If you have been following the rumors and leaks about Samsung’s flagship lineup, chances are that you won’t be surprised by what Samsung has in store for you. Nevertheless, the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge has been unveiled by Samsung so let’s dive in deeper to the hype.
Samsung has returned yet again with a flagship and a curved screen variant like it did last year with the S6 and S6 Edge. This time however, as rumored, the Edge Plus variant is being ommited, with the S7 Edge sporting a larger form factor compared to the S7. We’ll get back to that in a bit. But first, let’s talk about the design. Samsung did not go drastic with its design like it did last year, maintaining a glass and metal unibody design with some smoothing of rough edges. Similar to the Galaxy Note 5’s design build, the S7 lineup has more rounded edges instead of the sharp ones in the S6 lineup. Apart from that, the placement of buttons are the same. One thing to note is Samsung has decided to maintain its micro USB port instead of the new USB Type-C port featured on many Android devices lately, including the brand new LG G5.
It is no surprise that Samsung’s devices always sport one of the best displays out there and it still seems to be the case this year. The Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge come with 5.1 inch and 5.5 inch displays respectively. Both at QHD resolution and are Super AMOLED screens, known for deep blacks and saturated colors. Like on the LG G5, a new always-on display that shows the time and notification is being added to the S7 lineup, with Samsung claiming that the always-on display will only drain less than 1% of the battery.
Under the hood, the S7 lineup will sport either a Snapdragon 820 or Samsung’s homegrown Exynos SoC, which has yet to be confirmed but it is rumored to be the Exynos 8890. 4GB RAM seems to be the benchmark for 2016’s flagships, and the S7 and S7 Edge weren’t left out. Having caused quite the commotion with the ommision of expandable storage in the S6 lineup, it has made a return this year. A micro SD slot is available on the S7’s hyrbid dual SIM or one SIM with expandable storage slot. Another resurrected feature from 2014’s Galaxy S5 is water and dust resistance. The S7 lineup comes with an IP68 rating. Both the batteries on the S7 and S7 Edge have received a bump up to 3,000mAh and 3,600mAh respectively. Quick charge returns to the flagships as a staple for smartphones, with wireless charging available as an essential. Rumors have hit the jackpot once again, with the S7 lineup featuring a 12MP rear facing camera from last years 16MP, but with a larger pixel size of 1.4 microns, coupled with an aperture of f/1.7, to create better low lighting performance. Samsung has also reduced the protrusion of the camera, giving it a smaller bulge this time. The S7 lineup has maintained a 5MP selfie shooter, with the increased f/1.7 aperture.
On the software side, the S7 lineup runs TouchWiz UI with a slight overhauk on top of Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. There seems to be another hint that Android N won’t be having an app drawer, with TouchWiz providing an option to remover the app drawer. The LG G5 on the other hand, decided to omit the whole idea of an app drawer. Like on the S6 Edge, Samsung takes advantage of the Edge interface, squeezing more content into the Edge panel.
With the S7 lineup and the LG G5 out the open, how do they fare against each other? What do you think about the Samsung’s new flagship devices? Let us know at the comments section below and stay tuned as we bring you more news from MWC.
