Note 6 rumors, speculation, launch thread

[dawheat]

My primary phone has been a Note from the Note 2, 3, 4, and currently 5. So while I was tempted by the S7 Edge, I'm going to wait to see what the Note 6 and honestly iPhone 7 Plus look like before making my next purchase.

My thoughts - it'll be an evolution and not groundbreaking. Whatever Samsung has on that front will wait for the S8. That being said it'll still be in the running for best phablet, but not head and shoulders above everyone.

- Will not be an edge phone - the S7 Edge fills that position and having a version say .3" larger 6 months later seems odd. This is a plus for me as while it looks cool, I prefer the usability of a flat screen with minimal bezels. I do hope the screen size bumps a tiny bit without the phone increasing in size.

- While I'd prefer a more radical redesign, Samsung will follow the S6 to S7 type refresh to help manage costs. While they'll be pressured to go all out to compete against the iPhone 7, we'll see a refresh with the Note 6 and the S8 will be the radical step next spring.

- The internals may be a higher clocked version of the 8890 or S820, but I don't think there will be much performance difference from the S7 and it'll be easily outperformed by the iPhone 7. The old Samsung might have pushed to get a significantly updated SOC out in time, but I think again they're going to stick to their more sustainable, lower cost approach.

- Camera will be a drop in from the S7 though with improved software. I have no problem with this considering the focus speed, quality, and low light performance of the S7.

- The one area I'd love to see introduced is QC ultrasonic fingerprint reader. I find the Note 5 reader good but not great. Having a large target area (say the whole bottom of the phone) would be pretty nice.

- Normal slight enhancements in screen (I think we'll see a bigger jump than from the S6 to S7 as the S7 seems to be using the Note 5 gen display tech), memory, TW, etc. As much as I'd love to see it launch with Android N, all but guaranteed to get the Android M version released with the S7

- Battery life should be very healthy - 3800-4000mAh battery shouldn't be out of the question in a 5.8" phone.

Thoughts?

 

[Chocu1a]

I predict it will come with a pen thingy.

 

[Zaap]

Similar thoughts, dawheat- I was tempted by the S7, but ultimately I want to see what the Note 6/iPhone 7 bring to the table. I'm hoping -finger-crossed- both devices set some new standards.

I'm thinking the iP7 may be a radical departure for Apple (and BOY do they need it) but I'm not sure about the Note 6. Practically, it makes sense it won't be that drastic an update from N5/S7...

But on speculation the iP7 may be a game changer, it's my hope Samsung sees the need for a more radical update for the N6 to keep up.

I'm hoping for:

Slimmest bezels ever.

Return of SD. (Not even entertaining the idea of rem battery anymore, seems that ship has sailed.)

Greatly improved max RAM and storage capacity.

Stellar battery life.

Since Samsung experimented with an Edge Note- I had hopes they'd revisit their far better edge design since. But yeah... I'm not holding out much hope.

Rather than bloat just to pad feature lists, I wish Samsung would scale down the crap software and make 2 or 3 killer features that are must-haves.

Cosmetically, I wish they'd do the N6 in a bunch more color options.

 

[s44]

While they'll be pressured to go all out to compete against the iPhone 7, we'll see a refresh with the Note 6

Some rumors say the opposite on both fronts. Apple is said to be adopting what's basically the Edge curved OLED screen either this year or next to compete with the S7E, while the Note 6 is going to be the "try new shit" device after both big and small screens were refined last month.

However the only recent rumored feature is an iris scanner... no wild form factor changes.

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Sams...tures-and-everything-we-know-thus-far_id80016

 

[you2]

I have a note 4; only real things I would want is a bit faster and improved speakers; oh would nice if they have a sd slot similar to one on se7 (with the note 4 you have to take the back off). To be honest I don't really care that much about the pen - i only use it about twice a year (mostly to annotate images which is sort of useful) but prefer the slightly bigger screen than the se7 (also not sure if the edge stuff on the s7 would get in the way; to be hones that phone visually is pretty slick and it fits nicely in the hand).
-
Ah yes one last thing on the note 4 that bothers me; the notification led needs to blink a bit faster.

 

[Starjack]

I predict it will come with a pen thingy.

You mean Stylus pen?

 

[gorcorps]

I have a note 4; only real things I would want is a bit faster and improved speakers; oh would nice if they have a sd slot similar to one on se7 (with the note 4 you have to take the back off). To be honest I don't really care that much about the pen - i only use it about twice a year (mostly to annotate images which is sort of useful) but prefer the slightly bigger screen than the se7 (also not sure if the edge stuff on the s7 would get in the way; to be hones that phone visually is pretty slick and it fits nicely in the hand).
-
Ah yes one last thing on the note 4 that bothers me; the notification led needs to blink a bit faster.

