Samsung announces the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge in impervious style.
Samsung were under great pressure to deliver something immense with the S6 proving to be a roaring success and stamping Samsung’s reputation as the leading Android smartphone manufacturer. The S6 was a departure from Samsung’s orginal design language, doing away with the icky plastic and to put it bluntly, ugly design. With last year’s S6, Samsung proved that they could produce a handset that is just as premium as Apple’s iPhone and HTC’s M series. But the new direction didn’t come without sacrifices. Samsung did away with popular features such as waterproofing and an SD card slot, to the dismay of fans.
Samsung’s latest release is another winner for the Korean giants, with improvments that are awe-inspiring. Popular features are back with new ones that, making the Galaxy S7 range a force to be reckon with.
The S7 models are remniscent of the S6 with the design language nearing the same. Samsung has used the S6’s design heavily and that is not a bad thing considering how well loved the S6 design is. You’d be forgiven for thinking it was the S6 from afar. The S7 screams quality when you hold it in your hand and it feels less vulnerable. By that we mean we think it can take a drop to the floor better than the S6 range could, but we didn’t dare test that claim. The fingerprint scanner is more imedded, giving a flatter and cleaner look. Also slimmed down is the camera, with a less bumpy hump.
The S7 keeps the comfortable 5.1-inch QHD super AMOLED display seen on the S6. The S7 Edge however is upgraded to 5.5-inches and of course with those distinctive curved edges (it too will have a QHD super AMOLED screen). With a curved screen the 5.5-inches isn’t as hard to hold with one hand as other 5.5-inch smartphones. Samsung really has improved on the design, which was for years a great weakness with their smartphones.
Expandable micro SD support is back (cue fanfare) and will allow users to expand on the internal 32GB. 64GB will be available in some regions but they are yet to be confirmed. With micro SD support back we don’t think you’ll even need it. Samsung had an Indonesian advert leaked prior to Mobile World Congress showcasing the S7’s waterproofing abilty. It turned out to be true with the S7 having an IP68 rating which allows submersion in 1.5 metres of water for 30 minutes. IP68 also means the S7 will be dust resistant. Ports on the S7 are sealed so there are no add-ons to make this feature possible.
Now for the power side of things, as leaked Samsung will use Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 820 in the S7. Samsung’s internally developed Exynos chipset will still be used for the S7 but it certain regions. RAM has been upgraded to 4GB this time. The battery has also been upgraded to 3,000 and 3,600 mAh for the S7 and S7 Edge respectively. The S6 only had 2,550 and 2,600 for the S6 Edge. With this significant upgrade, you won’t have to worry so much about your daily driver dying on you at the end of the day. Good news, but the bad news is removeable batteries has not made a triumphant return. Fast charging and wireless charging has been retained, and so has micro USB.
The most significant upgrade this year is the camera. The S7 has a 12-megapixel camera down from 16-megapixels on the S6. Despite the downgrade Samsung claims the 12-megapixels will be larger and allow 56% more light for low light shots. Adding to that is the larger f/1.7 apeture. Comparing shots with the S6 it becomes obvious that the upgrade is there. Images contain hardly any noise with detail ridicolously sharp. Samsung have impelented a new feature in the camera called dua-pixel, making focusing so much faster as the 12-megapixels to become focus pixels. A feature seen in professional DSLR cameras.
Marshmallow 6.0 will run straight out of the box with Samsung’s Touchwiz interface. Edge screen has been improved and can be extended from 260 ppi to 550 ppi wide. A significant addition to the software is the Always-On display which shows the time, notifications and calendar. It will shut itself off when place in pockets and face down. the display will only consume half a percent of battery life on every hour it’s active. Samsung has third party developers lined up to create new and exciting Always-On displays to offer us choice and have it suit our own personal taste. That’s the Android way of thinking.
Pre-orders will begin February 23rd, pre-ordering will bag early adopters a free Gear VR. Pricing hasn’t been revealed but the S7 range will bereleased on March 11th.
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