Heading south, we hit the modular headphone jack—ready to let the music flow while keeping water out, with a nice sealing gasket.

The USB-C port is new to the Note line—and while reversibility is handy, change is hard. Samsung kindly includes a micro-USB-to-C adapter to keep your cables relevant.

Out goes the daughterboard array! Unlike the one found in the S7, this board used rigid PCB interconnects. This keeps the spidery cable from being flimsy. No one likes flimsy.

IC identification:

Qualcomm QFE2550 antenna tuner

Seiko Instruments S-5712CCDL1-I4T1U hall sensor

Semtech SX9320 proximity sensor (likely)