Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 is finally official, and it looks every bit as good as we expected.
The Galaxy Note 7 was announced today at Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event, landing as the definitive sequel to the Galaxy Note 5 – yes, the Galaxy Note 6 has been completely skipped over. Here are seven of the best Galaxy Note 7 features you need to know about…
Related: Hands-on with the Galaxy Note 7
USB-C
Samsung finally did it! The Galaxy Note 7 is the first Samsung phone ever to feature a USB Type C connection. The long-awaited USB-C upgrade was originally rumoured for the Galaxy S7, but it’s better late than never.
Technically, it’s capable of offering faster charging and faster data transfer, but we’d be kidding if we pretended that the main perk wasn’t the reversible tip: it can be inserted into a jack upside down, just like a Lightning cable. Huzzah!
Related: Galaxy Note 7 vs Galaxy S7
Waterproof body
Unlike the Galaxy Note 5, Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 is fully waterproof to a rating of IP68. That means you can theoretically (production quality pending) dunk it to depths of 1.5 metres for a total of 30 minutes.
It’s likely that Samsung noticed how well this feature was received on the Galaxy S7 and decided to carry it over for the Note series. Particularly exciting is the fact that the S-Pen stylus is also waterproof, and works when wet.
S-Pen
While we’re on the matter of the newly waterproofed S-Pen, it’s worth going over some of the upgrades Samsung’s stylus has received. The S-Pen has an impressive 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity and weighs just three grams.
It has some new control mechanisms, the most exciting of which is Translate. With this, you can highlight foreign text and translate it immediately. And if you hit the pronunciation icon, you can even hear the text read aloud.
Related: Galaxy Note 7 vs Note 5 vs Note 4
Iris scanner
A new (and long-rumoured) feature of the Galaxy Note 7 is the iris scanner. Unsurprisingly, this lets you unlock your smartphone by having your eyes scanned, as a quirky alternative to the totally mainstream fingerprint sensor. They’re so 2013, right?
HDR
HDR stands for High Dynamic Range, and refers to the range of brightness and darkness that a screen can display. If a product touts itself as ‘HDR’, it means it meets a specific set of requirements that dictate the whiteness of the whites and blackness of the blacks, which should translate to better contrast overall.
New Gear VR
It’s 2016, so what would a new smartphone be without a shiny new VR accessory to boot? Samsung has given the Gear VR a makeover, now shipping the mobile virtual reality headset in a swanky new black colour. It also supports USB-C connections, naturally.
Related: Note 7 vs iPhone 6S Plus
Top-end specs
If all those features didn’t get you excited, maybe the Galaxy Note 7 spec sheet in full will. After all, this is arguably the most advanced phone on the market today:
- 5.7-inch Super AMOLED screen (HDR)
- Quad HD display resolution
- Exynos 8890 chip (64-bit, 14nm)
- 4GB LPDDR4 RAM
- 64GB storage (UFS 2.0)
- MicroSD card slot
- 12-DualPixel primary camera (OIS, F1.7)
- 5-megapixel secondary camera
- 3,500mAh battery
- Fast-charging
- USB Type C connection
- Dimensions: 153.5 x 7.9 x 7.9mm
- Weight: 169 grams
- Water resistant body
- S-Pen (4,096 pressure levels)
- Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
The phone is available in three different colour options: Black Onyx (black), Silver Titanium (silver), and Blue Coral (blue body, rose gold sides). We’re still waiting on pricing and availability.
Related: Samsung Galaxy S8
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What do you think of the Galaxy Note 7? Let us know in the comments.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.