Note 8 also comes with mobile payment service Samsung Pay and Samsung’s defense-grade security platform Samsung Knox.

The device offers a choice of biometric authentication options-including iris and fingerprint scanning in addition to face recognition, pin, pattern and password.

“At Samsung, we listen to our consumers and bring in meaningful innovations that help make their lives better. With this launch, Samsung will further consolidate its leadership in the premium smartphone segment in India,” added Asim Warsi, Senior Vice President, Mobile Business, Samsung India.

With Galaxy Note8, the ‘App Pair’ feature lets you create a custom shortcut on the ‘Edge Panel’ to simultaneously launch two frequently used apps.

‘Live Message’ feature allows users tell expressive stories and share animated texts or drawings across platforms that support GIFs4.

The ‘Always On Display’ allows users to stay on top of their notifications without unlocking their phone. The device and the ‘S Pen’ are water and dust resistant.

(Sourabh Kulesh can be contacted at sourabh.k@ians.in)