Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Unveiled With Double Curved Screen And Sci-Fi Inspired Iris Scanner
Just like the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge redesigns, which didn’t stray too far from their immediate predecessors aesthetically, the Galaxy Note 7 has a familiar look. If a Galaxy Note 5 and the Galaxy S7 Edge had a baby, the Galaxy Note 7 would be the end result.
If you’ve been paying attention to all the leaks concerning the Galaxy Note 7 for the past few months, there aren’t many surprises today. As expected, the smartphone is spec’d out as follows:
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 SoC (not the newly introduced Snapdragon 821)
- 4GB of RAM (although we were expecting 6GB)
- 64GB internal storage (UFS 2.0)
- microSDHC slot with support for 2TB cards
- 5.7-inch QHD Super AMOLED dual-curve display
- 12MP main camera
- 5MP front-facing camera
- LTE-Advanced (Category 12)
- 3,500 mAh battery
- IP68 water and dust resistance
If you look at the above specs, with the exception of the 64GB storage capacity, things haven’t changed much on the hardware front compared to the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. The battery is actually a smidge smaller than what’s found on the Galaxy S7 Edge (3,500 mAh versus 3,600 mAh). And the IP68 water/dust resistance and microSD slot are welcome additions that were left off last year’s Galaxy Note 5.
Where the Galaxy Note 7 stands apart from its siblings is with the addition of an iris scanner, which allows you to unlock your smartphone with your eyes. You can still fall back on the fingerprint sensor if you prefer. And of course, this wouldn’t be a Galaxy Note without Samsung’s S Pen active stylus. This year’s S Pen is water resistant and features twice the pressure sensitivity of the previous generation stylus (4096 levels versus 2,048 levels). You can even use the S Pen to easily create GIFs from videos that you’ve taken with the main camera.
The Galaxy Note 7 will launch with Android 6.0 Marshmallow, but an upgrade to Android 7.0 Nougat will be provided sometime in the future (the company isn’t giving a timeline, unfortunately, for its release).
Preorders for the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 kick off tomorrow (August 3rd), and it will be available from all major U.S. wireless carriers (Verizon Wireless, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint) beginning August 19th. It will be available in Black Onyx, Silver Titanium, Gold Platinum, and Blue Coral (our favorite). As for pricing, we can use T-Mobile as a baseline. The company is selling the smartphone for $849 off-contract, or for $69.99 down and $32.50 for 24 months using installment pricing.
For a limited time, customers will also be able to receive either a free 256GB microSDHC card or a free Gear Fit2 with the purchase of a Samsung Galaxy Note 7. In addition, all Galaxy Note 7 customers will $20 in rewards when they make their first [qualifying] purchase using Samsung Pay.
