[Review] Samsung Galaxy Note7 – The phablet with the write stuff

A Touching Experience
On top of the hardware, the Note7 also has improvements to its TouchWiz UI which overlays Android Marshmallow 6.0.1. The biggest addition is the inclusion of a Secure Folder that uses their milspec grade Knox 2.7 technology to create a completely separate, secured app and content folder on your phone.

In plain English, the Secure Folder enables you to install a separate set of apps, a separate contact list and content and keep it securely under lock and key via a PIN, a fingerprint reader or the new iris scanner. You can take a picture via the camera app from the Secure Folder and the pictures won’t even see the light of day in the normal desktop version of the camera. It’s only viewable once you access the Secure Folder. There’s also the proper version of the Knox 2.7 security partition of course though that’s a separate kettle of fish that’s intended more for enterprise and business use that installs another equally secure partition on your phone.

Other TouchWiz refinements include a consolidated Samsung Note app. Previously on the Note5, it was somewhat choc-a-bloc with art and text scattered into separate apps. Now, it’s all under one proverbial roof. The Action Memo, Memo, Scrapbook and S Note apps are all now bundled under the collective banner of the Samsung Notes app. Traditionalists can still download each app separately of course but the revamped, unified Samsung Notes makes keeping track of all your notes, doodles and the like a lot easier.

The handiest addition to TouchWiz though is a Samsung Members app that troubleshoots what is wrong with your phone. There’s a few hoops to jump through but if the proverbial guano hits the fan, this can likely save your bacon. A live chat option with a Samsung technical officer is available if you have problems and a Smart Tutor mode allows for a Samsung-trained technician to, under very controlled circumstances, remotely access your phone to troubleshoot and resolve any software related issues in lieu of visiting a service centre. There’s even a clean-up app that integrates some of CleanMaster’s tech to optimise your device storage and RAM.

[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”#FF0000″ class=”” size=”15″]The Note7’s large sized display here works to its advantage, allowing for quite a bit of screen real estate for you to multitask.[/perfectpullquote]

In lieu of the arrival of an official Android Nougat update for the phone, the Note7 retains a similar ability to pop up two apps simultaneously onscreen from a select list. Not all apps work in split screen mode, mind, but the stock default apps and a select number of other apps like Chrome, Gmail and Whatsapp offer the option so you’re able to browse a site, view a video and take notes or chat at the same time. The Note7’s large sized display here works to its advantage, allowing for quite a bit of screen real estate for you to multitask.