China leaks the Galaxy Note 7’s mysterious sensor holes

The Galaxy Note 7 has had another leak in which a front panel screen protector has detailed features of the device before launch. While the source of this leak has been known to jump the gun in terms of content before confirmation in case-making, in this case they suggest that they are “getting all our information from our sourcing team, who are on-the-ground along with our manufacturing team in China.” If true, this cover confirms another powerfully unique feature for the Galaxy Note 7.

The feature we’re seeing becoming more and more plausible here is another camera up front of the device. This camera would be one of two, with another sensor or two backing them up to work with your eyeballs. Seeing one eye at a time – or just one of your eyes would do, of course, you’ll be scanning retina – your iris, specifically.

The Galaxy Note 7 is the first device in Samsung’s collection to use an iris scanner – if it does indeed come with such a scanner, that is.

The images (renderings above and below, that is) we’ve been provided by Mobile Fun of their brand Olixar’s front-facing glass cover for the Galaxy Note 7 show a very similar setup to what we saw yesterday.

Yesterday we saw a front glass panel for the Galaxy Note 7 in which multiple holes were seen bypassing the front-facing blue ink coating for the device. This cover works with the black version of the Galaxy Note 7, suggesting in the process that this Galaxy Note will be launched with many of the same colors as past models.

The “blotched” version of the image above is just the image provided by Mobile Fun but with the screen protector edited (messily) out.

By all accounts, anonymous and leaked, this would seem to be a fairly accurate vision of the next Note device from Samsung, for good or ill.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7

• Display: 5.7-inch QHD (2K, 2560 x 1440) 518 PPI Super AMOLED

• Camera: 12 MP, dual pixel, f/1.7, 26mm, phase detection autofocus, OIS, LED flash, 1/2.6″ sensor size, 1.4 µm pixel size, geo-tagging, simultaneous 4K video and 9MP image recording, touch focus, face/smile detection, Auto HDR, panorama, 2160p@30fps, 1080p@60fps, 720p@240fps, HDR

• FF Camera: Dual-pixel 5 MP, f/1.7, 22mm, dual video call, Auto HDR

• Battery: 3,000 or 3,700 or 4,000 mAh, I just can’t be sure anymore, my head is a-tizzy with suggestions

• Internal Storage: 64GB, 128GB

• Storage Expansion: microSD for 128GB card

• Environmental Resistance: IP68 resistance to dust, wind, water

• Colors: Available in Black, Silver, Blue, White

• Special Features: Iris scanner

• Reveal Date: August 2nd, 2016

• Release Date: August 15th, 2016 (carrier dependent)

Above is a set of specifications gathered over the past several weeks and months from anonymous sources, leaks, rumors, and generally well-informed guesses.

I would give this set of specifications about a 50/50 chance at being entirely accurate. We’ll see when August rolls around.