Samsung to launch 'Fan Edition' of failed Note 7

04 July

Press renders of the Samsung Note 7 have surfaced on the web, with Evan Blass - "arguably the world's most famous leaker", according to Forbes - posting the pictures to his Twitter account.

The images spell out in full the design of the upcoming handset, as well as the colours it will be available in and some of the hardware features.

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As predicted, Samsung has overhauled the design, using an AMOLED panel with a dual curved Edge display similar to that of the Galaxy S7 Edge smartphone.

There are three different launch colours for the device – Black Onyx, Blue Coral and Silver Titanium – while the name is confirmed as the Note 7 name, skipping over the "6" label.

As Forbes notes, looking closely at the front of the device reveals a new hardware addition – there's a second lens for an iris scanner sat next to the front camera so authorised users should be able to just pick look at the phone to unlock it.

Blass's previous track record on leaks throws the legitimacy of some earlier reports into question, says

Pocket Lint, as the new renders all but confirm how the phone will look.

While it's been rumoured that the curved display will be either 5.7ins – the same size as on the Note 5 – or a larger 5.8ins, TechRadar picks up an interesting bit of information pointing towards a six-inch handset.

A listing on Indian import/export site Zauba hints at the larger display, reports the site. This could point to a few possibilities, with two Notes in 2016 being one of them, as it has been rumoured that Samsung has tested phablets with both the curved display and a standard flat panel.

All should be clear fairly soon – the Note 7 is expected to be revealed in full on 2 August.

Galaxy Note 7: Case leaks confirm curved display

30 June

Samsung's next Note will feature an Edge-style curved display when it is unveiled in August.

Accessory manufacturer Olixar has released images of the phablet's hard cases, reports Samsung blog SamMobile, and they could reveal the Note 7's overall physical design.

They show a phablet not too dissimilar to the Note 5 currently on the market but featuring the curved edges used on the company's Edge series of Galaxy smartphones.

Early leaks suggested the Note's AMOLED display would become a larger 5.8ins panel, although respected smartphone leaker Evan Blass has since tweeted that Samsung will stick with the 5.7ins size screen. As such, GSM Arena says it's a toss-up which one could be coming and to expect either size.

Phone Arena gives the rest of the rendered phone a going over, although there's little different beyond the shake-up in screen technology. The same protruding, boxy camera housing sits on the back and there's no change expected to the 12-megapixel camera as used on the smaller Galaxy S7 smartphone.

Alongside the square camera is an LED flash and heart rate sensor, while the S Pen stylus doesn't move from its current Note 5 position.

The site adds that the handset should be water and dustproof and believes it will run Android Marshmallow, although with a new TouchWiz interface.

Galaxy Note 7: New cameras lead the hardware line-up

27 June

Samsung's next flagship phablet will definitely be called the Galaxy Note 7 – and will come with some new hardware features, according to the ever reliable Evan Blass.

Posting his finds on Twitter, the tipster says official branding material shows Samsung will skip over the "6" name and go straight to Note 7. It's said this is to bring all of its handsets in line – a new, more powerful device labelled "6" could give consumers the wrong impression, considering this year's Samsung smartphone is the Galaxy S7.

Alongside that, Blass pours cold water over rumours of a 5.8ins display, saying the screen size will stay at 5.7ins, but that the Note 7 will boast a QuadHD SuperAMOLED panel, although there's no word on whether this display will be curved, as has been previously touted.

Camera hardware looks set to be plucked from the Galaxy S7, with a 12-megapixel main lens featuring the phone's dual-pixel autofocus technology, and a five-megapixel front-facing camera.

The Note 7 will boast IP68 water and dust resistance - significant given that, with its removable S-Pen, the phablet is much harder to waterproof than a regular handset - and Blass also tips an iris scanner to make the cut. In addition, customers will have a choice of three colours: black, silver or blue.

Lastly - an addition Forbes is keen to point out as one of the biggest changes coming – the Note will feature 64GB on-board storage as its base level, with Micro SD expandable storage capabilities said to be on the cards, too.

