AndroGuru
The new Galaxy S7 edge is out and what an entry it has made in the tech world. If you take a look from afar, you will find that this phone is not really different from Galaxy S6 edge plus. With the same metal body, screen size as well as dual curved display – you can be deceived into thinking that it is perhaps the same thing in a new package.
However, my view on this is a bit different. For me Galaxy S6 edge as well as S6 edge+ was great phones that did not need major changes but rather had few areas that needed fixes. If you can take this view into stride than you will see that Samsung is definitely on the right track with the new S7 edge. With S7 edge you get a bigger battery, expandable storage, waterproofing and simple software improvements. All these features and a lot of other upgrades – does to add up to an experience worthy of 2016? You will know it all with my full review.
Galaxy S7 specs
Let us get our hands directly to the specs first. Now in some areas Galaxy S7 edge has stuck to the same specs as before while in others it has incorporated predictable upgrades over the last year’s model. The new S7 edge comes with a display of 5.5 inches but still sticks with the Super AMOLED display tech and 2560×1440 resolutions. The processors are new – you will get a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 or Samsung’s latest octa-core Exynos 8 processor. The small bump to 4GB RAM is also welcomed. Other noticeable changes in the specs are that you will know get the S7 edge only with 32GB of internal storage, however paired with the microSD card slot this change is more palatable.
Let us take a full breakdown of the spec table,. And I have a special treat for all you people as I have compared these specs with their most stanch competitor, the Apple iPhone 6s Plus. I know you guys love me.
| Category | Galaxy S7 edge | Galaxy S6 edge | iPhone 6s Plus |
| Operating System | Android 6.0 | Android 5.1.1 | iOS 9.2 |
| Display | 5.5-inch 2560×1440 Super AMOLED Dual edge screen |
5.1-inch 2560×1440 Super AMOLED Dual edge screen |
5.5-inch 1920×1080 IPS LCD Pressure-sensitive touch |
| Processor | Quad-core Snapdragon 820 or Octa-core Samsung Exynos 8 |
Octa-core Samsung Exynos 7420 | Dual-core Apple A9 |
| Storage | 32GB | 32/64/128GB | 16/64/128GB |
| Expandable | microSD up to 200GB | No | No |
| RAM | 4GB | 3GB | 2GB |
| Rear Camera | 12MP f/1.7 1.4-micron pixels OIS |
16MP f/1.9 1.12-micron pixels OIS |
12MP f/2.2 1.22-micron pixels OIS |
| Front Camera | 5MP f/1.7 | 5MP f/1.9 | 5MP f/2.2 |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11 ac MIMO Bluetooth v4.2 LE USB 2.0, NFC |
Wi-Fi 802.11 ac MIMO Bluetooth v4.1 LE USB 2.0, NFC |
Wi-Fi 802.11 ac MIMO Bluetooth v4.2 LE, USB 2.0, NFC (Apple Pay) |
| Charging | micro-USB Fast charging Qi wireless Powermat wireless |
micro-USB Fast charging Qi wireless Powermat wireless |
Lightning connector |
| Battery | 3600 mAh | 2600 mAh | 2750 mAh |
| Water resistance | IP68 rating | No | No |
| Security | One-touch fingerprint sensor Samsung KNOX |
One-touch fingerprint sensor Samsung KNOX |
Touch ID fingerprint |
| Dimensions | 150.9 x 72.6 x 7.7 mm | 142.1 x 70.1 x 7 mm | 158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3 mm |
| Weight | 157g | 132g | 192g |
Hardware
Now this could swing both ways- if you are someone who likes the smaller Galaxy S6 edge, this may come a bit rough as the new Galaxy S7 edge is bigger and the new curved glass back means it has even less metal to hold on to this time. Now for those of you who were not that impressed with the quite large 5.7 inch screen of GS6 edge+, the drop of 0.2 inches will be a welcomed sight.
However, none of you will be able to deny that Galaxy S7 edge is a beauty – no matter which phone you are coming from. The curved glass offers a better surface to wrap your fingers around, the thick build of the body provides more room for the battery as well as lessen the camera bump on the back to less than half a millimetre.
Finger Print Sensor
Most of the phone giants are focusing on finger print sensors in 2016. However, Samsung was right at the top from the beginning. The biggest improvement is not in the hardware but the access to Android 6.0 Marshmallow’s new fingerprint authentication APIs. This new support means that any App that is targeting Android’s standard fingerprint authentication system will now work equally well on the Galaxy S7 edge.
Battery Life
The one thing that disappointed all of us in Galaxy S6 edge was its battery life. No matter what they told you about the ease of charging the phone, none of us can deny that the phone was not set to last through one day for most of us. Samsung obviously heard the disappointed cries and therefore boosted the battery size in the Galaxy S7 edge to 3600 mAh. Now if you are a real tech geek you will know it by now that there is actually no relation between the size of the battery and its life. This is why boosting the battery size by 20 percent does not add 20 percent longevity through the course of the day as well.
In simple words, it is an all day phone but push it too hard and it will give up.
Conclusion
If you look at everything that Galaxy S7 edge is offering you then no one can question that it is pretty impressive. It is true that there are certain physical similarities between S7 and the S6 range – do not let that turn you away because this year’s flagship definitely has a lot to offer.
