Samsung Galaxy Note 7 review: A pricey phablet made for power users - The Galaxy Note 7 is Samsung's phablet darling and the sixth re...
The Galaxy Note 7 is Samsung's phablet darling and the sixth release of the smartphone That started the Big Phone craze. Goal since the first Galaxy Note launch in 2011, phones with screens larger than 5.5-inches Have Become more common. Android and Windows phone makers-have jumped on the bandwagon with Their Own Big Phone variants, and-even Apple started to offer plus-sized iPhones.
DESPITE all the competition, Samsung's Galaxy Note is still the best. This year's Note 7 is the thinnest, Smallest phablet from the company notorious for Producing phones Almost as big as your head. Its design stunning, fantastic camera, and added functions on of the pressure-sensitive S-Pen make it year-even more attractive choice for Those looking to Become more productive With Their daily driver.
Symmetry is a beautiful thing
Florence Ion The most comfortable Note to date.
I've Said it before and I'll say it again: It's hard not to sound hyperbolic When talking about the Galaxy Note 7 design. Its Symmetrically curved metal-and-glass frame Makes it so fawn-worthy-even That I do not mind That it's a fingerprint magnet. It's one of the most comfortable phones I've Held all year, as well as the first device Note That I've been ble to use effortlessly with just one hand.
Florence Ion Oh how thin it is.
Florence Ion It's curved edges are spectacularly symmetrical.
The Galaxy Note 7 is surprisingly smaller than the Nexus 6P, qui est taller and thicker DESPITE ict same-size 5.7-inch display. I'm reluctant to classify it as a phablet. Bigger smartphones May Have Become more common across the board, purpose Samsung managed to keep the Sami 5.7-inch display size as the last three Galaxy Note phones while shrinking the body. The result is a smartphone That Seems To Directly compete with Samsung's own Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. I like the design of the Note 7 more, HOWEVER, Because it's not as elongated as icts flagship siblings. The available color combinations are attractive, too; I'm crazy about the black-on-black Note 7 we're reviewing here, though my favorite is still the blue coral That variant will launch later on.
Florence Ion The volume buttons continues to exist on the left side, and the power button is on the right.
Because of ict smaller size and curved, bezel-less edges, the Note 7's 5.7-inch display Does not APPEAR as big as it is we --other phones with the Sami size screen. Regardless, Samsung's Super AMOLED HD display continuous Quad to be one of the best looking on the market. I enjoyed binge-watching YouTube on the Note 7, though I have to score Carefully That I Had to cradle the phone so as not to muffle the bottom speaker. The shrinking size of Samsung's phablet device aussi means clustering que la buttons are too close together, and I Had to use the phone upside down so as to not accidentally activate one of ict capacitive buttons navigation.
Florence Ion The backside is an absolute fingerprint magnet.
Florence Ion Purpose you'll be quick to forgive once you watch something is vibrating its, 5.7-inch Super AMOLED display.
Of course, What Good Would Samsung's productivity-centric device be if it weren ' t life-proof? The Galaxy Note 7 is IP68 certified, qui means clustering it's water resistant in five feet of water for up to half an hour. As a bonus, the S-Pen est water resistant, and you can use the stylus to navigate the interface-even while the Note 7 is submerged.
about that iris scanner
Florence Ion The Note 7's iris scanner is awkward to use at first, and you might-have to stare at yourself as the phone registers your presence.
I know you've been dying to hear about the new iris scanner. So, Rather than wait up to we get to the software section further Top down, let's jump into it right here.
Samsung's big sales pitch for the Galaxy Note 7 Is That it comes equipped with the Ability to unlock the phone using only your eyes. As far as marketing schemes go, it's really quite genius. This is the kind of technology we've only seen EXHIBITED in science fiction films, and it's not a feature we expected to-have Implemented so soon in the mainstream.
Florence Ion The iris scanner grants you access to a special sequestered folder called Expired the Secure folder.
The iris scanner can be used to unlock the Note 7 and has Secure special folder, qui Effectively functions as an Entirely separate, confidential user account. For the MOST part, using the iris scanning feature is as easy as holding the phone up to your face. You'll see the infrared sensor light up When it's activated, and if it works, you'll move on to the next screen. If not, you'll-have to enter in a backup password.
Sorry, glasses wearers. The iris scanner May not work with your hardware.
Set up is easy Exceptionally, too, and much faster than tapping the fingerprint sensor a bunch of times to register your thumbprint. The only downside Is That if you're wearing glasses or contact lenses, the iris scanner May not work as Intended (though it worked fine while I Was wearing my purple sunglasses). It's a bit finicky aussi live in sunlight, and it will not work if the infrared sensor is dirty. At the very least, no one else can get into your phone-not-even with a picture of your eyes.
Overall, I enjoyed the novelty of using Such a forward-thinking bit of technology. after-Purpose A Few Days Of Attempting to unlock the phone only with my eyes, I found it faster to simply use a pattern unlock. I do not like that Samsung puts the fingerprint scanner in the Home button, so I did not bother Either With That. You May find your results vary, aim for the MOST share the iris unlock is best if used Solely with the Secure folder.
