Two new real-life images of what’s said to be the refurbished variant of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 surfaced online on Monday. The device depicted in the images is apparently marketed as the Galaxy Note 7R in China, with some earlier reports indicating that the same handset will be sold as the Galaxy Note FE (Fandom Edition) in Samsung’s home country of South Korea and possibly some other markets. The newly shown handset seems to be visually identical to the company’s last year phablet, with the exception of featuring the letter “R” in the bottom-right corner of its rear panel, as can be seen in the image above.
The refurbished variant of the Galaxy Note 7 sports a smaller battery than its ill-fated predecessor that was powered by a 3,500mAh unit which proved to be too compressed and consequently volatile for everyday use. Instead, the Galaxy Note 7R / Galaxy Note FE is said to be powered by a 3,200mAh non-removable battery and is otherwise identical to the international variant of its discontinued counterpart, meaning it’s powered by the Exynos 8890 system-on-chip (SoC) and 4GB of RAM, in addition to sporting 64GB of internal flash memory that’s expandable by up to 256GB via a microSD card slot. The Seoul-based consumer electronics manufacturer is reportedly planning to sell around 300,000 units of the device, primarily in an effort to recoup some of the losses incurred with the Galaxy Note 7, in addition to limiting the environmental impact of its 2016 debacle that resulted in the discontinuation of the premium Android smartphone following two high-profile recalls.
The refurbished Galaxy Note 7 model is only expected to be sold in select Asian markets, with Samsung previously confirming that the handset won’t be offered in the United States through any official distribution channel. While the company hasn’t elaborated on that decision, it likely isn’t keen on reminding consumers in the West about the ordeal caused by the Galaxy Note 7 that garnered a lot of negative publicity in the United States and other Western markets. More details on the availability of the Galaxy Note 7R / Galaxy Note FE will likely follow in the coming weeks.