We’re just two short days away from Samsung’s official Galaxy Note 7 release, and the reviews are in. We covered the hot new phablet in our in-depth Galaxy Note 7 review and here’s the TL;DR version: It will be the best phablet on the planet when it launches this Friday, and it’ll almost certainly still be the best phablet on the planet next month, even after Apple releases its next-generation iPhone 7 Plus.
We obviously recommend reading our full Galaxy Note 7 review before you reach any conclusions. But for those looking for a quick overview of the best new functionality Samsung’s latest phablet has to offer, we’ve compiled the phone’s seven hottest features in this post.
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S Pen
Samsung’s S Pen is at the center of the Note experience and it’s better than ever. The physical stylus itself has been improved so that writing with it feels almost like writing with a ballpoint pen. Then, the Note 7’s software has been further enhanced with great new S Pen features like a GIF maker, a translate feature, a magnifier and more. My favorite new feature is the ability to pin a memo to the phone’s sleep screen, so you don’t even have to unlock the handset in order to see the memo.
Water- and dust-resistance
This is a huge deal, and it speaks for itself. The Galaxy Note 7’s IP68 certification means that it can be completely submerged in water and come away working just fine. As expensive as flagship smartphones are these days — the Note 7 costs $850 — every single high-end handset should have an IP68 rating.
Camera
Every smartphone out there obviously has a camera these days, but none of them can touch the Dual Pixel rear camera on the Note 7. The low-light performance is phenomenal, it has the fastest auto-focus on the planet, and picture clarity is unmatched. The only complaint in my review was that it’s the same exact camera as the one featured on the Galaxy S7. We’ve always seen progress made from model to model, so I hope this isn’t the start of a trend.
Display
Samsung is simply the best in the business when it comes to smartphone displays, and the Galaxy Note 7 pushes it even further ahead of its rivals. The quad HD Super AMOLED display on the Note 7 is breathtaking, featuring incredible clarity and colors that leap off the screen. You won’t find a better display on a phone. Period.
Expandable storage
This seems like a no-brainer but there are still smartphones out there that ship without a microSD card slot. I’m looking at you, Apple. The Note 7 comes with just one option for internal storage — 64GB — which simplifies things for Samsung. Then, users can add up to 256GB of additional space with a memory card. Of note, the phone supports up to 2TB but the biggest microSD card out there right now is 256GB.
Secure Folder
The all new Secure Folder feature in Samsung’s TouchWiz software gives you a special folder that’s protected by an additional layer of security. You can store files, photos, videos or even apps in the folder. To access those files and apps, you’ll need to authenticate again with a password, fingerprint scan or an iris scan, which means you can unlock your phone and let someone else use it without worrying that he or she might access your private data.
Battery
3,500 mAh… fast wireless charging… even faster wired charging… two different power saving modes… the Galaxy Note 7 really is the total package when it comes to battery performance. It has enough juice to carry you through a full day of usage under almost any circumstances, and it refuels faster than most phones — even ones with smaller batteries.
