14 DAY TRIAL // Following last year’s discontinuation, Samsung has apparently made the decision to refurnish some Galaxy Note 7 units and offer them to customers in various countries. It seems that the release is imminent, considering that three refurbished Note 7 units have just received FCC certification.
The three variants carry the codenames SM-N935K, SM-N935L, and SM-N935S, and they should soon arrive to the market in Korea. The SM-N935S is said to be sold at SK Telecom, while the other two could be made available at KT Freetel and LG Uplus (LG U +), two of Korea’s biggest carriers.
The refurbished Galaxy Note 7, which is said to carry the retail name Galaxy Note 7R, is believed to feature a smaller battery capacity of 3,200mAh, compared to the 3,500mAh battery inside original models.
Two battery problems were found to have caused the original Galaxy Note 7 to catch fire, and by swapping the initial battery for a new model, Samsung will make sure that such incidents don’t occur again. Other components inside the phone weren't found at fault.
The refurbished Galaxy Note 7R will go on sale at the end of June
In addition, Samsung will most likely subject the refurbished variant to a number of quality assurance tests, to make sure that they don’t pose any safety risks to consumers. The rest of the specs of the new variant are expected to stay the same, which means that RAM capacity will reach 4GB with 64GB of internal storage, and the device will have a 12MP camera on the back. The phone will run Samsung’s Exynos 8890 64-bit octa-core SoC and come with an iris scanner and Android Nougat.
Pricing details for the refurbished Galaxy Note 7 leaked recently, revealing that the smartphone will be sold for about $620, which is around $250 less than the original model.
By the end of June, customers in Korea are said to be able to purchase this variant, while the Note 7R could make its way to other markets as well. Sadly, Samsung has confirmed that the US and Canada won’t be getting the refurbished model.