If they bring the SD card back to the note 6 (like they did w/ the S7) then it'll be similar. I think removable backs are no longer part of Samsung's design.

 

[dawheat]

If they bring the SD card back to the note 6 (like they did w/ the S7) then it'll be similar. I think removable backs are no longer part of Samsung's design.

Agree with this.

http://www.phonearena.com/news/CPU-Z-screenshot-reveals-5.8-inch-screen-IP68-certification-and-6GB-RAM-for-Samsung-Galaxy-Note-6_id80291

Fake imo as the dpi and storage don't make sense. I'd love a dpi of 480 as I ran it on my Note 4, but that'll be too small for many. 560 is more realistic.

 

[Harabec]

What made you upgrade to the note 4\5?
My Note 3 is around 18 months old, feels, looks and performs exactly like it did on day 1 (and I get the feeling Samsung's QA is far better for the Notes than the S line).
I get the itch, but there is no reason to actually upgrade.

 

[Zaap]

What made you upgrade to the note 4\5?
My Note 3 is around 18 months old, feels, looks and performs exactly like it did on day 1 (and I get the feeling Samsung's QA is far better for the Notes than the S line).
I get the itch, but there is no reason to actually upgrade.

For me, the Note 4 had just enough better to make the upgrade worth it. I hated that cheap band of silver plastic around the Note 3 so much- the build quality of the Note 4 is so much nicer.

The screen is sharper, and it overall feels faster.

The Note 5 however didn't offer enough to make me upgrade. I'm hoping the N6 does.

 

[DeathReborn]

For me, the Note 4 had just enough better to make the upgrade worth it. I hated that cheap band of silver plastic around the Note 3 so much- the build quality of the Note 4 is so much nicer.

The screen is sharper, and it overall feels faster.

The Note 5 however didn't offer enough to make me upgrade. I'm hoping the N6 does.

I went from S3 to Note 4 Exynos (on release) due to a critical part failure on the S3 (microphone) and the Note 5 never reached the UK's shores officially. At the time of launch the Note 4 had the looks, features, size & performance to suit me.

The Note 6 I will upgrade to and relegate the still perfectly functional Note 4 as a "holiday" phone. The only downer is the potential Qualcomm chip inside, I am not a fan of theirs and will pay extra for a Exynos model if possible. I do hope they improve the S-View case a little though, it gets a little tatty around the edges with age.

 

[kaerflog]

I still think the Note 5 is the best phone out right now. My wife has one. I have the S7 edge.
The Edge is great to look at but the curve screen is annoying after a while. It serves no purpose at all and you lose like .015" inch on each side because its distorted.
How I think the Note 6 can be better than the Note 5??
- Water resistance.
- Better speakers.
- Smaller top and bottom bezels. The sides are already at its thinnest.
Everything else will be a bonus.

 

[s44]

It serves no purpose at all

It serves an incredibly valuable purpose: it eliminates bezel and keeps the phone size down.

 

[dawheat]

I still think the Note 5 is the best phone out right now. My wife has one. I have the S7 edge.
The Edge is great to look at but the curve screen is annoying after a while. It serves no purpose at all and you lose like .015" inch on each side because its distorted.
How I think the Note 6 can be better than the Note 5??
- Water resistance.
- Better speakers.
- Smaller top and bottom bezels. The sides are already at its thinnest.
Everything else will be a bonus.

Found it amusing that fans of the same phone can want completely different things. I want:

- mSD (practically assumed at this point)
- significantly better battery life. My Note 5 is a slight regression from my Note 4 and I do find myself having to top off most days (I use my phone constantly all day). I'd like 25% better battery life which I think is realistic if the battery is at least 3600mAh like the S7 Edge.
- Camera - one of the most common thing I use my phone for since my daughter was born. I want the faster focus speed and low light performance of the S7. All-out daytime IQ isn't as important as all phones are good here and getting the right shot is more critical than one a few percent "better".
- Improved fingerprint scanner

 

[kaerflog]

It serves an incredibly valuable purpose: it eliminates bezel and keeps the phone size down.

So you basically like a 5.5" phone with a width ~5.3" phone because the 2 edges are distorted when looking at them straight on.

