With Samsung already on the ropes on how they would outdo the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, it’s with little surprise that they’ve now decided to go a notch higher with the S7 and S7 edge. If you’re like any discerning consumer you’re probably going to notice how similar the design is to the S6 lineup but it does come added with some much needed improvements and added features that were clearly missing last year. That said, you can bet that Samsung’s putting their chips on this flagship to bring out a smartphone that’s the best ever your money can buy in 2016.
The S6 has a flatter fingerprint scanner and retains the signature 5.1 ” quad HD Super AMOLED screen from the S6. The S7 however has a 5.5 ” display. I found the S6 Edge to personally not have much of a grip but the S7 edge does have a better curve which should solve those gripping issues and would work for one handed users. MicroSD cards are back that will allow you to expand your base storage which both phones have up to 32 GB, though you can expect a 64GB model to ship as well. It’s water and dust resistant and submersible up to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes.
No USB-C if you noticed, that’s Samsung keeping in line with their present Gear VR that runs on microUSB and with the logic that USB-C isn’t a major concern at this time. Perhaps and you can be sure about this, we’ll see the S8 have it.
The S7 has now been upped to 4 GB RAM and with a faster Exynos chip that’s 30% faster than the S6. The GPU has also been improved by 64%. Now you’re thinking with all this enhancements, the battery is definitely going to take a hit and it appears that Samsung’s well aware of this considering the S6 line had a battery life of up to 2,600 mAh for the Edge. The battery has definitely been increased to a respectable 3,000 mAh for the S7 and 3,600 for the S7 Edge hopefully quelling one of Samsung’s long lingering problems of battery life. In addition, they also take the fast charging we’ve seen with the S6.
The camera’s been overhauled and how. The S7 has a 12 MP rear shooter and the lens now goes to a f/1.7 for better night shots. Obviously lesser pixels this time around from the 16 last year but the pixels allow 56% more light from the sensor that’s now 4:3.
Samsung’s definitely improved the focus times and they say they’ve adopted the system from what Canon uses in most of its DSLR range, the camera also boots up quick. With that speed and lighting balance, you can tell that the S7’s camera will be phenomenal. We’ll be sure to take it through its paces when we review this device.
Software wise, the S7 line up will have Android 6 Marshmallow with Samsung’s own TouchWiz. Taking a note from the LG V10, the S7 has an always on display which shows the time, notitications, the date or if you so prefer, an image on the screen, it will remain always on and isn’t motion activated. This supposedly only consumes .5% of battery per hour and if the proximity sensor is covered (when your phone’s in your pocket or tucked away in the case) the screen will turn off.
The S7 and S7 Edge will be available on March with preorders beginning end of Febuary . The S7 will come in black or gold, while the S7 Edge will come in black, gold, or silver options. Samsung says the pricing will be similar to the S6 at launch so expect something upwards of AED 2,800+ for the S7 and higher for the S7 edge.
Samsung seems to have a great device again in 2016, but will it be enough ?
Now facing competition now just from long time rivals with Apple, Samsung now has to contend with Huawei and the other affordable markets that Chinese manufacturers are quickly catching up to that are eating a significant market share that’s enough to get the Korean giants to start worrying as they’ve taken a beating from lost market shares and lower profits last quarter in mobile sales. The S7 may finally be a reason to upgrade for those users older legacy Samsung devices and it could also get some S6 users to begrudgingly find a reason to upgrade since it does solve many of the lagging issues they would have probably faced with last year’s model. It’s going to be an interesting year for Samsung and it seems they’re invested in the hope it will turn their fortunes better for them.
Here’s a quick hands-on:
