Later this month, Samsung is going to launch the Galaxy Note7, the company’s latest phablet with the S Pen tagging along for good measure. Earlier this month, Samsung introduced the device to the world, and early hands-on impressions of the handset were positive. For anyone that’s in the market for a new Android phone, and hasn’t already upgraded or doesn’t want to wait to see what Google has up its sleeve for the Nexus brand, the Galaxy Note7 sounds like it will be a worthwhile upgrade.
The Galaxy Note7 offers a ton of features, some limited upgrades versus the previous iteration in the family lineup, and some new additions that are pretty great. The iris scanner is pretty awesome, even if I know that I’d probably still lean towards using the fingerprint reader for the majority of my security needs. Still, anything that adopts a more science-fiction feel into our real world is okay in my book – as long as it works.
Not too long ago, DisplayMate –the premiere source when it comes to testing displays on devices like smartphones and tablets– ran an in-depth “shootout” of the Galaxy Note7 and ultimately made some interesting discoveries. Namely, the display in the GN7 outpaces that of the Galaxy S7, the previous screen to beat when it comes to these sorts of things.
Yes, Samsung essentially beat itself in a smartphone display shootout.
The Galaxy Note7’s display is crazy good. It’s the highest-performing display the publication has tested to date, with great color accuracy, and even support for High Dynamic Range (HDR) and 4K UHD content. It’s a 5.7-inch cinema display. For folks that love that sort of thing, upgrading to the new Galaxy Note7 seems like a no brainer.
The need for a smartphone to boast all of these features, or a resolution higher than 1080p HD, is still being weighed by many, of course. But we live and breathe in the smartphone industry, so we know these types of advancements are going to happen. The march of progression is inevitable in this market, and that’s why we’re at QHD displays already. That’s why the Galaxy Note7 supports displaying 4K content and HDR. We use our smartphones all the time, so why should we want them equipped with anything other than the best possible features?
Some folks probably just don’t watch all that much video on their smartphone, so having a QHD display with all the bells and whistles just doesn’t matter. And then there’s pricing, with the Galaxy Note7 coming in at or above $800. That’s quite the price tag.
I’ll be honest: When I read DisplayMate’s shootout for the Galaxy Note7, I was wowed by all the things the Galaxy Note7’s display is capable of, and I made the decision I was going to check it out. The S Pen doesn’t really matter to me anymore (even if I can still admit it’s an awesome accessory), and everything else the phone can do isn’t all surprising. That display, though.
So I’m curious: How many of you out there are in the same boat? Are you wowed by the Galaxy Note7’s display so much you’re considering it as your next daily driver? Or do you just not care about the display that’s on your phone, as long as it hits a certain threshold? (Like, say, 1080p HD.) Let me know!
