Samsung today announced the Galaxy Note7, its premier smartphone for the year.
The device is narrower than last year’s model in order to make it easier to hold, and uses a sturdier aluminum frame with symmetric slabs of Gorilla Glass 5 on either side. The Note7’s defining feature is the 5.7-inch Super AMOLED quad HD screen, which is twice as sensitive to pen input when compared to the Note 5.
The S Pen stylus has been redesigned and now features a tip that is the same size as a standard ballpoint pen. The Note7’s note-taking functions have been bundled together into a single application that opens when the pen is removed. People can use the Note7 to easily create GIFs by dragging the S Pen across (non-DRM) video as it plays. Many of the hardware elements were taken from the Galaxy S7. For example, the Note7 relies on a Snapdragon 820 processor (for the U.S. market) with 4 GB of RAM, and includes the same 12-megapixel main camera and 5-megapixel selfie camera as the S7.
The Note7 will ship in one memory configuration: 64 GB with support for memory cards up to 256 GB. The phone includes a 3,500mAh battery and supports rapid charging and rapid wireless charging. It is certified IP68 for protection against water and dust. The Note7 is the first Samsung handset to make the jump to USB Type-C and it will will ship with an adapter (Type-C-to-micro) to help consumers.
The phone includes both a fingerprint reader and iris scanner for biometric security. The Note7 ships with Android 6 Marshmallow and no firm commitment from Samsung about Android 7 Nougat. Samsung’s new user interface is toned down, but adds the Edge UX found on Samsung’s Edge-branded handsets. Samsung revised the camera UI, which now includes swiping gestures to change from mode to mode, or switch between the front/rear cameras. The Galaxy Note7 will be sold in black, silver, and blue in the U.S.
Preorders start August 3, with the August 19 the expected ship date. Carriers will announced exact availability and pricing.
