Many Samsung fans were concerned about the battery sizes on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ earlier this year. It felt like Samsung had chosen a particularly small battery for devices that had very large displays. Samsung addressed those concerns through software optimization and fast wired/wireless charging.
If you thought that the 3,000mAh and 3,500mAh batteries of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ were too small, the Galaxy Note 8's battery will leave you unimpressed. It sits in the middle of both devices with a 3,300mAh battery. Samsung had to opt for a slightly smaller battery in order to accommodate the new phablet's S Pen.
Samsung has released the official battery stats for the Galaxy Note 8. The numbers are based on devices tested in Europe. The Galaxy Note 8 obviously can't match the Galaxy S8+ in terms of battery longevity but it comes close.
You should expect the Galaxy Note 8 to last two hours less than the Galaxy S8+ in key departments such as talk time, video playback, internet use and MP3 playback. The comparison table will help you understand this better.
| Galaxy S8+ | Galaxy Note 8 | |
| MP3 playback (AOD on) | up to 50 hours | up to 47 hours |
| MP3 playback (AOD off) | up to 78 hours | up to 74 hours |
| Video playback | up to 18 hours | up to 16 hours |
| Talk time | up to 24 hours | up to 22 hours |
| Internet use (Wi-Fi) | up to 15 hours | up to 14 hours |
| Internet use (3G) | up to 13 hours | up to 12 hours |
| Internet use (LTE) | up to 15 hours | up to 13 hours |
Bear in mind that these numbers are theoretical and your experience will be based on how you use your device and other factors like the network quality. It's clear though that as far as battery longevity goes, the Galaxy Note 8 does not break any new ground.
I mentioned in my Galaxy S8+ battery review that it was holding up very nicely and easily getting me through one full day. It remains to be seen if the Galaxy Note 8 can do that, given that it has a marginally larger display and a dual camera.
Do you think that these figures are good enough? Or will the smaller battery keep you from buying the Galaxy Note 8? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
