The long-awaited Galaxy Note 7 has been gathering rumours since its announcement – and with a UK launch due in September, it's time to put those rumours to rest! Today, we'll show you exactly what to expect from Samsung's new phablet – from hardware to software.
Samsung's Note range has long occupied the high end of the phone–tablet hybrid (or 'phablet') market – but those looking to upgrade from their Galaxy Note 5 can be forgiven for thinking they missed the release of the Note 6!
In actual fact, though, there was no Note 6. Instead, Samsung have skipped straight to the Note 7 to bring the range into line with their Galaxy S7 range of smartphones: the flagship handsets that show off the best technology Samsung have to offer.
By bringing it in line with their most advanced handsets, Samsung are clearly pitching the Note 7 at the premium market – but is it worth throwing away your tablet for? Let's take a look at what's on offer.
A big upgrade
The Galaxy Note 7 is more like an S7 Edge than anything else, sporting a dual-edge curved screen and a microSD slot for your memory cards.
The curved screen is marginally bigger than the S7's, and promises to alleviate some of the accidental screen-presses which affected a small number of users in the past. As with the Edge, the screen actually wraps around the edges of the device, allowing you to read and respond to notifications even when the device is lying face-down.
Once again we're treated to a Quad HD display, boasting a 4K resolution for ultra-crisp video playback and protected by Gorilla Glass 5 – the latest version of the reinforced glass screen technology.
But it's the Note 7's stylus that really sets it apart, and is the single biggest reason we would choose the new Note over the S7 Edge.
This is the high-tech pen that gives the Note its name, and opens up all kinds of options for controlling the device: from being able to jot down hand-written notes and sketches to offering a faster way to navigate through web pages and edit text.
The stylus approach isn't for everybody – but for many users, it's an absolutely crucial feature. That's why Apple have developed one for their iPad Pro range, but Samsung's comes with the advantage of actually coming bundled with the device rather than being a £79 extra!
Tech spechs at a glance:
| Screen size: | 5.7" dual-curve screen |
| Resolution: | Quad-HD |
| RAM: | 4GB |
| Rear camera: | 12MP / 4K |
| Front camera: | 5MP |
| Battery capacity: | 3,500mAh |
| Colour variants: | Coral Blue, Gold, Silver and Black |
even bigger memory
Long-standing rumours that the Note 7 will ship with a dedicated slot for microSD cards have been confirmed by Samsung. This means you'll be able to transfer your data around more easily than on the Note 5, which controversially did away with the functionality.
This is something we'd been hoping for since the rumours started circulating, as many new handsets only support internal memory, rather than letting us expand by up to 256GB with our own microSD cards.
That said, it's not that the internal memory needs much of a boost! The smallest version of the Note 7 contains whopping 64GB to store your apps, photos and files on, and for the truly space-hungry, there will also be a 128GB version – although this is only slated for the Chinese market initially. In any case, running out of space should be a thing of the past.
Of course, storage space isn't the only kind of memory your smartphone needs. RAM is also important for keeping your phone running smoothly with plenty of apps open in the background.
The Note 7 was initially rumoured to come with 6GB of RAM – but Samsung have confirmed that, as with the 128GB storage model, this will initially be exclusive to the Chinese market. The rest of the world gets a decent 4GB to play around with, which should be more than adequate for running Android apps smoothly, and seems to be the standard amount of RAM for other flagship phones like the OnePlus 3.
camera quality
The Galaxy Note 7 has a 12 megapixel rear camera with an aperture of f/1.7 – which is actually marginally lower than the Note 5 and its 16 megapixel f/1.9 camera.
This isn't a bad thing, however! An aperture of f/1.7 means more light is absorbed, giving much clearer photos in low-light conditions. And as our own Agent Plummer found out in his own testing, more megapixels don't necessarily mean a better picture.
The Note 7 camera uses 'optical image stabilisation' for blur-free snaps and dual-pixel image sensor technology to absorb even more light – so you'll be able to consistently take great photos no matter what level of light you're working with.
The rear camera is also capable of recording video in up to 4K resolution, which is great if you have a 4K TV or want to show off the Note 7's Quad-HD screen.
Selfie-lovers and video callers will be glad to hear that the front camera also gets an updated aperture size of f/1.7, yet still keeps its 5 megapixel resolution for stable video streaming. There's still no front-facing flash – so it's great to see a front camera that takes good low-light photos!
Making a splash
Samsung's recent flagships have all been water and dust resistant, and the Galaxy Note 7 getting an IP or 'Ingress Protection' rating of 68 – the highest such rating awarded.
While this indicates that the Note 7 should be resistant to pretty much anything, it's only certified to resist dust particles and water up to a depth of one meter, and not necessarily water that's pressurised.
In other words, hosing down your Note 7 with a pressure-washer is above and beyond the lab testing which gave the device its IP rating. For day-to-day use, though, the Note 7 will survive a drop in the sink, or a glass of water being spilled on it.
New features
We've already seen how similar the Galaxy Note 7 is to other recent Samsung phones, but what makes it stand out?
Well for starters, the Note 7 now uses a USB-C connection to charge the battery and transfer data. This means much faster charging speeds as well as faster data transfer, and a cable which plugs into the phone either way up. This is a big improvement over microUSB, which can only be plugged in a certain way – and seemingly never the way you attempt first!
The Note 7 also comes with an iris scanner – a new form of biometric protection for your smartphone. Similar to a fingerprint sensor, which uses your unique fingerprint to authenticate or unlock your handset, the Galaxy Note 7 scans your unique iris pattern instead.
Whether this is more or less secure than a fingerprint scanner is debatable – but it does mean you can unlock your phone even if you've damaged your finger, or don't want to take your gloves off. It should also make it harder for someone to unlock your phone while you're sleeping!
Agent's Verdict
If you're looking for a new phone (or tablet) that has great stylus functionality and uses some of the most cutting-edge smartphone tech, Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 is certainly one to watch.
As the direct successor to the Galaxy Note 5, there are so many improvements over the older model that anyone looking to upgrade can rest safe in the knowledge that the Note 7 is a real step forwards. The return of the microSD slot, a higher minimum storage capacity and USB-C fast charging are all wonderful features which make this a handset worth checking out.
The Galaxy Note 7 is released in the UK in September 2016.
Are you serious about the stylus? Let us know what you reckon to Samsung's latest in the comments below – and for more great articles from our Agents straight to your inbox each month, get your name down below for the Geek Squad newsletter!