Samsung has finally launched its new Galaxy Note 7 sporting iris scanner. The new smartphone with fingerprint scanner and dual pixel rear camera was unveiled at Galaxy Note Unpacked 2016 event, held simultaneously in London, New York, and Rio de Janeiro. The launch of Galaxy Note 7 is being seen as Samsung’s attempt to keep its lead over Apple before the launch of a new iPhone in coming months.
Samsung has not yet given pricing or launch market details of this new smartphone, which sports a display curving down both sides. It has been confirmed that the handset will be available starting August 19. In the US, pre-orders will start Wednesday, and the phone will be available through all mobile carriers: Sprint, AT&T, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile.
The Galaxy Note 7 will be available in four colors: Blue Coral, Silver Titanium, Gold Platinum, and Black Onyx. The most talked about feature of Galaxy Note 7 is its iris scanner. The first Samsung device that was equipped with iris scanner feature was Galaxy Tab Iris tablet, but Galaxy Note 7 is the first smartphone from Samsung with iris scanner. According to Samsung, its Knox security suite offers iris as well as fingerprint scanning features. The phone also supports Samsung Pay system (NFC as well as MST). According to Samsung, the iris recognition feature will enable users to authenticate purchases made through Samsung Pay. Moreover, the Secure Folder feature will enable users to keep their private information completely safe, by storing files/entire apps in a secured location.
Samsung knows the importance given to multimedia by customers while selecting devices, and therefore the Note 7 supports a high-dynamic range (HDR) video content. Samsung has partnered with Amazon to ensure that such streaming content is made available for the customers in selected regions.
The device features a new, upgraded S Pen stylus. It is water and dust resistant and comes with IP68 certification. The 0.7-mm tip of the new S Pen is smaller than its predecessor and comes with better pressure sensitivity. It can create creating gif image animations with Smart Select. Some new Air Command functions have also been given.
Samsung Galaxy Note 7 runs on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, and is powered by a 14-nm octa-core processor. Four cores of the processor clock at 2.3GHz, and other four at 1.6GHz.
The phone features a 5.7-inch QHD dual-edge Super Amoled display ((1440×2560 pixels), Corning Gorilla Glass 5, pixel density of 518 ppi.
The handset packs 4 GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 64 GB of inbuilt storage (UFS 2.0), expandable up to 256 GB via microSD card. It features ‘Dual Pixel’ 12-megapixel optical image stabilization (OIS) with an f/1.7 aperture and dual-LED flash. The wide aperture gives it capabilities to focus quickly and capture sharp images in low-light conditions. The 5-megapixel front camera has f/1.7 aperture.
Samsung Galaxy Note 7 measures 153.5 mm x 73.9 mm x 7.9 mm and weighs 169 grams. It sports a 3500 mAh battery with fast charging support and WPC/PMA-compatible wireless charging. Connectivity features include Bluetooth, 4.2, GPS/ A-GPS, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz), Glonass, 3G, and USB Type-C. The LTE support is compatible with LTE Cat.12, LTE Cat.10, and LTE Cat.9.
Sensors provided with the phone include gyroscope, barometer, proximity, geomagnetic, and ambient light sensor.
“The Galaxy Note 7 combines productivity and entertainment, with strong security features. Powering a robust ecosystem, it is the ideal device for those who want to achieve more in life,” said DJ Koh, President of Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics, at launch.
“Life moves faster than ever now so we created the Galaxy Note 7 to help users get things done more easily wherever, whenever.”
Samsung also unveiled a new Gear VR headset for Galaxy Note 7, which will offer improved viewing angles and a dedicated home button.
