KEY FEATURES
- 5.7-inch, quad-HD Super AMOLED display
- Octa-core CPU
- 4GB RAM
- 64GB internal storage
- microSD expansion
- S-Pen
- Android 6.0.1
- Fingerprint and Iris scanner
- USB-C
- Fast and wireless charging
- 3,500 mAh battery
- IP68 water resistance
- 153.5 x 73.9 x 7.9mm, 169g
- 12MP camera, f1.7 aperture
- 5MP selfie camera
- Manufacturer: Samsung
- Review Price: £749.00
Samsung Galaxy Note 7 review in progress – As good a phone as you can get, but it’s not for everyone
Editor’s note: Leading up until our full review of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, we’ll be updating our review-in-progress every day with extra thoughts about the headline features of this impressive phablet.
NOTE 7 REVIEW: DAY 2 – THE S PEN IS BACK, WITH
MORE TRICKS THAN EVER
Steve Jobs once famously said, ‘If you see a stylus, they blew it,’ but the Note series has long used its included pen as a key selling point. And it’s true, no other flagship phone comes with a handy little stylus.
I must admit that, even though I've used every iteration of the Galaxy Note line, I haven’t previously found myself itching for a stylus once I switched to something else. It’s a neat trick, no doubt, but it's been far from essential for me.
The S Pen on the Galaxy Note 7 is the best one yet, but has it converted me? In some ways, yes.
Related: Galaxy Note 7 vs Note 5 vs Note 4
There are certain tweaks and software enhancements that make the S Pen more than just a writing tool. GIF creation, for one, is intuitive and fun. Start a YouTube video playing, pop out the pen and you can create up to a 15-second GIF. It works as advertised, but it’s the ease of use that makes it great.
I’ve also fallen slightly in love with the translation mode, even though I don’t think it works overly well. The idea here is that you bring up a picture of a menu completely written in French, drag the S Pen across specific words and it’ll translate them in real time. It’s quick and intuitive, but it’s not always accurate.
There are certain tweaks and software enhancements that make the S Pen more than just a writing tool. GIF creation, for one, is intuitive and fun. Start a YouTube video playing, pop out the pen and you can create up to a 15-second GIF. It works as advertised, but it’s the ease of use that makes it great.
I’ve also fallen slightly in love with the translation mode, even though I don’t think it works overly well. The idea here is that you bring up a picture of a menu completely written in French, drag the S Pen across specific words and it’ll translate them in real time. It’s quick and intuitive, but it’s not always accurate.
It managed to translate some very basic words – it knew ‘pain’ was bread, but it couldn’t work out ‘oignons’ meant onions. At this stage it’s unreliable, but I'd be hopeful of it learning some new tricks along the way.
Now we get to the S Pen’s bread and butter: drawing and sketching. An increased 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity – double that of the Note 5's – makes this the most precise S Pen yet. Drawing and writing are much smoother, and the improvement is instantly noticeable.
Watercolours blend into each other, pencils shade and pens are pin-sharp. I’m no Picasso, though I do have a GCSE in Art tucked away somewhere, but I could still get some averagely drawn stickmen out without much sweating and swearing.
Related: Galaxy Note 7 vs iPhone 6S Plus
Note taking is great too, as you’d expect from a device called ‘Note’, but I still think the screen is a bit small for this. That’s probably because I've been using the iPad Pro for so long. I do love how you can pop out the S Pen and write on the blank screen, sliding it back inside to save the memo.
Thankfully Samsung has tidied up its software approach, combining all those separate S Pen-related apps into ‘Samsung Notes’. It’s very similar to Apple’s Notes app, with drawing, painting and text all bound together in one spot. It looks good, has a simple UI and offers a nice range of pens, effects and brushes.
I haven’t really mentioned much about the stylus itself, because there isn’t much to say. It’s a thin sliver of plastic, with an addictive clicky top and a single button halfway down. It satisfyingly slots in and out of the phone and, as usual, doesn’t need to be charged or paired. It’s small, but still feels big enough to write with comfortably.
So the improved S Pen is great, but it’ll still be either a gimmick or a godsend, depending on how you use your phone. If you’re going to use it constantly, then it just about makes the Note 7 worth its huge price.
