I’m not a tech blogger nor good in writing technical things, though I’m an IT guy. But let me share with you why I switched back from Apple iPhone 6 plus to Samsung Galaxy Note 7.

I’m an Apple fan but there are things that Apple cannot comply with my needs. Working in fast phase environment in the corporate world and working on my other projects, I need a device that can catch with my lifestyle, then Samsung Note 7 came into the rescue. This blog is not a full review but merely a personal viewpoint about the device. Aside from that, most of the things listed below are the key criteria most people consider before jumping in.

First is let’s talk about the specs in the most subtle way everyone can understand, let’s be honest most of us buy the unit for  3 main reasons. One, because we follow the current trend. Admit it everyone wants to be called “up to date” and the second reason is to uplift our lifestyle or merely a status quo. Funny how functions come’s into 3rd place only…

Here we go….
Processor:  Snapdragon 820 which is the fastest and latest mobile processor available in the market.
Memory: 4GB RAM
Battery: 3500 amp
Storage: 64GB + Expandable more pictures, videos, and music
Main Camera: 12 megapixel Dual Pixel with f1.7 aperture good for low light conditions
Front Camera: 5megapixel with f1.7 aperture good for Selfie Lovers out there
Screen: 5.7inches Quad HD AMOLED display Corning Gorilla glass

What’s Inside the Black box? (this reminds me of Apple’s iPhone 5 box)

Inside comes the warranty and some Samsung manual that nobody reads, let’s be honest who reads the manual nowadays?, a fast wall charger, USB Type-C cable, a headset that comes with a case that looks like  more of an iPhone Earpod case knock off. Luckily, Samsung is generous enough to include 2 extra adapters. The 1st one is used for transferring files from your old unit to the Note7 and the 2nd one is the USB Type-C converter, I guess for your existing USB cable. YEY!!!! A for effort Samsung!

Note: USB Type-C  is the news USB type that is for faster charging and you can plug-in reversely. 

Design
I love the design aesthetic of this device. The curved glass display and curved back panel meets in the middle by a metallic band for the chassis, how symmetrical it looks and this is what Samsung is aiming for. Compared with the rumored Apple iPhone 7, the Galaxy Note 7 retains its 3.5 audio jack at the bottom of the screen together with the new USB type-C, speaker grills, and the SP Pen. Seated on the upper part of the unit, is the sim card and storage expansion slot and another mic, but the IR blaster is nowhere to be found. On the front panel hosted the 5’7″ QHD Super AMOLED screen company with 2 cameras that serves for selfie and the other is for the Iris Scanner and some sensors.

image by: PhoneArena

The Galaxy Note 7 comes in 4 different colors such as Silver, Black Onyx, Gold and the new Coral Blue.

As for me, I chose Gold for a more luxurious look and feel, however, the fingerprint marks is killing me, so make sure you get yourself a good casing.

UI or the User Interface
Compared with the other Samsung units in the past, they revamped and removed some of the bloatware (extra app that we don’t want and we don’t use at all) in the new Samsung Touchwiz which makes the unit runs smoother. Don’t worry you can still download it through the Galaxy App Store tho. I guess Samsung made the right choice, the user interface now is more minimalistic, pleasing, easy to explore and lag free.

Main Screen

Drop Down Settings

Lock Screen

Photo by Phone Arena

Picture Perfect Camera
The camera is one of the selling point for me why I switched to Samsung note 7. Compared with Apple Isight Camera, the Galaxy Note 7 camera provides more options such as easy tweaking on the camera settings so as the manual mode. Aside from that, they also enhanced the front camera for taking selfies in low-lit conditions which has been a struggle for some of the users, but selfies tends to look plasticky. Check the images below taken by Samsung Note 7.

Auto Mode	Pro Mode
Auto Mode	Pro Mode

You can easily launch the camera app by double clicking the home bottom which in my opinion is very handy as I tend to shoot random things at random time. This feature enables the user not to miss out any opportunity to take a snapshot of your crush when he/she pass in front of you.

Selfie	Rear Camera

User Experience
Been playing with this toy a few days already and installed some of my favorite apps, so far I haven’t encountered any hanging or lagging issues. Transferring my files from iPhone to Note 7 is very easy, thanks to its built-in Smart Switch App which took me only 15 minutes moving all my contacts, 1,000+ pictures, music, and videos.

As I grasp the unit in my hand I could easily say that this unit is totally Premium and compact because of its slim bezel even though it is rocking a 5.7″ Super AMOLED Quad HD Screen. Adding to the value is the Samsung S Pen which allows me to do multi-tasking to a new level. It allows me to select, cut, and paste anything on my screen which is good for blogging, creating mood boards and writing something in your Instagram Stories which I know I am guilty of doing so. Kidding aside the water and dust proofing adds value to my purchase because as a beach lover I always bring my phone, take pictures of me and friend from different angles and even underwater. Storage is no more an issue because of its built-in 64 GB storage and expandable memory up to 256GB.

My only concern with the unit is the battery life. Samsung indeed improved the battery capacity to 3,500 amp from the previous 3,000 of the Note 5 and compared to the 2,500 amp of Apple’s iPhone 6plus but still due to constant use of the screen from browsing Instagram, Facebook and watching video’s via YouTube or KissAsian my unit only lasted half a day and needs charging again. Luckily this unit has a power saving mode which extends your battery life to more than 60hrs.Overall the Galaxy Note 7 is a great unit to have. If you are into a really functional phone that is good both for office and personal use, I highly recommend this. But at the end of the day, it’s always your choice which device you prefer. But for me, I found the one that is literally for work and play.