While the Galaxy Note 7 gets recalled due to an exploding battery issue, I put together my top 5 features of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Android smartphone. Bad timing, right? While Samsung takes care of fixing its latest flagship device, check out this list of the top 5 Galaxy Note 7 features. This is a solid device, and one of the best smartphone designs I've ever had the pleasure of using.

Stay tuned as we head toward my full Samsung Galaxy Note 7 review!

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Video Transcript:

Build Quality
Some would argue that build quality isn’t a feature, but I’d respond that you probably haven’t held the Galaxy Note7 in your hands then. I’ve obviously held and reviewed hundreds of phones in the 12 years that I’ve been doing this, and it’s very rare that I pick up a phone for the first time and feel that the designers labored over making it feel just right. Even more impressive to me is that I am saying this about Samsung, a company who up until a year ago made phones that felt cheap and plasticky. To be honest, I don’t know that I have ever held a phone in my hands that felt so seamless.

If I had to nitpick and mention a flaw in the design, it would be that having dual-sided glass makes the phone feel slippery, and at the price of the Note7 it’s definitely not something you want to drop. I found that the Note7 felt less slipper once I threw a skin on it, like the one I here from dbrand. I personally like this sandstone one, but they have a huge variety and I’m sure you’ll be able to find something that matches your personality as well. I’ll leave a link in the description below so you can take a look for yourself.

Display
5.7-inch Super AMOLED panel at 1440x2560, so it’s quad HD. The most impressive thing here is that this display supports HDR. High dynamic range video shows you the true light, darkness, and contrast of what you’re watching in a way that isn’t possible with non-HDR displays. That’s a first for a smartphone, and Samsung needs to be recognized for that feat, because this display can reach 1,000 nits of brightness, where other smartphones have a peak of 50-100 nits. I’ve had a 78-inch HDR-capable TV here in my home for about a year, and it’s insanely impressive. Getting this same technology on the go is a feat to be celebrated. As of right now, the only HDR content you’ll get on the Note7 comes through Amazon Video, and if you want to try it out, I suggest playing Red Oaks or Mozart in the Jungle.

Iris Scanner
Allows you to securely unlock your phone with your eyes, and feels like something that’s straight out of the future. It works with the camera on the front of the Note7, and recognizes your individual iris, even in the dark. It can also unlock secure areas of your phone, and can even be used for logging into Web site if you use the Samsung stock web browser rather than Chrome. It’s fast, but not as fast as using the fingerprint sensor - but it’s definitely more difficult for someone to fool the iris scanner than it is to fool the fingerprint sensor. In this way, the Iris Scanner makes the Galaxy Note7 a more secure device if you opt to use this feature.

Water Resistance
Similar to the Galaxy S7 and S7 Active, the Galaxy Note7 is also water resistant, with an IP68 rating. I can’t say enough about this, and I’m glad to see that more and more device manufacturers, from smartphone makers to Bluetooth speaker companies to headphone shops all slowly are starting to include water resistance as part of their offerings. The nice thing here on the Note7, you have the water resistance without needing to plug up any ports, and it still included the headphone jack without sacrificing the water resistance feature. For those counting, that IP68 rating means that it can survive being underwater for up to 30 minutes at a depth of 1.5 meters…so don’t go leaving it in the tub overnight or anything.

USB-C
As the majority of the industry moves toward the new USB-C standard for charging and accessories, Samsung stayed with microUSB for the Galaxy S7, S7 Edge, and S7 Active…but finally here towards the end of the year, they’ve made the switch with the Galaxy Note7 to USB-C. That means it’ll be easier to plug in your device, and you can also take advantage of new accessories like the updated Gear VR which supports the standard, as well as USB-C headphones. One area I do have to ding Samsung for though is the lack of Quick Charge 3.0 - other flagships are rocking it while Samsung is stuck on last years Quick Charge 2.0 standard.

There you have it, that was a look at what I think are the top 5 features of the new Samsung Galaxy Note7. Of course, there are other features that set this device apart as well, like the much more precise S Pen, the ability to create animated GIFs on the fly, the always on display with screen off memo feature…and I’ll get to all of that in my full review.

For now, let me know what you think of the features I mentioned above, and if you think I left something out of my top five by leaving me a comment below, and I’ll meet you there for further discussion. Hit that like button if you enjoyed this one, and don’t forget to click on my face so you can subscribe and be notified when the full review drops, as well as for the upcoming giveaway. Thanks for watching guys, I appreciate the support. I’m Andru Edwards and I’ll catch you in the next video.

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