Everything has already been said with respect to the hardware specs of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 7. As of now, we already know that some regions will have a Snapdragon-powered SoC while other regions will be content with an Exynos SoC.
While none of these processors had been confirmed the as to which version will be shipping with the Galaxy Note 7 exactly, the latest happenings have some of the answers you are looking for. This Monday, American chipmaker Qualcomm announced a new Snapdragon 821 SoC that is expected to succeed the current Snapdragon 820 SoC. This has been in the rumors for quite some time, with leaks pointing towards a Snapdragon 821-powered Galaxy Note 7. With the official announcement of the new SoC, it cements the speculation that this phablet will indeed pack a faster and much-improved processor than the current Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge.
According to Qualcomm, Snapdragon 821 comes with an improved performance of 10% over its predecessor. It will also be the best when it comes to power saving and app performance, although it still uses the Kryo quad-core CPUs. Unlike its predecessor, the new SoC will give the Galaxy Note 7 a maximum clock speed of 2.4GHz, unless Samsung decides to cap it to a lower speed. The new processor keeps the same X12 LTE modem you find on the Snapdragon 820.
It has also been seemingly confirmed that the Galaxy Note 7 will come with a curved dual-edge screen like the Galaxy S7 Edge. It is also possible that a flat version of the phone might not be released. However, what an Edge screen means is, just like with the case of the Galaxy S7 Edge versus the standard Galaxy S7, a price increase.
Apparently, Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge has one of the highest price tags of a Samsung smartphone. If indeed the Galaxy Note 7 comes in with a curved dual-edge, we might end up with a similarly high price tag for the phablet. Samsung-centric website Sam Mobile claims to have an idea of what the phone’s price will be when it is launched, but the details are narrowed to Europe. The phone will reportedly cost a massive €849, which is €50 more than the current cost of the Galaxy S7 Edge in the same region.
If this is the case, we might have the Galaxy Note 7 selling at $849 in the U.S.
Even though the Galaxy Note series has always remained to be the most expensive lineup in Samsung’s flagship smartphones, this year’s version might take this to the next level. Still, the specs the phone is expected to come with might be enough to justify the price tag, among them a 5.7-inch QHD resolution of 2560 by 1440 pixels, a Snapdragon 821 SoC, 6GB RAM and 64GB of expandable onboard storage.
These specs remain to be a speculation, but the truth will be set out in about three weeks’ time when the handset is unveiled.