A QUICK NOTE ABOUT SOFTWARE
Samsung’s approach to software has always been strange. Its phones run on Android, but to a lot of people I ask they just run on ‘Samsung’. It’s like Samsung phones run a Samsung OS, Apple phones run iOS and everything else runs Android. During the Note 7 announcement, Samsung didn’t mention Android once. It’s built its own unique look and it’s probably more recognisable than stock Android.
The UI on the Note 7, which runs atop Android 6.0.1, is the sleekest and starkest version Samsung has ever made. It’s whiter, with pastel shades and fewer in-your-face colours. But it’s still unmistakably Samsung.
While it’s closer now than it has ever been to Google’s own version of Android, it looks nothing like Marshmallow on a Nexus 6P. Samsung pushes you towards its own apps and services – it still has its own app store and cloud backup – while Google’s versions are hidden away in a folder.
To give Samsung credit, the software is so much better than it was even two years ago. I still prefer Google’s apps for browsing the web, email and so on, but this is a much closer contest than it was.
Continue reading for my overall impressions so far, and check back tomorrow for a deeper look at some other Note 7 key features.
SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 7: REVIEW IN PROGRESS
The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is the combination of everything that Samsung has been doing since the Note 4 signalled a change from chromed plastic to metal.
It takes parts from the Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge and even the inventive (but utterly useless) Note Edge to create something that does everything fantastically well. I think this is ‘peak’ phone. It has the best camera, best screen (by a long, long way) and it looks stunning.
SUMMARY
KEY FEATURES
- 5.7-inch, quad-HD Super AMOLED display
- Octa-core CPU
- 4GB RAM
- 64GB internal storage
- microSD expansion
- S-Pen
- Android 6.0.1
- Fingerprint and Iris scanner
- USB-C
- Fast and wireless charging
- 3,500 mAh battery
- IP68 water resistance
- 153.5 x 73.9 x 7.9mm, 169g
- 12MP camera, f1.7 aperture
- 5MP selfie camera
- Manufacturer: Samsung
- Review Price: £749.00
Samsung Galaxy Note 7 review in progress – As good a phone as you can get, but it’s not for everyone
Editor’s note: Leading up until our full review of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, we’ll be updating our review-in-progress every day with extra thoughts about the headline features of this impressive phablet.
NOTE 7 REVIEW: DAY 2 – THE S PEN IS BACK, WITH MORE TRICKS THAN EVER
Steve Jobs once famously said, ‘If you see a stylus, they blew it,’ but the Note series has long used its included pen as a key selling point. And it’s true, no other flagship phone comes with a handy little stylus.
I must admit that, even though I've used every iteration of the Galaxy Note line, I haven’t previously found myself itching for a stylus once I switched to something else. It’s a neat trick, no doubt, but it's been far from essential for me.
Head to head: Is the Galaxy Note 7 better than the Galaxy S7 Edge?
The S Pen on the Galaxy Note 7 is the best one yet, but has it converted me? In some ways, yes.
Related: Galaxy Note 7 vs Note 5 vs Note 4
There are certain tweaks and software enhancements that make the S Pen more than just a writing tool. GIF creation, for one, is intuitive and fun. Start a YouTube video playing, pop out the pen and you can create up to a 15-second GIF. It works as advertised, but it’s the ease of use that makes it great.
I’ve also fallen slightly in love with the translation mode, even though I don’t think it works overly well. The idea here is that you bring up a picture of a menu completely written in French, drag the S Pen across specific words and it’ll translate them in real time. It’s quick and intuitive, but it’s not always accurate.
It managed to translate some very basic words – it knew ‘pain’ was bread, but it couldn’t work out ‘oignons’ meant onions. At this stage it’s unreliable, but I'd be hopeful of it learning some new tricks along the way.
Now we get to the S Pen’s bread and butter: drawing and sketching. An increased 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity – double that of the Note 5's – makes this the most precise S Pen yet. Drawing and writing are much smoother, and the improvement is instantly noticeable.
Watercolours blend into each other, pencils shade and pens are pin-sharp. I’m no Picasso, though I do have a GCSE in Art tucked away somewhere, but I could still get some averagely drawn stickmen out without much sweating and swearing.
