Samsung’s excellent Galaxy S7 series will have almost certainly exacerbated falling iPhone demand in recent months, and now the South Korean company is working to ensure that things won’t be any easier for the iPhone 7 lineup.
New rumors say its next-generation Galaxy Note phablet will be its best smartphone yet, with stellar specifications, outstanding design, and a new virtual reality experience that will make the iPhone 7 Plus look like trash.
Although the Galaxy Note lineup isn’t Samsung’s biggest seller, it’s always more spectacular than the Galaxy S. It has a larger display, greater specifications, better battery life, and that awesome S Pen. Compare a Galaxy Note with an iPhone and the gap gets even bigger.
Not only does last year’s Galaxy Note 5 have a larger and sharper display than the iPhone 6s Plus, but it packs it into a smaller footprint, so it’s more comfortable to use. It also has a better camera and wireless charging — and many would say a better design, too.
Apple is expected to play catch up this year, with rumors claiming it will finally add wireless charging and do something about the ugly antenna bands on its most recent devices. But no one expects this year’s iPhone upgrade to be a big one.
That gives Samsung a chance to take an even greater lead — and that’s exactly what it plans to do.
According to the latest rumors, Samsung won’t release a Galaxy Note 6 this year. “Credible sources” in South Korea claim that the upgrade will be so significant that Samsung’s going to call it the Galaxy Note 7 instead, skipping an entire iteration.
The actual reason for this change is to bring the Galaxy Note’s version number in line with the Galaxy S version number — and, of course, the iPhone’s. With different numbers, “it can give out a feeling that it is an outdated phone,” an official told ET News.
But it’s still going to be a massive upgrade. Not only is the Galaxy Note 7 expected to get its expandable storage back, but it’s also likely to be water-resistant — just like the Galaxy S7. It will adopt Samsung’s latest camera, too, which is even more incredible than the last.
According to the experts at DxOMark, the Galaxy S7’s camera is the best on the market right now. It takes unbeatable photos even in low light, records insanely crips 4K video with optical image stabilization, and has the fastest autofocus you’ll find in a smartphone.
Recent reports claim the Galaxy Note 7 will also be even faster than Samsung’s existing smartphones, thanks to a new Snapdragon 823 processor and up to 6GB of RAM. It could also adopt the more versatile USB-C standard, and will retain its wireless charging capabilities.
What’s more, the Galaxy Note 7 will beat the iPhone to that “all-glass” design that Apple is said to be planning for 2017. Like the Galaxy S7 edge, it is expected to feature curved class on its front and back, which will be held together by a rounded aluminum frame.
Providing Samsung delivers all of these things — and they all sound like perfectly plausible upgrades — it’s going to have a pretty unbeatable smartphone. It won’t just give Galaxy Note 5 owners many reasons to upgrade, but it’ll give iPhone owners many more reasons to switch.
That’s something Apple should be really worried about. With iPhone demand falling, fans and investors are waiting for it to deliver something spectacular — but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen in 2016.
The iPhone 7 series is shaping up to be another incremental upgrade, similar in design to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s. And Apple must know that it won’t be enough to appease all those fans who are calling for more.
Apple will surely win them back in 2017. That’s when the iPhone will celebrate its tenth anniversary, and you can bet the company has something special in store for that — such as OLED displays. Until then, Samsung will continue to have the upper hand.
Killian Bell is a freelance writer based in the U.K. He has an interest in all things tech and also covers Android over at CultofAndroid.com. You can follow him on Twitter via @killianbell.
31 responses to “How Samsung plans to make the iPhone 7 Plus look like trash”
Still runs bloated android, still has fugly Samsung logo plastered on it, Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
lol phone noob
Hey Killian, you almost sound like you actually believe what you wrote. Almost.
I love the Galaxy hardware, but the Android app store is just not up to par with the iOS store. Apps take longer to get updated, and they rely heavily on in app ads. Many apps that have paid versions in iOS have only add supported only apps in Android (like my favorite game, Hasbro’s Scrabble) because Android makes in app ads so lucrative.
Another problem with Galaxy, at least in the US, is that their flagship has only 32GB storage. The SD card is slower and has only limited app capability and 32GB storage for a flagship device is poor. Samsung outright admitted they don’t offer the 64GB version in the US because the 32GB one is far more profitable for them.
Your point about apps used to be true, but that’s changed a lot. Lots of apps now get updated on Android first because the updates don’t need to be approved, while some devs try to push big releases to both platforms at the same time. iOS does seem to get a lot of great games first, but the gap isn’t what it used to be.
true, android apps don’t need approved so that’s why you can find 100 apps with the same name and icon for android.. not speaking of what is inside of android apps
Killian wrote:
“It takes unbeatable photos even in low light, records insanely crips 4K video”
What is an “insanely crips 4K video?”
you are joking me, right?
once you used apple devices for some time, it’s really impossible to switch to any other brand, especially to a copycat like samsung, used a s6 yesterday and it looked for me like a taped together device, full if useless features and idiotic water sounds
Agree. I love the feel of their hardware, but as soon as I turn on the screen it all goes to hell. Why they think Comic Sans is an acceptable font to use on the main screens, and those irritating water drop sounds for every tap, is beyond me.
