The quick take
Samsung is undeniably putting its marketing power behind the "edge" version of the Galaxy S7. It's bigger, flashier and more expensive than the standard phone, and it's for those who want to stand out from the crowd just a bit more. Compared to the compact Galaxy S7 the larger size of the GS7 edge is going to cause problems for some people, but if you want the boost in battery, head-turning curved screen and handful of extra software features, the Galaxy S7 edge is the one to get.
The Good
- Excellent screen
- Solid performance
- Great camera
- Waterproofing is a big bonus
The Bad
- Pre-installed software still bothersome
- Back glass a fingerprint magnet
- Only 32GB models available
- Edge screen software not super useful
The best Samsung phone of its time?
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge Full review
Over the past five years, innovation in the smartphone world has moved at a relentless pace. In terms of external design, component power and overall user experience, you can't argue that the phones of today are exponentially better than those from just five years ago. With such amazing advances in so many areas, consumers don't expect just one new and exciting feature per product release … they want everything to improve.
At first glance, it seems as though Samsung's strategy with the Galaxy S7 edge is at odds with those consumer demands. Physically, it's not unlike the Galaxy S6 edge+, which was also released just six months ago — it has a very similar metal and glass materials, similar screen size and the same dual curved display. At the same time, many features are unchanged — you get fast internals, a brilliant screen, wireless charging and familiar software.
But what if there wasn't all that much in the Galaxy S6 edge and S6 edge+ that needed to be changed in the first place? Why change things just to seem like you're doing something to make improvements, rather than focus on the few areas that needed fixes? If you take this view, you'll see Samsung may have taken the right approach.
Expandable storage. A bigger battery. Waterproofing. Simple software improvements. Top it off with a better low light camera, even though the Galaxy S6 edge already had a great shooter, and from Samsung's eyes it just checked the only boxes that were left unfilled in last year's flagship. Does it add up to an experience worthy of 2016, or does the Galaxy S7 edge feel more like a refreshed flagship of the past year? We're here to answer that in our full review.
About this review
I (Andrew Martonik) am writing this review after a week using a Verizon model of the Galaxy S7 edge, in New York, NY, Atlanta, GA and Seattle, WA. For the duration of the review, an Under Armour Band fitness tracker was connected over Bluetooth.
Pretty pictures
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge Video review
Words are one thing, but seeing a phone in action is another thing altogether. To pair with our written review, we've worked up a full video review of the Galaxy S7 edge as well. Check it out above, then read on for our full nuanced opinions on the phone in the rest of the review.
Line items
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge Specs
It's best to kick off a review by getting the nitty-gritty specs out of the way first. These are all of the little line items, speeds and feeds that enable the Galaxy S7 edge to handle everything you throw at it — the specs mean nothing without the experiences that take advantage of them, but you can argue that the converse is also true.
Lots of predictable upgrades on the inside.
The Galaxy S7 edge incorporates a very predictable upgrade in specs over last year's model, and in some areas sticks with the same specs as before. The one outward-facing move is in display size, where the GS7 edge comes in a 5.5-inches over last year's 5.1 (though the GS6 edge+ was 5.7) but sticks with the same Super AMOLED display tech and 2560x1440 resolution. On the inside, a small bump to 4GB of RAM is welcomed, as are the new processors — you'll get either a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, or Samsung's latest octa-core Exynos 8 processor.
Two different processors
As we go through the Galaxy S7 edge review, it's worth noting that there are actually two different processors out there, depending on where you buy the phone. In the U.S., China and Japan, the phone will have a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 quad-core processor. Elsewhere around the world, you'll likely find a Samsung Exynos 8 octa-core processor instead.
Differences between the two phones in terms of performance and battery life should be negligible, but it's worth keeping in mind when you see impressions of the phones that they do have different processors running the show. This review is entirely based on the use of a Snapdragon-powered U.S. model.
The two other notable spec table changes are storage and battery. You'll only have the option to buy a Galaxy S7 edge with 32GB of internal storage; of course that's paired with the new microSD card slot, which can take up to a 200GB card, but for those who want everything to be internal there aren't 64 and 128GB versions any more. The battery also jumps to a rather large 3600 mAh, which is 1000 mAh more than the Galaxy S6 edge and even 600 mAh more than the Galaxy S6 edge+.
