Samsung Galaxy Note 6 To Feature USB-C For Faster Charging And Quicker Data Transfer: Report

Samsung will finally adopt the reversible USB-C port for charging and data transfer on its upcoming Galaxy Note 6 smartphone, according to sources speaking to SamMobile, a move that will give the adoption of the new technology a significant boost.

While the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge smartphones feature some of the most cutting-edge mobile technology around, Samsung's flagship devices failed to adopt the USB Type-C (or USB-C) standard for charging and data transfer. While flagship devices from Huawei and LG this year did adopt USB-C, as well as Google's Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X, the world's biggest smartphone maker had so far held out.

Samsung said there were multiple reasons its Galaxy S7 stuck with the widely used microUSB standard. The first was the Gear VR, which is used widely in promotion for the new smartphone, and which uses a microUSB connector to plug into the phone you are using.

Samsung also said the market wasn't ready for the new standard, despite many major companies — including Apple on its new MacBook — adopting the technology. Samsung also claimed one of the main benefits of USB-C, fast charging, was already available on the Galaxy S7 with a microUSB cable.

USB-C promises a range of benefits for smartphone users. As well as promising fast charging, the latest version of the standard (USB 3.1) makes it possible for much faster data transfers as well as the possibility of transferring data while still charging the phone.

USB-C is, like Apple's lightning connector, reversible, meaning it is much easier to plug in at night unlike microUSB. The new standard also has a smaller footprint than microUSB, meaning it should allow smartphone designers to create even slimmer devices.

Samsung is expected to bring the launch of the Galaxy Note 6 forward to July, a month ahead compared to last year. The South Korean company also launched the Galaxy S7 a month early this year, a move credited with boosting sales of the device in the first quarter of the year.

This will allow Samsung to have the Galaxy Note 6 on sale for several months before the arrival of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, expected to go on sale in September. As well as USB-C, the Galaxy Note 6 is set to feature a 5.8-inch screen — slightly larger than recent Note models — and could potentially come with 6GB of RAM, which may seem crazy, but the report from a Chinese website comes just months after Samsung itself announced it could produce smartphones that feature 6GB of RAM on a single chip.

The phone is also expected to be as waterproof as the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, which had an IP68 rating, meaning they can be submerged in 1.5 meters of water for a half hour.