Its "great to see microSD expansion will be available" after being removed from the Note 5, says the site, adding that the 64GB baseline option could cause headaches for rival Apple.

The increased minimum will help the Note 7 stake its claim as the best on the market for power users. Apple currently offers its iPhone 6S Plus handset with a 16GB entry level option and it's hard to see the company jumping straight from a 16GB baseline to a 64GB standard for its "7" generation of phones. A 32GB iPhone 7 Plus could be in the pipeline, but as Forbes points out, "even that hands the advantage to the South Koreans".

The Note 7 is expected to be unveiled in August, giving Samsung a head-start over Apple, whose next Plus sized iPhone isn't expected until a month later.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7: Reveal date leaked in full

16 June

Samsung's next flagship phablet will be revealed on 2 August, according to a new leak sourced by the often reliable SamMobile.

The report shows a picture of what appears to be a teaser for a Samsung Unpacked event in New York in early August. In addition, it strongly suggests the phablet will be called the Galaxy Note 7 and will boast a curved AMOLED display similar to the one found on the Galaxy S7 Edge smartphone. "The next edge is just around the corner", it says, alongside curved lines resembling the number 7.

Rumours have been rife that Samsung will skip over the Note 6 in a bid to place all of its top-end handsets on an even footing in terms of names. The theory is that releasing a 6 may make the phablet look outdated next to the Galaxy S7, which was revealed at its own Samsung Unpacked event in February.

It would also place the name on par with Apple's next handset – the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are set to be revealed this September.

An August release has been touted before and this leak all but confirms the precise date. Writing for Forbes, Ewan Spence says Samsung's decision to reveal all in early August "makes a lot of strategic sense".

"This Galaxy Note is going to be in direct competition with Apple's iPhone 7 Plus," he writes, noting that the Californian's phone is expected to come with exclusive hardware additions such as a dual camera. Slotting the Note 7 release in as early as possible means it will get some time on the market all to itself.

"It's a smart move to get a little bit of clear air between the Note reveal and the avalanche of Apple's reveal," Spence adds.

The Note is rumoured to pack a Qualcomm 823 chipset mated to 6GB RAM, 256GB internal storage and a 4,000mAh battery, while Apple's offering, in addition to the camera system, is tipped to come with the company's A10 processor and potentially 3GB RAM.

Galaxy Note: Leak hints at curved display and 7 name

13 June

There's not long to go until Samsung reveals its next flagship phablet and leaks are pouring in.

The latest report about the Galaxy Note, unearthed by Phone Arena, is a fresh piece of information backing up rumours that the device will get a curved AMOLED display similar to the one used on the Galaxy S7 Edge, as well as suggestions that Samsung will skip over the "6" moniker and go straight to "7".

The alleged teaser was sent to the website anonymously and as such, it is impossible to validate its authenticity. However, Pocket Lint says it is a "typically Samsung looking teaser".

The image shows a shadowy edge of a Note with a Galaxy S-Pen writing on it. The material reads: "Write on the edge of something great", strongly hinting that the phablet, which is set to arrive at some point in August, sports a curved display as seen on Samsung's previous Edge-labelled devices.

Rumours so far have indicated the Note will get a 5.8ins 2K AMOLED display.

There's also a much more subtle teaser in the image. The way the phone is positioned, combined with the lighting, roughly makes a number 7. It's been rumoured for some weeks now that Samsung will skip over calling its next phablet the Galaxy Note 6 to reinforce a consistent naming pattern across its range of flagship devices after introducing the Galaxy S7 earlier this year.

Galaxy Note 6: Not expected to launch with Android N

08 June

Rumours are swirling ahead of Samsung's next phablet release.

The company is expected to reveal an all-new Note in August and it is whispered that it could feature a curved OLED display inspired by the firm's Galaxy S7 Edge, 6GB RAM and Qualcomm's as-yet-unreleased Snapdragon 823 chipset.

