Samsung just announced its new Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus, and while the spotlight is on the company’s new flagships this week, the new S8 also asks the question: does Samsung need a Note 8?
The Galaxy Note has historically been Samsung’s biggest and most expensive smartphones, which typically justifies the extra price tag and stands out from the Galaxy S line in two main ways: the biggest and best screens, and Samsung’s S Pen stylus.
Does Samsung need a Note 8?
But the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus have essentially eliminated the “larger screen” incentive of the Note. The entire focus on the new models is the massive “infinity display” screens that cover what feels like the entire front of the phone. The smaller S8 already ties last year’s Note with a 5.7-inch screen, and the S8 Plus — at 6.2-inches — practically dwarfs it.
That leaves the S Pen as the biggest differentiator for the Note line, both in Samsung’s own lineup of smartphones and against the competition. Maybe an S Pen is enough for Note fans, especially considering that the most recent Samsung phablet on the market is still the Galaxy Note 5 from 2015. But just having a stylus is a pretty weak differentiator, especially when you’re up against not only every other smartphone, but Samsung’s own cheaper devices that will presumably offer screens that are just as big.