The Samsung Galaxy Note 6 will be Samsung’s last line of defence against the iPhone 7 later this year.
Instead it pushed the Galaxy S6 EDGE+ — a bigger, more expensive version of the Galaxy S6. This initiative didn’t go down well at all. In fact, it was kind of a PR disaster for Samsung, who, at the time, wasn’t having the best of luck anyway.
Things are very different now, though. The Galaxy S7 is flying off shelves, analysts have their knives out for Apple, and the Android space, at large, hasn’t looked this strong in years — and we’re only just in Q2.
The rest of the year looks to be very exciting as well with BIG releases from Samsung, of course, OnePlus, Sony and BlackBerry. OK, granted the latter of which isn’t a MASSIVE deal, but I for one am very interested to see how BlackBerry’s Android project develops.
"Making some assumptions about the launch of the iPhone 7 range, the Galaxy Note 6 will have four weeks of retail sales, reviews, and articles, ahead of Tim Cook’s reveal of Apple’s new hardware. If Apple stays true to form those handsets will go on sale in the two weeks after the launch event," says Forbes. "Samsung’s launch strategy would mimic the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge release schedule which allowed the South Korean handsets to get the jump on Apple’s iPhone SE in sales, mind share, and positioning."
The Galaxy Note 6 might not be happening, though; rather, the handset is still coming out with the same specs and hardware outlined in all the leaks, but it potentially will not be called the Galaxy Note 6. No, apparently Samsung is going to call it the Galaxy Note 7 instead. And the reason is because its current Galaxy S flagship is called the Galaxy S7 and Samsung doesn’t want people thinking its new Note isn’t quite as new and shiny as its 2016 flagship phone. Hence the number change.
This sort of makes sense, but it is very confusing for consumers and tech-journalists; everybody is expecting the Galaxy Note 6, but when Samsung announces the handset later on this year it will almost certainly be called the Samsung Galaxy Note 7. Guess a few eyebrows will be raised after that, but everything will settle down pretty quickly once word on the the official specs and hardware are confirmed. And I personally think this handset will more than give Apple's iPhone 7 a run for its money.
And here are six points expanding on that theory.
Insane Specs
We already know quite a bit about the proposed specs and hardware for the Galaxy Note 6. Put curtly: this thing is going to be a monster, the likes of which never before seen in the mobile space.
We’re talking bleeding-edge CPU technology, top of the line connectivity and 6GB of RAM — yes, you read that right: SIX GIGABYTES of memory.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 6 is the next big announcement to hit the mobile space, alongside the OnePlus 3 and Google’s brand-spanking new Nexus phones.
The headline-grabbing Galaxy Note 6 has been the talk of the town since, well, just about ALL of 2015/16. The handset, which is believed to feature 6GB of RAM and a new imaging technology, is poised for a release ahead of Apple’s iPhone 7.
Samsung has now officially announced its 6GB 10nm LPDDR4 RAM chip and this is now ripe to go inside a handset. And what’s Samsung’s next handset? Yep, you guessed it: The Galaxy Note 6 and that handset as you will all already know has been tipped to feature 6GB of RAM since rumours first started circulating about it.
Beyond this the Galaxy Note 6 is tipped to feature a 2K display, new software features for the S-Pen, a raft of next-generation hardware, including a Snapdragon 820 CPU, and a refined design that will no doubt take a few queues from the company’s HUGELY successful Galaxy S7.
Sources reckon Samsung is still torn on whether to make the Galaxy Note 6 an edge device; apparently the company is testing multiple models ahead of its official announcement. Also, depending on when it launches, the Galaxy Note 6 could well be one of the first handsets to run Android N.
Google’s Daydream VR platform is also likely to feature as well. I say, likely, not certain, because Samsung has some of its own VR aspirations and this could cause some friction between itself and Google in 2016’s VR space. Still, if I were a betting man I’d wager the Note 6 will utilise Daydream; this would go a long way to explaining why it needs 6GB of RAM.
This is one handset I am VERY excited about. If only 50% of the rumours are true, it’ll still be one of the best phones in the business -- and that’s saying something with the quality of what’s already available on market at present.
Samsung is back, ladies and gentlemen.
The uplift will be INSANE.
Just a few years ago many gaming PCs only have 4GB of RAM, so the advent of 6GB inside a phone is frankly NUTS. What are you going to be using all this memory for? Is it overkill? Does anyone need this much memory in a phone?
At this stage of the game, the advent of 6GB of RAM is likely all about performance. However, developments in VR -- things like Google’s Daydream platform, for instance -- are going to be bringing tons of new uses to phones between now and 2017. And these new features WILL require masses of grunt in order to achieve silky smooth performance.
