Samsung is another company with many flagships, which are again divided into spring and autumn. Why miss the opportunity to make a big statement about your smartphones twice in a year? So they don’t miss out: Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 edge received their share of applause, attention and consumer interest, now it’s time for a “big flagship” - Note 7, with characteristics very close to the S7, but larger in size, equipped with a stylus, modified software and - this year - a curved display.

Last year we already saw something similar, only without a curved display, under the name Note 5 - as you can see, Samsung is still unifying its lineup. Now it’s more difficult to get confused: all new devices come under the same index. And very close in appearance - having received curved display, Note 7 has become very similar to the S7 edge, only enlarged, with a stylus and USB Type-C - and the thickness of the case remains unchanged.

I should be happy about the last fact, but I’m writing this review after the well-known events with smartphones exploding while charging and one of the largest recalls of devices in history - and it’s simply impossible to ignore this issue. However, we will talk about this below, as well as about everything else.

⇡ Specifications

	Samsung GALAXY Note 7	Samsung GALAXY Note 5	Samsung GALAXY S7	Google Nexus 6P	Apple iPhone 6s Plus
Display	5.7 inches, AMOLED, 2560 × 1440 pixels, 515.3 ppi, capacitive multi-touch, Always-On display, curved	5.7 inches, AMOLED, 2560 × 1440 pixels, 515.3 ppi, capacitive multi-touch	5.1 inches, AMOLED, 2560 × 1440 pixels, 575.9 ppi, capacitive multi-touch	5.7 inches, AMOLED, 2560 × 1440 pixels, 515 ppi, capacitive multi-touch	5.5 inches, IPS, 1920 × 1080 pixels, 401 ppi, 3D Touch, Taptic Engine, capacitive multi-touch
Stylus	Yes, S Pen	Yes, S Pen	No	No	No
Protective glass	Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on both sides	Corning Gorilla Glass 4 on both sides	Corning Gorilla Glass (version not specified) on both sides	Corning Gorilla Glass 4	Yes, manufacturer not specified
CPU	Exynos 8890 Octa (four Moongoose cores, 2.6 GHz; four ARM Cortex-A53 cores, 1.6 GHz)	Samsung Exynos 7420 (four ARM Cortex-A57 cores, 2.1 GHz; four ARM Cortex-A53 cores, 1.5 GHz)	Exynos 8890 Octa (four Moongoose cores, 2.3 GHz; four ARM Cortex-A53 cores, 1.6 GHz)	Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 (four ARM Cortex-A53 cores, 1.55 GHz + two ARM Cortex-A57 cores, 2 GHz)	Apple A9 (two Apple Twister cores, clock frequency 1.8 GHz, integrated Apple M9 coprocessor)
Graphic controller	Mali-T880 MP12	Mali-T760 MP8	Mali-T880 MP12	Adreno 430	No data
Operational memory	4 GB	4 GB	4 GB	3 GB	2 GB
Flash memory	64 GB	32/64 GB	32/64 GB	32/64/128 GB	16/64/128 GB
Memory card support	There is, in the Duos version, a combined slot for a memory card and SIM card	No	There is, in the S7 Duos version, a combined slot for a memory card and SIM card	No	No
Connectors	USB Type-C, 3.5 mm mini-jack	microUSB, mini-jack 3.5 mm	microUSB, mini-jack 3.5 mm	USB-C, 3.5 mm mini-jack	Lightning, 3.5 mm mini-jack
SIM cards	One nanoSIM/two nanoSIM	One nanoSIM	One nanoSIM/two nanoSIM	One nanoSIM	One nanoSIM
Cellular connection 2G		GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
Cellular 3G		HSPA 850 / 900 /1900 / 2100 MHz	HSPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 MHz	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1800 / 1900 / 2100 MHz	HDSPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 MHz
Cellular 4G		FDD LTE Cat. 6 (up to 300/50 Mbit/s): bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 20	LTE Cat support. 12 (up to 600/50 Mbit/s): bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 13, 20	LTE Cat. 6 (up to 300 Mbit/s): bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 17, 19, 20, 28, 38, 39, 40, 41	LTE Cat. 6 (up to 150 Mbit/s), bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 38, 39, 40, 41
WiFi	802.11a/b/g/n/ac	802.11a/b/g/n/ac	802.11a/b/g/n/ac	802.11a/b/g/n/ac	802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth	4.2	4.1	4.2	4.2	4.1
NFC	Eat	Eat	Eat	Eat	No
Navigation	GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou	GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou	GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou	GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou	GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
Sensors		Illumination, proximity, accelerometer/gyroscope, magnetometer (digital compass), barometer, heart rate	Illumination, proximity, accelerometer/gyroscope, magnetometer (digital compass), barometer, heart rate	Illumination, proximity, accelerometer/gyroscope, magnetometer (digital compass), pedometer
					Illumination, proximity, accelerometer/gyroscope, magnetometer (digital compass), barometer
Fingerprint's scanner	Eat	Eat	Eat	Eat	Eat
Main camera		16 MP, ƒ/1.9, autofocus, LED flash, optical stabilization, 4K video recording	12 MP, ƒ/1.7, phase detection autofocus, LED flash, optical stabilization, 4K video recording	12.3 MP, ƒ/2.0, laser autofocus, LED flash, 4K video recording	12 MP, ƒ/2.2, phase detection autofocus, LED flash, optical stabilization, 4K video recording
Front-camera	5 MP, fixed focus	5 MP, fixed focus	5 MP, fixed focus	8 MP, fixed focus	5 MP, fixed focus
Nutrition	Non-removable 13.3 Wh battery (3500 mAh, 3.8 V)	Non-removable battery 12.23 Wh (3220 mAh, 3.8 V)	Non-removable 11.4 Wh battery (3000 mAh, 3.8 V)	Non-removable 13.11 Wh battery (3450 mAh, 3.8 V)	Non-removable 10.45 Wh battery (2750 mAh, 3.82 V)
Size	153.5 x 73.9 x 7.9 mm	154 × 79 × 7.5 mm	142.4 × 69.6 × 7.9 mm	159.3 × 77.8 × 7.3 mm	158.2 × 77.9 × 7.3 mm
Weight	169 grams	176 grams	152 grams	178 grams	192 grams
Housing protection	IP68	No	IP68 Up to half an hour at a depth of 1.5 m	No	Unknown
operating system	Android 6.0 Marshmallow, own Grace UX shell	Android 5.1 Lolliipop, native Samsung shell TouchWiz	Android 6.0 Marshmallow, Samsung's own TouchWiz shell	Android 6.0 Marshmallow	iOS 9
Current price	64,990 rubles	35,000-43,000 rubles depending on memory size	From 49,990 rubles	39,990-49,990 rubles depending on memory size	57,990, 66,990 and 74,990 rubles depending on memory size

⇡ Appearance and ergonomics

Back in the Galaxy S6, Samsung found its own smartphone design recipe - and has been following it without deviation for a year and a half. I must admit, the recipe is really good: take a thin body, cover it with tempered glass on both sides, and put metal around the perimeter; Place an oval button with a fingerprint scanner at the bottom of the front panel; if necessary, bend the edges of the body. In Note 7, this scheme is brought to perfection - the edges of the glass are curved both on the front side and on the back, which makes the smartphone not only visually symmetrical, but also, excuse the cliche, fits perfectly in the hand.

The latter is really impressive - when operating a 5.7-inch gadget you do not experience any serious discomfort, the sensations are quite comparable to those you had when working with the S7, and much more pleasant than when working with the edge. Except, of course, that you have to work with both hands - you can, of course, activate a special “one-handed” mode, with picture in picture - but this, to be honest, is not very convenient. The Note 7 is also difficult to fit into a pocket. Of course, there are different pockets, but I tried several - from all of them the smartphone stuck out at least slightly. However, all this is an inevitable feature of all large smartphones, which are also called by the terrible word “phablet”.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7, front panel. Above the screen: earpiece, front camera, light and proximity sensors, infrared iris recognition camera, and status indicator. Below the screen: the “Home” button with a fingerprint scanner and touch keys for “Back” and calling up a list of open applications

Unfortunately, the Note 7 only looks flawless in photographs and display cases. No, after purchase it does not turn into a pumpkin, but a glass one back panel collects fingerprints very easily. This is not too critical if, as in our case, you have a black version. If you have blue or silver, get your rags ready, gentlemen and ladies. The olephobic coating helps quickly erase marks, but does not protect the case from collecting them.

Both the display and the back panel use Gorilla Glass 5, which theoretically should not react at all to the touch of keys or small change in your pocket. In practice, things are not so great. The glass can probably withstand falls from a small height, but it scratches like crazy. For the back panel to get scratched, you don’t even need to carry your smartphone with keys - you just need to put it on less than perfectly smooth surfaces from time to time. There is no loss of functionality, but it doesn't look great.

