The innovative Galaxy Note line from Samsung just stepped up a notch with its sixth generation of the "phablet" in a category which it started six years ago.
The new Note takes on the number 7 to stay aligned with the other current flagships, Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge.
By the time the Note had reached its fifth avatar, it was already a gorgeous looking metal and glass device with beautifully curved glass. The Note is, of course, well known for its extremely smooth "S-Pen" or its little stylus which works with great pressure sensitivity on the surface of the device's screen.
Difficult as it may be to perfect an already innovative and much-admired device, Samsung has brought the Note 7 with a further bouquet of enhancements and features. The most talked of is its iris scanner, which isn't there just to unlock the phone but to use Samsung Pay and get into secured content areas on the device. Users may not eventually use the iris scanner as much -- at least not those who wear thick glasses or who don't want to take the time to align with the sight of the scanner - but those who become accustomed to it may get to like this new technology.
Many of the specs on the Note 7 will be familiar to users of one of Samsung's current flagships. It has a 5.7-inch QHD dual-edge Super Amoled display and quad-core, Snapdragon 820 chipset (though in India Samsung may use its own processor) an Adreno 530 GPU and 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage with micro-SD expansion, a 12 and 5MP camera with the f1.7 lens and a 3,500mAh battery. The Note 7 is also water and dust resistant like the two flagships.
The smartphone is expected to launch in India on the 11th of August and will cost roughly Rs 52,000, in line with its other top end phones. There will be bundled offers for those who pre-order.
BW Reporters
Mala Bhargava has been writing on technology well before the advent of internet in Indians and before CDs made their way into computers. Mala writes on technology, social media, startups and fitness. A trained psychologist, she claims that her understanding of psychology helps her understand the human side of technology.