Samsung Galaxy Note 7: Exynos 8890 Processor, Same As Galaxy S7, Could Power Handset; S-Pen Gets New Features

With only a few hours to go before Samsung unveils its new Galaxy Note 7, a new report claimed Monday that the device will be powered by the same Exynos 8890 processor that is featured in the Galaxy S7.

Rumors about the Galaxy Note 7’s processor have been around for quite some time now. Previous speculation suggested that the upcoming version of the company’s flagship Note series of smartphones could be powered by the company’s own Exynos 8893 processor in developing markets and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 821 processor in bigger markets like the U.S.

While the Exynos 8893 processor is believed to be an upgraded version of the existing Exynos 8890 processor, SamMobile reported Monday that the Galaxy Note 7 is likely to use the same 2.3 GHz Exynos 8890 processor found in the Galaxy S7, at least in Europe.

The Snapdragon 821, on the other hand, is an upgraded version of the Snapdragon 820 that powers some variants of the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge. It is also said to deliver a 10 percent performance increase over the 820. With the Qualcomm Kryo quad-core CPU, the Snapdragon 821 is expected to reach speeds up to 2.4 GHz.

Although there is some confusion about whether the Galaxy Note 7 will feature 6GB RAM or Samsung will stick to 4GB RAM, tech enthusiasts are pretty much confident that the device will come with a minimum of 64GB of on-board storage.

Rumors are rife that the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 would feature an upgraded S-Pen with improved Bluetooth LE hardware. In addition, the stylus is also expected to get a new feature, which is expected to help users translate words from a foreign language. All they need to do is hover the S-Pen over a word to translate. Users will also be able to tap the speaker icon to hear a word pronounced.

The S-Pen is also likely to get two more features — allowing users to enlarge areas of the screen by hovering the S Pen over them, and to quickly switch between apps by hovering the S-Pen over their thumbnails.

Samsung will unveil the Galaxy Note 7 on Aug. 2 during an event, which has been named “7 Unpacked.” The event will be held in New York City at 11:00 a.m. EDT while there will also be satellite events taking place simultaneously in London and Rio de Janeiro.