The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 that caused major havoc to the company’s business in 2016 is being re-launched as the Samsung Galaxy Note Fan Edition (FE).
In September 2016, the sales of the Note 7 were discontinued after a manufacturing defect on its batteries, resulting in fires. The tech giant was forced to do a recall just a few months after its launch. They exchanged the affected handsets for a new revision, which uses new batteries that they’ve got from a different supplier. However, they still received reports that the replacement phones have also caught on fire and led the company to cease the production of Note 7 permanently.
Now, the company is launching a refurbished version of the Note 7 and it will go on sale on Friday, July 7, as the new Galaxy Note Fan Edition. However, only 400,000 units will be released in South Korea and will cost around 699,600 Korean Won or approximately $609. The price is third cheaper than the Note 7. Overseas sales of the Note FE will be decided later, so don’t expect to see it outside of South Korea.
Samsung has refurbished unused salvaged parts from the Galaxy Note 7 to build this device. The company claims that the Galaxy Note FE has a new battery and “Perfect Safety.” The operating system was upgraded to Android 7.1.1 Nougat, which gives it the same interface as the Galaxy S8 and S8+, Samsung’s latest flagship device. It will also feature Galaxy S8’s Bixby, a smart digital assistant that rivals with Apple’s Siri.
The Fan Edition features a curved 5.7-inch Quad-HD Super AMOLED display (2560×1440 pixels), which is the brightest that can ever see on a Smartphone. It will also sport a 4GB of RAM with 64GB inbuilt storage, Exynos 8890 Octa-Core chip (64-bit), a 12-MP OIS snapper, and 5-MP selfie camera. It is IP68 certified for dust and water resistance and comes with Samsung’s S-Pen stylus, the same one that came with Note 7.
The non-removable battery, which was the major cause the Note 7 exploded, has been improved at 3,200mAh with multiple safety designs. It seems that the South Korean giant is attempting to regain the trust of the consumers ahead of the potential launch of the Galaxy Note 8. The company is also hoping that the new Note FE will appeal to the Note 7 fans.
The Note FE will be available in colors Blue Coral, Black Onyx, Gold Platinum, and Silver Titanium.