The layout and shape of the keys is identical to what we saw on the Galaxy S7: two volume buttons on the left and a power button on the right. You need to get used to this; on almost all other Android smartphones they fall together on the right side. Under the display - mechanical Home button with a built-in fingerprint scanner, with which you can unlock the device in one motion - this is just a fairly common solution, and very convenient to boot.

Note 7 is the first Samsung smartphone and the first smartphone in general since the Lumia 950, which has a built-in iris scanner.

The infrared sensor is located above the screen and can quickly recognize the owner; you just need to bring the device at a distance of 25-30 cm to your eyes. Another thing is that, unlike a fingerprint scanner, you first need to press the power button and swipe the lock screen - and then also bring the smartphone in an unnatural position to your face. You also need to take off your glasses and contact lenses, carefully monitor the cleanliness of the sensor and endure for a long time while the device memorizes the shape of your eyes: personally, it remembered mine on the 19th (I counted) attempt - it took at least five rather dreary minutes. But forging an iris, unlike a fingerprint, is much more difficult. However, there is always a verification PIN code - if you really want to, you can bypass such strict protection.

By the way, I won’t write separately about the fingerprint scanner - they have reached such a level that they work equally quickly in both expensive and cheap devices, and when you come across a scanner in a smartphone for 10 thousand (like Vernee Thor), you’re not even surprised. In general, it is here too, and it works quickly, without failures.

The case, like the S7, is protected according to the IP68 standard (up to half an hour at a depth of one and a half meters) - you don’t have to worry about splashes and accidental drowning in a sink, the sea or somewhere else. Since Sony refused to produce devices protected by the same standard, this can be called a Samsung signature feature. In terms of body thickness, by the way, Note 7 is identical to the “regular” S7 and two tenths of a millimeter thicker than the S7 edge.

The same small problem with the speaker remained. It is monophonic, located on the bottom edge, and can be clearly heard when the smartphone is lying flat - but as soon as you pick it up, especially in landscape orientation, the tiny grille is blocked by your finger and it is no longer possible to hear anything. You have to carefully choose a place for your finger and place it on the stylus hidden in the case.

⇡ Software,SPen

While working on the Note 7, Samsung changed the name of its Android shell. The long-standing TouchWiz has been replaced by Grace UX. Moreover, at first glance it seems that, apart from the name and the settings menu, nothing has changed. This is a deceptive impression - although the changes are not dramatic, they make using the device much more comfortable in small ways.

First of all, after a relatively long period of use, you notice that the smartphone no longer consumes energy in standby mode, like fire - oxygen. Leaving your Note 7 uncharged overnight will prevent you from finding it dead the next morning. On the contrary, a maximum of 5-7% will be lost, or even less. Another key problem of TouchWiz also disappeared - along with a bunch of pre-installed proprietary applications that had to be forcibly “demolished” (and some were completely impossible to remove). Now there is a minimum of mandatory software; everything you need can be downloaded yourself or from Google Play, or from the store Samsung applications. True, the process of the first launch with the need to log into your Google account first, then into your account Samsung entry and signing a lot of different agreements still took too long.

Each new representative of the Note line is expected by the public with undisguised impatience, and then is subjected to the closest scrutiny. It's no surprise that the Galaxy Note 7 is no exception. A simple study of the technical characteristics of this smartphone makes the heart of any more or less advanced user tremble, but we decided to study its capabilities in the most detail, join us.

Oh yes. To everyone who was in bewilderment waiting for the Note 6 model and did not receive it, we remind you that the “six” was deliberately omitted by the manufacturer in order to bring all of its flagship Galaxy (Note and S lines) to such a “common denominator”.

Package is a solid black matte box. Like theater on a coat rack, the solidity of the new Galaxy Note 7 starts here, from the box.

Contents of delivery includes a key clip, pliers with replaceable stylus tips, a wired headset, a charging unit and a USB cable for it. Of particular interest here is a pair of adapters from USB-C to full-fledged USB and microUSB: connect a flash drive and use a third-party charger.

Design has not changed compared to its predecessors: we have a glass sandwich with a metal frame between the front and rear plates.

The glass is convex; in the company of curved side frames, it creates a wonderful effect of a screen literally floating in the air. By the way, these same bends here are not as strong as those of the same Galaxy S7 Edge.

Dimensions 153.5 x 73.9 x 7.9 mm, weight 169 g. It should be noted that for its rather large screen, the Galaxy Note 7 feels like a fairly compact device.

Protection against dust and moisture complies with the IP68 standard; by the way, this is the first Note to receive such protection.

The standard colors - black, silver and gold - were diluted with a fresh blue version.

On the right we see a thin power key.

At the bottom we are greeted by the current one for the current year USB port Type-C, next to the microphone hole, audio port, speaker grille and S Pen socket.

On the left are the usual separate volume control buttons.

At the top we see a tray for SIM and memory cards, and an additional microphone is located here.

The rear panel is curved towards the side edges, making it comfortable to hold the smartphone in your hands, despite its frankly large size. The arrangement of all elements is familiar from previous Galaxy models: there is a camera, flash, heart rate sensor and oxygen saturation sensor. All these elements have long been familiar to fans of the brand. Glass back cover, naturally, collects all possible fingerprints, but if you put it in order in time, it will look very respectable.

On the front panel we see a standard set of sensors, supplemented by an infrared camera for reading the iris, an earpiece and a front camera,

underneath - a couple touch buttons and a physical “Home”, combined with a fingerprint scanner.

Iris scanner was mentioned in almost all leaks regarding Note 7 and, as we see, they did not lie. However, using it is not so easy: if taking off your glasses is a simple matter, then no one will want to pick out contact lenses a hundred times a day.

Thanks to the infrared camera, recognition works even in the dark, but in bright light there may be problems. If for some reason the iris is not recognized, you can confirm your identity using a fingerprint sensor or a digital password.

It must be admitted that the new autumn protection works quickly and, for the most part, without errors, but it will not be possible to “deceive” the sensor using a photograph.

In addition to unlocking the smartphone in general, the iris scanner can be used to restrict access to personal photos, recordings, or other types of files.

Fingerprint's scanner Let’s just mention it in passing; it’s not new to us. Everything works well here, recognition is fast and trouble-free.

S Pen, along with the device as a whole, received protection from dust and moisture, moreover, in such unfavorable conditions it will remain operational. But his improvements don't stop there. Thus, the pen has become more accurate and sensitive, now it “understands” twice as many degrees of pressure: 4096. Externally, the stylus has become thinner, the selection button remains in its place, and to remove it from the socket, you still need to use a special button. Speaking of the slot, the problem with the incorrectly inserted stylus seems to have been solved forever: now it simply won’t fit on the other side. Fool proof, in its purest form.

As for how it works, the S Pen is fast and accurate, and text recognition works great. Added to previous functions magnifier(up to 300% magnification), fast translation (including from images) and creation of GIF animation. But S Note and Action memo have disappeared, now their functions are combined in the Notes application. Considering that the programs largely duplicated each other, we consider this the right decision, and we hasten to reassure all users of other Galaxy Note models: you can easily transfer previously created notes to the new application.

Screen It has the same diagonal of 5.7 inches with a QuadHD resolution (2560x1440), which has remained unchanged for several generations, which gives a pixel density of 518 ppi. The SuperAMOLED matrix also did not leave the smartphone, but in quality protective glass now comes Gorilla Glass 5. If you are seriously interested in buying a Note 7, you have probably already seen that creepy video from the JerryRigEverything channel, where the author successfully scratches the glass with rather soft tools, which the same Gorilla Glass 4 did not succumb to. We, of course, cannot say that your keys will leave (or not) the same destructive scratches, but we still do not recommend risking the appearance of such an expensive device.

Well what can we say about the quality of the display? flagship smartphone? He's great. There is no fault here with the brightness, viewing angles, or color rendition. The Note 7 fully lives up to its status as a cutting-edge device.

An interesting feature of the screen is support for the HDR video format, which guarantees smoother color transitions and a wide dynamic range. However, for now this is only a theoretical possibility: there is practically no suitable content on the Internet.

As for the curved sides, there are no accidental clicks on them, and the SPen works perfectly in these areas.

The screen temperature settings are the same, but what’s new is a blue filter (aka night mode) so that your eyes get tired less. This mode is designed to operate on a schedule.

Let's also mention the Always On Display option, familiar to users from the Galaxy S7. Here it has become better and now shows notifications not only from standard applications, but also from third parties, which significantly expands the scope of an already interesting function.

Sound both from the multimedia speaker and from the headphones, is at a high level: detailed and loud. All kinds of effects and a seven-band equalizer are provided.

operating system Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, of course, will be updated to the latest “seven” as soon as possible, but for now the new shell, which is called Grace UX, is of interest.

