Note 7 Review - The screen

Edge: The Edge design on the Note7 is actually toned down considerably from previous designs of Edge devices.


Edge Display
Is it useful as an Edge notification display? No. I have mine setup to display nighttime clock between 9pm and 7am. Someone who has good vision could probably see it without issue. For me, looking through 65yo failing sight, I need to put on my glasses and even then the display has very low contrast so it still hard to read.

Is the Edge Panel system really that helpful? Yes, it is. One of the initial panels is a quick-contact list. On my Note3, I use to use widgets on a separate “home screen” to call or text a few of my frequent contacts. I no longer need that. I changed the order of the panels so that the Contact Panel was my first panel. A quick swipe to open the panel, and then I can select the contact to call or text.

Does touching the edge screens with your thumb while using the other hand to complete intended actions cause issues? Surprisingly NO! I am able to rest my left thumb on the screen’s edge while swiping left and right and there is no issue.


General Display Notes
Does the Always-On and Notification bar continually shift to prevent burn in? Yes, they do. The shifting is minor by a few pixels. For the Always-On (display of time, notifications, and calendar -- depending on user settings), it starts near the top of the display and moves down until about midway and then recycles to top again.

Are the icons on the Always-On display tap-able or do you need to unlock the device first? The icons are tap-able but for some reason I’ve noticed I need to tap it very firmly. If the device is password-locked, I will first be prompted for the password, but subsequently taken directly to the icon I tapped.

Is the normal display bright enough for use in sunlight? Surprisingly yes! But then all I have to compare it to was my Note3 which I could never see in sunlight. I was always seeking a shady spot. Another nice surprise is that the automatic screen brightness feature actually works on the Note7. On my Note3 I always had the “auto” feature turned off because it never worked right.

What happens when you press the center button at the bottom of the front panel? First, you are presented with your screensaver. What happens next depends on whether the security lock has timed out or not. If a notification appears on the screensaver panel, you can tap it. If not, you can merely swipe to display the home screen. Either way, if the security has timed out, you must first enter your security measures (I used the 9-button swipe code.) If the security measure hasn’t timed out, if you tapped a notice and then swipe, it will open directly to that notice. If you merely swiped, you’ll get the home screen.

If you use the 5 x 5 icon display and use folders, are the images inside the folders still legible? Yes. Using the 5 x 5 display and the Contacts Edge Panel, I went from 5 home screens on my Note 3, down to 2 home screens on my Note 7.

 

Home screen 1: I grouped loosely related folders together by color

 

The 2nd home screen is purely informational