First impression of samsung Galaxy note 7.
HIGHLIGHTS.
- The Galaxy Note 7 has been priced at Rs. 59,900
- It will be available in India from September 2
- The biggest addition to the new Note 7 is an iris scanner
Samsung has unveiled its latest Galaxy Note phablet in India within two weeks of the global launch. The new Galaxy Note 7 gets a number of upgrades under the hood and new features compared to last year’s Galaxy Note 5. Samsung has skipped the Galaxy Note 6 name and jumped to 7 so that this model is more in line with the Galaxy S7and S7 Edge, as explained by Samsung previously.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 features a host of improvements over its predecessor, the Galaxy Note 5. The new Galaxy Note 7’s screen is curved on two sides, the S Pen stylus has been improved, and there are new camera features such as ‘Dual Pixel’ technology. The device is also now water resistant (IP68 certified), supports two SIMs as well as a microSD card, and packs the biggest battery yet in a Note smartphone.
Another added feature in the Note 7 is Secure Folder, which can be accessed only after setting up the iris scanner. It basically lets users access files in private. One of the best advantages of the Secure Folder is that it allows a user to run a second instance of an app. This means that a user can use two WhatsApp accounts on a single device with the two running independently of each other, each tied to a different SIM. With the Secure Folder, users will be also able to store photos, memos, and apps privately on the Galaxy Note 7.
The Galaxy Note 7’s S Pen has also received considerable improvements, including a new 0.7mm thin tip which is almost half of the Note 5 stylus’s 1.6mm tip. Samsung, at the launch event, stressed that the S Pen also sports enhanced pressure sensors. On tapping it , the Air Command option appears, letting users quickly create notes, make selections, write annotations on screen, translate, magnify, and glance. The South Korean company stressed on the translate feature, which can recognise 38 languages and translate into 71 languages. For the Indian market, Samsung says the Note 7 will support 11 Indian languages.
The Galaxy Note 7, with its curved screen, looks very similar to the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge from front. However, thanks to the bigger screen and overall rectangular shape, the Note 7 is easily recognisable. Despite its 5.7-inch display, the Note 7 didn’t feel too heavy or uncomfortable to use with just one hand. We particularly liked that the phone’s design offers a comfortable grip. In fact, the Galaxy Note 7 at 169 grams is marginally lighter than the Galaxy Note 5 (Review) which weighed 171 grams. For the sake of comparison, the Galaxy S7 Edge (Review) weighs 157 grams. At 7.9mm, the Note 7 is slightly thicker than the Note 5 (7.6mm) as well as the Galaxy S7 Edge (7.7mm).
The screen is a 5.7-inch Super Amoled panel with a resolution of 1440×2560 pixels (QHD). It’s protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5, which was only recently launched. The screen looked stunning with vibrant colours and good black levels. Viewing angles were never an issue. An added feature that allows users to choose different screen resolutions is also a highlight of the Note 7. One can access this feature via the Power saving option in the drop-down notifications shade.
On selecting this option, the device offers to change its screen resolution. Users can choose from HD, full-HD, and QHD. Samsung stressed that this is an industry first for a smartphone, and will let users decide the resolution that suits them best. A company representative claimed that lower resolutions can reduce battery usage.
Under the hood, Samsung uses its own Exynos SoCs. In this case, the Galaxy Note 7 is powered by the octa-core Exynos 8890, which has four cores clocked at 2.3GHz and rest clocked at 1.6GHz. There’s 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM. It seems that the company has decided that it won’t launch its devices with Qualcomm processors in markets such as India. Some regions including the US will receive a variant powered by the Snapdragon 820.
At Rs. 59,900, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is now Samsung’s most expensive smartphone offering in India. The number of unique features easily justifies this price. The Galaxy Note 7 will be available in India in three colours – Gold Platinum, Silver Titanium, and Black Onyx – starting on September 2. At this price point, I don’t really believe that the Note 7 has any competition, but users who don’t particularly care for a stylus could still be very happy with the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, which boasts of nearly identical features and specifications.