The Samsung Galaxy Note7 (S820) Review
by Joshua Ho on August 16, 2016 9:00 AM ESTCamera Architecture
In general, camera has become probably the single biggest point of differentiation between smartphones at this point. As smartphones are often the only camera that most people carry on a day to day basis, the rear camera on a smartphone really cannot be a disappointment relative to the competition. While we can talk about how much a front-facing camera matters in terms of quality, it’s pretty safe to say that for photos and videos that are worth saving will be taken with the rear-facing camera.
While post-processing and a number of other factors are going to have a huge impact on the overall camera experience, the foundation that makes it possible to deliver a great camera is always going to start at the hardware.
| Samsung Galaxy Note Cameras | ||||
| Galaxy S6 Galaxy Note5 |
Galaxy S7 Galaxy Note7 |
|||
| Front Camera | 5.0MP | 5.0MP | ||
| Front Camera - Sensor | Samsung S5K4E6 (1.34 µm, 1/4") |
Samsung S5K4E6 (1.34 µm, 1/4") |
||
| Front Camera - Focal Length | 2.2mm (22mm eff) | 2.1mm (21mm eff) | ||
| Front Camera - Max Aperture | F/1.9 | F/1.7 | ||
| Rear Camera | 16MP | 12MP | ||
| Rear Camera - Sensor | Sony IMX240 Samsung S5K2P2 (1.12 µm, 1/2.6") |
Sony IMX260 Samsung S5K2L1 (1.4 µm, 1/2.6") |
||
| Rear Camera - Focal Length | 4.3mm (28mm eff) | 4.2mm (26mm eff) | ||
| Rear Camera - Max Aperture | F/1.9 | F/1.7 | ||
It’s probably not any surprise that the Galaxy Note7 has the same exact camera setup as the Galaxy S7, but in case it was ever in doubt it shouldn’t be now. Given the similar camera setup I don’t think that there’s a ton of difference to be expected between the two phones but things like software algorithms can and do change with time so it’s important to not just immediately write off the Galaxy Note7 or assume it’s immediately going to be award-winning. It’s worth reiterating here that the dual pixel system likely incurs a sensitivity penalty as in order to implement the dual pixel system each pixel must have a physical light barrier as you need a microlens and a barrier to make light from the same object converge on two separate photodiodes so the amount of light collected is inherently going to be less than no barrier and a single photodiode per pixel. I’m also curious to know whether any quantum effects appreciably change sensitivity here as if a single pixel is a 1.4 micron square then each photodiode has area similar to a 1-micron pixel. With that said we can move on to the one major change highlighted by Samsung, namely the user experience.
Camera UX
One of the major points highlighted in the launch event was that the camera application was completely redesigned. In addition to a fairly subdued icon that better fits the color palette for Android in general, the UI itself is a bit cleaner out of the box.
Right away when you open the camera app the most apparent thing is that the number of icons has been reduced. Instead of a dedicated mode button it’s now a swipe, and the same is true of the effects button. There’s also no more timer or resolution button on the screen by default, and the button to hide the various settings buttons has been eliminated entirely. It’s also worth mentioning that the button to change between cameras has been moved and a gesture to do the same thing has been added so you can simply swipe up or down to switch between cameras. Samsung also continues to shut off the camera after a few minutes automatically which is good if you’re a normal user but annoying if you’re trying to set up a shot of an ISO chart with a tripod.
Other than these changes almost nothing else really changes. There are some extra toggles like shape correction in the settings overflow and RAW output is now hidden under Picture Size for the rear camera but nothing else is really notable. I don’t really have anything else to say here that’s new, and I would refer to the Galaxy S7 Part 2 review if you are otherwise unfamiliar with Samsung’s camera application. As both perform identically as far as focus and capture speed goes subjectively we’ll temporarily forgo these results in favor of timeliness for this review.
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erikiksaz - Friday, August 19, 2016 - link
How did you guys manage to monitor for frame drops? Is it a separate app?Belard - Sunday, August 21, 2016 - link
Still rather blah- design. I'm surprised they continue the glass backing from the S6, like as if they have not learned anything from Apple? A family member has the S6 and yes, her back has a spider crack on it with a long one from top to bottom.amdwilliam1985 - Tuesday, August 23, 2016 - link
they need the glass back for the wireless charging.Glass and plastic works with Qi-charging, metal does not(at least for now).
thek - Sunday, August 21, 2016 - link
so no one is going to bring up the facts that this 850$ phone has a smaller battery then the Xiaomi redmi note 3 (a 150$ phone) and it's bootloader is locked in the US which literally makes it just the same as an Iphone. (All of us here came to Android because it was an open garden). Closing android is making Samsung not a legit Apple vendor IMO, and should too for the rest of you.Don't be kids and be fooled by gimmicks and high specs. You can't even get CM13 on this phone.
And a really bad job by the reviewer for not bringing this up. As usual in Anandtech they only cares about numbers and not whats behind them.
thek - Sunday, August 21, 2016 - link
not a legit Android* vendorCSMR - Sunday, August 21, 2016 - link
Great review and phone.I wonder if it would be possible to check the compass in future?
All the phones I have owned have had terrible magnetometers which stop working, require shaking the phone, or are off by a large angle.
Having compass inaccuracies pointed out in reviews would really shake things up.
Pipperox - Sunday, August 21, 2016 - link
So you're slamming an excellent phone (like the S7 as well) because of your non-sensical review of its camera?The most reputable camera review website - Dxomark - puts the S7 at the top for still image quality, on par with the HTC10, and the Samsung is even better in the video score.
What problems do you see with video stabilization?
Dxo Labs talks about "excellent video stabilization", i have an S7 edge and can only confirm what they say.
Diet - Monday, August 22, 2016 - link
This the only review on the internet that addreses the weak points of this overpriced phone.Kudos To Anandtech!
KoolAidMan1 - Monday, August 22, 2016 - link
More performance tests: https://youtu.be/3-61FFoJFy0tldw - The flagship GN7 is slower than a year-old iPhone 6S.
jlabelle2 - Tuesday, August 23, 2016 - link
- The flagship GN7 is slower than a year-old iPhone 6Syes and a Porsche 911 from last year is faster than an Audi RS6. The question is what do you need in your day to day life. Is the speed of the RS6 enough? Do you need space? 5 seats? Comfort? Good equipments?
People have short memory. The iPhone was a success because it was the 1st phone with a big touchscreen, easy to use, with a great experience. Now, people consider that a phone should be choosen only based on the speed difference of launching 30 different applications within 2mn. Even if new phone are twice as quick as the previous one that was twice as quick as the previous previous one that was twice... Well, you see the point. Phones are fast enough.
I do not know anybody that is using an iPhone 6 or Samsung S6 and that is saying: "my phone is too slow and the only thing I would wish is to that a phone twice as quick".
I am certain that if Apple would sell at the same price:
1/ iPhone 7 = CPU of the 6S, AMOLED screen, quick and wireless charging, waterproof, 5,7" screen but 5mm narrower than current 6S+, camera hardware button, pen support.
2/ iPhone 6SS = iPhone 6S with a CPU 50% quicker
you can be absolutely assure that NOBODY would choose an iPhone 6SS versus this hypothetical iPhone 7.
We can be all fair of what Apple is achieving with its iPhone, which is great. But some minimal common sense would be good in this forum.