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Samsung Galaxy S7 And S7 Edge Preview

Opinion
By published

Final Thoughts

The Galaxy S6 and its derivatives are good phones, notable for their design, performance, and the new technologies they brought to market. But they fell short of perfection: Deficiencies in ergonomics, battery life, and multitasking held them back, as did the exclusion of several features Samsung’s customers associated with Galaxy phones.

The Galaxy S7 and S7 edge appear to address many of these issues. The curved edges on the back make the phones easier to handle and more comfortable to hold. Bigger batteries should prolong battery life, and the extra RAM should improve the multitasking experience. Expandable storage with microSD cards and IP68 environmental protection, last seen on the Galaxy S5, also make a comeback, although a swappable battery is still MIA. Throw in the Snapdragon 820, which performed well in our initial tests, and some interesting changes to the camera, and the new Galaxy S7 and S7 edge seem like solid flagship phones.

In the U.S., both devices will be available in Black Onyx and Gold Platinum, but only the Galaxy S7 edge will be available in Silver Titanium. The new phones will be available from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, and Verizon Wireless, along with other major retailers, on March 11, with pre-orders starting at 8:00 a.m. EST on February 23.

As an initial incentive, consumers who purchase a Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge between February 23 and March 18 will receive a free Samsung Gear VR and a six-game bundle, while supplies last.


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Matt Humrick is a Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware, covering Smartphones and Tablets. Follow him on Twitter.

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37 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Nashten
    Glad to see that Samsung brought the MicroSD card slot back.

    I still won't buy a Samsung phone, but they look even better. I can't wait to see what the SD820 holds in store for us when more products hit the street with it.

    I shouldn't talk about SD slots though considering I own a Nexus 6... :D
    Reply
  • chuckydb
    Micro-usb 2.0...
    Come on!! Really?
    Reply
  • xHDx
    What staggers me is how does a Phone manage to use that much RAM? Windows uses a max of 2/2.5
    Reply
  • alchemy69
    Take drink every time someone whines about the lack of a removable battery.
    Reply
  • Edwin Herdman
    The "(sensors with) smaller pixels are bad" line is a myth, and I'm disappointed to see it spread here. There are densely packed sensors, and there are physically large sensors - both are good things.

    Of course, if you had the exact same pixel count, larger pixels are naturally better, but this is not the question facing sensor makers. The "small pixels" line is harmful because it leads people to think that small pixels are naturally compared to large pixels - almost nobody does this, because it would mean viewing pixels off different size sensors at the same size. With a few exceptions, people compare the full images at the same size - where total sensor size is much more important.

    DP Review's Richard Butler took a look at this question last year, with some extra math details on page 2 of the article "The effect of pixel size on noise."
    Reply
  • Calvin Huang
    17541248 said:
    Micro-usb 2.0...
    Come on!! Really?

    I have a phone with USB-C (Nexus 6P), and while I do appreciate the ergonomics of the new plug (it both feels more secure while being less awkward to insert/unplug), the lack of compatibility is a huge drawback. I have to be sure to always carry my own cables with me, and there are no wireless charging dongles that use USB-C. So if you go to Starbucks and want to make use of their Qi charging pads, you're SOL. Granted, it'd be less of an issue if the device had Qi charging built-in, but in the case of the S7, it still doesn't make sense to release a phone that isn't compatible with their VR hardware.
    Reply
  • thezooloomaster
    Micro-usb 2.0...
    Come on!! Really?

    Who uses USB on phones for anything other than charging these days, anyway?
    Reply
  • none12345
    Removing the MicroSD slot, and the waterproofiting from the s5 were 2 big mistakes. Glad to see they realized their stupidity and added them back in for the s7.

    I wouldn't even consider a phone that doesn't have a microsd slot.(or whatever replaces it in the future). The non-removable battery sucks, but its far easier to live with when the waterproofiting and microsd slot are back in.
    Reply
  • MasterMace
    USB 2.0 and a locked down battery are big signals for me to stay away from Samsung, still. That, and my experience with the GS4
    Reply
  • giovanni86
    Still concealing the battery. There almost back to normal. if there note 6 doesn't have battery removal its another year im skipping my Note 4 is plenty.
    Reply