Related: Galaxy Note 7 vs iPhone 6S Plus
Note taking is great too, as you’d expect from a device called ‘Note’, but I still think the screen is a bit small for this. That’s probably because I've been using the iPad Pro for so long. I do love how you can pop out the S Pen and write on the blank screen, sliding it back inside to save the memo.
Thankfully Samsung has tidied up its software approach, combining all those separate S Pen-related apps into ‘Samsung Notes’. It’s very similar to Apple’s Notes app, with drawing, painting and text all bound together in one spot. It looks good, has a simple UI and offers a nice range of pens, effects and brushes.
I haven’t really mentioned much about the stylus itself, because there isn’t much to say. It’s a thin sliver of plastic, with an addictive clicky top and a single button halfway down. It satisfyingly slots in and out of the phone and, as usual, doesn’t need to be charged or paired. It’s small, but still feels big enough to write with comfortably.
So the improved S Pen is great, but it’ll still be either a gimmick or a godsend, depending on how you use your phone. If you’re going to use it constantly, then it just about makes the Note 7 worth its huge price.
A QUICK NOTE ABOUT SOFTWARE
Samsung’s approach to software has always been strange. Its phones run on Android, but to a lot of people I ask they just run on ‘Samsung’. It’s like Samsung phones run a Samsung OS, Apple phones run iOS and everything else runs Android. During the Note 7 announcement, Samsung didn’t mention Android once. It’s built its own unique look and it’s probably more recognisable than stock Android.
The UI on the Note 7, which runs atop Android 6.0.1, is the sleekest and starkest version Samsung has ever made. It’s whiter, with pastel shades and fewer in-your-face colours. But it’s still unmistakably Samsung.
While it’s closer now than it has ever been to Google’s own version of Android, it looks nothing like Marshmallow on a Nexus 6P. Samsung pushes you towards its own apps and services – it still has its own app store and cloud backup – while Google’s versions are hidden away in a folder.
To give Samsung credit, the software is so much better than it was even two years ago. I still prefer Google’s apps for browsing the web, email and so on, but this is a much closer contest than it was.
Continue reading for my overall impressions so far, and check back tomorrow for a deeper look at some other Note 7 key features.
SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 7: REVIEW IN PROGRESS
The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is the combination of everything that Samsung has been doing since the Note 4 signalled a change from chromed plastic to metal.
It takes parts from the Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge and even the inventive (but utterly useless) Note Edge to create something that does everything fantastically well. I think this is ‘peak’ phone. It has the best camera, best screen (by a long, long way) and it looks stunning.
Video: Galaxy Note 7 hands-on
It’s not for everyone – far from it – but that’s what made the Note series stand out to begin with. It’s about trying new things, testing the waters with new features – in this case an HDR curved screen, iris scanner and improved S Pen – and giving the enthusiasts something special.
Specs are almost insignificant with the Galaxy Note 7. Like Apple, Samsung has stopped banging on about how much RAM is tucked inside, or how much faster this is than any other phone on the market, and focused on how it actually works.
I’m sure some of you might be annoyed that there’s only 4GB of RAM, especially as the OnePlus 3 has 6GB, or that instead of the recently announced Snapdragon 821 there’s "just" an Exynos 8890 or Snapdragon 820. In real use, neither of these things make a difference.
Like the S7 and S7 Edge, both of which use the same components, the Galaxy Note 7 is fast. Multitasking is smooth, there’s almost no lag and I haven’t run into any games dropping frames or crashing. I can’t really see how a phone could be faster right now, and unless you absolutely must have every app open all the time then you won’t notice there isn’t 6GB of RAM.
Related: iPhone 6S Plus vs Note 7
Another part nicked straight from the Galaxy S7 is the 12-megapixel camera. This set-up is the best on the market and easily outmuscles the cameras on the iPhone 6S Plus, Huawei P9 and HTC 10. It’s got everything you want in a smartphone camera – it’s super-fast to open, simple to operate and has a wide f/1.7 aperture for better low-light performance. There’s optical image stabilisation too, for keeping everything steady. I’ve been shooting pictures all weekend and it’s a pleasure to use, just like the S7. Getting a great shot is effortless, and that’s so important on a phone.
The camera app’s UI has been cleaned up a bit, and it’s almost like iOS now. Swipe to one side for options, swipe to the other for live filters. It’s intuitive, and loads of those gimmicky add-ons Samsung used to cram into the camera have been relegated to downloadable content.
