Should you find yourself in the unenviable position of having to write something down while underwater, you should take your Galaxy Note 7 along because this is about the one device that will let you do it. Samsung has taken its category-starting 'phablet' up a notch with IP68 rating water resistance and a host of other tricks. The Note 7, launched in India today, will be available at a price of Rs 59,900 from September 2.
But what does it look like?
Hold a Galaxy S7 Edge in one hand and a Note 7 in the other and you'll be hard put to to find any major differences. The Note 7 has a slightly bigger screen at 5.7 inches to the S7's 5.5-inch display. The Note's display is dual-edged, rounded both for beauty and ergonomics, and there are some small differences such as the upper and lower bezel size. Samsung has obviously seen fit not to interfere with a design that has worked since the Galaxy S6 and although there are groans that there's no adventurous new design, the pre-orders are pouring in, at least in South Korea. It does, after all, come with some innovations.
The much talked-of iris scanner is indeed present on the new Note 7, launched today in India and to be available sometime early September.
The feature works very well too. It takes little time to register the user's irises and once that's done, very little time to unlock the phone when raised to eye level. Wearers of thick glasses may have a little trouble.
This security feature is also meant to come into play when unlocking secured content and using Samsung Pay.
A mightier pen
Samsung has improved what makes the Note the Note, the stylus or S-Pen. It's easier to hold because of its new material and edges and has a finer tip making handwriting even closer to the real thing than before. As with the Note 5, you can write on the sleeping screen but this time, you can write more and pin the note to the lock screen -- just in case you don't trust yourself to remember something.
The S-Pen goes beyond writing by getting along better with more apps via its command menu, triggered by withdrawing the pen from its slot or clicking its little button. Among the clever things the S-Pen now does is to let you hover over a word and translate it into over 60 languages - though there are probably faster ways.
It smart-selects objects such as a portion of a video for you to write on and share as an animation on social networks, and if none of this is your cup of tea, it lets you paint with oil effects.
Add-on accessories
Samsung fully means to tempt users to pick up optional accessories to go with the Note 7. To begin with there are some fancy cases such as the LED View case which magically lights up to show information on the cover. There's a standing cover, for those who plan to set the phone down to watch a video. The Gear VR, the virtual reality headset launched earlier, has been improved with a wider view and there's always the wireless charger. But now, add to that a wireless pair of earphones meant, not really for music, but for those who want to workout with music and instructions. For high quality music you still have to plug in headphones, but to workout, you could opt for the earbuds -- and hope they fit your ears well.
Samsung's Gear Fit has also been upgraded to version 2 and is now larger and a tracker of specific exercise types, including yoga and Pilates. Related apps will let Indian users track their calorie intake.
Everything else
The specs on the Note 7 are similar to those of the S7 and Edge. India will see a dual-sim device.
Quad HD 2560x1440 pixel AMOLED display
4GB RAM
518ppi density Octa-core Samsung Exynos 8 processor with 4GB LPDDRA RAM.
All models have 64GB storage expandable by 256 GB
3,500mAh battery with fast and wireless charging USB Type-C port
12MP Dual Pixel sensor with F1.7 lens
Iris scanner, fingerprint sensor, Knox security
The display, thought by reviewers to be the best in the business, and camera are the same as on the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge but with some enhancements. For example, on the Note 7 you can view (but not capture) HDR video and zoom into the details.
Samsung has been riding high on its recovery from a decline in mobile sales for the past two quarters. The Galaxy S7 has seen good sales and Samsung hopes the trend will continue with the Note 7. For those who already happen to own either the S7 or S7 Edge, for which they will have paid a tidy sum, the Note 7 may not be enough of an upgrade unless there is a specific need for the stylus. For anyone with an older version of the Note, not including the Note 5, the new version may be compelling enough, considering the significant improvement to the S-Pen, the best-in-class camera and features like the iris scanner.
For first-time buyers of the Note series, it's an expensive buy but one that brings the most capable Android phone so far.