A refurbished variant of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 running Android Nougat received Wi-Fi certification from the Wi-Fi Alliance, according to a set of documents published by the organization on Monday. The device bears the model number SM-N935S and is powered by the original stable build of Android Nougat, i.e. 7.0. In addition to the refurbished variant of the device, Wi-Fi Alliance also recently certified the original handset identified by the model number SM-N930F. That particular variant of the Galaxy Note 7 is also running Android 7.0 Nougat, but seeing how the South Korean consumer electronics manufacturer discontinued the faulty phablet last fall, it’s currently unclear why the company went through the trouble of certifying a new, Nougat-powered iteration of the handset. It’s possible that Samsung is preparing an update to disable the remaining Galaxy Note 7 units before launching refurbished models of the device that it previously confirmed will be hitting the market soon, but the company has yet to clarify its plans on the matter.
The upcoming refurbished variant of the Galaxy Note 7 will ship with a smaller battery that’s said to have a capacity of either 3,000mAh or 3,200mAh, but should otherwise be identical to the device that hit the market last summer before being recalled twice. The handsets are only expected to be sold in South Korea and some emerging markets throughout the world, with Samsung already saying it has no plans to release them in the United States. That state of affairs isn’t surprising seeing how the company’s brand took a major hit in the U.S. following the discontinuation of the Galaxy Note 7 and Samsung likely isn’t eager to remind consumers of its faulty phablet, especially since it’s currently in the middle of a massive marketing campaign promoting the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus that just hit the market on Friday.
Likewise, Samsung might believe that even a refurbished variant of the Galaxy Note 7 could compete with the Galaxy S8 lineup, which is a scenario that the company would certainly try to avoid in the United States, the largest market for high-end smartphones in the world. An update on the availability of refurbished Galaxy Note 7 units will likely follow in the coming months.