The Galaxy Note 7 unveiling last month brought us a device that, as Samsung says, “was inspired by the Galaxy S7 edge” in reference to its dual-edge display. While Samsung referenced the display and its dual curves in making the statement, some consumers believe that more than just the dual-edge display was “borrowed” from the Galaxy S7 edge. Some have gone on to call the Galaxy Note 7 nothing more than just “a Galaxy S7 edge with an S Pen,” with a reference to the Galaxy S7 edge and the S Pen of the Galaxy Note line that has been a staple item of the phone series since its inception in 2011.
For some diehard Galaxy Note fans, Samsung's move as of late is indicative of a company that is “watering down” the Galaxy Note lineup in favor of the Galaxy S customer base. Samsung hasn't lowered the specs or performance of its devices to match its Galaxy S flagships (this is why the Note 5 had 4GB of RAM in 2015, before the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge got 4GB of RAM this year), but what consumers are seeing is that the best specs are being shared between the Note line and the Galaxy S line – and diehard OG Note fans aren't too happy about it.
Some consumers don't even believe the Note line is all that different from the S line anymore, but I disagree. Samsung has always had a particular purpose in mind for both series, and its daring move to “line up” the specs between them shows what Samsung's had in mind all along. Let's look at 3 reasons why it's a good thing that the Galaxy S7 edge and Galaxy Note 7 are more alike than ever.
Reason #1: The Galaxy S7 edge and Galaxy Note 7 hail from the same OEM
This is the most obvious reason, but it bears mentioning: both the Galaxy S7 edge and the Galaxy Note 7 hail from the same OEM – in this case, Samsung. It is a common trend with all OEMs and smartphone manufacturers that you will find traits on one phone (or features) that end up being given to other phones made by the same OEM.
In this case, the Galaxy S7 edge and Galaxy Note 7 are both phones made by Samsung, so we'd expect to see shared features and hardware. Specs are included in here as well. There are phone series owned by OEMs who have variations on specs. OnePlus, for example, was once rumored to have 4GB and 6GB RAM versions in store for the OnePlus 3 (though the company axed the 4GB RAM model some weeks before the OP3 unveil). These 4GB and 6GB RAM versions would have differed in nothing but RAM capacities.
In the case of Samsung's most staunch rival in the smartphone space, the fruit company axed an iPhone 7 Pro that, with the exception of the dual camera lens setup, would've been the same phone as the iPhone 7 Plus. When flagship series are released under the same OEM, there will be some of what I call “carryover inspiration”; and, in many cases, though not all, the majority of specs in smartphones match. It's as inevitable as the sun rising.
Reason #2: The unification of Samsung's high-end experience
The Galaxy Note 7 has a number in its moniker that seems somewhat out of place to those who believe that the Galaxy Note 6 should've come to market (though the Galaxy Note Edge was the fifth Galaxy Note, and the Galaxy Note 5 was the “Galaxy Note 6,” according to one perspective), but the Galaxy Note Edge must be taken into account when counting “Galaxy Note” models (even if it wasn't a mainstream model to which many had access). Samsung's reason for giving the number “7” to not only the Galaxy S but also the Galaxy Note series had something to do with not only properly counting its Galaxy Notes past and present but also the desire to unify its product line so as to better help consumers.
The same can be said for Samsung's decision to unify its product lines in the spec department, too. In order to help consumers identify the exact device they want, Samsung has decided to give top-notch specs to both lines so that consumers can now decide whether or not they want the edge and S Pen or the edge only in hardware design.
Having a background in retail, I'm aware of the impact Samsung's unification will have on retail and marketing. Retail representatives will be able to better communicate the differences between Samsung's high-end smartphones because the specs will be nearly identical, with Galaxy S customers who want a bigger battery getting one in the Galaxy S7 edge. The Galaxy Note lineup is for those who want the S Pen and those who cherish the S Pen can still have their phone of choice without a bigger battery motivating customers to get a Galaxy Note but never use the S Pen.
It makes sense to offer a larger battery and larger display for the Galaxy S line. Think about it this way: you serve a seafood pasta with lots of shrimp and oysters but someone who prefers a regular pasta is forced to buy the seafood pasta and pick off the shrimp and oysters. Wouldn't it be easier to craft a pasta with the same flavor sans the oyster and shrimp, rather than see consumers waste food because they'll remove the seafood from the seafood pasta? Why not give them a pasta with equal flavor but refrain from “force-feeding” the consumer shrimp and oysters though they want everything but those?
Reason #3: The Galaxy S7 edge and Galaxy Note 7 are premium flagships
The Galaxy S7 edge, like the Galaxy Note 7, is a premium flagship, and what premium flagship should be denied premium specs? Now it's been said by some diehard Galaxy Note fans that what once set the Galaxy Note apart from the pack was its impressive spec sheet as compared to the “S” line: the Galaxy S line was the more popular series, designed for the “everyman,” as opposed to the Galaxy Note line that was designed for “power users.”
