As anticipated, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Note7 Fan Edition in its home country, South Korea. It’s unclear whether the phone will be launched in other markets as well, but we do know Samsung is going to manufacture 400,000 units of the new Note7.
But ven if you’re not going to be able to purchase the Galaxy Note7 Fan Edition here in the US, you’re probably still wondering what’s the difference between the old and new iteration. Well in what follows we’re going to spell them out for you.
Safer battery
The whole reason why Samsung had to pull the Galaxy Note7 abruptly from the market was the faulty 3,500 mAh battery. In the new model, the company has embedded a smaller 3,200 mAh juice pack which has been tested and re-tested for safety using Samsung’s new 8-point battery inspection plan.
New processor
While last year’s Galaxy Note7 arrived with a Snapdragon 820, the Fan Edition carries a newer Snapdragon 821. It’s not the newest chipset available, but this is a refurbished product after all. The Snapdragon 821 is the same processor used by LG’s current G6.
Apart from the processor, the other specs remain the same, meaning that we have a 5.7-inch panel with QHD resolution (2,560 x 1,440), a 12-megapixel camera, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of internal storage, an iris scanner, IP68 water resistance and wireless charging. Naturally, the S-Pen is also part of the bundle.
Subtle design differences
The exterior of the new Fan Edition looks the same, but Samsung’s logo doesn’t appear in front anymore, like in the case of the Galaxy S8. The branding on the back has also been modified to say “Galaxy Note7 Fan Edition”.
A touch of Galaxy S8
Samsung updated the UI on the Galaxy Note7 which now offers the slightly modified Samsung Experience interface found on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ flagship.
Bixby
The new Galaxy Note7 Fan Edition becomes the second Samsung phone to include Bixby, the virtual assistant. Yet, Samsung didn’t go far with modifications as to include a dedicated Bixby physical button as well.
Pricing
The Fan Edition is priced at $610 in South Korea which means it is 30% less expensive than the original Galaxy Note7.
So is it worth it? To a Note7 diehard fan perhaps, but the majority of customers are probably going to wait for the Galaxy Note8, which is only a few months away.
