Galaxy Note 8 to launch tonight: A look back on the turbulent history of Samsung’s smartphone series

In the wake of the Galaxy Note 7, which was discontinued in 2016, Samsung is aiming high with its Galaxy Note 8, which is due to be presented August 23, 2017, at a special event in New York. The Note 8 will be the latest in a long series of phablets, which started life in 2011.

Samsung Galaxy Note

At the IFA in Berlin, Samsung created a sensation with the unveiling of its first phablet, a smartphone equipped with a 5.3-inch Super AMOLED HD (800p) screen, which was considered very large at the time. The 3G-and WiFi-compatible device became the first phone in the Galaxy Note series, which differs from the competition in that all models ship with the S Pen stylus. Launched progressively across the world in the fall of 2011, the device, which ran under Android Gingerbread (2.3), was a massive commercial success.

Samsung Galaxy Note II

At the next year’s IFA, Samsung presented an even larger successor to the first phablet with a 5.55-inch screen. More an upgrade than a revolution, the Samsung Galaxy Note II featured a more advanced stylus sensitive to 1,024 levels of pressure, for better handwriting recognition.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3

Presented in the fall of 2013, the Galaxy …read more