The shell turned out to be minimalistic, lightweight and quite interesting. The icons in it are rounded, executed in deliberately simple lines and colors.

The curtain is now made in light colors, quick settings are called up in an additional submenu by swiping down, and the SIM card settings are also listed here.

The settings menu has changed dramatically.

A search bar has appeared in the application menu.

It is impossible not to mention at all new service Samsung Cloud. Essentially just cloud storage, elegantly integrated into the smartphone interface. All Note 7 users will get 15GB of storage here. In addition to actually storing files, it can be used for Reserve copy data.

And, of course, it would be stupid to have curved edges, but not have software for it. Note7 provides Edge UI, with applications (new ones have been added to the usual list) or contacts placed on the side panels.

A little prank from Samsung - the main interface color will now match the color of your smartphone. However, if desired, this can always be easily changed in the settings.

Performance approximately equal on both versions of the smartphone. As we remember, there are two of them: one is based on the 64-bit Samsung Exynos 8890, the other is on the Snapdragon 820. The first processor is complemented by Mali-T880 MP12 graphics, the second - Adreno 530. In both modifications random access memory 4 GB, built-in - 64 GB as standard. Perhaps this would already be enough for almost any need, but here it is also complemented by a slot for a memory card. There is also a 6/128 GB option for the Chinese market.

In any of the above options, this is not just fast, it is a lightning-fast smartphone that can handle any of your requirements and tasks, be it applications, games, synthetic tests, augmented or virtual reality.

Be that as it may, the numbers in the benchmarks are amazing, and the final version that hits store shelves may be even better.

Interfaces presented with a standard set that is not worthy of close attention: LTE, NFC, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2 and navigation systems GLONASS and GPS.

Camera the main one is equipped with a 12 megapixel module with f/1.7 aperture and Dual technology Pixel, phase detection autofocus and single-section flash. Optical image stabilization is also provided. The camera is characterized by high operating speed, and this applies to focusing, launching and saving finished images.

The application interface has also been updated: now all controls are designed for swipes. The end result was intuitive and fast.

This module shows excellent results, regardless of the shooting conditions: whether it is a bright sunny afternoon, evening or dim room, the pictures remain detailed, with natural colors and a complete absence of noise.

Video recording is carried out in maximum 4K, there is a slow-motion recording mode.

The 5 MP front camera with an f/1.7 aperture is not equipped with any special technological delights, but it also shows excellent performance and excellent pictures. The most interesting thing here is the video shooting: it is available in 2K quality.

Battery has a capacity of 3500 mAh. This smartphone is enough for a full day battery life in mixed mode, that is, approximately 5 hours of screen or 14 hours of video.

There is wireless and fast charging; The smartphone charges from zero to maximum in an hour and a half.

It is impossible to ignore the new energy-saving mode, which, in theory, should extend the battery life of the device by 35 hours. Under the laconic names Mid and Max there are two levels of energy saving, and at each of them the user can make their own adjustments. Particularly interesting is the reduction in screen resolution in Mid to FullHD (1920x1080), and in “Max” to HD (1280x720). Until now, no manufacturer has resorted to this method to increase the autonomy of their devices, although third-party analogues exist and are actively used by users.

Accessories for Galaxy Note 7 are so varied that it is simply impossible to dwell on each item in detail. We will only mention a large number of cases, including those with external battery 3100 mAh and wireless charging, a pair of lenses or LEDs for notifications. Last option we are already familiar with from previous versions, but with the new LED View Cover new opportunities for customization have appeared; it can also be used to accept or reject calls and control some programs, for example, an alarm clock or a timer.

And, of course, we haven't forgotten about the new helmet virtual reality Gear VR, we just think that such an interesting device is worthy of a separate review.

Generally, Galaxy Note 7 is beautiful, what can I add? If the Note 4 and 5 models were rather treading water, then the “Seven” is truly a step forward. And it’s not even about the advanced technologies that have always been present in “Nota”, but about the pleasant little things: finally curved screen, protection from dust and moisture, a compact body, despite a consistently large screen, an improved stylus... And, of course, an iris scanner - Note 7 became one of the first “Androids” with such an identification system and certainly the first famous one.

Are you interested in disadvantages? Well, the body here is soiled. Glass, you know.

Of course, like all good things, you have to pay for such delights, and a considerable price: in this case, about $900.

• share

One of the interesting changes is the creation of a protected folder into which you can transfer content that is not subject to public viewing; for this purpose, the functionality of the KNOX system has been expanded. One of interesting features- the ability to install any duplicate application, for example, a second VKontakte or Telegram, into such a protected folder. The use of such technology is quite simple to come up with, and it will certainly find its fans.

Fires

The number of explosive jokes about the Note 7 has bothered even meme lovers, and this requires a lot of effort. Almost all YouTubers joked about how hot the Note 7 is. And this is definitely not on Samsung hand. Of course, there were cases of phone fires before, but in Note 7 they became widespread, albeit not large.

What is known now?

• There is a small batch of devices, up to 5000 pieces, that have a battery defect.
• Batch of devices and their serial numbers known, but Samsung is recalling all devices worldwide.

This situation happens quite often in the world of auto manufacturers: for example, technician Vasya spent a week assembling a car and installed the brakes incorrectly, which stopped braking after a thousand pedal presses. Don't even go too far from batteries, one of TESLA's first batches had cars that could catch fire due to battery problems, but who remembers that now?

This is the first time such a major situation has occurred with smartphones; Samsung's PR service initially reported that sales had been stopped due to the incredible number of pre-orders. A day later, another release came out: sales stopped due to problems with the battery and fire cases.

But is what is happening now so critical?
Fire incidents occur only in the United States and South Korea and do not concern the rest of the world.
There have been problems with smartphones before: smartphones did not connect to the network and were easily bent.
Smartphones do not explode, but rather get very hot and begin to smoke, this can be seen in videos from surveillance cameras of cases, of course, in some cases this can lead to a fire.

History, like any news story, will soon be forgotten. The main thing now is not to repeat the mistakes and not allow anything bad to happen. Of course, the reputation is damaged, there is a loss in the value of the shares and money will have to be spent on returns and overproduction, but do not forget that Samsung is a giant corporation that can afford to produce smartphones that light up at least every six months.

Samsung caused the main headache for themselves - for some reason they decided to recall all smartphones. Although the problem occurs with 0.3% of devices. They did not immediately admit the problem and tried to twist the situation into their own hands. They have been releasing firmware for a long time with a limit on the charging percentage. Knowing a specific batch, they do not update the firmware and do not remotely turn off devices that could be harmful to health.

This is probably a problem for a large corporation - the management vertical simply does not allow for a quick response to such situations. Let's hope that the incident will force management to think about solving such rapidly emerging problems. Otherwise, the company is doing well and they know how to make smartphones.

Information about the make, model, and alternative names of the specific device, if available.

Design

Information about the dimensions and weight of the device, presented in different units of measurement. Materials used, colors offered, certificates.

Width Width information - refers to the horizontal side of the device in its standard orientation during use.	73.9 mm (millimeters) 7.39 cm (centimeters) 0.24 ft (feet) 2.91 in (inches)
Height Height information - refers to the vertical side of the device in its standard orientation during use.	153.5 mm (millimeters) 15.35 cm (centimeters) 0.5 ft (feet) 6.04 in (inches)
Thickness Information about the thickness of the device in different units measurements.	7.9 mm (millimeters) 0.79 cm (centimeters) 0.03 ft (feet) 0.31 in (inches)
Weight Information about the weight of the device in different units of measurement.	169 g (grams) 0.37 lbs 5.96 oz (ounces)
Volume The approximate volume of the device, calculated based on the dimensions provided by the manufacturer. Refers to devices with the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped.	89.61 cm³ (cubic centimeters) 5.44 in³ (cubic inches)
Colors Information about the colors in which this device is offered for sale.	Black Blue Silver Golden
Materials for making the case Materials used to make the device body.	Metal Glass
Certification Information about the standards to which this device is certified.	IP68

SIM card

The SIM card is used in mobile devices to store data that certifies the authenticity of mobile service subscribers.

Mobile networks

A mobile network is a radio system that allows multiple mobile devices to communicate with each other.

