Samsung Galaxy Note 7 preview: Take note, this is the big-screen phone to beat

Perhaps the biggest disappointment about the Samsung Galaxy Note series is that the last-generation model never made it to the UK. But British punters can raise a smile in 2016, for the Galaxy Note 7 is here to save the day. And even if you’re not a Samsung convert just yet, this will be the phone to change your mind: it’s the best looking big-screen, stylus-equipped phone that we’ve ever seen.

Whether you avidly follow the phone market or not, you’ll no doubt have spotted increasing numbers of Galaxy S7 edge devices in peoples’ hands – the phone with the curved screen edges that looks super snazzy. The Note 7 apes this curved design, but in a 5.7-inch frame, complete with many of the same features but also whole bunch more besides thanks to its integrated S-Pen stylus.

We could just reel off all these features, but the Galaxy Note 7 feels like a greater sum than its varying parts. It’s sumptuous to look at and handle, is the first phone to support Mobile HDR (high dynamic range) – although the Sony X Premium is rumoured to follow suit with a 4K HDR display – and even supports iris recognition for super-quick sign-in.

Can the Note 7 do no wrong?

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 preview: Design

The last Note phone to make it to the UK was the Note 4, a brilliant but plastic-backed phone. The Note 7, by contrast, is all about superior design: its symmetrical from top to bottom and front to back (ignoring the protruding camera, of course), mirroring its curved glass front to the back.

We were most drawn to the Blue Coral device – the main handset featured in our gallery, which merges rose gold with an ebullient blue – which also joins Black Onyx and Silver Titanium options (there will be a gold model in some territories, we’re told by Samsung execs, but not the UK). This is definitely a showy phone. It’s also a terrible fingerprint magnet, so unless you have a penchant for wearing silk gloves at all times then you’ll want to keep those sweaty palms at a distance.

The Note 7’s size is ultimately similar to the Note 5, but trims a couple of millimetres across the front – but you’d think it was more, having handled both devices side-by-side – for a comfortable fit in the hand.

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There’s also a microSD slot up top for expansion. And the whole device is also waterproof (IP68 rated), as is the integrated S-Pen stylus, to avoid any unwanted rain, bath or, um, toilet incidents.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 preview: New S-Pen

Should you get caught in a downpour then you can still pop-out the S-Pen and continue working as normal. Droplets on the screen don’t distract the phone’s attention as you may expect – we tried to emulate a smattering of rain with some water and the screen didn’t try to register those as inputs like phones typically do when wet (specifically, though, this is when the S-Pen is in use). It’s even possible to use the S-Pen with the phone fully immersed in water – if, you know, you like to use the phone in the bath.

The S-Pen is the defining factor of what makes the Note a Note. Not that you have to use it – it’s a perfectly quality Android phone nonetheless – but it expands controls and features, plus is more advanced than before.

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First up, the 200mm-long and 20mm-wide S-Pen is more intricate than before, with a 0.7mm diameter tip and 3g weight. Secondly, the Note 7’s screen is extra sensitive, with 4,096 levels of pressure detectable, so the deftest of touches will make a difference to pen strokes and input.

Oh, and to the people who have placed the S-Pen in backwards in some older Note devices: that’s no longer possible in the Note 7. The click-down top is the tiniest bit wider than the main unit to prevent that.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 preview: New software smarts

Current Note users will know about Air Command, the S-Pen’s multi-functional menu to write memos and notes, Smart Select to acquire specific content and share between apps in dual-screen mode, and the ability to annotate over on-screen content. This time around Smart Select adds the ability to create animated GIFs up to 15-seconds long, which is fun.

In the Note 7 the core Air Command principle remains much the same, but with some additions: Magnify, which enhances a square on-screen area by 150-300%, depending on the S-Pen’s position; and Translate, which plugs into Google Translate and can translate words on-page or even from photographs, one word at a time (but not in sentences or paragraphs, thus rendering it largely pointless). We’re not entirely sold on those additional functions, in part because they bulk out the Air Command’s icons to six. It’s just busier than it needs to be.

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The best new S-Pen feature, in our view, is one that doesn’t appear in Air Command at all: Screen-Off Memo. This allows you to extract the S-Pen without turning the phone on, to make quick notes on the always-on display (it’s white scrawl on the black background) and even pin alert pop-ups to the screen to return to later, without unlocking the device.

All notes are now accessible via the Samsung Notes app, which lives in the app drawer, to act as a hub for all your note-based content, divided into relevant categories (handwriting, drawing, image, pen-up). You can even create your own sub-folders to divide content.