Here's a full breakdown of the spec table, as compared to last year's Galaxy S6 edge and the direct competitor from another company, the Apple iPhone 6s Plus.
Category | Galaxy S7 edge | Galaxy S6 edge | iPhone 6s Plus |
---|---|---|---|
Operating System | Android 6.0 | Android 5.1.1 | iOS 9.2 |
Display | 5.5-inch 2560x1440 Super AMOLED Dual edge screen | 5.1-inch 2560x1440 Super AMOLED Dual edge screen | 5.5-inch 1920x1080 IPS LCD Pressure-sensitive touch |
Processor | Quad-core Snapdragon 820 or Octa-core Samsung Exynos 8 | Octa-core Samsung Exynos 7420 | Dual-core Apple A9 |
Storage | 32GB | 32/64/128GB | 16/64/128GB |
Expandable | microSD up to 200GB | No | No |
RAM | 4GB | 3GB | 2GB |
Rear Camera | 12MP f/1.7 1.4-micron pixels OIS | 16MP f/1.9 1.12-micron pixels OIS | 12MP f/2.2 1.22-micron pixels OIS |
Front Camera | 5MP f/1.7 | 5MP f/1.9 | 5MP f/2.2 |
Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11 ac MIMO Bluetooth v4.2 LE USB 2.0, NFC | Wi-Fi 802.11 ac MIMO Bluetooth v4.1 LE USB 2.0, NFC | Wi-Fi 802.11 ac MIMO Bluetooth v4.2 LE, USB 2.0, NFC (Apple Pay) |
Charging | micro-USB Fast charging Qi wireless Powermat wireless | micro-USB Fast charging Qi wireless Powermat wireless | Lightning connector |
Battery | 3600 mAh | 2600 mAh | 2750 mAh |
Water resistance | IP68 rating | No | No |
Security | One-touch fingerprint sensor Samsung KNOX | One-touch fingerprint sensor Samsung KNOX | Touch ID fingerprint |
Dimensions | 150.9 x 72.6 x 7.7 mm | 142.1 x 70.1 x 7 mm | 158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3 mm |
Weight | 157g | 132g | 192g |
The same, with subtle changes
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge Hardware
As was the case with the Galaxy S4 following the Galaxy S3, heaps of digital ink have been (and will be) spilled online about how Samsung's new Galaxy S7 edge doesn't look demonstrably different from its predecessor. Even though as a standalone product with its curved display and flashy colors the Galaxy S7 edge stands out from a crowd, it's easy to mistake it from a distance as the Galaxy S6 edge — or particularly the GS6 edge+ — of 2015.
Depending on whether you're familiar with a Galaxy S6 edge or S6 edge+, this may come as a good or a bad piece of news. For those who enjoyed the smaller Galaxy S6 edge, it's a bit rough — the GS7 edge is bigger and has even less metal to hold onto thanks to the new curved glass back. If you're used to quite large the 5.7-inch GS6 edge+, the drop of 0.2-inches will be a welcomed sight — particularly in how it narrows the phone and makes it easier to reach across.
For the uninitiated who have yet to lay a finger on a recent Samsung flagship — and in particular either previous curved Galaxy S6 variant — you're really in for a unique experience here. No matter what phone you're coming from, it's hard to deny the beauty of the Galaxy S7 edge, and the physical changes made — no matter how subtle — from previous generations are very much function-over-form in nature. The new curved glass back, borrowed from the Note 5, offers the Galaxy S7 edge a better surface for wrapping your fingers around. The slightly thicker build gives more room for battery, and also helps reduce the camera bump on the back to less than half a millimeter.
Samsung isn't messing with a good thing.
The phone manages to be built like a solid, considerable piece of machinery while also keeping the weight in check and evenly distributed. The metal machining, external finishes and how the parts match up are all on the highest level. In terms of the actual usable functions of the device, from the headphone jack to the buttons, Samsung has taken the simplest route and put them where you expect — no back buttons, funky layouts or gimmicks. At this point Samsung has elevated its design story to focus on standout beauty and elegance, not useless changes in the name of "differentiation" that would actually turn into negatives.
