A few weeks ago, the Wall Street Journal reviewed the Galaxy Note 7 and made some bold statements indeed. The first was that the displays on the Note 7, S7 Edge and S7 are “stunning”. The reviewer then said that Samsung’s “Amoled screens blow any iPhone display out of the water”.

Bold statements. And probably true because many reviewers agree that Amoled technology – which also allows Samsung to build curved, ergonomic displays – is also superior to LCDs used on the iPhone.

But the Galaxy Note 7 is not just a super screen. The sixth phone in the Note series, this latest phablet is set to be one of the best phones of 2016. Yes, it is a big phone – but that is how it set out to be from the very beginning. And anyway, despite the size, the Note 7 is easy to hold, thanks to the curves on the front and back. And it is remarkably svelte. The 12MP camera, for instance, is speedy and the controls make it effortless to use – swipe up and down to switch between selfie mode and main camera as well as between different filters and camera modes. Menus are also easy to navigate, with a TouchWiz Android interface that has been cleaned up to make icons look better.

Two features stand out. The first is the iris scanner, which Samsung says is more secure than a fingerprint reader. Hold the phone up to your eyes and the scanner will scan them once to unlock your phone. You also have a secure folder, accessible through the iris scanner, where you can store apps and photos you don’t want to be accessible on the home screen. If the iris scanner fails – this happens when, for instance, the sensor is dirty – you can use the Note 7’s fingerprint scanner.

The second nifty feature is the waterproof stylus, which you can use to take a quick note, jot down a phone number, and also create GIFs on the fly – fun and practical.

Overall, the Note 7 is one of the best phones money can buy – it’s beautiful, practical, functional and fun.

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