And if that sounds like everything is a bit too accessible, then the addition of a Secure Folder feature allows you to separate, say, personal and work content behind a Knox-secure folder. That means chip-level security so nobody will go breaking into those work files.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 preview: Iris scanner

Fingerprint scanners are so last year. Well, not entirely – the Note 7 still has one of those, on its front, which doubles-up as the home button, in the same manner as the Galaxy S7. It works well, although we much prefer such scanners to be positioned on the rear of phones this large, like the Huawei Mate 8.

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However, the Note 7 employs iris scanning technology, which utilises an infrared camera to scan your eyes for ultra-fast sign-in. It’s very similar to the technology that Fujitsu demonstrated at MWC 2015, but Samsung claims this is its own tech at work. We’re glad there’s no dazzling light intrusion with this scanner like there is with the Microsoft Lumia 950 and XL devices.

So how does it work? The software takes an infrared scan of your irises, which are even more distinguished than the detail in a fingerprint, through an easy-to-follow step-by-step setup. You can only register the one user, rather than multiples, so the “irises” comment in the setup menu is a misnomer. Once done, simply hold the phone around 30cm from your face, with eyes entering the virtual circles displayed on the screen (there are some comical pre-set overlays of robots, animals and more if you prefer to hide – nice one Samsung), and it’ll sign-in almost immediately.

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When it works well, it’s quicker than a fingerprint scanner. When it doesn’t work – things like bright sunlight have infrared rays of its own in, which disrupts the ability to read; while glasses reflections can also cause problems – it can be little frustrating. Still, there’s the fingerprint and typical PIN/pattern logins too if you prefer.

If only airports could have this technology in place to speed up getting through the gates, we’d be forever happy.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 preview: Screen delights

The 5.7-inch panel in the Note 7 is the same 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution as the Note 5, but it’s not the same screen. It’s capable of 800-nits maximum brightness, hence its ability to deliver Mobile HDR video (note, it’s not 4K HDR like the rumoured Sony Xperia X Premium).

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The potential of Mobile HDR is the most exciting part about the Note 7’s screen – but one that couldn’t be demonstrated as there’s zero content yet. We fully expect a partnership will be announced at the Samsung Unpacked launch event (on August 2) to make the most of this feature. And if you’re wondering what the heck HDR is, then take a browse at our feature. Although, obviously, the Note 7 isn’t a TV – and, indeed, the phone uses Super-AMOLED, it’s not SUHD like Samsung’s TVs, so will function differently – making us extra interested to see what results are like.

READ: What is HDR and what content can I watch?

Brushing aside that big HDR feature for a moment and the screen is rather special in its own standing. It offers the usual hyper-real colour palette and deep blacks of Samsung Super-AMOLED devices, with ample resolution.

Indeed, there’s a rather dense pixel count, but here’s where the latest Gear VR virtual reality headset can make the most of that. As the Note 7 uses USB Type-C, the new Gear VR has updated on this front too – plus it’s darker to avoid reflections, has a better headstrap than before and the lenses are better defined too (a 101-degree view improves on 96-degrees of the old device).

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Like the Galaxy S7 edge, the Note 7 also makes use of its curved screen edges for software purposes. There are quick-access apps via a side-swipe, including People Edge for your favourite people, and Edge Panels for at-a-glance information about your favourite topics, such as weather, sport, news, Twitter feed and more.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 preview: Spec skinny

To match the looks, Samsung has, by and large, gone all-in on the specification. The Note 7 will feature the company’s Exynos chip set, with an octa core processor (quad 2.3GHz and quad 1.6GHz; 64-bit, 14nm process) paired with 4GB RAM. No sign of 6GB RAM here, which we thought might feature as a future-proof part of the feature set.

There’s a 3,500mAh battery on board, too, which should keep things flowing for a day of use (unless you play Pokemon Go all day long, of course). And with that USB Type-C port, fast-charge is possible for rapid top-ups as required. And with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow at the phone’s core, features such as Google Doze will kick-in when it’s not in use to preserve the battery for longer.

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On the cameras front there’s the same Dual Pixel camera arrangement as per the Galaxy S7 (and edge). That’s a 12MP rear camera, with optical image stabilisation and f/1.7 aperture, paired with a 5-megapixel, f/1.7 front-facing snapper. And we know just how good those fared in the S7’s sake, so the Note 7 is almost certainly up there with the best on the photography front.

First Impressions

The Note series’ one-year hiatus wasn’t in vain, as the Note 7 marks a rapturous return to UK shores. Its top-spec design, waterproofing, Mobile HDR-capable screen, iris scanner and new S-Pen all help see to that.

On the downside some of the new S-Pen software seems like overkill – one-word-at-a-time Translate ought to offer more functionality, surely? – and we fully expect the price point will be, well, massive.

Stand up and take note: as stylus-equipped, big-screen phones go we’ve seen none better than the Note 7.