Samsung has unveiled a new curved screen, water resistant phablet with a built in iris scanner.
The Galaxy Note 7 also has an always on screen to which memos can be pinned using the included S Pen stylus.
Unveiled in New York this afternoon, the phone has a curved 5.7-inch QHD Super AMOLED screen, similar to that found on the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S7 Edge.
As with those handsets, the edge panels can be customised for quick access to apps and other functions.
It also supports High Dynamic Range video streaming, which Samsung claims delivers brighter colours and deeper blacks.
The device is heavy on security and privacy, boasting Samsung’s Knox security system with biometric authentication, including iris scanning and a finger print sensor, which can be used for secure payments.
Security authentication can be customised depending on how the user uses the phone.
Central to the proposition is the new S Pen, an upgraded version of the Samsung stylus which is waterproof, has a smaller tip and improved pressure sensitivity.
It enables the creation and sharing of GIFs, as well as new Magnify and Translate features which enable users to zoom in on the screen or convert languages, including Irish, by hovering the S Pen over it.
Samsung says the phablet can be paired with the Gear VR virtual reality headset, and the company’s new Gear 360 camera.
With an IP68 rating, the device is dust and water resistant up to five feet for up to 30 minutes.
The dual pixel camera sensor on the Note 7 is borrowed from the Galaxy S7 series.
The phablet has a 3,500mAh battery with USB-C charging port, and supports wireless charging.
The device will not run on the new version of Google’s Andriod, but instead will operate the previous version, Marshmallow, and has an octa-core processor and 4GB of RAM.
It comes with 64GB of memory built in, but supports up to 256GB of microSD.
The new device will be available for pre-order in Ireland from August 16th in Blue Coral, Silver Titanium and Black Onyx.
Customers who pre-order the Galaxy Note7 via Carphone Warehouse, Three Ireland, Tesco and Vodafone will receive a brand new Gear VR headset.
Pricing has yet to be announced.