GSM GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) is designed to replace the analogue mobile network (1G). For this reason, GSM is often called a 2G mobile network. It is improved by the addition of GPRS (General Packet Radio Services), and later EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) technologies.	GSM 850 MHz GSM 900 MHz GSM 1800 MHz GSM 1900 MHz
TD-SCDMA TD-SCDMA (Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access) is a 3G mobile network standard. It is also called UTRA/UMTS-TDD LCR. It was developed as an alternative to the W-CDMA standard in China by the Chinese Academy of Telecommunications Technology, Datang Telecom and Siemens. TD-SCDMA combines TDMA and CDMA.	TD-SCDMA 1880-1920 MHz (SM-N930S) TD-SCDMA 2010-2025 MHz (SM-N930S)
UMTS UMTS is an abbreviation for Universal Mobile Telecommunications System. It is based on GSM standard and applies to 3G mobile networks. Developed by 3GPP and its biggest advantage is providing greater speed and spectral efficiency thanks to W-CDMA technology.	UMTS 850 MHz UMTS 900 MHz UMTS 1700/2100 MHz UMTS 1900 MHz UMTS 2100 MHz
LTE LTE (Long Term Evolution) is defined as a technology fourth generation(4G). It is developed by 3GPP based on GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA to increase the capacity and speed of wireless mobile networks. The subsequent technology development is called LTE Advanced.	LTE 700 MHz Class 13 LTE 700 MHz Class 17 LTE 800 MHz LTE 900 MHz LTE 1700/2100 MHz LTE 1800 MHz LTE 1900 MHz LTE 2100 MHz LTE 2600 MHz LTE-TDD 1900 MHz (B39) LTE-TDD 2300 MHz (B40) LTE-TDD 2500 MHz (B41) LTE-TDD 2600 MHz (B38) LTE 700 MHz (B28)

Mobile communication technologies and data transfer speeds

Communication between devices on mobile networks is carried out using technologies that provide different data transfer rates.

Operating system

An operating system is a system software that manages and coordinates the operation of hardware components in a device.

SoC (System on Chip)

A system on a chip (SoC) includes all the most important hardware components of a mobile device on one chip.

SoC (System on Chip) A system on a chip (SoC) integrates various hardware components, such as a processor, graphics processor, memory, peripherals, interfaces, etc., as well as the software necessary for their operation.	Samsung Exynos 8 Octa 8890
Technological process Information about technological process, on which the chip is made. Nanometers measure half the distance between elements in the processor.	14 nm (nanometers)
Processor (CPU) The primary function of a mobile device's processor (CPU) is to interpret and execute instructions contained in software applications.	4x 2.3 GHz Exynos M1 Mongoose, 4x 1.6 GHz ARM Cortex-A53
Processor size The size (in bits) of a processor is determined by the size (in bits) of the registers, address buses, and data buses. 64-bit processors have more high performance compared to 32-bit processors, which for their part are more productive than 16-bit processors.	64 bit
Instruction Set Architecture Instructions are commands with which the software sets/controls the operation of the processor. Information about the instruction set (ISA) that the processor can execute.	ARMv8-A
Number of processor cores The processor core executes software instructions. There are processors with one, two or more cores. Availability more cores increases performance by allowing multiple instructions to be executed in parallel.	8
CPU clock speed The clock speed of a processor describes its speed in terms of cycles per second. It is measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz).	2300 MHz (megahertz)
Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) The Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) handles calculations for various 2D/3D graphics applications. IN mobile devices ah it is used most often by games, consumer interface, video applications, etc.	ARM Mali-T880 MP12
Number of cores GPU Like a CPU, a GPU is made up of several working parts called cores. They handle graphics calculations for various applications.	12
GPU clock speed Running speed is the clock speed of the GPU, measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz).	650 MHz (megahertz)
Amount of random access memory (RAM) Random access memory (RAM) is used by the operating system and all installed applications. Data stored in RAM is lost after the device is turned off or restarted.	4 GB (gigabytes)
Type of random access memory (RAM) Information about the type of random access memory (RAM) used by the device.	LPDDR4
Number of RAM channels Information about the number of RAM channels that are integrated into the SoC. More channels means more high speeds data transmission.	Dual channel
RAM frequency The frequency of RAM determines its operating speed, more specifically, the speed of reading/writing data.	1794 MHz (megahertz)

Built-in memory

Each mobile device has built-in (non-removable) memory with a fixed capacity.

Memory cards

Memory cards are used in mobile devices to increase the storage capacity for storing data.

Screen

The screen of a mobile device is characterized by its technology, resolution, pixel density, diagonal length, color depth, etc.

Type/technology One of the main characteristics of the screen is the technology by which it is made and on which the quality of the information image directly depends.	Super AMOLED
Diagonal For mobile devices, screen size is expressed by the length of its diagonal, measured in inches.	5.7 in (inches) 144.78 mm (millimeters) 14.48 cm (centimeters)
Width Approximate screen width	2.79 in (inches) 70.98 mm (millimeters) 7.1 cm (centimeters)
Height Approximate screen height	4.97 in (inches) 126.19 mm (millimeters) 12.62 cm (centimeters)
Aspect Ratio The ratio of the dimensions of the long side of the screen to its short side	1.778:1 16:9
Permission Screen resolution shows the number of pixels vertically and horizontally on the screen. Higher resolution means clearer image detail.	1440 x 2560 pixels
Pixel Density Information about the number of pixels per centimeter or inch of the screen. More high density Allows you to display information on the screen with clearer details.	515 ppi (pixels per inch) 202 ppcm (pixels per centimeter)
Color depth Screen color depth reflects the total number of bits used for color components in one pixel. Information about the maximum number of colors that the screen can display.	24 bit 16777216 flowers
Screen area Approximate percentage of screen area occupied by the screen on the front of the device.	79.21% (percent)
Other characteristics Information about other screen features and characteristics.	Capacitive Multi-touch Scratch resistance
	Corning Gorilla Glass 5 Dual Edge display Always-On Display VR headset support

Sensors

Different sensors perform different quantitative measurements and convert physical indicators into signals that a mobile device can recognize.

Rear camera

The main camera of a mobile device is usually located on its back panel and may be combined with one or more secondary cameras.

Sensor model	Sony IMX260 Exmor RS
Sensor type	CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor)
Svetlosila	f/1.7
Focal length	4.2 mm (millimeters)
Flash type The rear (rear) cameras of mobile devices mainly use LED flashes. They can be configured with one, two or more light sources and vary in shape.	Double LED
Image Resolution	4032 x 3024 pixels 12.19 MP (megapixels)
Video resolution	3840 x 2160 pixels 8.29 MP (megapixels)
	30fps (frames per second)
Characteristics Information about additional software and hardware features of the rear (rear) camera.	Autofocus Continuous shooting Digital zoom Optical image stabilization Geographical tags Panoramic photography HDR shooting Touch Focus Face recognition White Balance Adjustment ISO Setting Exposure compensation Self-timer Scene Selection Mode Phase Detection Autofocus (PDAF)
	Available also with Samsung S5K2L1 (ISOCELL) Phase detection with Dual Pixel Object tracking AF Smart OIS 1080p @ 60 fps 720p@120fps

Front-camera

Smartphones have one or more front cameras of various designs - a pop-up camera, a rotating camera, a cutout or hole in the display, an under-display camera.

Sensor model Information about the manufacturer and model of the sensor used by the camera.	Samsung S5K4E6
Sensor type Information about the camera sensor type. Some of the most widely used types of sensors in mobile device cameras are CMOS, BSI, ISOCELL, etc.	ISOCELL
Sensor size Information about the dimensions of the photosensor used in the device. Typically, cameras with larger sensors and lower pixel densities offer higher image quality despite the lower resolution.	3.6 x 2.7 mm (millimeters) 0.18 in (inches)
Pixel size Pixels are usually measured in microns. Larger pixels are able to capture more light and therefore provide best shooting in low light and wider dynamic range than smaller pixels. On the other hand, smaller pixels allow for higher resolution while maintaining the same sensor size.	1.389 µm (micrometers) 0.001389 mm (millimeters)
Crop factor The crop factor is the ratio between the dimensions of the full-frame sensor (36 x 24 mm, equivalent to a frame of standard 35 mm film) and the dimensions of the device's photosensor. The indicated number represents the ratio of the diagonals of the full-frame sensor (43.3 mm) and the photosensor of a particular device.	9.61
Svetlosila F-stop (also known as aperture, aperture, or f-number) is a measure of the size of a lens's aperture, which determines the amount of light entering the sensor. The lower the f-number, the larger the aperture and the more light reaches the sensor. Typically the f-number is specified to correspond to the maximum possible aperture of the aperture.	f/1.7
Focal length Focal length indicates the distance in millimeters from the sensor to the optical center of the lens. Equivalent focal length (35mm) is the focal length of a mobile device camera equal to the focal length of a 35mm full-frame sensor, which will achieve the same viewing angle. It is calculated by multiplying the actual focal length of a mobile device's camera by the crop factor of its sensor. Crop factor can be defined as the ratio between the diagonals of a 35 mm full-frame sensor and the sensor of a mobile device.	2.1 mm (millimeters) 20.19 mm (millimeters) *(35 mm / full frame)
Image Resolution One of the main characteristics of cameras is resolution. It represents the number of horizontal and vertical pixels in an image. For convenience, smartphone manufacturers often list resolution in megapixels, indicating the approximate number of pixels in millions.	2592 x 1944 pixels 5.04 MP (megapixels)
Video resolution Information about the maximum video resolution that the camera can record.	1920 x 1080 pixels 2.07 MP (megapixels)
Video recording speed (frame rate) Information about maximum speed recording (frames per second, fps) supported by the camera at maximum resolution. Some of the most basic video recording speeds are 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps, 60 fps.	30fps (frames per second)
	Auto HDR

Audio

Information about the type of speakers and audio technologies supported by the device.

