Samsung on Monday finally took the wraps off its revived Galaxy Note 7 smartphone. As we reported earlier this morning, the new Galaxy Note Fan Edition will be released on July 7th in South Korea. 400,000 units will be made available initially, and the company has not yet announced if or when it will release the new phone in additional markets. “New” is perhaps not the proper word to describe the Galaxy Note FE, since the phone is actually a refurbished and updated version of last year’s ill-fated Galaxy Note 7.
What are the big differences between the update Galaxy Note Fan Edition and the original Note 7? We’ll tell you in this post?
Plenty of Samsung’s biggest fans were upset on Monday morning when they learned that the Galaxy Note Fan Edition would be exclusive to South Korea at launch. We had a feeling that would be the case, of course, but many people apparently still hoped there would be a broader release.
The good news is that you’re probably not missing much. The Note 7 was a fantastic phone but we’re now less than two months away from the next-generation Galaxy Note 8’s unveiling. While the Note FE appears to be a solid phone, it’s a bit pricey at around $600 for a refurbished device. The new Note 8 is expected to offer a wide range of benefits over last year’s model, even in its newly refurbished state.
Speaking of refurbishing, people seem to be wondering exactly what’s different about the Galaxy Note Fan Edition compared to the original Galaxy Note 7. There are a few differences, but two in particular stand out the most.
First, the new Galaxy Note Fan Edition won’t explode. Well, it probably won’t explode, at least. Samsung pulled out the oversized batteries it stuffed into its original Note 7 models and replaced them with smaller 3,200 mAh batteries. Samsung’s attempt to squeeze too much capacity into the original Note 7 is what caused the battery’s defects, which led to the explosions several users experienced in 2016.
Beyond that, the second biggest difference between the Galaxy Note Fan Edition and the Galaxy Note 7 is the addition of Bixby. Samsung’s virtual personal assistant competes directly with the likes of Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa. It’s still crippled in the United States and other markets, but in South Korea it supports all of the nifty features Samsung announced when it first debuted Bixby on the Galaxy S8.
Long story short, the Galaxy Note Fan Edition is a solid phone and avid fans will jump at the opportunity to buy one. In markets outside South Korea where the phone is not available, however, people can rest assured that they aren’t missing too much — especially with the Galaxy Note 8 right around the corner.