Pictures are sharp, packed with colour and oh-so vibrant. The amount of post-processing has been cut so they look much more natural – something which Apple has championed for a long time. It does seem like Samsung has altered the colour balance a bit from that of the Galaxy S7, once again making results look a lot truer to life. 4K video looks great, as does the slow-mo, but there haven’t been any massive upgrades here.
Colours are bright and accurate
There's plenty of detailing in the sky
Skin tones look natural
It's easy to get great pictures with soft focus on the background
The 5-megapixel front-facing camera is good, but it doesn’t stand out like other parts of the phone. Selfies tend to look a bit soft, with over-saturated colours and a lack of detail. I look a bit like I put on loads of foundation, which I’m 99% sure I haven’t.
Like the Galaxy S7 Edge before it, the Note 7 is an absolutely stunning phone, with curved edges making the display melt into the metal rim.
The 5.7-inch screen is big, but the Note 7's curved back makes it easier to hold than the iPhone 6S Plus and Nexus 6P – though you’ll probably still need two hands to use it most of the time.
My review unit is the black version, with matching sides. It looks sleek and stealthy, but maybe a bit dull. I actually really like the coral blue and gold combo, which is a colour scheme I haven’t seen on a phone before. Unlike other gold Samsung phones, the hue used here is soft and not at all blingy.
In some ways I wish Samsung had ditched the glass back. My Galaxy S7 Edge has a snaking crack down the back that was caused by a minor drop, while a colleague’s S7 has suffered something similar. The switch to Gorilla Glass 5 – a first for a phone – should help it’s sturdiness, but I’m sure it’ll crack if I drop it. Thankfully my review unit is yet to have an unnecessary meeting with the pavement.
The 5.7-inch Super AMOLED display only comes with that Edge-style curvature – there’s no ‘flat’ option like there is with the S7. It’s still quad-HD too, not 4K like the rumours suggested, but in my mind this isn't a big deal.
4K on mobile is overkill unless you want to use it for VR and the Note 7's screen is one of the best phone displays I've ever used, if not the best. Colours are bright, but not oversaturated, text is crisp and blacks are inky.
The screen also comes with new ‘Mobile HDR’ tech. Mobile HDR is a riff on the high-dynamic-range feature that makes high-end televisions look so good. It gives you increased contrast and brightness, with a wider differentiator between light points and dark points.
Related: What is HDR?
Instead of feeding you into a dedicated hub of HDR-ready content, Samsung has stuck in a mode that, when turned on, boosts the brightness in certain apps. Open Amazon Video and you’ll instantly notice everything gets much brighter. Same goes for Netflix and YouTube. I’ll need more time with it to really assess this feature, but while it initially seems cool, it does feel more like an extra screen setting than true HDR.
The iris scanner is another exclusive feature that beefs up the Note 7's security. There’s a small sensor above the display that, once set up, will read your eyes and unlock the phone.
It’s a clever trick and setting it up is quick, but I haven’t used it aside from giving it an initial try. I find the scanning process to be a little slow, and I could open the phone quicker with my thumb than my eye.
You have to turn the screen on, swipe up then and wait for it to scan your eye before it unlocks.
The real feature that sets the Note series apart not only from Samsung’s other phones, but pretty much every other flagship, is the S Pen. For Note newbies this is a stylus that sits snugly in the bottom of the phone and pops out when required. For many this is the reason to buy a Note – to be able to sketch pictures, jot down notes and generally navigate.
It’s slim and sturdy, and it’s water resistant just like the phone. Pop it out and a menu will appear, highlighting all its functions. The most basic is jotting down notes, but its 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity also make it great for arty drawing.
The S Pen has some other tricks, too. Hover over text and you can instantly translate it, or press down on a YouTube video and you’ve got yourself a GIF. Cooler still, bring out the pen while the display is off and you can write a note on the blank panel.
I have never been an S Pen aficionado. I might pop it out occasionally, but I tend to forget it’s there and go about my day. That’s not to say it isn’t good, because on the Note 7 it’s fantastic. It’s precise enough to sketch, paint and take down notes, all while being easy to hold. It doesn’t require charging, nor do you have to worry about pairing it.
