Before its batteries started overheating and the whole product line was recalled, the Galaxy Note 7 was actually one of the best smartphones of 2016. Samsung must still be proud of it, because it's putting a tweaked version of the handset back on sale in South Korea.
The new devices, built out of unused Note 7 components and unopened, recalled handsets from the first run, are officially called Galaxy Note 7 Fan Editions. This time the battery has been shrunk from 3,500 mAh to 3,200 mAh, and been put through the 8-stage safety test Samsung introduced after the Note 7 debacle.
Another new feature is the addition of the Bixby smart assistant, the Siri-like helper app that we first saw included on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+.
The other specifications haven't been detailed, so we're assuming they're all the same as last year: a 5.7-inch screen running at a resolution of 1,440 x 2,560 pixels, 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of internal storage, and a 12-megapixel camera around the back.
Samsung has confirmed the S Pen stylus is back again, and the Fan Edition does have the same iris scanning technology as the original Note 7, so you can unlock your phablet with a quick glance in its direction.
Unless you live in South Korea, though, you might not be able to get hold of one. Samsung says it's making 400,000 of the phones available in its local market, priced at ₩699,600 (roughly US$610). For comparison that's about 30 percent lower than the Note 7's original launch price. The new phone is available in black, blue, silver, and gold, and goes on sale July 7.
Samsung says it will decide on whether to put the Note 7 Fan Edition on sale in other markets at a later date, though it has specifically ruled out a launch in the United States and India, Reuters reports. That might be because the Galaxy Note 8 is due in August, which should improve on the Note 7 in most areas (not least battery stability).
Source: Samsung