But the problem with this distinction is that both the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note are flagships, and there's no such thing as a “superior flagship” (Galaxy Note) and an “inferior flagship” (Galaxy S). Flagships are the best of the class, and inferior flagships don't exist. If the phone is “inferior” in the product lineup, it isn't a flagship. Some tech reviewers will refer to “mid-range flagships,” for example, but this too, is an oxymoron: any phone bearing the “flagship” label will be a high-end device. No one raises a flag for a mid-range phone or a low-end phone.
Samsung never intended to create a superior flagship and an inferior flagship. The Galaxy Note lineup was always a matter of acquired taste, but the Korean giant never intended it to be the “superior flagship” of the two, with the Galaxy S being treated as the bastard stepchild while the Galaxy Note line would be treated as the respected, favorite son. What Samsung has been doing is offering both flagships in an equally competing manner so that consumers could have their phone of choice without being forced into tolerating a certain phone because “power users buy the Note,” for example. What few may find hard to believe is that power users also buy the Galaxy S series.
If you don't think this is true, just think back to 2015 when Samsung announced the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge. Few could've seen the Korean giant waiting until the Fall of that same year to release not only the Galaxy Note 5 but also the Galaxy S6 edge+. Remember the dilemma promo campaign created with these two phones, with a girl debating which one to choose?
Remember the word “dilemma” being tossed around in a Samsung promo as though the Korean giant wanted to “build up” the idea of a dilemma of choice between these two smartphones? The dilemma marketing wasn't done by mistake: it was done to show that the Galaxy S6 edge+, as a Galaxy S phone, was as equally important in Samsung's lineup as the Galaxy Note 5. This is why the S6 edge+ had a 5.7-inch display with a 3,000mAh battery (specs that match that of the Galaxy Note 5).
Conclusion
“The Galaxy Note line once towered over its ‘sibling'” is a statement I've heard in a few recent Galaxy Note 7 reviews. And yes, I understand the sentiment. But I think that some diehard Note fans have confused temporary distinctions with permanent ones and assumed Samsung intended “temporary distinctions” to be permanent when it's all too easy to analyze trends and see that the claim has little merit.
If you examine the differences in both screen sizes and battery capacities, you'll see that the Galaxy S screen size has been slowly but surely increasing since 2011 when the Galaxy Note line came along. The 0.8-inch display size difference between the Galaxy S2 and the Galaxy Note (4.5 inches vs. 5.3 inches), for example, has shrunk to just 0.2 inches when examining the Galaxy S7 edge (5.5 inches) and the Galaxy Note 7 (5.7 inches). Last year's Galaxy S6 edge+ completely leveled the display sizes and I can see Samsung releasing another Galaxy S device in the future that bears a 5.7-inch display.
The same trend can be seen in battery sizes. The 1,000mAh difference between the Galaxy Note 2 (3,100mAh battery) and the Galaxy S3 (2,100mAh battery) has now shrunk to just a mere 100mAh between the Galaxy S7 edge and Galaxy Note 7 – with the battery scales now tipped in favor of the S line instead of the Galaxy Note line. The point behind this has not been to “obliterate distinctions” between the two, as some claim, because the truth of the matter is that these so-called distinctions were never intended to have permanence; they were only temporary. Temporary distinctions can never be defining features; only permanent ones can.
What one distinction separates these two devices is the S Pen found on the Galaxy Note. The Galaxy Note is not a superior flagship, but a different one. The S Pen is like Starbucks coffee: it's an acquired taste and not everyone wants it. There are numerous coffee flavors sold by Starbucks, but no one coffee is declared “superior” to the others. Why? Because all flavors are palatable to their intended audience, and customers flock to the flavor that appeases them. Consumers can flock to either “Galaxy” they like in Samsung's lineup: whether life with an S Pen or not is palatable, Samsung is happy to oblige either type of customer.
In the same way a parent shows love to both children who have different personalities, Samsung is showing love to both flagship “sons,” honoring their distinctions without obliterating the reasons for both to co-exist. Now, consumers can feel as though Samsung honors the S flagship as much as the Note flagship, and tech-savvy consumers can live in a post-inferior flagship era where the Galaxy S line steals as much attention as the Galaxy Note line – and vice versa.
The Galaxy Note doesn't have to tower over the Galaxy S flagship line to be a great handset. It doesn't have to be the better-specced of the two to still remain worth your hard-earned investment. It has always come with the S Pen and its added functionality, a permanent distinction that isn't going anywhere, one that is good enough on its own without crafting a superiority complex around a spec sheet.
And despite the Galaxy Note 7 in your pocket, it turns out that power users buy the Galaxy S7 edge, too.
