Introducing the Samsung Galaxy S7 & Galaxy S7 edge
Samsung introduced two new highly anticipated flagship devices at the MWC (Mobile World Congress) on Sunday February 20th: the Samsung Galaxy S7 and the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge.The key overall differences from last year’s Samsung Galaxy S6 models include improved ergonomics (they’re very comfortable to handle and use), bigger batteries, water resistance (IP68) and the return of expandable storage.
The Samsung Galaxy S7 is built similarly to last year’s Samsung Galaxy S6, with a 5.1” Quad HD Super Amoled Display at a pixel density of 577 ppi. It also uses an “always on” display that shows notifications, battery power, etc. You’ll be happy to know that power usage is less than 1% per hour for this new feature. The Galaxy S7 edge is built with a 5.5” Quad HD Super Amoled Display at 534 ppi.
Samsung has designed these new models with an improved camera! Last year DXOMark ranked Samsung’s GS6 lineup of phones as having the BEST camera amongst mobile phones: http://www.dxomark.com/Mobiles/Moto-X-Style-Mobile-review-Style-and-Substance/Ranking)
This being the case, it is hard to believe Samsung could design the GS7 and GS7 edge cameras to be even better, but they have!
How? By constructing the GS7 and GS7 edge camera with a better aperture lens (f/1.7 from f/1.9); this allows for more light to enter the camera. They also made the pixel size larger from 1.12um to 1.4um. Overall, they rank this camera 95% better in low light conditions over the GS6 lineup.
The cameras also integrates a new dual pixel camera sensor which acts a lot like your own eye. Every single pixel in the sensor focuses ultra fast; I personally tried this and was amazed at how quick it reacted and adjusted. No delay at all and optical image stabilization (OIS) still remains!
Next, these new phones are also faster! Samsung has bumped the RAM in the phones from 3GB to 4GB. Both devices sport the new OctaCore Exynos 8890 processor; this is an 8 core processor that also utilizes the Vulkan API. Basically the same processing power you see in many high-end gaming PC machines. This makes the phones 67% more powerful in higher GPU performance and 80% more efficient in CPU usage, than their predecessor.
Samsung has also increased the battery size of these phones, while making the overall phone a little thicker than the GS6 lineup (0.2mm thicke). The GS6 had a 2550 mAh battery. The GS7 now has a 3000 mAh battery. The GS6 edge had a 2600 mAh battery, whereas the GS7 edge has a 3600 mAh battery.
Next…the return of expandable storage! North America will see Samsung ship the 32GB version of the GS7 and GS7 edge; you can then expand your storage with a microSD card at up to 200GB!
Fast wireless charging still exists. The GS7 & GS7 edge still use MicoUSB, despite rumours of USB Type-C coming.
The GS7 & GS7 edge are also water resistant and dust proof with an IP rating of IP68. This means they can be submerged in 1.5 meters of water for up to 30 minutes! Of course, the occasional splash of water won’t hurt them. In fact, Samsung encourages you to run them under water to “clean them up.” Amazing!
To summarize: These new Samsung devices are better and more polished versions of the GS6 series. Increased battery life, better cameras and expandable storage are great additions. Users will love the improved ergonomics and the speed of these phones. The GS7 will be available in Onyx Black and Silver Titanium. The GS7 edge will be available in Silver Titanium. Stay tuned for the release!
