The Samsung Galaxy Note7 (S820) Review
by Joshua Ho on August 16, 2016 9:00 AM ESTVideo Performance
For this portion of the review we can take a look at video performance, which provides an extra test of encode block performance in addition to ISP, sensor, and optic performance. In the interest of not wasting time on retreading topics that are basically unchanged relative to the Galaxy S7, I would redirect readers interested in an in-depth exploration of this subject and comparisons to other devices to the Galaxy S7 Part 2 review as this part of the review will be almost entirely focused on just comparing the Note7 to the Galaxy S7 to see what’s changed.
| Samsung Galaxy Note7 Video Encode Settings | ||||
| Video | Audio | |||
| 1080p30 | 17 Mbps H.264 High Profile | 256 Kbps, 48 KHz AAC | ||
| 1080p60 | 28 Mbps H.264 High Profile | 256 Kbps, 48 KHz AAC | ||
| 4K30 | 48 Mbps H.264 High Profile | 256 Kbps, 48 KHz AAC | ||
| 720p240 | 76 Mbps H.264 Baseline | 256 Kbps, 48 KHz AAC | ||
Starting with encode settings, we can see that the Note7 retains the same exact encode settings as the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, which probably isn’t a surprise given that we’re probably seeing the limits of what the Snapdragon 820’s encode blocks can handle in cases like slow motion video, although 1080p30 is likely not encode-limited at this point.
Galaxy Note7
Galaxy S7
In 1080p30 video the Galaxy Note7 and Galaxy S7 look basically identical save for some slight differences in color rendition. The Note7 seems to be slightly more accurate here as the sky is closer to the color of blue that it should be but detail and most other colors look fairly comparable and both still have some jerky OIS reset behavior.
Galaxy Note7
Galaxy S7
In slow motion video the Galaxy Note7 again seems to have slightly improved color rendition but detail and pretty much everything else is identical. I don’t think this is a reason to go out and buy the Note7, but hopefully these improvements to color rendition come to future OTAs for the Galaxy S7.
Overall I don’t think video results appreciably change the Galaxy Note7’s results here. The camera is great from a speed perspective and it’s good for video but in a lot of cases HTC really does have them beat with the camera on the HTC 10. I think the major win for the Note7 continues to be speed and consistency as the one major weakness of the HTC 10’s camera relative to the Note7 is somewhat unreliable contrast AF in low light, although in better conditions PDAF has no issues achieving perfect focus.
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tipoo - Tuesday, August 23, 2016 - link
Yes please. Interesting topic that is strange that smaller Chinese companies do better than some Android giants.Bombdog - Tuesday, August 16, 2016 - link
"like the iris scanner are actually useful and work well which is amazing considering how this is the first modern smartphone with an iris scanner"It's not, the Lumia 950 & 950 XL were the first.
JoshHo - Tuesday, August 16, 2016 - link
Duly noted. The review has been updated.Geranium - Tuesday, August 16, 2016 - link
Lumia 950 & 950 XL use face recognition, not iris scaning.StevoLincolnite - Wednesday, August 17, 2016 - link
Nope.The Lumia's have an infrared camera and another camera that specifically designed to take pictures of your eyes.
slyronit - Tuesday, August 23, 2016 - link
No. The Surface Pro 4 and Surface book use face recognition. Both the Lumias you mentioned use Iris scanners.supraman21 - Tuesday, August 16, 2016 - link
I was really hoping for 2 Lane storage. They have it, its available, why the hell don't they use it! Especially considering how much an effect storage performance has on overall system performance. Apparently they also have developed and have ready a new 5 Axis image stabilization system for phones. Wtf are they doing?phoenix_rizzen - Tuesday, August 16, 2016 - link
Leaving features on the table for future phones, to get people [back] onto the upgrade treadmill?WPX00 - Tuesday, August 16, 2016 - link
I actually get the reasoning behind the un-swipeable tabs in SMS and Contacts: for years, Samsung has kept an unnecessary feature in these apps that is swipe to call/message, so a horizontal swipe has already been taken by that function. It's a ridiculous feature I have never used or seen anyone use, and even after 3 years of using a Samsung I still swipe in those apps sometimes and call someone instead of moving tabs.snajk138 - Wednesday, August 24, 2016 - link
I actually use that swipe all the time. In my opinion it's a great time saving feature.