Our First Look at the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 [Unboxing and First Impressions]

Earlier this month, Samsung announced its newest flagship in the Note series – the Note 7. Just a few days later, the Note 7 was up for pre-orders through Samsung Pakistan for a price tag of Rs. 93,500, along with a free Gear VR.

ProPakistani was able to get its hands on a review unit of the Galaxy Note 7. I’ve been using it for a couple of days now and these are my first impressions of Samsung’s newest flagship.

Unboxing

Note 7 (5 of 30)

The Note 7 comes in premium packaging which resembles that of its S-line sibling, the Galaxy S7 Edge.

The box itself was clean with no technical specifications written on any side of the box and only the Samsung logo up front.

I liked it this way – clean and simple – the way it should always be.

Note 7 (6 of 30)

Note 7 (7 of 30)

The box opens in a pretty unique manner, as seen in the photo. You see most smartphone boxes open by either sliding or taking off the top cover. But this one was different. Open up the box and you will see the gorgeous Galaxy Note 7 lying down in its tray.

Put aside the phone and lift the tray underneath it and you will find the SIM ejector tool and some manuals in cardboard packaging. Remove that too to reveal a bunch of accessories that come with the Note 7:

  • Adaptive Fast Charging adapter
  • USB-C cable
  • Earphones
  • USB connector
  • micro-USB connector
  • Stylus tip replacement tool

Note 7 (8 of 30)

Note 7 (9 of 30)

Note 7 (10 of 30)

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Note 7 (13 of 30)

Most of the accessories were pretty standard and what you would get with most Samsung phones save for two new items. With the Note 7, you get the stylus tip replacement tool that, apparently, comes with Note devices. Second is the micro-USB tool that lets you use a micro-USB cable with the USB-C port of the Note 7.

Yes, the Note 7 now comes with a USB-C port but more on that later. And yes, a lot of people will be happy to see the micro-USB tool as well.

That was all for the unboxing. Now let’s proceed to the main attraction – the Galaxy Note 7 itself.

First Impressions

My exact first word when I held the Galaxy Note 7 in my hand for the first time was: “Wow!”, summing up my whole experience with the device over the course of the few days I’ve had it with me.

The phone is an absolute looker. The review unit that I had was a Onyx Black version and I believe it is one of the best colors in the Samsung line up.

The Note 7 is now protected from the front and back with the new Gorilla Glass 5, which is supposed to be tougher and more resistant to scratches.

Note 7 (14 of 30)

The display is now subtly curved on both sides. Glass on both the back and front curves on the metal frame of the phone and meet at the center of the sides. The ending result is one very eye-catching piece of hardware.  I can say without a doubt say that the Note 7 is the best looking device out there in the market.

The layout of the buttons and ports is similar to the last year’s Note 5. Power button on the right side, volume rocker on the left, secondary noise cancelling microphone and the SIM/microSD card slot on the top and the 3.5mm headphone jack, charging/syncing port, loud speaker and the S-pen at the bottom.

One thing that is different from the last year’s model – or from any other Samsung phone for that matter – is the new USB-C port. The Galaxy Note 7 is the first phone by Samsung to feature the new USB-C port for both turbo-fast transfers and charging. The charging times were particularly fast. I personally tested it out and it took about 60-65 minutes to go from 5% to 100%.

Up front you have a beautiful 5.7-inch quad-HD display. Above the display you have the new IRIS scanner, secondary camera and your standard sensors. Below the display you have Samsung’s standard layout of buttons, the recent apps, back and the home button – which also doubles as a fingerprint scanner.

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The camera on the Note 7 is excellent, as is the case with most Samsung phones. It is so good in-fact that it actually makes you take more and more random photos every time you’re out somewhere.

I am accustomed to taking out my camera every time I have to go somewhere but for the first time I am found myself taking more pictures with the the Note 7 rather than my camera. Expect more on this in my upcoming review.

Note 7 (1 of 30)

Oh and, did I mention that the Note 7 is water proof? Well it is and I was very impatient to check that. I took the phone out during the recent rains in Lahore and made sure the phone got wet from every side.

I then tested out the S-Pen and the touch responsiveness of the phone in general, both of which were working fine even when the phone was completely wet. I just dried the phone with a towel after that and it was still working fine.