That same philosophy is at play in the available colors of the Galaxy S7 edge, with four options that skew toward high fashion rather than being playful. The completely ostentatious gold variant shown in this review is as loud and gaudy as you'd ever want it to be, but it's undeniably eye-catching and appealing to certain buyers — and it's the color Samsung chooses to use for a majority of its marketing. Both the silver and gold colors are extremely glossy and reflective to the point where they can shoot quite the flight beam on someone or work as an impromptu mirror if cleaned up nicely — in other words, they turn heads when you're using them. The black model is the conservative one (and probably my personal favorite) with far less gloss to it and even fewer silver accent pieces than the dark blue of last year, while the white model (only available internationally) strikes a nice middle ground between the bright mirrored finishes and the murdered-out black.
These are high fashion colors; but damn, those fingerprints ...
And that brings me to the same complaint as I had with the previous model: this phone acquires and displays an impressive amount of fingerprints and smudges.
Covering the back of your phone in a solid pane of glass has always been a recipe for finger oil accumulation, but when you add that to the mirror-like gold and silver finishes it's downright bothersome. The Galaxy S7 edge is actually impossible to keep clean unless you plan on wearing gloves every time you use it, and while those bright colors and smooth lines look great in marketing materials they're quickly turned into something far less attractive once you lay your hands on it.
Same wonderful display
One area of the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge+ that needed no additional work was the display. Despite having much of the attention spent on the mind-bending dual curves that accent the sides of the phone, the display quality is top-notch amongst any phone display out there, curved or flat. Samsung has the exact same Super AMOLED display tech and QHD (2560x1440) resolution this year, albeit cut into a slightly different size at 5.5-inches diagonally.
But no matter the size, the screen here is absolutely superb in every aspect. Colors really pop, the viewing angles are great (important on the curves in particular) and text is sharp as a tack. You can argue that the colors are a bit over-saturated and unnatural, but even though there's an option in the settings to turn down the saturation I leave things at the default because they just look so good.
One of my favorite features of Samsung's latest displays is their incredible range of brightness, meaning you can crank it way down at night to reduce eye strain or let it go all the way up during the day. And when you leave automatic brightness turned on and are in direct sunlight, a special display mode is engaged to eke out a few extra nits to make it easier to see.
Sticking with micro-USB
Beyond the physical looks of the phone, a good bit of focus is being put on Samsung's choice to stick with a micro-USB port on the bottom instead of the newer USB-C standard. Considering the hardware similarities to last year's flagship lineup it isn't too surprising that the same legacy port is back in 2016, but there are a few other things to take into consideration as well.
For as great as USB-C is, micro-USB does everything Samsung needs it to do.
Samsung has said that keeping compatibility with the current Gear VR headset was a priority, which necessitated keeping the port. It also has a long legacy of consumers with previous Samsung phones that it feels would prefer to keep those cables and docks around when they upgrade. Beyond their own intentions, they also just feel consumers aren't ready to upgrade their infrastructure of third-party accessories to USB-C despite all of the port's benefits.
Can you knock Samsung's unwillingness to jump into the future USB standard? Absolutely. Will it do anything to change Samsung's approach? Probably not. For now, even though USB-C is the new standard and has plenty of upside, micro-USB is doing everything Samsung wants it to do and for that reason sees no reason to move on just yet.
Fingerprint sensor, now with more possibilities
Plenty of focus is being put on fingerprint sensors in 2016 phones, but we should remember that Samsung was right there at the early stages of this game (at least amongst Android manufacturers) in launching the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge with excellent one-touch fingerprint sensors. These were a night-and-day improvement over the capable, but finicky swipe-style scanner in the Galaxy S5, and Samsung has carried over the same top-notch experience to the Galaxy S7 edge.
The biggest improvement this time around doesn't come from any change in the hardware, actually, but rather the access to Android 6.0 Marshmallow's new fingerprint authentication APIs.
With this new support, any app that targets Android's standard fingerprint authentication system will work perfectly on the Galaxy S7 edge — and that's extremely important as the number of Marshmallow-focused apps grows this year. Apps that only target Samsung's own proprietary fingerprint APIs from pre-Marshmallow releases will still work, too, which boosts the install base of capable apps until the new Marshmallow-enabled one start to fill up the Play Store.
