Today at Mobile World Congress, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, the latest devices in its flagship line of smartphones. While the two new devices are nearly identical to last year’s Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, they add a trio of features that were left out of those models: expandable storage, water resistance and more battery life. However, while previously rumored, the device does not come with a pressure-sensitive 3D Touch-like display.
Also, to better differentiate between its lineup and to rival Apple’s offering better, Samsung has gone in for a larger 5.5-inch curbed display on the Galaxy S7 edge this time around. The Galaxy S7 continues to come with a 5.1-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED display, though it can now reach higher brightness levels. Another trick up their sleeve is their ability to remain always-on and show the time/date and other relevant information.
The Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge now include support for microSD cards with up to 200 GB of storage to complement the 32 GB of onboard storage. The U.S. will only receive 32 GB variants of the devices while some regions will receive a 64 GB version alongside the 32 GB version. The devices also support IP68 water and dust resistance, which means that the phones can be submersed in up to 5 feet of water for 30 minutes. The S7 comes with a 3,000 mAh battery, up from last year’s 2,550 mAh, while the S7 Edge comes with a 3,600 mAh battery, up from last year’s 2,600 mAh.
The rear of the phones come with a 12MP ‘dual pixel’ camera that features larger 1.4u pixels, OIS and a wide f/1.7 aperture. This allows the Galaxy S7 to absorb more light in low-light situations and dual pixel — a technology usually found in DSLRs until now — allows the handsets to obtain focus in real time. During its presentation, Samsung made various comparisons to the iPhone 6s Plus to show how much better the camera on the Galaxy S7 is. Samsung has also introduced Motion Photos and Motion Panorama modes in the camera app on the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, which is similar to the Live Photos feature found on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. The front of the phones feature a 5MP shooter with an f/1.7 aperture.
Finally, both S7 devices are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 processor rather than Samsung’s own Exynos chips, which powered the S6. However, Samsung notes that some regions of the world will still receive S7 devices powered by the Exynos chips. Both devices also have 4 GB of RAM, up from last year’s 3 GB. Neither phone is equipped with the new USB-C port, with Samsung instead opting to continue with Micro USB due to its compatibility with its Gear VR headset and being the more mature technology.
Lastly, the Galaxy S7 is powered by a 3,000mAh battery — which is even bigger than the battery found on the iPhone 6s Plus, while the Galaxy S7 edge comes with an even bigger 3,600mAh battery. The handsets also feature fast charging and wireless charging. The Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge will be going on sale in the United States on March 11 and in other key markets from mid-March.
The Galaxy S7 will come in Black or Gold variants. The Galaxy S7 Edge will be offered in Black, Gold and Silver colorways. Both phones will be available in 32GB and 64GB versions and will price-match last year’s flagship Galaxy handsets, Samsung has said.
The South Korean company will start to take pre-orders for the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Plus on February 23 ahead of the devices’ debut on all four major carriers in the United States starting on March 11.
What do you think about the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge?
Samsung Announces Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge With Water Resistance and More