Samsung's phablet flagship, the Galaxy Note 7, is due for announcement and launch on August 2, at a Samsung event in New York City. Since then, there have been plenty of leaks and rumors surrounding its specifications. Here's a round-up of some of the best we've seen so far.
1. IP68 waterproofing.
The Galaxy S5 and S7 have both been equipped with some form of water resistance, allowing them to be wet or even submerged in water for some time. The Galaxy Note 7 is going to be the first of the Note series to also be waterproof, with most rumors suggesting IP68 certification that will allow for immersion in five feet of water for up to 30 minutes, as well as some dustproofing.
The S Pen active stylus of the Galaxy Note 7 is also said to be covered by the certification.
2. MicroSD slot.
The Galaxy Note 7 will be equipped with a microSD slot, just like the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, marking the return of expandable storage after the last generation of Samsung flagships dropped the microSD slot.
The Galaxy Note 7 may be equipped with a hybrid SIM and microSD slot, like the dual-SIM version of the Galaxy S7. It may also have support for Samsung's new UFS 1.0 cards, which offer vastly improved transfer speeds.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 will very likely be shipped with Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box, though it's not clear whether it will support the Adoptable Storage feature of the latest version of Android, as the Galaxy S7 did not. However, you can use ADB to force it on the S7.
3. Iris scanner.
May reports suggest that the Galaxy Note 7 will be equipped with an iris scanner as an alternative unlock method to the fingerprint scanner. Leaked images have shown that users can unlock the Note 7 by positioning their eyes 25-35cm away from their phones.
Currently, the only phones on the market with iris scanners are the Lumia 950 and 950 XL, which use IR illumination, and the lesser-known Fujitsu NX F-04G. Samsung has its own patent for iris recognition, so it's likely that the Galaxy Note 7 will use a unique method.
4. Curved display and Always On.
The Galaxy S7 comes in a regular flat-screened version and the curved "Edge" variant, but the Galaxy Note 7 is said to come exclusively with a curved screen. It's expected to have the same Enhanced Edge features as the S7 Edge.
The Galaxy Note 7 will also be getting the Always On feature, which keeps the AMOLED screen active even when the phone is locked, to display a clock, notifications, calendar, patterns, and more.
5. USB Type-C.
The last time Samsung experimented with changing the classic charging point was with 2013's Galaxy Note 3 and its USB 3.0 port. The Galaxy Note 7 is expected to adopt the USB Type-C standard, which will allow for reversible connectors, much faster file transfers, and greatly improved charging speeds.
These are only some of the most exciting features that the Galaxy Note 7 will have. Only two weeks remain before the big reveal, and we're all excited to see how thing will pan out!
