14 DAY TRIAL // Rumored as either "Fan Edition" or "Fandom Edition" the refurbished Galaxy Note 7 FE smartphone was confirmed today by Samsung Electronics in a press announcement (in Korean).
Samsung has brought back its ill-fated Galaxy Note 7 flagship after last year's disaster as the devices started exploding all over the world, which were shortly banned on flights and other public places. Samsung had no chance but to recall all units that it sold until September 15, 2016, as well as to suspend sales of the device.
The cause of the explosion was as found as a manufacturing defect in the batteries, which caused some of them to generate excessive heat, resulting in fires. With the Galaxy Note 7 FE edition, Samsung promises to offer users refurbished devices shipping with unopened Galaxy Note 7 boxes and unused parts.
The company said that Galaxy Note 7 FE edition is an eco-friendly project as it minimizes waste of resources by utilizing the parts from the recalled Galaxy Note 7 units. However, Samsung upgraded the software by adopting the same UX as that found on its latest Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 + smartphone.
Differences between Galaxy Note 7 and Galaxy Note 7 FE
While Galaxy Note 7 FE retains the design and innovative features of Galaxy Note 7, it does come with some aesthetic and under-the-hood changes, starting with a 3,200mAh battery that was enhanced with multiple safety designs and it passed rigorous safety tests to ensure users are safe when using the device.
In addition, Galaxy Note 7 FE comes with support for the Bixy intelligent interface that was only available to Galaxy S8 and S8+ devices until now, featuring both Bixbee Home and Bixbee Reminder apps. It also features Samsung Pass for biometric authentication with iris and fingerprint recognition.
The devices are waterproof and dustproof, which means that you can use them on safely on when raining, in the shower, or in a swimming pool, and they come with a revamped S Pen stylus that features a pen tip of 0.7mm and supports a pressure of 4,096 steps to provide a more sophisticated and smooth writing feeling.
Samsung Electronics plans to sell the Galaxy Note 7 Fan Edition only in the domestic market with a limit of 400,000 units. Overseas sales will be decided later, and the device will be available in four colors, including Black Onyx, Gold Platinum, Silver Titanium, and Blue Coral, priced at 699,600 won (~$610 USD).
