Samsung reveals Galaxy Note series will live on -- new flagship will launch in 2017

 

After the whole Galaxy Note7 fiasco, some folks believed that Samsung would put an end to the Galaxy Note series. The electronics giant has lost a lot of money thanks to a single faulty device, not to mention that the damage this has caused to its reputation will be very hard -- if not impossible -- to repair, so such a decision would make some sense.
 
However, as it turns out, Samsung is not ready to throw in the towel just yet. The Galaxy Note series will live on, because the company just announced the introduction of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note8 in 2017. What's more, Galaxy Note7 customers will be able to take advantage of a special offer to upgrade to one of its upcoming flagships.
 
Details are a bit hard to understand, given that the announcement is made in Korean and the translation is a bit rough, but Samsung has prepared a program, called Galaxy Upgrade Program, to give Galaxy Note7 customers the chance of getting a Galaxy S8 or Galaxy Note8 in installments, at what appears to be a lower overall cost too: they will have to pay only 12 out of 24 monthly installments to get one of its upcoming flagships.
 
To take advantage of the program, Galaxy Note7 customers will have to sign up for it, exchange their device for a Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge, and return it, after the upcoming flagship they want to get launches, in exchange for a Galaxy S8 or Galaxy Note8. The way that the whole thing is explained leads me to believe that Samsung will estimate the value of the traded in device at half the cost of a Galaxy S8 or Galaxy Note8.
 
If that does not sound like a fantastic deal that's because it may not be. If you have already traded in your Galaxy Note7 for a Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge -- this program targets you too, not just those who have postponed or ignored the exchange offer -- and can sell it for more than half of what a Galaxy S8 or Galaxy Note8 will cost, after their launch, then you will be better off going that route.
 
To sweeten the deal though Samsung will give program members a 50 percent discount, twice, to repair (fix or replace) the display on the smartphone enrolled, and priority for repair visits at its service centers. That's an interesting proposition, but it may not be quite the special treatment some folks who got burned (literally or figuratively) by the Galaxy Note7 are expecting.
 
There is no information how this program applies to Galaxy Note7 customers outside South Korea, but Samsung does say that it will end November 30 2016. So, if it will be available internationally, we will find out soon enough.
 
Photo credit: Dean Drobot / Shutterstock
 
~ Mihăiță Bamburic

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Many reports of exploding Samsung Galaxy Note7 units are false

 

We have heard lots of stories about exploding Galaxy Note7 devices, but how many of them are actually true? In another episode of the Galaxy Note7 recall saga, Samsung has revealed that it has received multiple false reports from consumers claiming that their new smartphone caught fire, suggesting that, perhaps, there are fewer destroyed units in the wild than we have been lead to believe.
 
Samsung says that it has dealt with 26 such reports from alleged Galaxy Note7 owners, and that in 12 cases it has been unable to find an issue with those devices. What about the rest of the claims?
 
Well, in half of the remaining reports it could not get hold of the consumer making that claim while in the other seven the consumer either canceled their report or claimed that they have thrown their Galaxy Note7 away.
 
It could be argued that some of those reports are legitimate, but quite possibly we are simply looking at folks wanting to get a replacement Galaxy Note7 and keep their first unit too or folks who did not purchase one but want to take advantage of the situation to get a free Galaxy Note7.
 
The country with the most such cases is US, where Samsung has received nine false reports. Three false reports were in South Korea, and two in France. Samsung has received singular reports in Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Iraq, Lebanon, Philippines, Romania, Singapore, Turkey, UAE, UK, and Vietnam.
 
The alleged user in Canada apparently reused a photo of a Galaxy Note7 exploding found on the Internet. The consumer in Singapore claims to have thrown their Galaxy Note7 out of their car when it allegedly caught fire. Samsung has been unable to reach the alleged Galaxy Note7 user in its home country who claimed on the Internet that their smartphone caught fire.
 
No doubt, we will learn of more reports of exploding Galaxy Note7 units until things settle down, but it would be wise to take them with a grain of salt. Knowing how many units Samsung has sold (that number is thought to be over one million devices in the US alone), the number of units that are believed to have caught fire is extremely small in the grand scheme of things.
 
