If there’s any surer proof that 4K HDR display resolution and content are the true major technology for consumer digital entertainment during the next few years, it’s seeing both of these things appear in something as portable as a smartphone screen.
That’s exactly what Samsung is now making possible with the planned introduction of its new Samsung Galaxy Note 8 phone, which is slated for release as of September 15th of this year. When it comes out, the new Galaxy Note model will be one of only four smartphones in the world to offer this unique and highly specialized blend of display/entertainment technologies, joining the ranks of LG’s V30 and Sony’s Xperia XZ1 and XZ Premium phones.
What we know so far is that Netflix will offer HDR and 4K content streaming through its streaming media app right on the Galaxy Note 8 phone. This is confirmed by Netflix’s own support pages and it marks the first time that the digital entertainment giant has deigned to offer these features, or at least HDR support, for a Samsung smartphone device even though the latter company has already introduced HDR support in its Galaxy Note 7, Galaxy S8 and S8+ mobile devices previous to this. And again, we’re talking not just about HDR support but HDR with 4K resolution pass-through. The Note itself doesn’t actually come with a full 4K UHD display, instead, according to Samsung’s own specs for the upcoming device, it will feature a default 1080p resolution that can be switched to WQHD+ (slightly less than real 4K UHD) in the phone’s settings.
This is of course all particularly possible because the Galaxy Note 8 actually comes with the dynamic range chops to really make this kind of Netflix content shine on its screen. The little device’s wrap-around screen has been built to deliver full HDR10 color and contrast support with wide color gamut, a stunningly high peak brightness of 1200 nits (better than the vast majority of 4K HDR TVs on sale today) and some rich, deep contrast ratios.
Obviously we’re talking here about a rather tiny 6.3 inch smartphone display, so users accustomed to viewing their favorite 4K HDR Netflix shows and movies on high quality, big-screen 4K HDR TVs might laugh at all this but at the very least if you want to keep yourself entertained on the go, very few mobile devices can quite match what the new Galaxy Note 8 is promising.
The Samsung Galxy Note 8 HDR smartphone will start shipping on September 15th and retailing for $950 or less.
Story by 4k.com