I don’t think I’m ever going to be the person who uses the S Pen religiously, but that’s fine. If you do use it, though, the upgrades from previous versions are great.
The Note 7's battery is actually smaller than the one in the 5.5-inch Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, measuring in at 3,500mAh rather than 3,600mAh. It's a small difference, but I've found the S7 Edge’s battery life to be wildly inconsistent, so I had some initial concerns about the Note 7’s stamina.
Judging a phone’s battery life after a mere few days is a bad call. Not least because in the first 48 hours that I have a shiny new device in my palms, I use it far more than normal. I’m installing about 100 apps, taking photos all day and actively trying to drain the battery.
So I’ll save my final thoughts for the full review, but here are a couple of my initial findings:
• 1 hour of HD Netflix streaming (w/ Video Enhancer mode) – 9% drop
• 1 hour of HD Netflix streaming (w/out Video Enhancer mode) – 8% drop
• 30 minutes of Two Dots 2D gaming – 7% drop
• 30 minutes of Asphalt 8 3D gaming – 10% drop
Thankfully there’s Fast Charging on board – both wired and wireless – and this is the first Samsung phone to utilise USB-C, which was a surprising omission from the Galaxy S7. Samsung has included a handy Micro USB-to-USB-C converter in the box, so you can use your old cables. That’s a nice touch, and makes the switch to the new reversible port a little easier to handle.
Fast charging is one of my favourite features on any phone and I think I would struggle without it, which sounds like a ridiculous first-world problem. It makes a huge difference, though. Here are the recharge times from my first few goes, all from 0-100%.
• Fast charging using the included plug – 75 minutes
• Wireless fast charging – 98 minutes
• Regular charging – 123 minutes
• Regular wireless charging – 300 minutes
The switch to USB-C does mean, though, that the Note 7 won’t work with your old Gear VR, but – surprise! – Samsung has you sorted. It’s selling an updated Gear VR with a USB-C port that comes in a sleek black colour and has an improved design. It’s also much comfier to wear, thanks to a toughened foam wrapping and more customisable headstrap. There’s also an external port, so in theory you can plug a Galaxy Gear 360 directly into the headset.
Software has always been a sore point on Samsung devices, due to the company’s use of the TouchWiz UI. I feel like I say this in every Samsung review, but the Note 7 has the cleanest TouchWiz UI layer yet. It’s sparser than before and a lot of the gaudy colours have been replaced with pastel shades. The default apps are a lot cleaner, and the icons are less childlike.
A particularly nifty software feature is the Secure Folder. This is far more than just a folder that’s locked away behind a passcode, as it actually acts as a separate OS. Throw the Twitter app in there and it’ll be a clean install, letting you add a completely new account. It’s backed up by Samsung’s Knox software and can be secured by a fingerprint, iris, password or passcode. I can see this being useful to not only hide your secret second personality on Twitter, but to also, ahem, conceal those pictures you don’t want to accidentally scroll through in a business meeting.
There’s a night mode that reduces the blue light too, like Apple’s Night Shift, and the usual array of theming and customisation options. Samsung has said the Note 7 will be updated to Nougat sharpish, so that should be a plus point too.
SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 7 EARLY VERDICT
The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is probably going to be the most complete Android phone you can buy this year. It does everything fantastically well, but it comes at a price and that means it certainly isn’t for everyone.
At £749/$860, this is a seriously expensive phone. Yes, the iPhone 6S Plus 128GB version is marginally pricier, but there’s such a spread of Android phones available that I think this is a bit too much. Is it really worth two OnePlus 3s? Probably not. Is it £200/$200 better than the Galaxy S7? Not in my eyes.
But don’t get me wrong, the Note 7 is fantastic. The Super AMOLED screen is unmatched, as is the camera. But those are great on the S7 too. The iris scanner is probably best described as a gimmick that might make a nice talking point, but I can’t see it replacing the fingerprint sensor for many people.
Buy Now: Samsung Galaxy Note 7 at Amazon.com from $969
So it really comes down to the S Pen. If you love it, and use it, it instantly makes the Note 7 a great choice. No other phone has a stylus this good, but are you really going to use it on a constant basis?
I’ll have a lot more thoughts to come about Samsung’s Note 7 in the coming days, so stay tuned. If you have any questions, leave them in the comments or tweet.
Thanks for reading.