Samsung Galaxy Note 7, the latest iteration in the popular Galaxy Note phablet series, is all set to launch on Tuesdayat simultaneous events in New York, London, and Rio de Janeiro. The launch starts at 8:30pm IST, and you can follow Gadgets 360 for all the latest updates from the Galaxy Note Unpacked 2016 event.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phablet has been subject to numerous leaks leading up to its launch; and we’ve compiled all of them to give you a comprehensive idea of what to expect from the latest large-screen smartphone in Samsung’s stables, from price and specifications to features and availability.
Some Galaxy Note 7 details were confirmed by Samsung when it issued its launch invites last month. The company confirmed the name of the smartphone, while touting the new and improved features of the new S Pen.
As for the leaks and rumours, Samsung is said to be doing several things differently with the latest Galaxy Note phablet, such as the inclusion of an iris scanner, and the utilisation of a dual-edge display. While Samsung had unveiled a curved display Galaxy Note smartphone alongside the Galaxy Note 4 in 2014 – the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge – the company had decided not to launch a curved display variant in 2015 alongside the flat display Galaxy Note 5.
Speculation indicated the reason was the difficult implementation of the S Pen stylus with a dual-edge display smartphone. This year however, Samsung is tipped to only launch a dual-edge display Galaxy Note 7, and not flat display variant alongside. Another highlight feature of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is expected to be its dust and water resistance, and the smartphone is said to have IP68 certification – the same offered by the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.
Coming to the expected specifications – the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow-based Samsung Galaxy Note 7 has been tipped to sport either a 5.8-inch or 5.7-inch QHD Super Amoled display, complete with newly announced Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. The phablet is expected to ship with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 SoC in some regions, and the Exynos 8893 SoC in other regions.
There have been conflicting reports about the amount of memory Samsung is looking to include on the Galaxy Note 7, with either 6GB or 4GB RAM modules tipped. The Galaxy Note 7 will reportedly also come in three inbuilt storage variants – 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB – while also offering storage expandability via microSD card, with cards up to 256GB said to be supported by the smartphone.
Coming to the optics, the Galaxy Note 7 is expected to ship with a 12-megapixel rear camera apart from a 5-megapixel front-facing camera, both of which are tipped to feature the Dual Pixel technology the company unveiled for the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge earlier this year, tech that’s supposed to provide better results in low-light photography. As for the battery, the Galaxy Note 7 is separately tipped to sport either a 3500mAh or 3600mAh battery, and fast charging capabilities will also be included.
The Galaxy Note 7 is expected to sport a USB Type-C port, and if this rumour is true, the smartphone will be the first from Samsung’s stables to offer the convenience of a port that doesn’t restrict users about the orientation of their cable. It’s not known whether the port will support the USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 or higher specification, or even whether the company would ditch the 3.5mm audio jack. The Galaxy Note 7 has been tipped several times to abandon the Gold colour variant, and ship only in Onyx, Silver Titanium, and Blue Coral variants. However, recent leaks refute this rumour, showing the Gold colour variant of the smartphone in leaked images. A dual-SIM variant may be announced at a later date, as the company had with the Galaxy Note 5 last year.
Finally, coming to price and availability – the details about pricing have been rather scarce, but a leak did indicate that the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 will be priced at EUR 849 at launch, which translates to a rather exorbitant Rs. 63,000. The quoted price is EUR 50 more than the official launch price of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge in Europe, which makes sense considering the additional cost to the company and value offered to the customer with the inclusion of the S Pen stylus.
As for availability, some reports indicate that the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 will become available in South Korea on Tuesday itself – or at least before the Rio Summer Olympics kick off on August 5. As for other regions, the Galaxy Note 7 is tipped to be made available in Europe from August 16, while the smartphone is expected to launch in the US on August 19 (T-Mobile).
The Galaxy Note Unpacked 2016 event is expected to see Samsung unveil a new Gear VR headset, which apart from sporting USB Type-C compatibility, is said to also work with older devices. The company may launch its Apple iCloud rival service alongside, said to be called Samsung Cloud.
We’re just a few hours away from the Galaxy Note Unpacked 2016, and you can catch all the updates from the event at Gadgets 360.