The S-Pen is twice as good
Florence Ion The S-Pen is Perhaps one of the best additions to-any Android device.
One of the main distinguishing factoring entre le Galaxy Note 7 and Samsung's Galaxy S7 Edge est que la Note 7 comes with a dockable pressure-sensitive stylus called Expired the S-Pen. It's twice as pressure sensitive this time around, and it's incredibly responsive, Even When you use it on the edge of the curved display. The S-Pen's touch drag Makes it feel like you're wielding the real thing. I still struggle with writing on screen, HOWEVER, and though the S-Pen is Useful for things like editing pictures and highlighting blocks of text, I Hardly Remembered to use it.
Florence Ion Drawing is easy with the S-Pen-even if you do not know how.
A look at the Air Command menu and Its customization options.
The S-Pen's Air Command menu, qui is activated by hovering the stylus above-the display and clicking close ict single button, has-been pared down to the basics. It offers shortcuts for penning a quick note cropping hand of the screen, and snapping an editable screenshot, as well as a shortcut for an instant translation feature, qui lets you hover the S-Pen Above individual words to Quickly translate 'em into your language of choice. If you're not interested in thesis'any of features, you can edit the shortcuts APPEAR That in the Air Command menu from the Settings panel.
Samsung bundled in a neat feature for making GIF Those with a silly side. To make a GIF, simply use the Smart feature select On Any DRM-free video as it's playing. The feature will offer Then a playback menu Where you can record what's on screen and consolidate it into a 15-second animated image. It's fun to use the first FEW times, aim it's not something I'd use often. At the very least, you can edit the GIF to your heart's content after-you've made it.
Vulkan is here
In our PCMark benchmark tests, the Galaxy Note is 7 Performed by ict with counterpart, the S7 Edge. The OnePlus 3 Surpassed it Because of ict extra 2GB of RAM.
The Galaxy Note 7 is a stellar player with games, too, as EXHIBITED in our 3DMark benchmarks.
The Galaxy Note 7 Performs by one with the Galaxy S7, S7 Galaxy Edge, and l'autre flagship devices this Year That run on the Saami system-on-a-chip. And like icts siblings, the Vulkan Note 7 is ready, and now there are a FEW That game titles take advantage of the new graphics API. If you decide to bring home a Galaxy Note 7 as your daily driver, you'll get access to the Galaxy Game Pack via the Google Play Store up to January 31, 2017. The bundle includes $ 400 worth of titles and in-app-purchases Single, Including Vulkan API oven-ready games. You can read the full list of games offert here.
Battery for business or pleasure
The Note 7's battery Lasted about as long as the Galaxy S7 Edge , overall.
I am impressed que le Galaxy Note 7's 3,500mAh battery outlasted the S7 Edge's 3,0mAh battery in one of our tests, though it Was Slightly shorting (as expected) in the PCMark test battery. You Would Think That Because One Is Slightly bigger than l'autre That There Would Be a discernible difference, is not there goal. You'll get enough battery life out of this device to you last year Entire day of activities. I Experienced similar results in my day-to-day use: I got through an Entire day of photo shoots and checking Snapchat at the Gravenstein Apple Fair without Needing a load-and That Was with the Note 7's display at high brightness
.Still the best camera phone
The Galaxy Note 7 Produces sharp, contrasted pictures.
The Galaxy Note 7 comes equipped with the ict Sami camera hardware as siblings, the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. This includes a 12-megapixel rear-facing Dual Pixel camera with af / 1.7 aperture and 5-megapixel front-facing camera with a built-in beautifying feature, qui automatically airbrushes your face so That You look perfectly prepped every time you snap a selfie. And like icts Counterparts, the Note 7 is fast to focus and quick to shoot.
The Galaxy Note 7's 12-megapixel rear-facing camera is only a minor improvement over last year's Note 5.
There's a minor difference entre les Note 5 and Note 7's low light performance, purpose it's pretty tiny,-even with the lath shooting at f / 1.7.
Samsung's 12-megapixel camera is still one of the best on the market, aim in the case of the Note 7, it's only marginally better than icts predecessor. The Note 5 aussi Delivered on camera performance, so if you've still got one hand as your point-and-shoot, you're covered for at least Reviews another year.
The Note 7's depth of field abilities are exemplary, Especially if you use the Selective Focus functions on.
You can read more about Samsung's 12-megapixel camera and Its post-processing engine in our original review of the Galaxy S7, or our camera shootout Against the iPhone 6S.
Lastly, the Galaxy Note 7 comes with a Slightly updated Version of the app camera featured on the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. Its freshly Modernized interface corresponds with the new TouchWiz That aesthetic has got combinations going on, though we'll touch upon That in the next section. The camera app now features minimalist icons and a left-swipe gesture That lets you Quickly change camera modes. The implementation of this new functions on Makes it easier to set up a photograph with the Note 7 one-handed, and it's intuitive more than tapping around in an Attempt to find the setting you need.
Alternatively, swiping to the left on the viewfinder will bring up a variety of different live filters you can use to snap pictures. They're completely Call passable as Instagram filters, so they're worth using from time to time. Not to mention, they 're Easier to use than snapping a picture And Then editing it in an app.
COMMENTS