Return of the microSD card slot
The SIM card slot on the Galaxy S7 edge is in the same place as prior models — on the top edge of the phone — but this year it harbors a little something extra: room for a microSD card. Samsung heard a considerable amount of angst regarding its decision to remove the microSD card slot from its flagship Galaxy phones in 2015 after having it every previous iteration. And no matter how many people actually miss the feature compared to how many it seems like, the slot is back on the Galaxy S7 edge.
But of course no feature addition comes without some sort of issue, right? This time adding the microSD card back to the Galaxy S7 edge brings up an interesting conversation because the phone is running Android 6.0 Marshmallow, which added a new way of handling removable storage called "adoptable storage." Adoptable storage allows the phone to take in an external storage device and integrate it to the system so that it can be treated as internal storage.
An SD card slot is something a lot of people were clamoring for, even if it doesn't work as adoptable storage.
That's a departure from the way previous versions of Android used an SD card, and for a multitude of reasons Samsung has decided not to include adoptable storage in its Marshmallow build for the Galaxy S7 edge — not the least of which being user confusion and worries over data corruption when a low-quality SD card is used. When you insert an SD card into the Galaxy S7 edge it works just like it did in any pre-Marshmallow phone you may have used, in that it's simply mounted as a separate volume for you to store data of your choosing on. That is, except for some kinds of data that just don't play well with removable storage of this type.
For example the SD card is best used for media storage, where the files are large and the speed requirements are relatively low — like movies and music loaded from your computer, or pictures and video generated on your phone. Whether you can install apps onto the SD card is a case-by-case situation you'll find by visiting the application settings, but chances are your most intense and powerful apps won't be allowed to move. You also wouldn't want to use the external storage for data that you don't want to be easily removed from the phone with a simple SIM tray tool.
Whether the SD card is all that useful when it's implemented this way is up for debate, but knowing that it is there for those who want to use it to its full potential is good. It doesn't have any effect on the phone if you choose not to use it, and it opens up a way for you to expand storage later if you need it.
TouchWiz has matured
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge Software
We've endured yet another year of "leaks," "sources familiar with the matter" and "confirmed reports" relating to Samsung supposedly dramatically overhauling its Android interface, and in little shock to myself Samsung hasn't done anything of the sort. Samsung's take on Marshmallow is much like its builds of Lollipop, which in itself was an improvement over previous versions but hasn't been a massive departure from what immediately preceded it.
TouchWiz on Marshmallow
Marshmallow marks a point of subtle design changes around the interface. The biggest being the flatter, quieter notification shade that drops bright colors for subtle blues and greys, and a few Material Design-inspired animations throughout the user interface. Awkwardly placed drop shadows and unnecessary 3D animations are gone, which is a welcomed change, but much of Samsung's interface is the same as you'll find on a Galaxy S6 edge still on Lollipop. (Also remember that last year's Galaxy S phones are in the process of being updated to this same Marshmallow software.)
The settings menu, keyboard and default apps are just a few pixels away from being the same as before, which in this case is actually just fine considering that they were already very flat and modern after their previous updates. The vast majority of the interface is very refined by Samsung at this point, and beside the common complaint of people not liking it just because it's not "Stock" Android, it's hard to argue that this software doesn't work really well.
A word on security updates ...
We've been placing increased emphasis on monthly security updates since Google announced them in the fall of 2015. And Samsung has dedicated a website to security and what's new in its own updates.
While we applaud the transparency, the truth remains that it's a crapshoot when (or whether) a carrier-branded Samsung phone will be updated. While it's not quite a deal-breaker for us, it's something to keep in mind when purchasing.
There's definitely some room for Samsung — the world's largest smartphone manufacturer — to improve on this front.
Naturally the bump to Marshmallow also brings in those base features (aside from adoptable storage, as noted above) that we have all learned about at the end of 2015, which Samsung has implemented properly here. Doze and app optimization are built in to hopefully extend battery life when things aren't in use, runtime permissions help make it clear when apps are accessing different parts of your phone, new APIs for apps that need fingerprint authentication and so much more. Getting these changes for "free" are often far more interesting to some than the features Samsung adds after the fact.
New features
Refined looks are one thing, but altogether new features are always welcomed with any phone release and are often bigger changes than just the interface design.
