The Galaxy Note 8 is now official, having been unwrapped at a Samsung Unpacked event in New York, which  took place on August 23. If you're one of those people who has a ton of faith in Samsung and just cannot wait, then pre-orders are now live. However, the phone won't begin shipping until some time in early September, when it will also hit retail around September 15 (earlier in some places, but that's the official global roll out date).

The Galaxy Note 8 has pretty much confirmed most of the persistent rumours we saw ahead of its launch - it's as we expected, and is largely quite similar to the Galaxy S8 series, with a few notable modifications.

Chiefly, it has a dual-camera on the rear, a first for Samsung, it's also the first dual-sensor phone camera with OIS in both lenses. The 6.3in Super AMOLED Infinity Display is also slightly larger than the Galaxy S8+, by only 0.1in. It's a more squared-off design too, and it comes with the S-Pen stylus (which a well as the phone itself, is IP68 water resistant), as well as more RAM and storage, and a bunch of multitasking features.

Competition is hot at the moment though, with the impending release of Apple’s iPhone 8, the new Essential Phone, which just landed.

Google also recently made Android Oreo officially official and its understood a Pixel 2 series will arrive soon.

But, with that said, there's another just-released phone that has a lot of enthusiasm around it too; the Nokia 8.

Yes, folks, Nokia has returned, well, kinda, it's actually part of a partnership with HMD Global; HMD makes the phones and puts Nokia's branding on them. But these are still very much purebred Nokia devices, make no mistake, they still have Carl Zeiss optics and Nokia OZO audio, and Nokia engineers still help develop the hardware and design.

The lead model is the Nokia 8 flagship, which was announced only the other week. As flagships go, Nokia has made it plenty competitive with the current cream of the crop - the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU keeps everything ticking, it has an insane Carl Zeiss dual-lens camera, oodles of RAM and storage, and a massive battery cell.

Best of all for Nokia's return to the smartphone space - it runs Android.

They both have the number eight in their name, and neither has an 8in display (and sadly are launching in 2017 rather than 2018), but how do the two titans of the industry compare?

Nokia 8 Specs

• Dimensions:151.5 x 73.7 x 7.9mm
• Weight: 160g
• Display: 5.3in IPS LCD 1440 x 2560 (@554ppi)
• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (10nm) octa-core CPU
• GPU: Adreno 540
• RAM:4GB/6GB
• Software: Android Nougat
• Connectivity: 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Type-C USB, NFC, GPS, Fingerprint scanner
• Storage: 64GB/128GB
• MicroSD: Yes
• Primary Camera: Dual-13MP Carl Zeiss, f/2.0 apertures, 1.12µm pixel size, hybrid laser & phase detection autofocus, OIS, dual-LED flash, geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, HDR, panoramic capture, 2160p video @30fps, 1080p video @30fps
• Secondary Camera: 13MP, 2160p video
• Battery: 3,090mAh
• Other: IP54 Certified (Splash & Dust Resistant), Nokia OZO Audio

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Specs

• Dimensions: 162.5 x 74.6 x 8.5mm
• Display: 6.3in Quad HD+ Super AMOLED, 2960x1440 Infinity Display (18.5:9 Aspect Ratio)
• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 (10nm) octa-core CPU OR Samsung Exynos 8995 (10nm) octa-core CPU - region dependent
• GPU: Adreno 540 (Qualcomm Snapdragon) OR ARM Mali-G71 (Samsung Exynos) - region dependent
• RAM:6GB
• Software: Android Nougat
• Connectivity: 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Type-C USB, NFC, GPS, Fingerprint scanner, Iris Scanner, Face Scanner
• Storage: 64GB, 128GB or 256GB - region dependent
• MicroSD: Yes
• Primary Camera: Dual-12MP, f/1.7 and f/2.4 apertures, 1/2.3" sensor size, 1.55µm pixel size, Dual-Pixel Phase Detection Autofocus, OIS, 2x optical zoom, touch focus, face/smile detection, Auto HDR, panorama, 2160p video @30fps, 1080p video @60fps
• Secondary Camera: 8MP with autofocus, f/1.7 aperture, Auto HDR, 1440p video @30fps
• Battery: 3,300mAh
• Other: IP68 Certified (Water & Dust Resistant), S-Pen Stylus

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 vs. Nokia 8 – Price

One area where Nokia cannot be beaten in this context is price. The Nokia 8, while similarly specced, is A LOT cheaper than the Galaxy Note 8, which is expected to retail for around €999 and $1000 in the US after taxes.

Samsung knows Apple is going to charge $1000 for its iPhone 8, so it is raising its prices in a like-minded fashion. Nokia, however, is taking a different approach. Like OnePlus and Essential Phone, it is keeping the price of its flagship more in line with prices of yesteryear.

The Nokia 8 will set you back €577, making it almost 50% cheaper than the Galaxy Note 8 and this, no doubt, will be very attractive to shoppers looking for the most bang for their buck.

Even the newly launched, and super shiny, Essential Phone is a good $200 less than Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8 at $699.

Moral of the story? If you’re buying an Apple or Samsung phone inside Q4 it is going to cost you A LOT of money.