Note 7 Review – This Phone Is On FIRE!!!

I wanted to start by answering the question that I am sure is on everyone’s mind.  And the answer is no my Note 7 did not burst into flames.  And yes, I have swapped it for a replacement device.  Now, with that out of the way we can get down to the actual phone.  We’ll skip all the doom and gloom of what was a potentially incendiary device.

I upgraded to the Note 7 on launch day and have never looked back, I love my phone and all its capabilities.  It has been a little over a month now and I have few complaints about it. It is a high-end phone and I do not use to its fullest potential.  It does what I want it to do spectacularly!  I went from a Note 4 user to a Note 7 user and there are a few distinct differences between the devices.  Most changes are for the better but some are not.

The phone is currently not on sale but I suspect it should be back on the market soon.  They have distributed new phones to all those who had one and, with the new phone in hand, will try to start again and look at it as a false start.  It is a rather expensive phone ranging from $849.99 (AT&T and T-Mobile) to $879.99 (Verizon).

The Phone Itself
Now we get down to the look and feel of the phone.  Coming from a Note 4 I have to say I am very impressed with the 7.  It comes in just under 6 ounces which is about what a regulation hockey puck weighs.  It feels much lighter than the Note 4 and somehow smaller. My guess is that this thing is all screen.

The Note 4 comes equipped with a 5.7″ screen and 2560 x 1440 Quad HD capabilities. While the Note 4 had edges that were the color of your phone, this time around Samsung went with the glass seen on their Galaxy Edge phones. This leaves no room for phone but makes it feel smaller. I didn’t think I would like this or have much use for it but I find myself using it when I only have one hand to swipe with.

The phone is water-resistant and sealed.  This means that unlike the Note 4 and other Galaxy phones the battery is not replaceable. This is why Samsung had to replace everyone’s phone instead of just the battery.  I know a lot of people will see this as a downside but I am not sure.  If my luck stays, I won’t like it either as I have had to replace the battery on every phone I have had for more than a year.  So here is to hoping this one lasts!

Speaking of the battery, it is a 3,500 mAh battery that holds a charge for a long time.  I would leave it on all night not charging, because I didn’t want to wake up to a fire.  It would make it just fine and I have yet to see any problems with the battery life.  I get hours of gaming and video watching from a single charge.

The Specs
The Note 7 has everything a flagship phone should have.  It comes with a Quad-core Snapdragon 820 processor clocked at 2.3GHz, 4GB of memory and 64 GB of storage.  As I said earlier, the battery (new) is 3,500 mAh, supports fast charge technologies as well as Qi Wireless charging.  It has a 12MP camera on the back that takes beautiful pictures.  I am not a photographer and only take photos of my family and stupid stuff and for both they come out looking great.  If you are a selfie kind of person you can take advantage of the 5MP front facing camera.  You can view all the specs on Samsung’s website here.

The Pen
Now, what really makes the Note 7 a Note, the S-Pen.  I will be the first to admit, I did not use my S-Pen nearly as often as I should have on the Note 4. It has been hard to get myself to use it on the 7.  The first thing that attracted me to the Note 7 over the S7 Edge, as they have very similar specs, was the screen size.  Coming from a Note 4 I couldn’t go down in screen size and the S-Pen is really just gravy.  It has added functionality this time with the ability to remove it and write directly on your locked screen to take notes.  It is very precise with few mistakes.  I often wish it would improve my handwriting but alas.  The one feature I haven’t figured out how to do yes is to turn your scribbled notes into text for easier reading.  The S-Pen is a feature that a lot of people love.  I usually wish I had more screen or a tablet when I begin to use it as the space fills up pretty quickly when writing.

The Recall
Now let me address the elephant in the room.  Yes, there are phones that have caught on fire.  Samsung acted quickly and, in my opinion, a little too harshly.  In the month or so I had my defective phone I never felt the battery get any hotter than any other high-end phone I have used.

I play Pokémon Go with my kids with a power pack and never felt scared.  I feel Samsung’s approach may have been a bit too rash.  The fact that I couldn’t turn my phone on if I flew or the mass hysteria that seemed to follow my phone was laughable to me.  They made a bad situation worse by mass recalling all of them a month before they had a replacement.  It left a lot of phone owners in limbo and the carriers solution of a loaner phone didn’t cut it for me.

Summary
In summary would I recommend the Note 7?  Absolutely! If you are looking for a high-end phone with everything you could ever want the Note 7 is for you.  It has one of the largest screens out there on a phone and will soon be running Nougat 7.0.  Say what you will about Samsung, they did replace my phone free of charge and relatively hassle free.  The problems that plagued this phone from the get go shouldn’t deter you from getting it now.  It is an amazing phone that will last you a long time.  Samsung acknowledged there was a problem and fixed it.  Now it has to play catch-up but nothing about the phone specs or how good it is has changed since the re-release.  All that changed is that a more stable battery was added to the mix.  Samsung has kept me as a customer.  I will be holding on to my Note 7 until either the Note 8 (not to be confused with the Note 8.0 tablet) or Note 9.

Looking for a Note 7?  You can’t buy it now but as soon as it is available we’ll have links for you here!