Can the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 compete with the best possible iPhone of these days — and the next day to come?
I have simply spent every week running with the Android Central workforce making ready for the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, the Korean large's newest salvo in the massive smartphone area. I learn so much of phrases a few smartphone that, as an alternative of making overt adjustments, subtly builds on the good fortune of its predecessor. After which, after the use of it, I noticed that the sum of the ones portions is one of the best and fascinating smartphones to return out this yr. So, how does it examine to the present Apple flagship, iPhone 6s Plus, and what does it imply for the one bobbing up, iPhone 7?
Symmetry
The very first thing that struck me about the Galaxy Note 7 is its symmetry, with the tight curves in its back and front assembly alongside the aspect bezels to shape an unbroken connection — one thing that may were unimaginable simply two years in the past, when the processes for curving glass over versatile AMOLED presentations used to be in its infancy. Pundits in a similar fashion remarked on the magnificence of Apple's curved steel chassis when the iPhone 6 debuted in 2014, and evaluating each the iPhone 6s Plus subsequent to the new Note 7, it is transparent each firms are in a position to command monumental production benefits over a lot of the festival (despite the fact that they're catching up).
Whilst the the ports and speaker holes on the Note 7's bottom still don't line up, the relaxation of the phone is terribly smartly balanced, and fantastically engineered. It's narrower than its predecessor, the Note 5, and considerably more uncomplicated to make use of with one hand than the iPhone 6s Plus, which is a complete 3 millimeters wider. Certainly, the gulf in screen-to-bezel ratio between the iPhone Plus collection and a few of Android's largest telephones is widening, with merchandise like the 5.5-inch ZTE Axon 7 coming near (however now not moderately achieving) the designation of "compact."
Galaxy Note 7 vs. iPhone 6s Plus Specifications comparability
Class |
Galaxy Note 7 |
iPhone 6s Plus |
---|
Running Device |
Android 6.0 Marshmallow |
iOS 9.3 |
Show |
5.7-inch 2560x1440 (518ppi) Tremendous AMOLED Twin edge display Gorilla Glass 5 |
5.5-inch 1920x1080 (401ppi) IPS LCD Ion-strengthened glass |
Processor |
Quad-core Snapdragon 820 (U.S) Octa-core Exynos (global) |
Apple A9 chip |
Garage |
64GB |
16-128GB |
Expandable |
microSD as much as 2TB |
No |
RAM |
4GB |
2GB |
Rear Digital camera |
12MP f/1.7 1.4-micron pixels OIS |
12MP f/2.2 1.22-micron pixels OIS |
Entrance Digital camera |
5MP f/1.7 |
5MP f/2.2 |
Connectivity |
Wi-Fi 802.11 ac MIMO Bluetooth v4.2 LE ANT+, USB 2.0, NFC |
Wi-Fi 802.11 ac MIMO Bluetooth v4.2 LE USB 2.0, NFC (Apple Pay solely) |
Charging |
USB-C Rapid Rate |
Lightning Rapid Price |
Wi-fi charging |
Sure, Qi wireless Powermat wireless |
No |
Enter |
S Pen stylus 4096 pts of force sensitivity |
Passive stylus solely |
Battery |
3500 mAh |
2750 mAh |
Water resistance |
IP68 score |
Unofficial water resistance |
Safety |
One-touch fingerprint sensor Iris scanner Samsung KNOX Personal folder |
Contact ID fingerprint sensor |
Dimensions |
153.5 x 73.9 x 7.9 mm |
158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3 mm |
Weight |
169 g |
192g |
An unfair comparability
In fact, that is an unfair comparability for the reason that the Note 7 is logo new and the iPhone 6s Plus 11 months previous and nearing the finish of its annual free up cycle. For all we all know, the so-called iPhone 7 Plus will shrink, as the Note collection has over the previous few years, whilst keeping up its 5.5-inch display measurement, or it is going to simply be offering a bigger display with the similar dimensions. However Apple hasn't proven as fervent a priority with screen-to-bezel potency because it has with thinness and lightness — the iPhone 6s Plus is even rather thicker and heavier than its 2014 counterpart — and there is not any explanation why to consider that would possibly not proceed this yr.
Whilst the the ports and speaker holes on the Note 7's backside nonetheless do not line up, the relaxation of the phone is terribly smartly balanced, and fantastically engineered.
However the Note 7 has many of the options iPhone consumers were clambering for since the early years of the this decade: water resistance; wireless charging; a high-resolution show; and a beneficiant serving to of inside garage as same old. And the go back of the microSD card to the Note line will surely draw in a undeniable subset of core Android customers who will have defected from Samsung in the 12 months since the Note 5's release.
As other as they're, even though, the iPhone 6s Plus and Note 7 percentage a host of truths about the smartphone business basically: they're wholly iterative replacements for terribly cutting edge units, and eschew gimmickry in prefer of reliability and — greater than anything else — high quality. To that finish, the Note 7's Android device lacks a lot of the trickery that used to be so normal simply two years in the past, choosing flat textures, white backgrounds, and skinny, easy-to-read typography optimized for high-resolution presentations. Even the announcement of an iris scanner lacked the fanfare such an inclusion would have 3 years in the past; it is simply differently to log in for your phone (and optimistically, with an forthcoming API, different safe apps).
Pen vs. Pencil
One of the maximum fascinating issues about the Note 7 is its S Pen. Even 5 years after its debut, the S Pen has controlled to retain its significance amongst a subset of Note customers enthralled with its intuitive garage and large app fortify. This yr's model has 4096 issues of force, equivalent in concept to the Apple Pencil to which it's going to inevitably be in comparison.
As other as they're, even though, the iPhone 6s Plus and Note 7 percentage a host of truths about the smartphone business.
We would possibly not know for a month but if Apple plans to convey Pencil beef up to the iPhone, however we will be able to safely say that it's going to now not be saved in the chassis like a ballpoint. And whilst Samsung executives took a cushy jab at Apple throughout the Note 7 keynote by way of pronouncing that the S Pen wishes no exterior energy, nor a unique fit in one's bag, the fact is that a function that during 2011 used to be disregarded as frivolous has now been stated by some means through the global's maximum influential smartphone maker. As a lot inspiration as Samsung attracts from Apple in the tool division, there is not any query that Cupertino's fresh flurry of funding in its accent ecosystem, centred round the burgeoning Sensible Connector port, is an concept smartly worn via different giants of tech.
Height shine
The Galaxy Note 7 is glossy — now not simply in a bodily sense, however in the approach it displays a lot of the phone business's tepid expansion and speedy adulthood of the previous 3 or so years. From the approach its tightly curved glass edges curl to satisfy a color-matched steel bezel to its port cover-free implementation of IP68 water resistance, the Note 7 is an engineering wonder. Its design could also be ruled via other values than Apple's. However those variations are shrinking yr after yr, as Samsung's hardware prowess improves and Android's once-common idiosyncrasies subside.
As the resident cross-platform user at iMore, I'm going to be exploring the waning distance of those divergences in larger element over the coming months, however suffice it to mention Samsung has engineered its very best phone ever with the Note 7, and most probably one of the absolute best smartphones, duration. It is undoubtedly raised the bar for Apple in the coming month, and that is the reason a just right factor for the business normally.
Now if shall we solely get Samsung to release telephones with the latest Android version.