The new Galaxy Note, Samsung Electronics flagship premium phone with pen stylus, has been unveiled in New York on Tuesday in the same features of curved glass at edges, powerful chip set and camera, and large AMOLED screen as the S7 series that helped to revive Samsung phone reputation, plus an iris scanner.

The new Note 7 skipped from last year’s version 5 in hopes to keep up the S7 fad was showcased in a rare unpacking ceremony at the historical Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan.

“The Galaxy Note 7 combines productivity and entertainment, and strong security features. Powering a robust ecosystem, it is the ideal device for those who want to achieve more in life,” said Koh Dong-jin, president of mobile communications business of Samsung Electronics at the launch event.

The new Galaxy Note 7, the Korean tech giant’s flagship large-sized smartphone features similar specifications of the Galaxy S7, but it differentiates itself from others with an iris scanner and much improved S Pen.

Iris scanning is a promising biometric authentication and identification technology. Each person’s iris contains a complex and random pattern that is unique to each individual. It provides highly reliable method of determining identity as iris has more complex pattern than fingerprint.

At the top of the Note 7, there are an infrared transmitter, front-facing camera and iris reader that determines user’s identity.

Koh said that the Galaxy Note 7 offers top-of-the-line security that combines Samsung Knox with biometric authentication including a new iris scanning feature. It also comes with Samsung Pass, a security system that allows users to access mobile banking and do other sensitive tasks after being authenticated using the iris scanner. Samsung Electronics is working with Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank, KEB Hana Bank and major U.S. banks to connect the iris scanner to their mobile banking apps.

The Galaxy Note 7 also features the Galaxy S7’s Always On Display that allows users to take notes with its S Pen without unlocking the screen.

The Note 7 and S Pen received IP68 rating that makes it waterproof to depths of 1.5m for 30 minutes. Its S Pen works even when the screen is wet. The tip of the pen gets smaller from 1.6mm on the Note 5 to 0.7mm on the Note 7 to provide users with a real pen-like experience. Users also can edit any images as they want, store and share them immediately. When users touch foreign language texts on the web or images with the pen, it automatically translates the words.

The Note 7 has curved edges on either side of the display to provide a comfortable grip to users.

Samsung Electronics shares closed Wednesday at 1,517,000, down 31,000 won or 2 percent from the previous session.

By Lee Gyung-jin

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