Radio

The radio of the mobile device is a built-in FM receiver.

Location determination

Information about the navigation and location technologies supported by your device.

WiFi

Wi-Fi is a technology that provides wireless communication for transmitting data over close distances between various devices.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a standard for secure wireless data transfer between various devices of different types over short distances.

Version There are several Bluetooth versions, while each subsequent one improves communication speed, coverage, and facilitates easier detection and connection of devices. Information about the Bluetooth version of the device.	4.2
Characteristics Bluetooth uses different profiles and protocols to provide more fast exchange data, energy savings, improved device discovery, etc. Some of these profiles and protocols that the device supports are shown here.	A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) AVRCP (Audio/Visual Remote Control Profile) DIP (Device ID Profile) HFP (Hands-Free Profile) HID (Human Interface Profile) HSP (Headset Profile) LE (Low Energy) MAP (Message Access Profile) OPP (Object Push Profile) PAN (Personal Area Networking Profile) PBAP/PAB (Phone Book Access Profile)

USB

USB (Universal Serial Bus) is an industry standard that allows different electronic devices to exchange data.

Headphone jack

This is an audio connector, also called an audio jack. The most widely used standard in mobile devices is the 3.5mm headphone jack.

Connecting devices

Information about other important connection technologies supported by your device.

Browser

A web browser is a software application for accessing and viewing information on the Internet.

Browser Information about some of the main characteristics and standards supported by the device's browser.

HTML HTML5 CSS 3

Audio file formats/codecs

Mobile devices support different audio file formats and codecs, which respectively store and encode/decode digital audio data.

Video file formats/codecs

Mobile devices support different video file formats and codecs, which respectively store and encode/decode digital video data.

Battery

Mobile device batteries differ from each other in their capacity and technology. They provide the electrical charge necessary for their functioning.

Capacity A battery's capacity indicates the maximum charge it can hold, measured in milliamp-hours.	3500 mAh (milliamp-hours)
Type The type of battery is determined by its structure and, more precisely, the chemicals used. There are different types of batteries, with lithium-ion and lithium-ion polymer batteries being the most commonly used batteries in mobile devices.	Li-polymer
2G talk time 2G talk time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged during a continuous conversation on a 2G network.	26 h (hours) 1560 min (minutes) 1.1 days
3G talk time 3G talk time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged during a continuous conversation on a 3G network.	26 h (hours) 1560 min (minutes) 1.1 days
Adapter output power Information about the strength of electric current (measured in amperes) and electrical voltage(measured in volts) supplied Charger (output power). Higher power output ensures faster battery charging.	9 V (volts) / 1.67 A (amps)
Characteristics Information about some additional characteristics device battery.	Wireless charger Fast charging Fixed
	Qi/PMA wireless charging

Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)

The SAR level refers to the amount of electromagnetic radiation absorbed by the human body while using a mobile device.

Head SAR level (EU) The SAR level indicates the maximum amount of electromagnetic radiation that the human body is exposed to when holding a mobile device close to the ear in a conversation position. In Europe, the maximum permissible SAR value for mobile devices is limited to 2 W/kg per 10 grams of human tissue. This standard established by the CENELEC Committee in accordance with IEC standards, subject to the ICNIRP guidelines of 1998.	0.249 W/kg (Watt per kilogram)
Body SAR level (EU) The SAR level indicates the maximum amount of electromagnetic radiation to which the human body is exposed when holding a mobile device at hip level. The maximum permissible SAR value for mobile devices in Europe is 2 W/kg per 10 grams of human tissue. This standard has been established by the CENELEC Committee in compliance with the ICNIRP 1998 guidelines and IEC standards.	1.28 W/kg (Watt per kilogram)
Head SAR level (US) The SAR level indicates the maximum amount of electromagnetic radiation that the human body is exposed to when holding a mobile device near the ear. The maximum value used in the USA is 1.6 W/kg per 1 gram of human tissue. Mobile devices in the US are regulated by the CTIA, and the FCC conducts tests and sets their SAR values.	0.55 W/kg (Watt per kilogram)
Body SAR level (US) The SAR level indicates the maximum amount of electromagnetic radiation to which the human body is exposed when holding a mobile device at hip level. The highest permissible SAR value in the USA is 1.6 W/kg per 1 gram of human tissue. This value is set by the FCC, and the CTIA monitors mobile devices' compliance with this standard.	0.67 W/kg (Watt per kilogram)

Part 1: getting to know the key innovations

Samsung couldn't wait for IFA 2016 and announced its new Galaxy flagship Note7 back in early August. And on August 19, the new product went on sale in some countries. And although Russia is not among them, we were able to get a smartphone and studied it in detail.

ABOUT key features You can read the new products in our news, so we won’t repeat here the facts announced at the presentation. However, before we move on to getting to know the device, let’s think a little about the evolution of the Note line. Exactly five years ago, the first Samsung Galaxy Note was announced, and for quite a long time this line developed in parallel with the Galaxy S series. Moreover, Note devices gradually began to lose their main difference - a large display diagonal. More precisely, a diagonal of 5.5″ has ceased to be something unusual, and even Galaxy S devices have acquired screens of similar sizes.

Another signature feature of Note is the included stylus (and, accordingly, support for full-fledged work with it on your smartphone). Here the manufacturer is already more clearly distinguishing between the two lines, and competitors are in no particular hurry to equip their flagships with styluses. However, if previously you had to pay for the presence of a stylus in terms of the dimensions of the device (after all, the Galaxy Note remained larger than the Galaxy S), now there is no longer any significant difference to talk about.

The situation with a curved screen is even more interesting. Technologists and Samsung fans remember that it was the Note line smartphone that was the first to have a screen that curved on the side: it was called Samsung Galaxy Note Edge, and it was curved only on one side (you can also recall the experimental Samsung Galaxy Round smartphone, but it didn’t get development). However, then the feature with a curved screen moved to the Galaxy S line, and the S Edge devices received a curved screen on both sides. In turn, the new Notes were released without bending. And now the bend returns to Note. And, what’s even more interesting, you can’t buy a Note7 without a curved screen. That is, in fact, Note7 replaces not its immediate predecessor in the line, but the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge smartphone. More precisely, judging by the characteristics, it turns out to be in some way a modification of the S7 Edge with several additional features, most of which will probably migrate to the Galaxy S line in the future.

Based on the fact that Samsung abandoned the word Edge in the name of the new product, it can be assumed that in the future the Galaxy S series will remain the only flagship option - with a curved screen. And, accordingly, the difference between the Note and the S will be reduced to the presence of a stylus and, possibly, a slight difference in the size of the display (although here we cannot help but recall the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+, which had a 5.7″ display).

Let's take a look at Samsung specifications Galaxy Note7.

Specifications Samsung Galaxy Note7

• SoC Samsung Exynos 8890 Octa
• CPU Mongoose @2.6 GHz (4 cores) + Cortex-A53 @1.6 GHz (4 cores)
• GPU Mali-T880
• operating room Android system 6.0.1
• Touch display 5.7″ SuperAMOLED, curved on both sides, 2560×1440, 515 ppi
• Random access memory (RAM) 4 GB
• Permanent memory 64 GB
• Map support microSD memory up to 200 GB
• SIM cards: 2 × Nano-SIM
• Communication GSM/GPRS/EDGE/3G/LTE Cat.9
• Bluetooth 4.2 LE, NFC, ANT+
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n/ac, 2.4 and 5 GHz
• GPS with A-GPS, Glonass
• Sensors and sensors: accelerometer, geomagnetic sensor, gyroscope, light sensor, proximity sensor, barometer, Hall sensor, fingerprint scanner, iris scanner, heart rate sensor
• Cameras: 5 MP (front) and 12 MP (rear) Dual Pixel, with LED flash, optical stabilization system and autofocus, f/1.7, 4K video shooting
• Battery 3600 mAh, lithium polymer, non-removable
• Dimensions 154x74x7.9 mm
• Weight 169 g

For clarity, we decided to make a table with the characteristics of the Samsung Galaxy Note7 and its closest analogue, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, and also added to the table Moto X Force and iPhone 6S Plus - two flagships of competitors.