One of the biggest features you're likely to use every single day is the new "always on" display. Now when you turn off your display, it goes just two seconds before turning back on a handful of pixels to display some useful information. You can tell it to show one of several clocks, a calendar or simplistic background image, with each one only taking up a small portion of the actual display thanks to the Super AMOLED screen tech that only lights up the required pixels to display an image.
This system barely uses any battery over the course of the day (Samsung says one or two percent), and saves you from having to power on the whole screen just to check things like the time or date. Unfortunately even the most information-dense of the widgets is rather sparse compared to the likes of what Motorola and Nexus phones offer, as you won't get a full set of notifications or changing information as the phone pulls it in.
Add these features up, and the software update gets kind of exciting.
Switching gears, Samsung has brought the "scrolling screenshot" option over to the Galaxy S7 edge after making it exclusive to the Galaxy Note 5. It's a wonderful way to capture more than just what's visible in the current window of the screen, and adds to an overall-improved screenshot function that makes it faster to capture and share from the Galaxy S7 edge.
In a surprising move, Samsung has added two rather large gaming-focused features to the phone as well. A new "Game Launcher" pulls in all of your games to a specialized folder so you can tweak a couple of settings before launching into them, including the ability to turn off notifications while you're in a full-screen game. Another option is called "Gaming Tools" — with this turned on, you get a small interface to handle certain gaming-focused features while inside a game. You can quickly lock the Recents and Back keys, minimize your game, take screenshots and even record your gameplay with just a couple of taps.
Shocker: Samsung's keyboard is actually quite good now. After several generations of keyboards that just had a weird timing and poor autocorrect tendencies, making it impossible for me to consistently type, the latest one shows an exponential improvement. I went through this entire review period typing everything from quick messages to long emails on the default keyboard with little issue — I could make it maybe five messages on the old keyboard before I swapped it out. I'm still not a huge fan of the integration with contacts (especially when it comes to email addresses) for auto correction, but considering the dramatic improvement here I'm happy to say that's my only issue with it.
Edge screen
Some of the biggest feature changes come in the "edge screen" portion of the software, which is now filled with features more akin to the failed Galaxy Note Edge than what was available on the Galaxy S6 edge. Aside from the ability to change the size and transparency of the handle that brings in the edge interface, the interface change here is all about bigger and more involved edge panels.
The edge screen now goes beyond just apps and contact buttons, and adds in deeper experiences that you'll actually spend more than a couple seconds looking at and interacting with. Several new edge panels are pre-installed but not enabled, though a new "Tasks" pane that lets you go directly into specific parts of apps is enabled as one of the three defaults.
The new edge panels from Samsung include displays for weather, calendar, place profiles, tools like a compass and ruler, and Milk Music. There are also several Yahoo-partnered panels, including a news headline updater, a stocks ticker and sports score panel. The edge panels take up a lot more room on the screen
Samsung's third swing at the edge screen is the best yet, but it still isn't compelling.
Samsung's third swing at the edge screen also reintroduces the ability to download third-party edge screens from Galaxy Apps, which once again has the potential of letting developers get in on this new platform. At the time of this review there are a grand total of five edge panels available for download, and only three of them are actually from an independent developer. It's pretty neat that Samsung is opening this back up, but I don't see a world in which developers get behind it considering the limited scope and potential of actually making any money with them.
At this point I'm starting to understand the edge screen a tad more. It's a really good way to quickly switch between apps without heading back to the home screen, as well as contact people you get in touch with most — unfortunately it's still not a great experience when it comes to much more than that. Panels that show the weather and give you quick music controls are useful, but seeing small snippets of headlines or the latest sports scores just isn't well suited to what still amounts to about one third the width of the phone's display. The fact that tapping anything in these third-party Yahoo or CNN panels just opens up the browser to a webpage with more information isn't helping things, either.
I'm all for the innovation on neat software like this, and it helps justify the extra purchase price of the "edge" variant of the phone, but there needs to be a lot more improvement here if I'm to completely integrate these edge screen experiences into my daily life.
Actually, a trade off
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge Cameras
It's undeniable that the Galaxy S and Note phones of 2015 offered some of the best (if not the best) camera experiences of any phone. The 16MP sensor behind a super-bright f/1.9 lens, supported by great processing software, was a revelation. And after just four phones released with that sensor and lens combination, Samsung scrapped it entirely to move onto what we find in the Galaxy S7 edge.