~ Mihăiță Bamburic

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Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 delayed due to quality issues -- exploding batteries suspected

 

The Galaxy Note 7 has received some extremely positive reviews. The Guardian described it "as without doubt, the best phablet going" and Engadget declared it "Samsung’s best phone yet". High praise indeed.
 
If you were hoping to get your hands on the new smartphone there’s some bad news. Shipments of the new devices are being delayed while Samsung conducts additional quality control testing.
 
There’s no word on the reason for the additional tests, although Reuters says some Note 7 users in South Korea have reported the batteries in their phones exploding. That seems a likely reason for the extra tests as Samsung will not have delayed shipments for anything minor, but it will be highly worrying if true.
 
The smartphone manufacturer confirmed the delay earlier in a brief statement saying simply: "Shipments of the Galaxy Note 7 are being delayed due to additional tests being conducted for product quality".
 
Samsung will be keen to resolve any potential problems with the new devices and get shipments back on track as soon as possible and we will update this post once more information becomes available.
 
~ Wayne Williams

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Meet Samsung Galaxy Note7

 

Samsung today unveils one of the most hotly anticipated smartphones of 2016 -- the Galaxy Note7. As the latest flagship in the popular series it builds upon the success of the Galaxy S7 line, featuring similar top of the line hardware, while boasting software enhancements that accommodate the now-famous S Pen.
 
Quite frankly, no one would blame you for saying that the Galaxy Note7 looks like a stretched out Galaxy S7 edge that has an S Pen at the bottom. Many of the specs are basically the same and, as a first for a device in this series, even the body is waterproof. So what does it bring to the table?
 
Let's get the main specs out of the way first. We'll start with the display, which is a 5.7-inch Super AMOLED panel boasting a resolution of 2,560 by 1,440. That is on par with its predecessor, and only slightly larger than the screen on the Galaxy S7 edge (5.5-inch panel with the same resolution). However, the Galaxy Note7 display is protected by Corning's Gorilla Glass 5, used for the first time in a smartphone, and is also curved on both side edges.
 
The Galaxy Note7 is powered by an octa-core processor (four cores clocked at 2.3GHz and the other four at 1.6GHz) built on the 14nm manufacturing process, 4GB of RAM and a 3,500mAh battery. The battery is smaller than on the Galaxy S7 edge (3,600mAh), mind you, but only just. Samsung says that it supports fast charging, but wired and wireless, and that it is WPC and PMA compatible.
 
In the imaging department, you have a 12MP Dual Pixel camera on the back with optical image stabilization and an f/1.7 lens, while on the front there is a 5MP shooter that also boasts an f/1.7 lens. To store all your photos you get 64GB of UFS 2.0 internal storage and a microSD card slot for expansion. Other things worth noting are the presence of NFC, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, Bluetooth 4.2 LE, and 4G LTE Cat.9 support, which enables transfer speeds of up to 450 Mbps for downloads and 50 Mbps for uploads.
 
But here is what sets the Galaxy Note7 apart from its Galaxy S7 cousins. First of all, it has an iris sensor, which adds a new way of unlocking and securing your smartphone. Second, there is a USB Type-C port at the bottom, which is a first for a Samsung flagship -- there is also a new GearVR to work with the USB Type-C port.
 
Then there is the S Pen, which, as you might expect, is joined by some new functionality on the software side. You get a new app for writing notes called Samsung Notes, the ability to create and share GIFs, new Air Command features, and a smaller tip that improved pressure sensitivity.
 
The Galaxy Note7 features Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow out of the box, which will soon be superseded by Android 7.0 Nougat. Samsung has added lots of enhancements, like a Power Management UX in Smart manager, new S Health app, and beefed up KNOX security. There is also Samsung Cloud, which gives users 15GB of free cloud storage.
 
The Galaxy Note 7 measures 153.5 x 73.9 x 7.9mm and weighs 169g. It will be available in four colors, Black Onyx, Blue Coral, Gold Platinum, and Silver Titanium, starting August 19. Pre-orders kick off today in US. At T-Mobile, for instance, it will be available to pre-order at 9:01pm PST, costing $849.99 outright.
 
There will also be a line of accessories dedicated to the Galaxy Note7, which includes an S View Standing Cover, and a water-resistant backpack for charging on the fly.

 

~ Mihăiță Bamburic

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