The Galaxy Note 7 has arrived and it looks superb. But after months of speculation is it the spectacular all-conquering device many predicted and what are the differences between it and Samsung’s incrediblypopular Galaxy S7? Let’s break it down.
Note: Samsung has skipped the ‘Galaxy Note 6’ and moved straight from the Galaxy Note 5 in 2015 to the Galaxy Note 7 in 2016. This is to unite the numbering across the Galaxy S and Note ranges.
Galaxy Note 7 (left) vs Galaxy S7 (right) – proportional dimensions. Image credit: Samsung
Design & Size – Closing The Gap
One look at the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy Note 7 and you can tell they come from the same company. They share the same glass and aluminium construction, premium finishes and design language. But there are also clear differences, most obviously their size:
- 5.7-inch Galaxy Note 7 – 153.5 x 73.9 x 7.9 mm (6.04 x 2.91 x 0.31 in) and 169g (5.96 oz)
- 5.1-inch Galaxy S7 – 142.4 x 69.6 x 7.9 mm (5.61 x 2.74 x 0.31 in) and 152g (5.36 oz)
Yes, the Galaxy Note 7 remains a much larger handset, but the gap has closed by 16g since last year due to the Note 7 losing 2g and the S7 adding 14g as it squeezed in a bigger battery than the S6.
Galaxy Note 7 (left) vs Galaxy S7 (right) – a very similar design language. Image credit: Samsung
Recommended by Forbes
They also now share the same practicalities: IP68 water resistance (surviving for up to an hour in 1.5m of water) and the return of microSD expandable storage that was dropped on their respective 2015 models. But the Galaxy Note 7 is even more practical than the Galaxy S7 as it is the first phone to use Gorilla Glass 5 which survives drops better than the S7’s Gorilla Glass 4.
But of course this brings us onto the other big elephant in the room…
Displays – More Than An Edge
For the first time, the Galaxy Note range has adopted the dual curved screen of the Galaxy S7 Edge as standard. This bezel-less finish allows the Galaxy Note 7 to slightly trim its width (it is 0.22m narrower than the Note 5) and it looks great – which I’d argue is the main benefit over the fairly lightweight Edge software additions (more later).
The Galaxy Note 7′s display curves less than previous Galaxy Edge phones. Image credit: Samsung
The Galaxy Note 7 also has a bigger display than the Galaxy S7:
- Galaxy Note 7 – 5.7-inch curved panel, 2560 x 1440 pixels (518 ppi), Super AMOLED display with Gorilla Glass 5
- Galaxy S7 – 5.1-inch flat panel, 2560 x 1440 pixels (577 ppi), Super AMOLED display with Gorilla Glass 4
At such extreme resolutions, the slightly higher ‘pixels per inch’ of the Galaxy S7 will make no difference and the duo offer class leading display quality. Both also support Samsung’s ‘Always-on Display’.
The Galaxy Note 7 Always-on Display can recognise handwritten notes with the S Pen stylus. Image credit: Samsung
This allows basic information (such as the time or customisable notifications) to be shown on the screen in standby mode at the cost of 1% of battery life per hour. The Galaxy Note 7 has also built in support for adding handwritten notes to this mode.
Performance – Parity Is A Disappointment
Both the Galaxy Note 7 and Galaxy S7 share identical internals:
- Galaxy S7 and Galaxy Note 7 – US Version: Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 (dual-core 2.15 GHz Kryo & dual-core 1.6 GHz Kryo CPUs, Adreno 530 GPU), 4GB RAM
- Galaxy S7 and Galaxy Note 7 – International Version: Exynos 8890 (quad-core 2.3 GHz + quad-core 1.6 GHz CPUs, Mali-T880 MP12 GPU), 4GB RAM
On paper this is no bad thing. Samsung claims CPU and GPU performance are up 30% and 64% respectively on 2015 models and both also run cooler.
That said, given the Galaxy Note 7 comes to market six months later than the Galaxy S7 and was long rumoured to have 6GB of RAM and a newer Snapdragon 821 or 823 chipset the parity is a little disappointing. The Galaxy Note 7 is Samsung’s most expensive smartphone (more later) and it will be outstripped by the next generation of chipsets which will arrive in 4-5 months.
Iris recognition in the Galaxy Note 7 is said to be up 100x more secure than a fingerprint sensor. Image credit: Samsung
Then again the Galaxy Note 7 does have one key performance advantage over the Galaxy S7: security. Samsung claims the new Iris scanner in the Galaxy Note 7 is up to 100x more secure than the fingerprint sensor in the Galaxy S7 or any other smartphone. The trade off is users have to remove their glasses for it to work and it has to be tilted to focus on your eyes, making it more of a hassle than using your finger – but how customers react will be vital to telling Samsung whether this is a greater differentiator or just a gimmick.
Software – The Note Advantage
Minor performance gripes aside, a key differentiator of the Galaxy Note 7 range has always been its software – particularly in combination with the line’s iconic S Pen stylus.
The Galaxy Note 7 S Pen stylus has been upgraded from the 2015 model. Image credit: Samsung
This remains the case with the Galaxy Note 7 able to do everything the Galaxy S7 can plus expanded S Pen support for new features such as quick translations, creating gifs and writing on the aforementioned Always-on Display. The S Pen itself has also been upgraded to support a massive 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity making it more like using an actual pen than ever before.
Writing results on the Galaxy Note 7 using the S Pen. Image credit: Samsung
On top of this the Galaxy Note 7 has gained support for Edge software features thanks to the addition of its curved screen. This means a swipe from the screen edge brings up customisable widgets and shortcuts and this is open to third party app integration. It’s fun, if not essential functionality. I find myself disabling it but others I know love it.
Creating a gif from a video using the Galaxy Note 7 S Pen. Image credit: Samsung
Finally there is Samsung’s polarising TouchWiz customisation of Android, but given this applies to both phones it is something you either get on board with or try to minimise through a custom launcher or ROM.
Next page: Cameras, Battery Life, Storage, Pricing and Verdict
没有评论:
发表评论