In terms of numbers, it's pretty easy to wrap your head around. The camera sensor is now a lower 12MP resolution, which has the upside of making each individual pixel larger — now 1.4-microns instead of 1.12. It's also paired up with a new lens with a wider aperture of f/1.7. That sensor change also enabled a new "Dual Pixel" feature, as Samsung calls it, which means every single pixel on the sensor is being used for phase-detection autofocus (PDAF). That enables incredibly fast focusing times, whether you're picking up the camera to take a fast shot or moving between focal points on the fly.
Image quality
Samsung has focused its marketing on low light photos, so I'm going to start here with my analysis. When it comes to nighttime shots, the Galaxy S7 edge predictably excels. The bright lens and sensor bring in plenty of light, and the software does a good job of processing things. Resulting shots are smooth and stay true to the scene in terms of brightness — the camera doesn't attempt to over-brighten the scene to make everything visible, which is a good thing.
Low light is a point of emphasis, and it delivers.
Leaving the camera in Auto HDR mode actually surprisingly keeps HDR turned off most of the time in low light, and when you examine the EXIF data you can see why: the camera is for the most part using very slow shutter speeds to take in more light, keeping the ISO down to reduce grain.
The camera doesn't hesitate to use shutter speeds as low as 1/10 of a second, which may seem fast if you aren't privy to how cameras work but when compared to the usual 1/2000 or so of a daylight shot that's a very long time to keep the shutter open. Even with OIS (optical image stabilization), shutter speeds that slow can sometimes result in blurry (or at least soft-looking) photos.
I didn't experience completely blurry shots as often as I would've expected, but if you're not steady you will see soft images here. Knowing that it's all in the name of smoother low light shots I totally understand it, and if I wanted to do anything different the Pro mode won't hold me back in this regard.
Moving on to bright scenes, where the Galaxy S6 edge was a wonderful standout, things aren't quite as rosy here. Your average quick snapshot during the day is very good, as you'd expect out of any higher-end device released in the last year, particularly in situations where the subject is very close. In typical Samsung fashion the pictures are extremely pleasing to the eye and very vibrant, meaning they look great but aren't a perfect representation of the actual scene — a common thing that phones do. Edges are crisp, colors look punchy and the only real issue I can find in these situations is that the white balance tends to be a bit warm.
Where the issues start to creep in is in situations where there are bright and dark parts of a scene: for example a dark wall or shadow cascading across the shot. These shots are a big test of a camera's dynamic range and are historically tough for small sensors like those in smartphone cameras to handle. The Galaxy S7 edge takes in these scenes focusing strongly on the bright and vibrant parts of the photo, as you'd expect, and really leaves something to be desired in terms of quality in the dark portions. Dark areas get very blotchy and are noticeable immediately compared to the crisp bright parts of the photo. This is the case even with HDR turned on, which is designed to fix just these sorts of issues.
Hindsight can be a funny thing, but I would've been happy if this kept the Galaxy S6 edge's camera.
While the quality of the overall picture is still good, particularly when viewed at a phone size, the problems with these pictures are far more apparent when you actually zoom into them a bit. Even zooming in on a scene by 25 percent reveals lots of visual aberrations and chroma noise from aggressive over-smoothing of dark areas. Of course most people won't be zooming in on photos to evaluate their quality, but these problems exhibit themselves even when viewing a photo at its normal size if you're one to be looking for things to critique in a photo.
Samsung's decision to try and over-smooth these dark areas seems to be attempting to cover up for a shortcoming in the sensor that's unable to properly resolve a wide dynamic range in a single shot, and it's hardly the first smartphone camera that we've seen do just that. Photo "quality" is mostly subjective, particularly in phones where we take such a wide variety of photos with little planning or setup, but you can objectively say that in some situations the Galaxy S7 edge takes photos that aren't as good as the Galaxy S6 edge of last year.
As someone who really loves what Samsung did with cameras in 2015, that's a big disappointment. Last year Samsung was really only challenged by the LG G4 in camera quality, and this year depending on how other companies step up their camera games Samsung may be looking at some stiff competition. The Galaxy S7 edge still takes really wonderful pictures and can stick with the best of 'em in low light situations in particular, but to see a camera offering that isn't a complete upgrade from last year is a tough pill to swallow.
