Note 8 specs leak: The iPhone 8's big competition

2017 is shaping up to be a Battle Royale between two phones, the iPhone 8 and Samsung's Galaxy Note 8, and now a believable set of specs for the latter has emerged. We're only a few weeks out from Samsung's big official reveal for the Note 8, which will take place on August 23. However, that hasn't stopped tipsters from spilling the details early.

According to VentureBeat's source, what we should expect is a mashup of the Galaxy S8+, the Note 7, and a couple of refinements over and above last year's recalled Note 7. That may not be the most exciting thing on paper, but given the success of Samsung's recent smartphones and phablets, it's arguably exactly what the company needs.

From the outside, don't necessarily expect anybody to realize you're holding the brand new Note 8. According to the source, Samsung hasn't strayed far from the design of the current Galaxy S8+ for its aesthetic, and instead the new phablet looks much like its mainstream siblings. Indeed, it's said to be only very mildly larger, given the Note 8's expected 6.3-inch display is only 0.1-inches larger than that of the S8+.

The eagle-eyed will spot the more squared-off corners of the new Note, though they'd need a tape measure to check the 162.5 x 74.6 x 8.5 mm dimensions. The display itself will use one of Samsung's Super AMOLED panels. Unlike on the S8 and S8+ it won't have curved corners, though.

On the back, there'll be not one but two cameras. Each will have 12-megapixel resolution, but like Apple has done with the iPhone 7 Plus, Samsung will use one for zooming purposes. The primary camera will have an f/1.7 aperture and, like other recent high-end Samsung phones, use dual-pixel autofocus.

The second, though, will have an f/2.4 aperture, and offer a 2x optical zoom. Both will support optical image stabilization, and presumably the results will be mixed to allow for a smooth zoom in and out. On the front, there's said to be an 8-megapixel sensor with f/1.7 aperture and autofocus.

Inside, Samsung is again expected to hedge its bets with chips, using both its own silicon and Qualcomm's (which, admittedly, are made on its own production lines). In the US, the Note 8 will have a Snapdragon 835 at its heart, but outside of the country it'll use Samsung's Exynos 8895. Either way, expect 6GB of RAM.

There'll be 64GB of storage as standard, and of course a microSD slot to expand on that. One of the big lingering questions, post-Note 7 battery recall, was how large the Note 8's battery would be. According to the source, the phablet will have a 3,300 mAh battery, 200 mAh smaller than that of its ill-fated predecessor. It's unclear if that lower capacity is an attempt to reduce compression in the pack, one of the factors which was blamed for the Note 7's issues.

Connectivity will include USB-C and there'll be wireless charging too, unsurprisingly. Initially there'll be Midnight Black and Maple Gold variants, with Orchid Grey and Deep Sea Blue set to follow; of course, as per previous Samsung launches, the US might not get all of the color options that are available internationally.

While some of these rumored specifications don't quite line up with other leaks we've heard, this certainly sounds like a realistic prospect for what Samsung will reveal in New York City on August 23. Suggestions that fallout from the Note 7 debacle would impact Galaxy S8 and S8+ sales didn't pan out, with the handsets both selling strongly. Soon it'll be time to see whether that holds true for the Note name as well.