Hardware chatter has stayed relatively consistent, suggesting that tipsters and the tech press are finding it tricky to nail down what software the phablet will run.

Some speculate the Note will come with Android's next big release, currently known as Android N, while others expect it to come with Marshmallow, the operating system used on the Galaxy S7.

However, a new leak from the often-reliable SamMobile claims to know the truth – and there's nothing new on the horizon.

It says the Note won't be running Android N from the box and will ship with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow instead.

SamMobile cites a leaked user agent profile for the phablet which clearly spells out that Samsung is testing the device with the current Android operating system and making it hard to believe that anything but Marshmallow will be on the next Note.

"If it was going to come with Android N, one would have expected that Samsung would be testing the device with Android N developer builds but this profile makes it seem like that’s not the case," it adds.

Android N is expected to become available to download at some point this summer, possibly not long after the early August release touted by many for the next Note.

Google has yet to give its next operating system a proper name, hence the "N" codename for now. Similarly, It's not a given that the next Note device will be called the Note 6 – some have suggested Samsung will call it the Note 7, to bring it in line with the firm's Galaxy S7 smartphones.

Galaxy Note 6: Renders offer a first look at Samsung's phablet

06 June

Renders of Samsung's upcoming phablet – which reports say could be called either the Galaxy Note 6 or 7 - have started to emerge ahead of an expected August reveal.

The first set of drawings were posted on Twitter by Shai Mizrachi, who the International Business Times says has accurately revealed several devices in the past.

The handset depicted makes use of Samsung's party trick, with a display curving into the edges of the chassis.

A similar render produced by noted smartphone leaker Steve Hemmerstoffer has also been posted on Twitter, via the tipster's OnLeaks account.

Again, the handset features a curved Galaxy S7 Edge-style display, complete with a square camera hole on the rear, next to a rectangular flash and microphone assembly. A string of sensors on the front hint that the Note could come with an iris scanner.

However similar the two renders appear, TrustedReviews points out a problem – the two devices are actually different sizes.

Mizrachi claims the next Note will be "153mm x 74.5mm x 7.8mm", while the Hemmerstoffer leak, published by uSwitch, says it will measure "153.5mm x 73.9mm x 7.9mm". Tiny differences, but pointing to one of the leaks being inaccurate.

Regardless, both provide a good snapshot of what to expect once the device is unveiled. A curved 5.8ins OLED display mimicking the firm's Edge smartphone is bound to be the headline design feature, while hardware rumours hint the Note is staying true to its power user core and could come with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 823 chipset, mated to 6GB RAM.

Galaxy Note 6: Is a dual camera on the way?

3 June

Samsung's next phablet could steal a march on the iPhone 7 Plus and come with a dual camera.

The new tech is widely rumoured to be coming on Apple's next flagship smartphone, but a new leak suggests the South Korean firm may pip it to the post and use it on the Note 6 – or Note 7, as some say the phablet will be called.

According to 9to5Google, a "sketchy" report from Chinese website Zol claims Samsung is currently developing dual-camera technology and that it should be "commercially viable" by the end of the summer.

The next Note is currently expected to be revealed in August, so the report leaves little turnaround time between the tech becoming viable and the gadget going on sale. Regardless, many have already joined the dots.

Dual-camera systems are appearing on a growing number of devices, but two of the most well-known currently on sale – the Huawei P9 and LG G5 – use the technology in different ways. The Huawei has two sensors to capture two images and then combines them for highly-detailed shots, while its LG rival uses the secondary lens for wide-angle photography.

It would still be a headline feature for Samsung, however. If the rumour proved true, the Note would be "one of the first mainstream handsets to ship with the technology", writes Ewan Spence in Forbes.

It would also give the company a distinct advantage heading into the release of the iPhone 7, he adds, leaving customers "wondering if Apple is playing catch-up".

The iPhone 7 Plus is rumoured to come with 3GB RAM to handle the demands of a dual-camera setup. The Note 6, meanwhile, should be more than powerful – it could come with Snapdragon's 823 chipset mated to 6GB RAM.