The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 in a nutshell

Samsung has officially announced the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 and the likes of @evleaks have managed to hit the nail on the head of every detail. So here is a survival guide of what it’s all about.

First up, there is no Galaxy Note 6. Samsung decided to skip a number to keep the Note inline with the Galaxy S series. Simply put, the Galaxy S series is 7 years old and the Note is 6. Samsung wanted the Note to have the same digit as their flagship so they skipped a number. Now we have the Samsung Galaxy S7, S7 Edge, and Galaxy Note 7, tidy.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is notable for it’s a subtle dual edge curve display, return of a microSD card slot, USB-C port, and IP68 water resistance and an iris scanner. There is also everyone’s favourite 3.5mm headphone jack.

• Display: 5.7-inch 2560×1440 SuperAMOLED Edge display
• Chipset: Octa-core 2.3GHz processor in the international model (likely the same Samsung Exynos 8890 used in the global GS7)
• RAM: 4GB of RAM
• Storage: 64GB of storage as standard, microSD up to 256GB
• Battery: 3,500mAh battery with wireless fast charging
• Other features: USB Type-C, Iris scanner, IP68 water-resistance, fingerprint sensor, 3.5mm headphone jack
• Camera: Dual-Pixel” 12MP camera with OIS, f/1.7 aperture; 5MP front-facing camera
• Software: Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS
• Dimensions: 153.5mm x 73.9mm x 7.9 mm
• Weight: 168g

The features? Well first up, TouchWiz is now running on Marshmallow with Nougat promised in the future. As you would expect Samsung inject a few new concepts of their own. Samsung Cloud, for example, a new cloud storage service that’ll let you back up information and content. It’s a little like Google Backup when you log into a new Android device, however, it adds photos and files. Meaning if you lose your phone and purchase another Samsung phone you can restore up to 15GB of data. Certainly, there are Pros and Cons to this arrangement, however, it’s there, free and a potential life saver.

Samsung Pass uses the biometric authentication methods housed within the phone, the fingerprint scanner and iris scanner, to secure apps. Crucially, this feature is at the mercy of the app developers and may never take off.

Samsung has reintroduced the water and dust resistance with the Note 7. The company has achieved an IP68 rating, meaning it can be submerged in water for up to 30 minutes. Water resistance has also been extended to the S-Pen for note taking in the rain. The tip of the S-Pen shrinks from 1.6mm to 0.7mm to allow precise writing. Pressure sensitivity has also been increased meaning it should feel more like writing with an actual pen.

As with the Note 5 and the Galaxy S7, a new Gear VR headset has been launched to go along with the Galaxy Note 7. This time, there is an all-black color scheme and an updated visor. There aren’t any radical changes and of the hardware, a USB-C connector seems to be the biggest difference, as essential to communicate with the Note 7.

Pre-ordering starts today. Unsurprisingly, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7’s costs the Earth at £749, however, you might find it for a better price on a particular network. Launch is on the 19th of August in Blue Coral, Gold Platinum, Silver Titanium and Black Onyx. There is only one storage flavour, 64GB, however, the MicroSD card slot will see up to 256gb of expansion.