The Galaxy Note 8 is going to be a bigger version of the Galaxy S8, but that doesn’t mean we’re in for a mere clone of Samsung’s best smartphone to date. The Galaxy Note 8 will have a few unique features that set it apart from the Galaxy S8. According to a fresh leak, the camera will have a strange design said to facilitate a killer feature out of the box. But sadly, this rumor doesn’t fit with all the other Galaxy Note 8 leaks we’ve already seen.
Compared to the Galaxy S8, the Galaxy Note 8 will have a slightly different Infinity Display design, a built-in S Pen stylus, and a dual rear camera on the back. That’s what we already know from recent reports. Now, a new set of images posted on Slashleaks supposedly shoe an interesting new detail about that rear camera: A three-lens setup.
These designs look nothing like previous Galaxy Note 8 CAD leaks. They could be fake, or they could show an early prototype design for the phone. We’ve seen similar schematics a few weeks ago that showed a camera module design that was not backed up by other rumors.
Here’s what we expect the phone to look like, as noted in our exclusive report last month:
But, if these new drawings are based on the real thing, then the Galaxy Note 8’s rear camera assembly will feature three lenses rather than just two, and they may be related to Samsung’s future plans for augmented reality (AR).
Just because the phone may or may not come with hardware support for AR doesn’t mean Samsung also has cool new AR software features ready. After all, the phone will still run Android, and both Google and Samsung are more interesting in virtual reality (VR) right now than the augmented kind. Furthermore, a two-camera setup should already be enough to support AR, if paired with all the other sensors required to make AR work on phones.
Apple is betting big on AR this year, and it will be one of the main features of the iPhone 8. Apple already announced that iOS 11 will support next-generation AR apps, which will turn millions of devices into AR-ready gadgets, not just the incoming 2017 iPhones. But Apple’s AR-ready cameras will have two lenses at most, not three.
Samsung will unveil the Galaxy Note 8 during a press conference in late August, reports say, although nothing has been announced yet.