 

[kaerflog]

Found it amusing that fans of the same phone can want completely different things. I want:

- mSD (practically assumed at this point)
- significantly better battery life. My Note 5 is a slight regression from my Note 4 and I do find myself having to top off most days (I use my phone constantly all day). I'd like 25% better battery life which I think is realistic if the battery is at least 3600mAh like the S7 Edge.
- Camera - one of the most common thing I use my phone for since my daughter was born. I want the faster focus speed and low light performance of the S7. All-out daytime IQ isn't as important as all phones are good here and getting the right shot is more critical than one a few percent "better".
- Improved fingerprint scanner

Different people with different needs...
- I have never used up 32gb on a phone so SD slots are unimportant to me.
- The Note 5 battery is already fantastic. Better battery life is just a bonus for me.
- My wife actually like the Note 5 front camera than mine. I keep telling her its the same but the pictures from both are definitely different. The Edge low light camera is better though. No question.
- I don't even use the scanner. They can get rid of the button and make the bezel thinner for all I care.
- I had the Moto X Pure for a month and I loved the loud stereo speakers.

But all I really care is for someone to make a phone like this...
6" with almost no bezels.

 

[Zaap]

^ That's exactly the device I've wanted for years. No.gimmicks. No cuteness. No retro-roundness. Just a no nonsense design with minimum possible bezel.

 

[StinkyPinky]

IMO it won't be a big change. Just a new SOC, micro SD slot, the S7 camera, and improved battery life. The introduction of the SD slot will make it popular enough for it to sell well. It won't have a removable battery since that impacts the design which is critical to sell units.

 

[Oyeve]

IMO it won't be a big change. Just a new SOC, micro SD slot, the S7 camera, and improved battery life. The introduction of the SD slot will make it popular enough for it to sell well. It won't have a removable battery since that impacts the design which is critical to sell units.

And I would be perfectly happy with that. I passed up on the Note 5 because of the lack of msd, I also bypassed the S6 series as well for the same reason. Recently got the S7 Edge and love it, but may go back to the Note series if they put back the msd. Also, they would need to bump the screen to 6". I miss the pen and actually used it quite a bit.

 

[gorcorps]

Different people with different needs...
- I have never used up 32gb on a phone so SD slots are unimportant to me.
- The Note 5 battery is already fantastic. Better battery life is just a bonus for me.
- My wife actually like the Note 5 front camera than mine. I keep telling her its the same but the pictures from both are definitely different. The Edge low light camera is better though. No question.
- I don't even use the scanner. They can get rid of the button and make the bezel thinner for all I care.
- I had the Moto X Pure for a month and I loved the loud stereo speakers.

But all I really care is for someone to make a phone like this...
6" with almost no bezels.

Everybody has different tastes, but I think side bezels on modern Samsung phones (and some others) are as good as they need to be. The edge is even beyond having no side bezels. There's just enough bezel for a case to hold on to and not affect usability. Top and bottom need improvement though.

 

[kaerflog]

Everybody has different tastes, but I think side bezels on modern Samsung phones (and some others) are as good as they need to be. The edge is even beyond having no side bezels. There's just enough bezel for a case to hold on to and not affect usability. Top and bottom need improvement though.

I totally agree. The sides of the Note 5 are as thin as they need to be. They can easily trim the top and bottom though.

 

[dawheat]

I totally agree. The sides of the Note 5 are as thin as they need to be. They can easily trim the top and bottom though.

Easily trim? The Note 5 has just about the highest screen to body ratio you can buy today. I don't think we're going to see much more movement here outside of edge type displays. I doubt the Note 6 is going to move the needle here.

 

[WelshBloke]

But all I really care is for someone to make a phone like this...
6" with almost no bezels.

Every year someone makes a render of a phone that looks like that and every year it doesn't get released.

^ That's exactly the device I've wanted for years. No.gimmicks. No cuteness. No retro-roundness. Just a no nonsense design with minimum possible bezel.

That looks pretty gimmicky to me.

And it's very much not a no nonsense design. Just attaching the screen to the phone with no side bezels is going to be a nightmare, never mind the likelihood of cracking the screen almost instantly.

 

[Zaap]

You mean every year people arent taking their time to render cute little roundy-round gum drop phones saying that's what they want in a great device?

Every year its not just renders of the same phone as you can get now with a few tweaks, moar bezel and some some gimmicks?

Every year its not mismatched colors (coff LG) and ugly retro styling that looks like 2012 instead of... 2018?

A great design that's worthy of looking forward... not backward (maybe apple with ip7) will be...

...difficult?

 

[WelshBloke]

You mean every year people arent taking their time to render cute little roundy-round gum drop phones saying that's what they want in a great device?

You're saying that you haven't seen that thing rendered before?
I can remember it with an apple logo, an LG one, a sharp one, a different Samsung one, a Phillips (?) one...

They don't get made because functionally they end up being a bit crap, they are physically hard to make and they end up being stupidly fragile.

There isn't some conspiracy to prevent you getting the phone you want, it's just the phone you want doesn't work very well.