Samsung is so over six. The company announced that it's jumping from 2015's Note 5 straight to the Note 7, skipping the Note 6 model entirely. We'll get all the details on August 2 in New York atSamsung's Note 7 "Unpacked" event.

Until then, it's a lot of fun trying to piece together the Note 7's identity: Will it simply iterate off of the Note 5 and S7 that came before, or will it wow us with unforetold (or hinted at and unconfirmed) hardware goodies that shake us from the eyelid-drooping expectations of smartphones today?
The most reliable rumors suggest that the Note keeps its 5.7-inch screen, but adds a USB-C port (they're all the rage) and an iris scanner for unlocking the phone with your eyes. Let's take stock of the most telling rumors. (P.S. Remember, they're unsubstantiated, so anything could happen!)
Note 7's the name, not Note 6
Chronology be damned! Early on, rumor-mongers suspected that Samsung would use the Galaxy Note 7 name and not the Galaxy Note 6, even though 2015's model was called the Note 5.
This does make a certain amount of sense. Samsung already has the Galaxy S7, which would help keep the Galaxy S and Note series in line. And when you count up Notes 1-5 and add in the little-remembered Galaxy Note Edge, this next Note would make the family's legitimate seventh addition. So there's that math for ya.
But perhaps phone-makers also have no wish to be left behind the gold standard Apple's already established and will likely continue when and if it releases its iPhone 7 this fall. We won't know for sure until Samsung expains itself, but the company remains tight-lipped for now.
Sell date: Mid-August
Samsung's Note line has been a mainstay at the IFA conference held in Berlin, Germany in late August, but the August 2 launch date suggests that the phone would sell well before IFA kicks off, and long before Apple's yearly iPhone launch in early September, which usually falls in the first two weeks of that month. Twitter tipster Evan Blass, who has built a reputation on accurate leaks, thinks that the phone will start selling around August 15.
Curved display up front
The Note 7's display will look more like the S7 Edge than the straight-faced Note 5, according to a recent rumor. Anything's possible, sure, but assuming it's true, I do wonder two things. Would the screen be just as navigable with the Note's signature pen? And with so many similarities between the Note 7 and the S7 Edge, the stylus could be the only important feature dividing the two.
Totally new software interface
New software, new name. The TouchWiz interface that Samsung has used for years to differentiate its phones from other Android-makers could see a major overhaul, including a potential name change. We might kiss TouchWiz goodbye and open our arms to Grace, a more paired-down yet interactive take on phone software, shown in an allegedly leaked video (below) from Italian site HD.Blog.IT. It's suggestive even if you don't understand a lick of Italiano.
The video goes pretty deep on widgets, and transparent folder effects, but one cool reveal is that you can swipe up on an icon to see a window that opens more cool stuff. Likewise, pressing and holding on a quick-access toggle in the notifications shade may snap open extra options for you to act on, like on the flashlight and Wi-Fi settings. For instance, the video shows that you can lower the flashlight brightness and change your Wi-Fi network without having to exit the notifications pull-down.
In essence, this could make the home screen and notifications shade even more of an activities hub than they are now.
The photo gallery could expand and condense with a pinch and zoom of your fingertips.
Updated Note software, too
Samsung usually previews its freshest take on its TouchWiz (or maybe Grace?) software on the year's Note release, but the changes go down to the pen level, too. This time, according to the HDBlog.It video above, we could see a lightly refreshed style with different icons, but much the same functionality to handwrite, scribble and navigate with a touch of the S Pen to the screen.
Pressure-sensitive screen? Not too likely
From what I can see in the Italian video above (which cites the build-of-unknown-origin as "Note5"), the Note 7 doesn't look like it borrows Apple's pressure-sensitive display, which lets you press and hold until the screen gently jostles to pull up more granular data. Still, this is a persistent rumor, and one we also heard about the Galaxy S7 (it didn't happen).
Iris scanner for real this time
We've also heard tell of an iris scanner that can unlock your phone by staring you in the eye. The iris scanner loomed large in Galaxy S4 rumors, too, but turned out to be a different feature that kept the screen from locking when you looked at it often enough. Now that Microsoft's iris-scanning "Windows Hello" feature in the Lumia 950 has made the security option a reality, it's much more likely that Samsung will include a real iris scanner this time around.
Other suspected specs
- 5.7-inch screen
- 12-megapixel camera
- 5-megapixel front-facing camera
- IP68 certified against water and dust
- 64GB of space expandable through a microSD card
- USB Type-C port; Quick Charge 3.0
- 4,200mAh battery
- Black, silver, blue colors
What about Android Nougat?
Notably missing from the seething rumor mill is an indication of the Note 7's operating system. Google's Android N, revealed this week to be named Android Nougat, isn't out yet and won't be until fall, so don't expect the new Note to debut with the OS. Instead, expect Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, with an upgrade later on, at least a few months after Google's Nexus phones get a chance to show off all that Nougat can do.
Price and availability
As a rule of thumb, Samsung's prices hover on the higher end of the scale, and a stylus-packing handset like the Note goes for more than a smaller, more mainstream model like the S7. If prices hold from 2015, expect the 64GB version of the Note 7 to sashay out for roughly $800, which converts to roughly £600 and AU$1,080. Prices will vary further by region, carrier, storage capacity and promotional deals.
Samsung responded to a request for comment by saying "we don't comment on rumors or speculation."
This article was originally published on June 28, 2016 and updates periodically. It was most recently updated on July 12 at 2:30pm PT.
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