After last year’s tragedy with batteries in the Galaxy Note 7, everyone is now looking at the Galaxy Note 8 battery. It is true that the Samsung Galaxy S8 + did not have any problems like this. However, everyone is wondering why Samsung decided to use in the Note 8 smaller battery than in the Galaxy S8 +, which is quite similar device. However, we no longer have to guess, the head of Samsung’s mobile device department explained the situation.
Let’s start with a few facts. Initially, last year’s Galaxy Note 7 was equipped with a battery with a capacity of 3 500 mAh. Unfortunately, components made by two different vendors had factory defects that led to self-ignition. Some people also thought that the problem could be caused by unintelligible construction and too low profile of the smartphone. At the very end, the refurbished Note 7 returned to the Korea marked as Note 7 FE (Fan Edition) with a smaller 3200 mAh battery. The Samsung Galaxy S8+, which has the same display as the Note 8, has a 3 500 mAh battery that does not cause any problems.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 has a battery of 3 300 mAh capacity, what raises some controversy.
Users worry that a smaller battery will provide too short lifetime. According to official data, Note 8 will withstand longer battery life than the Galaxy S8, but shorter than the Galaxy S8 +. Koh Dong-jin, the head of Samsung’s smartphone division, is not afraid of direct comparisons to last year’s Note 7. He pointed out that his company had made a mistake, but it had already been repaired. The Galaxy Note 8 has a smaller battery than its predecessor, but has more energy-efficient components. For example, the processor was make in 10 nm process, making it 30% more energy efficient (whatever that means).
Samsung is also confident of the safety of new batteries. Koh Dong-jin pointed out that the used batteries should offer at least 95% of their original capacity after 2 years of use. The Koreans are currently using a new battery testing process to prevent a possible repeat of last year’s fiasco. Release of Note 7 Fan Edition showed also that the problem was not on the side of the smartphone itself, but used batteries. However, for some reason the new battery in Note 7 FE has lower capacity. Personally, I suspect that the production process of the batteries itself could be problematic. It simply was not possible to produce capacious, compact and safe batteries meeting all the design requirements. That is why no one should have Samsung bad for the new Galaxy Note 8 has a smaller battery. Probably it is the price of space needed for the S Pen, which after all is not in the Galaxy S8 +.
Source: Korea Herald