	Samsung Galaxy Note7	Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge	Moto X Force	Apple iPhone 6s Plus
Screen	5.7″ Super AMOLED, curved on both sides, 2560×1440, 515 ppi	5.5″ Super AMOLED, curved on both sides, 2560×1440, 534 ppi	5.4″ AMOLED, 2560×1440, 540 ppi	5.5″ IPS, 1920×1080, 401 ppi
SoC (processor)		Samsung Exynos 8890 Octa (4 Mongoose cores @2.6 GHz + 4 Cortex-A53 cores @1.6)	Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 (4x Cortex-A57 @2.0 GHz + 4x Cortex-A53 @1.5 GHz)	Apple A9 (2 cores @1.8 GHz, 64-bit ARMv8-A architecture)
GPU	Mali-T880	Mali-T880	Adreno 430	Apple A9
Flash memory	64 GB	32 GB	32 GB	16/64/128 GB
Connectors	USB Type-C (with OTG support), 3.5 mm headset jack, stylus hole		Micro-USB (with OTG support), 3.5mm headset jack	Lightning dock connector, 3.5mm headset jack
Memory card support	microSD (up to 256 GB)	microSD (up to 200 GB)	microSD (up to 2 TB)	No
RAM	4 GB	4 GB	3 GB	2 GB
Cameras		rear (12 MP; 4K video), front (5 MP)	rear (21 MP; 4K video), front (5 MP)	rear (12 MP; 4K video), front (5 MP)
User identification sensors	fingerprint scanner, iris scanner	Fingerprint's scanner	No	Fingerprint's scanner
Housing protection	IP68 (water and dust protection)	IP68 (water and dust protection)	shockproof housing and screen	No
Battery capacity (mAh)	3500	3600	3760	2750
operating system	Google Android 6.0.1	Google Android 6.0.1	Google Android 6.0.1	Apple iOS 9.0 (updated to 9.2.1)
Dimensions (mm)*	154×74×7.9	151×73×7.7	150×78×9.2	158×78×7.3
Weight (g)	169	157	170	190
average price	T-14123351	T-13485518	T-13342759	T-12859250
Samsung Galaxy Note7 Retail Offers	L-14123351-10

*according to official data from manufacturers

The table clearly shows that the changes in Note7 compared to the S7 Edge are minimal. The display diagonal is slightly larger (with the same resolution and other parameters) and, accordingly, the dimensions are slightly larger, but the battery capacity is smaller. The new product has twice as much built-in flash memory (this, by the way, may justify more high price), and also has an iris scanner, which no one else has, and a USB Type-C connector instead of Micro-USB (this is not surprising, but Samsung has it for the first time).

As for comparison with competitors, the situation here is ambiguous. Moto X Force loses in some ways, wins in others, but its key features are completely different: nylon coating on the back surface and shock resistance (but there is no moisture protection and an iris scanner).

Comparison with the iPhone 6S Plus seems ineffective at all, because it will be released in September new iPhone, and it would be more correct to compare with him. However, we couldn’t help but include the market leader’s smartphone in the table.

But let's move on to direct testing and understand the Note7 innovations in practice.

Equipment

The smartphone is sold in a black rectangular box.

The kit includes a charger with Quick Charge support (5V 2A in standard mode, 9V 1.67A in Quick Charge mode), USB cable Type-C - USB, key for removing SIM card and memory card cradle, OTG adapter for USB Type-C (for connecting external USB drives with a full-size plug), adapter from USB Type-C to Micro-USB (for charging from regular cable Micro-USB), information leaflets and brochures, as well as headphones in a separate plastic box and with an additional set of rubber ear pads.

The headphones are the same as those on the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and S6 Edge+, and we can only be happy about that. They have a tangle-free flat wire, a very comfortable ear pad shape, and most importantly, really decent sound. Even deep bass is transmitted very well.

Overall, we can't help but note that Samsung really cares about its users and tries to include everything they need in the package. After all, the same adapters for the new USB Type-C connector will probably be needed, and looking for them is an extra problem. You will spend more time and money on the road to the store than the adapter itself costs.

Design

Appearance The Samsung Galaxy Note7 is much closer to the S7 Edge than the previous Note. In fact, if you don't compare the Note7 and S7 Edge head-to-head, they could easily be confused. The general appearance and style are the same. And, frankly, over the past six months since testing the S7 Edge, our opinion about this style has not changed. Note7 looks very beautiful and impressive. Like the S7 Edge, it's one of the most stylish smartphones available today.

Almost the entire front panel is occupied by a screen that effectively wraps around both edges along the long sides. And this is not only admirable in itself, but also creates the illusion of a complete absence of frames on the sides. In fact, of course, there is a frame, but its sides are already quite thin, and thanks to the rounding of the screen they seem quite insignificant. True, unlike the S7 Edge, the rounding here is slightly smaller, and the metal edges, on the contrary, are wider. In the photo below, the S7 Edge is lying on top of the Note7, and the difference in the thickness of the sides of the frame is clearly visible.

Is it convenient or not? Our editor Andrey Vorobyov, who has been using the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge as his main smartphone for six months now, thinks it’s convenient. Here is his opinion.

It feels like the Note7 has made the side bezels flatter and wider by reducing the curves on both the front and back. As a result, the device feels more confident in the hand. In terms of functionality, there is no deterioration compared to the S7 Edge, because both smartphones have curved edges that are not large enough to accommodate information only on them (separate from the main screen and without climbing onto it, like the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge). Therefore, the wider or narrower part is not so important.

From the photographs above you can clearly see that the Note7 actually has a smaller bend. And it is hardly possible to use it as a functional element, that is, to place any controls on it. But here the main thing remains: the very fact of bending and the illusion of the absence of edges. Therefore, the device looks no worse, and feels more comfortable in the hand. Like the S7 Edge, the edges are made of metal (more precisely, this is a full-fledged chassis, and not just a border), and the front and back sides are made of plexiglass. Very stylish, but, alas, quite tacky - prints on the back are collected instantly.

All edges, like its predecessor, are made of metal, as are the buttons. They press with pleasant elasticity. The layout of buttons and connectors is similar to the previous model. On the right is the power button, on the left are separate volume buttons. On the bottom there is a speaker, a USB Type-C connector with OTG support, a 3.5 mm headset jack and a built-in microphone hole. In the S7 Edge review, we complained that Samsung, unlike its competitors, does not yet equip its flagships with a USB Type-C connector. And now there’s nothing to complain about :)

Of course, in addition to the changed connector, the rear tip of the stylus is striking in the photo of the bottom edge. In order to pull it out of the smartphone, just apply a little pressure. The stylus is just as easy to insert and secure into the smartphone. The manufacturer emphasizes that the stylus can write even when the smartphone and stylus are immersed in water. We did not conduct such risky experiments, but we admit that the overall impressions of the stylus are the best. It detects pressure and allows you to make small strokes.

The top edge of the smartphone contains a combined slot for a memory card and two SIM cards in Nano-SIM format. You can use either two SIM cards at the same time, or one SIM card and one microSD memory card.

Compared to the S7 Edge, there is only one difference: the microphone has been moved closer to the edge.

There will be three color options on sale: dazzling platinum (golden), titanium silver (metallic) and black diamond (black). We tested the “silver titanium” version and, I must say, we are pleased with the color, although it has one caveat: if the lighting is yellowish (for example, in the case of conventional incandescent lamps), then the smartphone also looks yellowish.

Safety

One of the main features of the Samsung Galaxy Note7 is its iris scanner. Although smartphones with this option are slowly starting to appear on the market, it still remains a curiosity, and we were even more interested in how one of the leaders in the smartphone industry implements it.

Let's say right away: the results exceeded all our expectations. And everyone who saw the scanner in action said one thing: “Wow!” The beauty of the technology is that recognition occurs almost instantly, in most cases error-free (it feels like about 90% of successful unlocks on the first try), and at the same time you do not need to hold the smartphone at a certain distance (that is, of course , it cannot be held too close to the face or, conversely, too far away, but the permissible range is very large).

Another significant point is the correct operation of the scanner in different lighting conditions. In the dark - no problem, in the bright sun - too.

Finally, third: using an iris scanner does not at all negate the possibility of using a fingerprint scanner. That is, you can alternate the unlock type depending on the situation. At some point it’s more convenient to raise the phone to eye level, at some point it’s easier to put your finger on it.

