The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 has returned to the smartphone scene in the form of the Galaxy Note Fan Edition or FE, a refurbished model of the ill-fated phablet.
From the look of things, the Galaxy Note FE is practically the same as the Galaxy Note 7 across the board, except for the battery.
All that's been figured out thanks to none other than iFixit's teardown of the Galaxy Note FE.
Same Phone, Different Battery
Considering that the Galaxy Note FE is just the Galaxy Note 7 with a smaller battery, what users will get here is the same 5.7-inch Super AMOLED display with a 1,440 x 2,560 resolution topped off with a Corning Gorilla Glass 5 and 4 GB of RAM.
Previous rumors said that the phablet will house a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821, but that's not the case at all. The same familiar Exynos 8890 sits under the hood, just like the processor that ran things in the Galaxy Note 7.
Difference No. 1: Battery
The significant difference here is that the battery has been toned down from 3,500 mAh to 3,200 mAh. In other words, the Galaxy Note FE's cell has a 12.32 Wh capacity, while the Galaxy Note 7 clocked in at 13.48 Wh — a reduction of approximately 9 percent.
The new battery has been slightly downsized from 37.9 mm x 97.8 mm x 4.9 mm (Galaxy Note 7) to 37.4 mm x 97.2 mm x 5.0 mm (Galaxy Note FE) too, weighing at 45.4 grams or 0.10 pounds. Put differently, it's 2.3 grams or 0.005 pounds lighter than the original.
Difference No. 2: Antenna
The other difference between the Galaxy Note FE and Galaxy Note 7 is arguably minor compare with the battery update.
As everyone can see, the antenna pattern has been changed, but it's not exactly a variation of sorts.
iFixit explains that the antenna is for the mobile networks in Korea since the Galaxy Note FE is available only in the country, so it's not surprising to see that particular distinction between it and the U.S. Galaxy Note 7.
To boil things down, the Galaxy Note FE is basically the Galaxy Note 7, but presumably in a bid to avoid another fiasco, Samsung crammed a smaller battery in the refurbished phablet.
"Beyond batteries, we've got exactly the same phone: no evidence of the rumored processor bumps, and no surprises. So the Galaxy Note Fan Edition still earns (or rather inherits) a 4 out of 10 on our repairability scale. Well, as long as it doesn't self destruct," iFixit said.
