Update: Samsung has confirmed that the phone will launch in South Korea on July 7, under the name Galaxy Note Fan Edition.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was a fantastic phone that we gave four and a half stars to, but sadly it had an unfortunate tendency to catch fire.
Samsung reacted by recalling every Note 7 and since then all the units have been sitting in a warehouse, but Samsung has now confirmed it plans to use those phone parts for refurbished versions of the handset, called the Samsung Galaxy Note Fan Edition.
That's different to the earliest rumors, which suggested it would launch as the Note 7 R, but it's a name that makes sense, as Samsung is sure to want to avoid the Note 7 name, even though the phones have been refurbished.
It's important to note this phone isn't the Galaxy Note 8 - that's expected to be an entirely new phone that will come out in August or September this year.
Below you’ll find all we’ve heard so far about the 'return' of the Galaxy Note 7.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? Samsung's refurbished Galaxy Note 7, a discontinued phablet from 2016
- When is it out? July 7, but so far it's only been confirmed for South Korea
- What will it cost? Less than the Galaxy Note 7 - around $610/£470/AU$795
Samsung Galaxy Note Fan Edition release date
Samsung has confirmed that the Galaxy Note Fan Edition will launch on July 7, but that date only applies to South Korea.
The company has said that "overseas sales will be decided later", so if and when the US, UK, Australia and elsewhere will get it remains to be seen.
The company plans to sell 400,000 units in its home country, and that figure and date match up with earlier rumors.
We’ll be sure to update this article when we know more about Samsung’s worldwide release plans for the Galaxy Note Fan Edition.
Samsung Galaxy Note Fan Edition design and display
This phone is set to be hosted in the same body as the original Note 7. The plan is to reuse the body for the Galaxy Note Fan Edition, but use different battery tech, as the battery was the original problem with the Note 7.
That means the refurbished Note 7 will likely come with a 5.7-inch QHD dual-edge display with a resolution of 1440 x 2560 pixels. That equals 518 pixels-per-inch.
Dimensions-wise we can expect the phone to be 153.5 x 73.9 x 7.9 mm, which is a touch smaller than the Galaxy S8 Plus. The weight of the original Note 7 was 169g, but this new version may be a bit lighter as a smaller battery is being used.
The Note Fan Edition will also have IP68 certification for dust and water resistance, just like the Note 7, and come in the same colors as the original Note 7 too. That's not a huge surprise and means the phone will come in blue, silver, gold and black.
The only real change to the design will be the placement of the new Samsung Galaxy Note Fan Edition name on the back. Samsung's name is also being removed from the front - but will still be present on the rear.
Samsung Galaxy Note Fan Edition specs
Samsung hasn't yet confirmed the full specs of the Note Fan Edition, but we're expecting them to be largely identical to the Note 7's, and indeed leaked info suggests exactly that, so that's an Exynos 8890 chipset and 4GB of RAM. We’d also expect it to come with 64GB of storage and 256GB of microSD support.
It’s expected to launch with the latest Android 7 software on board, and it may see the upgrade to Android O when that launches later this year. It's also likely to feature a 12MP rear camera and 5MP selfie shooter.
The iris and fingerprint scanners from the original Note 7 have been confirmed for the phone, and Samsung's Bixby assistant will also be included, just like was rumored, but there won't be a hardware button to launch it.
That's a slight surprise as we expected the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 would be the next phone to get Bixby. It also makes the Note Fan Edition slightly better than the Note 7 in one way.
The biggest change when it comes to specs will be a 3,200mAh battery. That figure had been rumored before and has now been confirmed. The Note 7 had a 3,500mAh cell, but that was the problem with the original phone so it's no surprise that Samsung has shrunk it.
That means the battery should fit better into the body of the Galaxy Note Fan Edition and shouldn't cause any problems this time around. Just to be sure, the company has also put it through its new 8-point battery safety check.
Samsung Galaxy Note Fan Edition price
The Samsung Galaxy Note Fan Edition will be launching in South Korea for 699,000 won (around $610/£470/AU$795), which is significantly less than the $880/£749/AU$1,349 price of the original Note 7.
Of course the actual price in other countries - if the phone makes it to other countries - likely won't be a direct conversion, but we'd still expect it will be a lot cheaper than the Note 7 ever was.