Lol at that ridiculous headline
This post brought to you by Samsung ®. Why pay more for genuine Apple design when you can get Samsung’s blatant copies of Apple design for less?
(Co-sponsored by Google ® Android ® – Powering Cheap Asian Knockoffs of American Design Since 2008.)
“Samsung’s excellent Galaxy S7 series will have almost certainly exacerbated falling iPhone demand in recent months” . Really ?
The S7/Edge sold just 9M in the last quarter vs Apple iPhone’s 52M. It is far from “exacerbated…”
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Samsung will never be able to make anything Apple makes look like “trash”. I’ve worked in the mobile industry for years and if there is one thing that is regularly consistent, it’s that hype over Samsung phones is very short lived. Customers will call the latest Galaxy phone the new iPhone killer, then less than a year later that phone takes a huge shit on itself and stops working properly, or gets a virus right out of the Goolge Play store SMH. Apple’s App store is far superior, they’re operating system is cleaner and especially once you’ve dipped your iPhones toes into the “fountain of Jailbreak” there is no other handset that compares.
lol the article is so full of BS I actually began to smell it for real.
I love iPhones, i have every interaction since the 3gs, right now im with the 6 i don’t like the design thats why i skipped the 6s.
As much as i hate to admit it i like Samsung S7 display, camera and water resistance. The real reason why i don’t change my iPhone is the OS… But to be honest, lately Apple is just selling the same device with minor upgrades.
iPhone 4 and 4s were in the top both software and hardware, but since 5 and worse with 6, the only gap for iPhones is in the software department, the hardware is just falling apart year after year, and even thought Touch ID and ForceTouch were great innovations, the display and camera department is just not on par, hope this iPhone make something about it. Its not like theres lack of technology, is just lack of commitment with its loyal customers like me and like most of the people that reads this kind of blogs.
Really? Most reviews put Apple’s camera on top, not Samsung’s. Apple’s A9 runs circles around Samsung’s chip (despite Samsung’s slimy testing “enhancements” to fool reviewers). Sounds like you’ve been reading too much Killian Bell, pimping for the Samsung money funnel. I’ve used iPhones since 2007 and never once had an issue using it in rain nor feel a need to go snorkeling with it.
Recently, however, Samsung’s higher resolution camera’s have been producing higher quality images across the spectrum, from low light to HDR. With every new iteration, due to Apple wanting to leave the sensor very small, Samsung widens the gap in between quality.
The AMOLED displays, however, deteriorate over time, saturate the images, and over-represent blues and greens within the image. Additionally, much like the problem with plasma televisions, images get burned onto the screen within a single year. The AMOLED technology,w while promising for its abilities to display darker blacks and use less color, still lack in some critical areas as apple improves its existing LCD technology.
After owning the 6plus i recently used the note 5 thev iphone is childish crap now, the note is years ahead of the 6plus. I couldnt believe what you can do with a real pocket computer and that screen, gorgeous. I can download music anywhere on any site then do anything with the music and not locked to itunes. The iphone is trash now.
does your smasung work as toilet paper, mine did…
You like garish fake color…….imbecile!
Well, but it uses Android..
Who writes this crap?
I feel sorry for killian. Hope you get better at this blogging this.
Is it a paid advert by Samsung? Anyways…it is still a (android) trash in nice wrapper..nothing else. Apple Rules!
Sure Samsung churn out features and great stuff in their phones. But they do it for profits. They will mash together anything latest just so it will sell. In terms of build quality, CUSTOMER SUPPORT, life expectancy and repair effectivity, Apple beats Samsung hands down. Especially with the recent FBI battle, Apple have shown they put the consumer first. I have never seen Samsung stand up for the customer. Not even once. Apple have a much better ecosystem and broader range of quality services than Samsung will ever have.
Over saturated fake color on their lousy samsuck screens, all of the idiots I work with use those crappy samsuck devices, typical korean copiers. Killian Bell is as much of an asshole as his made up name.
Another fanboyish, click-bait, flamewar article and oh look who it is, it’s our favourite trash-article writer Killian… You should switch to Android Authority, they publish clickbait trash like you on a regular basis. Should fit right in.
Sure Apple does have LED planned for 2017, something Samsung not only has but was paid by Apple to make it for them. Samsung is the biggest name in electronics period,Apple knows this and they themselves can’t get away from buying Samsung made products.
You Apple folks are hilarious.