However, all this is top-level protection, and at the bottom it’s still a PIN code or graphic key. So if, for example, your PIN code is not strong enough, then the iris scanner will not make your smartphone more secure, since if it doesn’t work, an attacker can always try to guess the password. It would probably be advisable in the future to make it possible to use biometric protection as a base option as it is more difficult to hack. That is, in any case, the user would have to use one of two options - either one or another scanner. It is clear that there is concern: what if finger recognition does not work (this happens with all smartphones)? But for this case there is now an iris scanner. And vice versa.

Returning to the description of the iris scanner in the Samsung Galaxy Note7, we note only one drawback: in order to launch it, you need to press the power button and swipe your finger across the screen, that is, do two actions (or even three, if lifting the smartphone is considered a separate action at eye level). Whereas to unlock with a fingerprint, just one press of the desired finger on the Home button is enough.

Screen

The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface that is scratch-resistant. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are better than those of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) screen (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photo in which a white surface is reflected in the switched off screens (on the left - Nexus 7, on the right - Samsung Galaxy Note7, then they can be distinguished by size):

The screen of the Samsung Galaxy Note7 is slightly darker (photo brightness is 113 versus 116 for the Nexus 7) and does not have a pronounced tint. The ghosting of reflected objects on the Samsung Galaxy Note7 screen is very weak, which indicates that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen. Due to the smaller number of boundaries (glass/air type) with very different refractive indices, screens without an air gap look better in conditions of intense external illumination, but their repair in the case of cracked external glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be replaced. On the outer surface of the Samsung Galaxy Note7 screen there is a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (effective, slightly better than that of the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much more easily and appear at a lower speed than in the case of regular glass.

When the white field was displayed in full screen and with manual brightness control, its maximum value was 350 cd/m², the minimum was 1.5 cd/m². You also need to take into account the fact that in this case, the smaller the white area on the screen, the brighter it is, that is, the actual maximum brightness of the white areas will almost always be higher than the specified value. As a result, readability during the day in the sun should be sufficiently good level. The reduced brightness level allows you to use the device even in complete darkness without any problems. Works automatic adjustment brightness by the light sensor (it is located to the left of the front speaker slot). The operation of this function depends on the position of the brightness adjustment, with which the user can try to set the desired brightness level in the current conditions. If in an office environment the brightness slider is set to maximum, then in complete darkness the auto-brightness function reduces the brightness to 7.7 cd/m² (dark), in an office illuminated by artificial light (approximately 550 lux) it sets it to 350 cd/m² (excessively bright) , in a very bright environment (corresponding to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more) increases to 520 cd/m² (enough), and conditionally in direct sunlight, the screen brightness increases to 570 cd/m² ( information will be distinguishable). If everything is also in office conditions, the brightness slider is at half the scale, then the screen brightness for the four conditions indicated above is as follows: 7.7, 130, 495 and 570 cd/m² (the first value is rather low). If the brightness control is set to minimum - 1.4, 1.4, 350 and 540 cd/m² (now the first two values ​​are too low). We were not satisfied with the result, so we moved the slider first to 50% in the office, then slightly to the right of the minimum in complete darkness. We got 10, 170, 535 and 560 cd/m² (ideal combination). It turns out that the auto-brightness function works adequately and to some extent allows the user to customize their work to individual requirements. At any brightness level there is significant modulation with a frequency of approximately 60 or 240 Hz. The figure below shows brightness (vertical axis) versus time (horizontal axis) for several brightness settings:

It can be seen that at maximum and close to it brightness, the modulation amplitude is not very large, and as a result, there is no visible flicker. However, as the brightness decreases, modulation appears with a large relative amplitude, and the presence of such modulation can already be seen in a test for the presence of a stroboscopic effect or simply with rapid eye movement. Depending on individual sensitivity, this flickering may cause increased fatigue.

This screen uses a Super AMOLED matrix - an active matrix on organic light-emitting diodes. A full-color image is created using subpixels of three colors - red (R), green (G) and blue (B), but there are twice as many green subpixels, which can be referred to as RGBG. This is confirmed by a fragment of a microphotograph:

For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.

In the fragment above you can count 4 green subpixels, 2 red (4 halves) and 2 blue (1 whole and 4 quarters), and by repeating these fragments, you can lay out the entire screen without breaks or overlap. For such matrices, Samsung introduced the name PenTile RGBG. The manufacturer calculates the screen resolution based on the green subpixels; based on the other two, it will be two times lower. The location and shape of the subpixels in this version is close to the case of the screen of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and some other newer Samsung devices (and not only) with AMOLED screens. This version of PenTile RGBG is better than the old one with red squares, blue rectangles and stripes of green subpixels. However, some unevenness of contrast borders and other artifacts are still present. However, due to very high resolution they have minimal impact on image quality.

The screen has excellent viewing angles. True, the white color, when deviated even at small angles, alternately acquires a light blue-green and pinkish tint, but the black color remains simply black at any angle. It is so black that the contrast setting is not applicable in this case. When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the white field is excellent. For comparison, here are photos in which the screens of the Samsung Galaxy Note7 (profile Basic) and the second comparison participant, identical images were displayed, while the brightness of the screens was initially set to approximately 200 cd/m², and the color balance on the camera was forced to switch to 6500 K. White field:

We note the excellent uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field (with the exception of darkening and changes in hue towards the curved edges). And a test picture (profile Basic):

Color rendition is good, the colors are moderately saturated, the color balance of the screens varies slightly. Note that in this case, the image occupies the height (at this screen orientation) of the entire area available for image display and extends onto the curved edges of the screen, which leads to darkening and color distortion. Also, in the light, these areas almost always glare, which makes it even more difficult to view images displayed on the entire screen. And even the picture of films with an aspect ratio of 16:9 bends, which greatly interferes with watching movies. The photo above was taken after selecting a profile Basic in the screen settings, there are four of them:

Profile Adaptive display differs in some kind of automatic adjustment of color rendering to the type of output image and environmental conditions, which is obtained by selecting the two remaining profiles shown below.

AMOLED cinema:

Saturation and colour contrast noticeably enlarged.

AMOLED photo:

Saturation is slightly lower, color contrast is closer to normal. Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen (profile AMOLED cinema). White field:

The brightness at an angle for both screens has noticeably decreased (to avoid strong darkening, the shutter speed has been increased compared to previous photographs), but in the case of Samsung the drop in brightness is much less pronounced. As a result, with formally the same brightness samsung screen The Galaxy Note7 looks much brighter visually (compared to LCD screens), as you often have to look at the screen of a mobile device from at least a slight angle. And a test picture:

It can be seen that the colors have not changed much on both screens and the brightness of the Samsung at an angle is noticeably higher. Switching the state of the matrix elements is performed almost instantly, but at the switching edge there may be a step with a width of approximately 17 ms (which corresponds to a screen refresh rate of 60 Hz). For example, this is what the dependence of brightness on time looks like when moving from black to white and back:

In some conditions, the presence of such a step can lead to plumes trailing behind moving objects. However, dynamic scenes in films on OLED screens are distinguished by high clarity and even some “jerky” movements.

For all three profiles, the gamma curve constructed using 32 points with equal intervals based on the numerical value of the gray shade coincided. There is no significant blockage either in the highlights or shadows, and the index of the approximating power function is 2.14, which is slightly less than the standard value of 2.2, while the real gamma curve deviates little from the power dependence (the captions in parentheses show the index of the approximating power function functions and coefficient of determination):

Let us recall that in the case of OLED screens, the brightness of image fragments dynamically changes in accordance with the nature of the displayed image - it decreases for generally light images. As a result, the resulting dependence of brightness on hue (gamma curve) most likely slightly does not correspond to the gamma curve of a static image, since the measurements were carried out with sequential display of shades of gray on almost the entire screen.

Color gamut in the case of a profile AMOLED cinema very wide:

When selecting a profile AMOLED photo coverage is adjusted to Adobe RGB boundaries:

When selecting a profile Basic coverage is compressed to sRGB boundaries:

Without correction, the spectra of the components are very well separated:

In case of profile Basic with maximum correction, the color components are already noticeably mixed with each other:

Note that on screens with a wide color gamut, without appropriate correction, the colors of regular images optimized for sRGB devices appear unnaturally saturated. Hence the recommendation - in most cases, watching movies, photographs and everything natural is better when choosing a profile Basic, and only if the photo was taken on Adobe installation RGB, it makes sense to switch the profile to AMOLED photo. Profile AMOLED cinema, despite the name, is the least suitable for watching movies or anything else.

