The official unveiling of Samsung’s much-awaited phablet Galaxy Note 7 is less than three weeks away. The device has just passed the last major hurdle ahead of its release. The AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile and US Cellular variants of the Note 7 have passed through the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC listing has also revealed model numbers for the carrier-branded versions.
Galaxy Note 7 leak confirms iris scanner
The model numbers are: AT&T (SM-N930A), Verizon (SM-N930V), Sprint (SM-N930P), US Cellular (SM-N930R4), and T-Mobile (SM-N930T). The Verizon variant of Galaxy Note 7 also recently appeared on the Geekbench benchmark, confirming its specs. Samsung will reportedly launch only the curved screen model of the Note 7. There will be no flat-screen option.
Separately, a post on the Chinese microblogging site Weibo has once again confirmed the iris scanner in the Note 7. The leaked images also shed light on how the iris authentication technology would work. You can use it to unlock the device just by looking at your phone. If the feature is active on your handset, you will see a camera interface with two circles in the top region of the screen. You need to look into those circles to unlock the phone.
Why Samsung skipped the Note 6 moniker
There is also a pattern unlock option available in the bottom half of the screen. Samsung said in its Galaxy Unpacked event invite that it chose to call the next phablet Galaxy Note 7 to bring it to naming parity with the Galaxy S line. Since the Galaxy S7 is already available in the market, calling the new device Note 6 might have given an impression that it is an older device, which is not the case.
Samsung will unveil the Note 7 at a Galaxy Unpacked event at 11 am EDT in New York on August 2. The company will also hold simultaneous events in London and Rio de Janeiro. The Galaxy Note 7 is expected to feature a 5.7-inch Quad HD display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor, 12-megapixel main camera, 5MP front snapper, 3600mAh battery, and IP68 waterproofing.
