As a current Note 7 user, this is news bums me out. Not because the error rate of the manufactured phones may exceed safety requirements, but its the only device (tool) that has met my needs in a long time. Digital ink functionality is something I searched for since, those early Palm (PDA) days. The Surface Pro was a great answer to that as a laptop replacement. It never crossed my mind to get a Note until now.
I always shied away from the Samsung line of Android devices (except for the Galaxy Nexus), due to heavy handed re-skin of the UI. I have owned almost all of the Nexus phones, except for the Nexus 4. Each of the Google-blessed devices had compromises either battery, screen, camera (always), or MVP like design. The Google Pixel announcement pushed me over the edge to try a new product line. The Pixel looks just fine and is probably a good performer, but something about it feels very Gen 1. My wife has had the Note 7 since launch, and she claims its her favorite phone to date. Note 7 it was, TMobile had them in stock after the first recall.
To be honest, I have made a few changes to the Note 7 experience. After an hour or so of tweaking with the settings and installing a new launcher, I was holding a power-user Android device. It was just the right amount of stock Android and Samsung enhanced feature-set with strong hardware.
In the last week, the Note has quickly replaced the Surface Pro in more "mobile" scenarios. For example, client meetings, coffee chats, and jotting down notes in a quick huddles. I am an avid note taker, I love having the ability to archive all my notes to the cloud. OneNote does a great job of converting my notes to text, allows for searchability.
There is not a clear heir to the phablet throne. I have been keeping my eye on the Huawei Mate 9, Pixel XL, and a LG V20. They all have compromises and don't match the swiss-army knife approach of the Note 7. I love the idea of a master device with the ability for digital ink (S Pen) that also replaces media-consumption focused tablets (large sceen).
Hopefully current Note 7 users and future ones are vocal with Samsung to keep the Note series alive. It might raise awareness to other manufacturers to create similar devices. The majority of negative sentiment is coming from non-users (not to dismiss the real threat of injury). Which holds less water than positive encouragement from the users who planned to purchase or did purchase the Note. By positive encouragement, I mean asking for Samsung to fix the issue and we will be here waiting (hopefully its a fast turnaround).
I can't see myself parting with this tool. I am sure some of you here will understand when a device comes around that meets and exceeds all your niche needs, its pretty awesome! I would hate for it to disappear.