The grayscale balance is good. The color temperature is close to 6500 K, while in a significant portion of the gray scale this parameter does not change very much, which improves the visual perception of color balance. The deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) across most of the gray scale remains below 10 units, which is considered a good indicator for a consumer device, and also does not change very much:

(The darkest areas of the gray scale can be ignored in most cases, since there is no color balance of great importance, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

Let's summarize. The screen has a very high maximum brightness and has excellent anti-glare properties, so the device can be used outdoors without any problems, even on a sunny summer day. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable value. It is acceptable (and even necessary in bright light) to use a mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works adequately. The advantages of the screen include an effective oleophobic coating, as well as a color gamut close to sRGB and good color balance. At the same time, let us remind you about the general advantages of OLED screens: true black color (if nothing is reflected in the screen), excellent uniformity of the white field, noticeably less than that of LCDs, and a drop in image brightness when viewed at an angle. Disadvantages include modulation of screen brightness. For users who are particularly sensitive to flicker, this may cause increased fatigue. However, overall the screen quality is very high. Separately, we note that from the point of view of image quality, curved edges are only harmful, since this design discovery introduces very noticeable distortions of the color tone and reduces the brightness at the edges of the picture, and in ambient light conditions it leads to inevitable glare along at least one long side of the screen.

Performance

The smartphone runs on the same Exynos 8890 Octa SoC as the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. The chip is made using a 14 nm process technology, improved using FinFET LPP (Low-Power Plus) technology. It uses Mongoose CPU cores (four cores with a frequency of 2.6 GHz) and the already familiar four Cortex-A53 cores with a frequency of 1.6 GHz.

The Mali-T880 acts as a graphics accelerator. The amount of RAM is 4 GB, just like the S7 Edge. And an important detail: 500 MB of this 4 GB is reserved for the needs of the GPU, so in benchmarks the amount of RAM in both smartphones is determined to be 3.5 GB.

In the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review, you can find a detailed comparison of the performance of the Exynos 8890 Octa SoC with competing solutions. Here we will not focus on this and will focus on understanding whether there is any difference in performance between the S7 Edge and Note7.

Let's start with browser tests: SunSpider 1.0.2, Octane Benchmark, Kraken Benchmark and . On all Android devices we used Chrome browser, on iOS - Safari. If there is a dash in the table field, it means that the corresponding smartphone was not tested in this benchmark (or in this version of this benchmark).

The slight differences between the results of the two Samsung smartphones are well within the scope of possible measurement error.

Now let's see how the gadget performs in complex benchmarks - AnTuTu 6 and Geekbench 3.

And again, there is no clear picture: in AnTuTu the new product overtakes the S7 Edge, and in Geekbench it is inferior to it. The situation is aggravated by the fact that the spread of results is too large to be attributed to an error. However, let's not forget that the Note7 has newer software installed than the S7 Edge at the time of its launch, so this may explain the picture.

The last group of benchmarks is dedicated to testing GPU performance. We used 3DMark, GFXBench and Bonsai Benchmark. All of them show real 3D scenes and allow you to clearly see how the devices cope with them.

Let's start with GFXBench. Let us remind you that Offscreen tests involve displaying images in 1080p, regardless of the actual screen resolution. And Onscreen tests mean displaying a picture in the resolution that matches the device screen resolution. That is, Offscreen tests are indicative from the point of view of the abstract performance of the SoC, and Onscreen tests are indicative from the point of view of the comfort of gaming on specific device. Additionally, this year's Android devices featured a new Car Chase scene using OpenGL ES 3.1. This standard is not supported on iPhone, so this scene is not available there, nor is the Manhattan version of the scene with ES 3.1. However, there is enough data to draw conclusions.

	Samsung Galaxy Note7 (Samsung Exynos 8890 Octa)	Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge (Samsung Exynos 8890 Octa)	Moto X Force (Qualcomm Snapdragon 810)	Apple iPhone 6s Plus (Apple A9)
GFXBenchmark Car Chase ES 3.1 (Onscreen)	7.9 fps	7.9 fps	3.2 fps	—
GFXBenchmark Car Chase ES 3.1 (1080p Offscreen)	15 fps	15 fps	5.1 fps	—
GFXBenchmark Manhattan ES 3.1 (Onscreen)	15 fps	24 fps	10 fps	—
GFXBenchmark Manhattan ES 3.1 (1080p Offscreen)	28 fps	26 fps	18 fps	—
GFXBenchmark Manhattan ES 3.0 (Onscreen)	25 fps	25 fps	—	39 fps
GFXBenchmark Manhattan ES 3.0 (1080p Offscreen)	38 fps	38 fps	—	40 fps
GFXBenchmark T-Rex (Onscreen)	51 fps	52 fps	40 fps	59 fps
GFXBenchmark T-Rex (1080p Offscreen)	81 fps	84 fps	53 fps	80 fps

But here there is already almost complete parity between the S7 Edge and Note7 (except for the strange loss of the new product in one of the modes).

And the last test is 3DMark. The Sling Shot scene ran in OpenGL ES 3.1 on Android devices, and in OpenGL 3.0 on iPhones.

The abnormally high result in the Ice Storm Unlimited mode is difficult to explain, but it is what it is.

Overall, the benchmarks allow us to admit that the performance of the Samsung Galaxy Note7 and S7 Edge is approximately identical, and this moment this is the top level. By at least, before the release of the new iPhone.

Playing video

Theoretically possible support for adapters for output to external device We couldn’t check the images due to the lack of an adapter option that connects to the USB Type-C port, so we had to limit ourselves to testing the output of video files on the screen of the device itself. To do this, we used a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see “Method for testing video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)”). Screenshots with a shutter speed of 1 s helped determine the nature of the output of frames of video files with various parameters: the resolution varied (1280 by 720 (720p), 1920 by 1080 (1080p) and 3840 by 2160 (4K) pixels) and frame rate (24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps). In the tests we used the MX Player video player in the “Hardware” mode. The test results are summarized in the table:

Red marks indicate possible problems related to the playback of the corresponding files.

According to the criterion of frame output, the quality of playback of video files on the screen of the device itself is very good, since frames (or groups of frames) can be output with more or less uniform alternation of intervals and without skipping frames. When playing video files with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 (1080p) on a smartphone screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly along the border of the screen, going to the bends. The clarity of the picture is high, but not ideal, since there is no escape from interpolation to the screen resolution. However, for the sake of experimentation, you can switch to the one-to-one mode by pixel; there will be no interpolation, but the features of PenTile will appear - the vertical world through the pixel will be in a grid, and the horizontal one will be slightly greenish. This is on test worlds; the described artifacts are not present on real frames. The brightness range displayed on the screen actually corresponds to the standard range of 16-235: in the shadows only a couple of shades merge with black, and in the highlights all gradations of shades are displayed.

Autonomous operation and heating

One of the most interesting questions in the case of flagships is the battery life, since, as we understand, studying the characteristics will not necessarily give an idea about this parameter. And even “laboratory” tests are not always indicative. That is why we used the Samsung Galaxy Note7 as our main and only smartphone and were able to evaluate the battery life “in our own skin.”

Knowing that the battery capacity is slightly reduced compared to the S7 Edge, and the screen area is slightly larger, we were worried that the phone would need to be charged more often than the S7 Edge. But in fact, we did not find any significant difference. Like the S7 Edge, the new product can work for two days in medium-intensive mode. By medium intensity we mean the following: automatic check mail every 10 minutes (sometimes in addition to this - manual), frequent use of social networks and instant messengers (FB Messenger, Telegram, SMS), some amount of web surfing, irregular and short-term use of Yandex.Maps and Yandex.Transport, as well as about half an hour telephone conversations per day.

Obviously, if you add watching videos and 3D games to this list, the picture will change. But if for you a smartphone is primarily a working tool, then you can safely charge it no more than every other night.

In addition to the "real" testing, we added our standard test modes: Guided Tour in the Epic Citadel benchmark (simulating 3D games) and YouTube video playback. And here the results were less impressive. In Epic Citadel, the smartphone lasted only 3 hours 55 minutes - significantly less than many competitors. And when watching the video, the duration of work was 12 hours 50 minutes, which is also not a great result, but still acceptable.

Simply put, the Samsung Galaxy Note7 is more for everyday business use than for gaming and entertainment. Probably, the SoC does not work very economically in the same games. The result is intense heating and rapid loss of battery charge.

Below are thermal images of the rear surface obtained after 10 minutes of battery testing in the GFXBenchmark program:

It can be seen that the heating is highly localized above the center and close to the right edge, which apparently corresponds to the location of the SoC chip. According to the heat camera, the maximum heating was 45 degrees (at an ambient temperature of 24 degrees), which is significantly higher than the average value in this test for modern smartphones.

Already when the article was written, a scandal erupted with exploding Galaxy batteries Note7. Fortunately, we have not had such incidents, but it is clear that the problem is serious. We hope that Samsung will be able to solve it, and by the start of sales of the smartphone in Russia there will be no more problems.

In conclusion, we suggest watching our video review of the Samsung Galaxy Note7 smartphone and virtual reality glasses Samsung reality Gear VR:

In the second part of the article you will find detailed testing samsung cameras Galaxy Note7