Rumor: Galaxy Note 8 gets ‘telephoto’ with equivalent three times optical zoom

An analyst claims that Samsung will equip the Galaxy Note 8 with a dual camera, whose telephoto lens enables the equivalent of three times optical zoom. It would be the first time that the South Korean manufacturer puts a dual camera on a smartphone.

The predictions, published by 9to5Google, come from a report by KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. That analyst is best known for accurate information about unannounced Apple hardware. It is unknown whether its track record in the field of Samsung is equally solid.

According to Kuo, the Note 8 has a dual camera, with a regular 12-megapixel camera and a 13-megapixel camera with ‘telephoto lens’. Both cameras would have optical image stabilization and the dual-pixel autofocus system as Samsung also used on the Galaxy S7, Note 7 and S8. There was probably also a prototype of the S8+ with dual camera.

The Note 8 would have a 6.4″ screen with the same QHD+ resolution of 2960×1440 pixels as the S8 phones, which have 5.8″ and 6.2″ screens. It goes, as with all high-end Samsung. models, around an OLED panel.The fingerprint scanner is on the back, just like with the S8 series, claims Kuo.

If Samsung follows its pattern from past years, the Note 8 will hit the market at the end of the summer. The manufacturer is about to release its Galaxy S8 and S8+. The Note 8 should succeed the canceled Note 7. The Note 7 had several battery problems and after a series of incidents, Samsung decided to cancel the phone. An overhauled version with presumably smaller battery will still be on the market in some countries.

Looking back: video review of the Galaxy S8 and S8+