Drop tests show new iPhone 8s are a bit more durable than the Galaxy Note8

Just how durable are the new glass-encased Apple iPhones and Samsung Galaxy Note8? If you drop them accidentally are you saying goodbye to your hundreds (or thousands really) of dollars? Luckily, there are companies like SquareTrade who’ll show us just what would happen if we drop these really expensive devices. The phone insurance company put the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and Note8 through its usual drop and tumble tests as well as a new Shot test that simulates what happens to a phone when it’s being left on the roof of your car and then you speed off (apparently, this is a thing now).

Of course, the glass backs crack. The Note8 seems to fare better in terms of dropping the phone on its face but it renders the device completely useless. The iPhones still seem to work. Apple’s “aerospace-grade” metal band seems to protect it better from side drops. And during the shot test, the Note8 had more of its chunks flying off. When it comes to the breakability score, the iPhone 8 scored 67, the iPhone 8 Plus gets a 74, and the Galaxy Note8 gets an 80.

Source: Phone Arena

Update on Monday, September 25, 2017 at 1:42PM by Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Please folks, don't try this at home. 

Samsung tugs at our heartstrings with new Note8 ad

We associate the Note8 with being a good productivity tool. But this new Samsung ad suggests it can be used for more than that. The creative types, or those who just love to doodle, can actually use it to flirt. The newest ad for the Galaxy Note8 shows a couple getting together and falling in love with each other using the Live Messages feature on the phone to express how they feel. It’s a cute ad and it gets across how Samsung is trying to market the Note8 outside of the productivity seekers.

Samsung pushes camera update ahead of Galaxy Note8 release

The Galaxy Note8 is almost here but just ahead of its release Samsung just pushed a firmware update for the phone (version N950FXXU1AQI1). Some of the things the update brings to the Note8 include camera software improvement as well as wireless charging optimization. The August security patch is also included in the update, which as Samsung Mobile Security blog enumerates include 32 critical or high-level fixes. There is also a preview of the September security patch on said blog that fixes 46 vulnerabilities in Android and 12 in Samsung Experience.

Source: Android Authority

Netflix brings HDR support to the Samsung Galaxy Note8 and Sony Xperia XZ1

It’s a very exclusive club. There were only three devices that supported Netflix HDR, namely the LG G6, LG V30, and Sony Xperia XZ Premium. Now the streaming service adds two more: the newly launched Samsung Galaxy Note8 and Sony Xperia XZ1. This feature promises to bring life-like images to your Netflix viewing. For mobile, it first became available on the LG G6 in May. This particular device is also the only one with Dolby Vision standard.

There isn’t anything you need to enable to get the feature to work. All you have to do is have a Netflix plan, one of these devices, and the latest version of the app and your phone’s latest firmware.