One of the highlights of last month’s Mobile World Congress was undoubtedly Samsung’s introduction of the new Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge, and just a few weeks later, the new flagships are now starting to hit the shelves. With a few welcome improvements and refinements over last year’s handsets, there’s a lot to like but after 48 hours with the Galaxy S7 Edge, what do we think of Samsung’s latest offering? Let’s jump in and find out, shall we?
The first thing you’ll notice when you receive your new handset is the black box, which looks similar to previous boxes and has the name of the phone you’ve ordered embossed on the front. Inside the box, you’ll find the standard contents you’d expect, including a microUSB cable, wall charger and Samsung’s new headphones, while on the back, Samsung has listed the key specs of the phone.
Display: 5.5-inch dual curved Quad HD Super AMOLED display
CPU: Quad-core Snapdragon 820 (US/China) or octa-core Exynos 8890 (EU/Asia)
Memory: 4GB RAM, 32GB/64GB ROM and microSD expansion (up to 200GB)
Camera: 12MP, f/1.7 aperture, phase detection auto-focus, OIS, 1.4µm pixel size
Battery: 3600mAh non-removable battery, Quick Charge 2.0 (60% in 30 mins)
Software: Android 6.0 Marshmallow, TouchWiz UX, Always on display, Edge UX
That’s the specs on paper but what about the actual phone in person? While Samsung’s dual curved design certainly isn’t new, the company has made considerable strides in the past year towards perfecting the experience. Rather than redesign the handset – like it did from the Galaxy S5 to the Galaxy S6 – the Korean OEM has refined the experience and added a few changes to make the Galaxy S7 Edge even better than its predecessors.
One of the biggest complaints with the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge was the sharp in-hand feel and Samsung has sought to fix this by including a curved back, which first debuted with the Galaxy Note 5. The tapered edges at the side of the back panel are certainly not a game changer but do make the handset more ergonomically friendly and complement the design of the Galaxy S7 Edge rather well. Like last year, the glass backing is definitely a huge fingerprint magnet, which is somewhat disappointing but a small price to pay for the overall look and feel, which is absolutely amazingThe improved in-hand experience is definitely welcome as the Galaxy S7 Edge combines both the Galaxy S6 Edge and Galaxy S6 Edge+ into a smartphone that’s the perfect size. I personally like the increased screen real estate, but despite the bigger screen, the Galaxy S7 Edge is still relatively thin and extremely comfortable to hold in the hand.
The screen resolution hasn’t changed from the Quad HD panel used in the Galaxy S6 Edge last year and everything still looks super sharp and crisp. Everything from web browsing, videos, music and games have all looked absolutely fantastic, and the display in general has been a total pleasure to use.
It’s safe to say that Samsung makes some of the best smartphone displays on the market and this beautifully curved AMOLED display is certainly quite the looker.
Another new feature is a big improvement over the Galaxy S6 line-up as Samsung has been able to re-introduce IP68 water and dust resistance that was left out of last year’s handsets. Unlike the Galaxy S5 – the last mainstream Galaxy flagship to sport rugged protection – however, it’s all sealed from the inside meaning there’s no annoying flaps that can get in the way or get broken. As you’ll see in the video, the Galaxy S7 Edge can survive the occasional spill, a dunk in the toilet or even being submerged for up to 1 metre for up to 30 minutes.
By far the most important improvement addresses one of the major concerns of last year’s flagships: the battery life. Last year, the Galaxy S6 Edge had a 2600mAh battery that almost always failed to last a whole day, while the Galaxy S6 Edge+ sported a 3000mAh battery, both of which were non-removable
While Samsung has still kept the battery sealed and non-removable, the company has included an extremely large 3600mAh unit that is 38% larger than the Galaxy S6 Edge and in the first two days, we’ve had no problems lasting an entire day. In fact, on day one, we managed to achieve 5 hours’ screen on time, which is nothing short of incredible.
On paper, the camera seems to have taken a dip with a drop from 16MP last year to 12MP but in actual usage, things like the actual sensor and the image algorithms are far more important. Samsung has taken inspiration from the Nexus 6P and included less megapixels, but with larger pixels, which improves low light photos. Coupled with the f/1.7 aperture, Optical Image Stabilisation and extremely fast phase detection auto focus, there’s no denying that the Galaxy S7 Edge has a great camera for any lighting condition.
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