Conclusion

The Note 7 has been nothing short of spectacular in my time of use. It offers a very polished experience. Adding water-resistance, an improved S-Pen and the new IRIS scanner sets it apart from the rest of the competition. In terms of looks and design, I found the Note 7 to be a thing of beauty.

That’s it for the initial impressions of Samsung Galaxy Note 7. Without question, the Note 7 is already my daily driver and I look forward to using it, so stay tuned for the full in-depth review review.

If you have any questions regarding the Note 7, drop them in the comment section below  and I’ll try to answer them in the upcoming review.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Specifications

  • Android Marshmallow 6.0.1 (Touch Wiz)
  • 5.7-inch, 1440 x 2560 Super AMOLED display, 518ppi
  • Exynos 8890 Octa-core (4×2.3 GHz Mongoose & 4×1.6 GHz Cortex-A53)
  • 4GB RAM
  • 64GB internal storage, expandable up to 256GB via microSD card
  • Primary camera: 12MP, f/1.7, OIS, LED flash, 4K recording
  • Secondary camera: 5MP, f/1.7, 2k recording
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot, Bluetooth v4.2
  • USB-C v3.1
  • Sensors: IRIS scanner, fingerprint, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, heart rate, SpO2
  • Battery: 3500mAh
  • Price: Rs. 93,500/-


  • “Wow!”, summing up my whole experience with the device over the course of the few days I’ve had it with me.

    Everyone one will say this when they pay Rs. 90K+.

      • Having a lower resolution LCD display is better than a higher resolution AMOLED display?
        having a camera with less pixels, doesn’t record in 4K, no HDR recording and has a aperture that is so 2013 better then the one note7 has?

        • There is hefty price difference. And better battery. Not everyone wants a fancy
          camera. 1080p is a good resolution. How can you justify a phone of 93K with 30K?

          Also people can buy 3 30K phone in that price. IMO spending 93K for a phone is waste of money.

          Let me know what advantages N7 offers from other low cost phones? Camera, resolution? water resistance?

          • if you don’t fancy a phone does not make the other phone better. it’s your opinion that its expensive. If its worth more so is the value and yes note7 is worth every rs you pay for it.

    • Lol i guess so because everytime Apple releases their new edition of Iphones, the price hike even if there’s nothing new in the phone.
      Compared to that Samsung has included some amazing stuff in this Note Edition. So yes, i guess so its woth one kidney :D

  • According to my view this note 7 will also be heat up after some time as all other note do. Samsung has biggest fault that is over heating problem and drain battery within hours. Too high price and after some months this will be in 50000.

  • Its too much expensive, many other sets are cheaper in price, im using OPPO F1 Plus since 2 months it has almost same specs 4GB ram, octacore processor, 64GB internal memory 16MP front and 13 MP back camera! what else we need just in 37K!!!!
    samsung sucks now like iphone! coz of popular brands they are charging too much uselessly !

    • So after One Plus fan we now have an Oppo fan…..Best of luck guys with your phones.. The only thing is that you should be satisfied with the performance. Its not just only the brand why it is being charged high. You need to experience it to believe it and to know the difference.

      • Dear kamran, I have used Samsung for 4 years and tried different variants, from S series to A series etc… but ultimately price matters a lot. BTW ! i look the internal beauty of the sets! it contains same hardware, samsung only attracts through some changes of Os and body, which doesnt matter.

        • I have been using Samsung and I have used different variants of it. I have been using the Note series since Note 3. If hardware is same and there are only changes in OS and body, how come there is hell of a difference in picture quality, PPI’s and speed in different variants of Samsung?

  • concluded with hardware impressions only and about performace, iPhone 6s beat it through almost 100% performance difference. The review is not neutral.

  • I believe whatever Samsung may or might do, it will stay a notch below Apple despite superior hardware, excellent specs and what not.
    Every year once in 12 months Apple teaches us all that specs really don’t matter much. The hardwork does.
    Apple makes a tailor made OS for a specific device. Its commitment and hardwork at its best. Can you believe that Apple’s hardware is far inferior to Samsung but still it performs without a hitch.
    And I can bet Apple will teach us same thing this year.
    Apple still uses old school LCD. But can any one tell me if the display is any lesser than Samsung’s. And plus Samsung looses a lot of price in few months of launch. That breaks heart even more.


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