Beyond this there is of course the theory that Google will bring Android and ChromeOS closer together, perhaps even unify the platform, and create a type of hybrid mobile phone that can be used as a phone but also as a console for connecting to HD displays with a connected keyboard and mouse. Basically, when you have this kind of power at your disposal, they sky’s the limit with potential applications.
New Camera?
The Galaxy S7’s camera is phenomenal and is easily one of the best point and shoot phone cameras we’ve EVER tested. Period. But Samsung isn’t one to rest on its laurels. It knows the iPhone 7 will appear later on this year and the addition of the Galaxy Note 6 to its phone arsenal is its best line of defence against Apple’s hugely anticipated new iPhone.
We know the iPhone 7 will be a great camera phone; talk of dual-lens cameras has been going on for some time now. That means Samsung has to up the game with the Galaxy Note 6 and current word on the street suggests we will see some improvements over the shooter currently in use aboard the Galaxy S7.
“Samsung is working on a brand new 1/1.7-inch CMOS camera sensor with an aperture as wide as ƒ/1.4,” reports Sam Mobile. “The new sensor could have a resolution of anywhere between 18-24 megapixels. The company is also working on a new compact 1/2.3-inch camera sensor.”
It added: “Samsung recently announced that it will not release any new cameras in its NX lineup (at least in some markets), and it has been moving people from its NX camera department to its smartphone department. The South Korean smartphone giant is really focused to improve the image quality on its smartphones, and it seems to have a very aggressive roadmap.”
New Note Productivity Features
Samsung is planning on introducing a new productivity feature called “Samsung Focus” which we’re expecting to function a lot like the BlackBerry Hub, meaning it will be a place where you can manage all your incoming and outgoing emails, tweets and the like.
Samsung Focus reportedly acts as a communications aggregation hub, bringing together, amongst other things, emails from a selection of different sources - again as with BB Hub, the idea is to eliminate the inconvenience of hopping between applications. As with BB Hub it’ll show calendar info, contacts, and memo notes in the same interface too.
Beautiful Design
Samsung is apparently testing two Galaxy Note 6 styles: 1) normal, and 2) with an EDGE display. Apparently it cannot decide on which to go with, but there will only be one. Our preference? Go with the EDGE, it just looks so much smarter than the normal version on the Galaxy S7.
Following the launch of the Galaxy S7, shipments and pre-orders for the Galaxy S7 EDGE appear to be the far more popular than the standard model. And when you’ve seen both in the flesh you will know why. In other words, Samsung punters LOVE the EDGE display. And, yes, it might not be that useful, but as a design feature alone it is stunning and a big USP for the Samsung brand.
MASSES of Storage
Another first here; the Samsung Galaxy Note 6 is tipped to feature up to 256GB of storage — and, no, not from an SD card. This is internal storage and if true it would be one hell of a USP for the Galaxy Note 6 and its user base.
There will also likely be SD-support too. The Galaxy S7 featured it for one and Samsung knows its punters like having the option of expanding the handset’s internal storage -- even if it is a massive 256GB.
The other big question is whether or not Samsung will introduce a removable battery inside the Galaxy Note 6. Samsung tends to prefer unibody chassis design these days, so if I were a betting man -- which I am -- I’d put my money on the Note 6 NOT having a removable battery.
And the reason will be simple: Samsung will pack a monstrously sized cell in the Note 6 and argue that removable batteries are not required. Of course, not everyone will see eye to eye with Samsung on this -- as evidenced in comments below -- but in today’s space you only really have one option when it comes to handsets with a removable battery and that is the LG G5.
ChromeOS Dual-Boot?
This is something of a long-shot and something of an "out-there" theory, but a potential scenario all the same. Why does the Galaxy Note 6, as well as other upcoming flagship Android phones, feature 6GB of RAM? That’s a lot of memory for what people usually do on their phones.
Plus, there has been talk of a Android/ChromeOS cross-over for quite sometime now with reports suggesting it could happen this year. And what better device to road-test it on than the Galaxy Note 6?
UPDATE: Okay, the 6GB of RAM might not be for ChromeOS. Google’s immediate plans for ChromeOS and Android are a bit clearer now and they seem, at least for the time being, only to include support for Android apps on ChromeOS. This is still a HUGE positive for Chromebook users, but still a tad disappointing to me as I was expecting some kind of dual-boot capabilities inside Android N.
The reason for 6GB of RAM, save for sheer performance, could well be to do with Google’s Daydream VR platform which will be part of Android N and function on handsets with compatible sensors and displays. Considering how big a deal the Galaxy Note 6 is I’d be very surprised if wasn’t a Daydream-compatible device.
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