It's true: The Galaxy Note 7 FE comes equipped with a smaller battery that's brand-spanking-new. Like, so new its date reads June 20. That's just one bit of information found in iFixit's teardown of the device, which recently went on sale—and to a raucous reception from consumers—in South Korea.
The report includes all kind of nerdy stats about the new battery:
For the data hungry: at 45.4 g the new battery weighs 2.3 grams less, and measures in at 37.4 mm x 97.2 mm x 5.0 mm compared with the Note7's 37.9 mm x 97.8 mm x 4.9 mm. So it does seem to have lost a bit of mass.
The good news is consumers should have no fear of the Note 7 FE's battery catching fire. The smaller unit—less volume, slightly lighter, reduction in capacity—ensures it has enough room to expand, thus avoiding situations where it might combust. That's always a plus when owning an expensive smartphone.
The bad news is the Galaxy Note 7 FE retains the original Note 7's poor repairability score of four out of ten. While many of the parts are modular and can be replaced independently, the back glass panel is very difficult to remove. iFixit also says removing the front glass without destroying the display is "probably impossible."
In the end, iFixit's teardown doesn't feature any major revelations; it's the Note 7, but with a smaller battery. The Galaxy Note 7 FE is not quite the ambitious vision Samsung promised when the original was released last year. But, by all accounts, it's still a very solid smartphone.
One that, incidentally, will be quickly overshadowed by the Galaxy Note 8, a flagship that will allegedly be announced at the end of August.
Check out iFixit's full report at the link down below.
