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Google promised over a year ago that the wireless version of Android Auto would work out-of-the-box on any Android 9.0+ phone, but that hasn't quite panned out. The only devices that have been able to use it are Google's own Pixel devices (plus the Nexus 5X and 6P), but that finally appears to be changing.
So, the Galaxy Note 9 is official, and it's going to be very expensive. If you want a phone with a stylus and paying $1,000 for it isn't an option, there's always the Galaxy Note 8. that phone is on sale today for $685.99 on eBay. This is an unlocked device with 128GB of storage, not 64GB like the US carrier models.
We're under a week away from the Galaxy Note9's launch event, which means that the previous-generation Note8 is starting to get some pretty enticing discounts. An eBay seller with nearly 69,000 stars is currently offering AT&T Galaxy Note8 refurbs at 5.99 a pop.
Early this month, Samsung began offering free microSD cards up to 256GB in size with the purchase of a Galaxy S9, S9+, or Note8. In other words, you'd get a microSD card that matched your new phone (64GB, 128GB, or 256GB), effectively doubling your storage. Samsung is now combining that offer with a free Chromebook 3 11.6" (or $200 off any Samsung Chromebook), which is pretty enticing.
With the existence of services like Google Photos, a large amount of local storage is becoming less and less of a necessity these days. But if you do need lots of gee-bees on your phone and you're in the market for a new one, you might want to look into Samsung's flagships. The company is currently offering a free microSD card, up to 256GB in size, with purchases of the Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+, and Galaxy Note8.
The dual-SIM Galaxy Note8 made its debut on eBay at $899.99, though it's been steadily dropping since then. Last time we posted, the phone was sitting at $699.99. Fast forward to now, though, and the price has fallen all the way to 4.99 - a full $275 off the original price.
Samsung's latest smartphones are quite nice, but they're also painfully expensive. Even when you split up the payments monthly, a $1,000 phone can put a dent in your bank account. Best Buy has a tempting deal today that'll knock $300 off the total cost of the Note 8, Galaxy S9, or Galaxy S9+ as long as you activate it on an installment plan.
Samsung's Always On Display made its debut on the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge over two years ago now. Since then, the company has steadily been adding features here and there, which it's been able to do since the feature itself has its own APK. Always On Display's newest addition is GIF support, which lets you add a little action to the otherwise-dull clock and time.
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AT&T Galaxy Note8 owners received a nice surprise a couple of days ago with their Android 8.0 Oreo update, and now it's Verizon and Sprint owners' turns. Both major US CDMA carriers are now sending out the long-awaited Oreo to their variants of the Note8, meaning that T-Mobile is the only one lagging behind.
Samsung has a long and complicated history with Android updates. It's reasonably fast with security patches, but that's not what most people use to measure success. It's the big updates that matter, and Samsung is often bringing up the rear when a new version of Android comes out. Here we are, six months after Oreo launcher, and Samsung is promising it'll be done updating the Galaxy S8 and Note 8 in a few more weeks.
We just posted a deal on the dual-SIM versions of the Galaxy S9 and S9+ yesterday, but now the Note8 has been discounted by the same seller. The current price of $699.99 makes this cheaper than both the S9 and S9+, and this is the lowest price we've ever seen for a dual-SIM Note8.
You might recall that Samsung produced an Olympic Games Limited Edition of the Galaxy S7 edge that was distributed to every Olympian competing (well, except for the North Koreans). The South Korean manufacturer is doing the same thing for the 2018 Winter Olympics in its home country with some very eye-catching Galaxy Note8s.
It's hard to forget about the fiery Galaxy Note7 battery fiasco that Samsung had to deal with over a year ago. While the company went to great lengths to assure customers that this wouldn't ever happen again, a different kind of battery issue has arisen on the Galaxy Note8 and Galaxy Tab S3. Some customers are now reporting that their devices will not turn back on after their batteries have died completely.
It's that time of year again. Knowing our audience, chances are that you're looking for some sort of gadget to purchase for yourself or someone else. Whether the smartphone being replaced is too old, too bootloopy, or just doesn't have all the features you want, we've got you covered with our choices for the best smartphones you can buy.
Samsung flagships aren't cheap, so some of you might have been waiting for Black Friday to score a deal on one of them. We're seeing discounts of $150 and up on the Galaxy Note8, S8+, and S8, as well as a healthy $67 discount on the Gear 360 (2017 Edition) at multiple retailers.
Samsung's three flagships, the Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, and Galaxy Note8, are fantastic phones. Unfortunately, they're also pricey, with some variants of the Note8 going over the scary thousand-dollar mark with taxes. If you're on Sprint or Verizon and you're in search of a new phone, Best Buy's latest $350 discount (over 24 months) on these devices may just be what you need.
Calling PLUS is still relatively new for Sprint devices, with only a handful of devices currently supporting it. But with its latest update, the Sprint Galaxy Note8 has joined the Calling PLUS ranks, following the LG G6 and Galaxy S8/S8+. Also included are October security patches and a couple of other small fixes/upgrades.
The Galaxy Note 8 is a pretty phone, but those of us in the US were stuck picking between the "Midnight Black" and "Orchid Gray" versions. The true looker in Samsung's lineup was the "Deepsea Blue" color variant, which was only sold in other markets. That changes today with news that Samsung is bringing this color to the US. It won't be available everywhere, though.
The opinion that Samsung's Bixby voice assistant is useless is one that is pretty universal. We've seen an epic war between Samsung and developers who wanted to remap the button (seriously, here are more links), but even after Samsung "disabled" the button in the last battle, Bixby would still activate the screen when pressed. Now though, disabling it will render it virtually nonexistent (which we've all been waiting for).
The age-old tradition of rooting Samsung's latest flagship continues. In this case, it's the Galaxy Note8, and it took developers about a month. For some perspective, that's much less time than we had to wait for root on the Galaxy S8 and S8+. Based on this progression, I predict that the next Samsung flagship should be rooted just a bit before it is released. /s