Hindsight can be a funny thing, but at this point I would not have been disappointed if Samsung kept the exact same camera from last year in the Galaxy S7 edge.
Camera software
The camera interface is basically unchanged from last year, which I'm completely fine with in this context — Samsung has one of the best camera interfaces out there. The simple set of quick toggles and buttons on either side of the viewfinder surface the most important features of the camera, and everything else is just a tap away in either Settings or Modes. Behind Settings you'll get every toggle you'll need for camera-wide changes, and Modes will let you quickly move to other shooting options like Pro, Panorama, Live broadcast, Slow motion and Hyperlapse (a new one).
The camera interface is just as fast as we've come to expect from Samsung, and it can still be launched in about one second with two presses of the home button at any time. The Pro mode is still a very nice feature to have for those who want to tweak every possible bit of the camera experience, but most people will stick in Auto and have a great time shooting.
One important point to break out here is how the Galaxy S7 edge's camera handles using an SD card. Adding expandable storage by default sets that storage to be where pictures and videos are saved, save for burst shots which are still saved to internal storage for speed reasons. You'll see a small SD card icon in the viewfinder reminding you that that's where photos are going. One of the only real downsides of this system is due to how file permissions are handled — photos written to the SD card can't be deleted or modified by other apps, so for example if you use a third-party gallery app like Google Photos, you'll be unable to delete SD card-stored photos from that app. You can only delete them from Samsung's Gallery.
Video and front-facing camera
The Galaxy S7 offers a variety of video modes. You can shoot standard video in 1080p or up to 4K (UHD), as well as Hyperlapse time lapses and 720p slow motion. When shooting standard video at lower than 4K resolution you can also use digital image stabilization, which together with the hardware stabilization provides dramatically smoother video. Overall the quality is good here, though the microphones can leave a bit to be desired when compared to a dedicated video camera. Be sure to check out the video above for some clips of what the Galaxy S7 edge can do.
When it comes to selfies, the Galaxy S7 edge is good, but like last year still isn't great. The 5MP camera with f/1.7 lens definitely has the numbers right, but the fixed focal length can still provide for a little softness around your face depending on how you're holding it. But if you nail the framing and take advantage of the HDR mode you'll get some solid selfies from the Galaxy S7 edge. The "Panorama selfie" is still an awesome feature, as are the handful of ways you can actually take photos that don't involve craning your hand to tap a shutter button.
Every phone should have it
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge Waterproofing
In 2014, after several months using the Galaxy S5 and loving its waterproof rating, I wrote that the feature should come standard on every phone. My feelings haven't changed since, though a majority of high-end phones still skip waterproofing. Thankfully, the Galaxy S7 edge brings an IP68 rating for dust and waterproofing.
It can survive in water — that doesn't make it a rugged phone.
Just what does that mean exactly? The Galaxy S7 edge can handle full submersion in water up to three feet deep for 30 minutes. That's far longer than anyone would actually feel comfortable leaving their phone in water, but the important point remains that the phone can come in contact with liquids and nothing bad will happen. Whether that's an unfortunate drop in the toilet (hey it happens), a bump into the sink while you're washing dishes or your clumsy friend spilling a beer on it at the restaurant, the Galaxy S7 edge will handle it just fine.
Now this doesn't mean the Galaxy S7 edge is anything approaching a rugged phone, nor should it be treated as such — the waterproofing really is here just to save your phone from accidents involving liquids. I couldn't consistently get the camera to record pictures or video under water, and the phone is quick to tell you to dry out the USB port if you try to charge it at any point close to the phone being submerged. Of course the physical design of the phone isn't designed to take much damage, either — keep that in mind before you go tossing this thing around. It may survive the water, but maybe not the rest of the actions that put it in that position.
Actually using it
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge Daily use
We know the specs. We know the features. But what's the Galaxy S7 edge like to use every day? That's the real question. Aspects of the phone like battery life, general interface performance and the speaker quality are big parts of how you experience the phone.
Battery life
For some of us, there was no feature bigger (erm, smaller) of a disappointment on the Galaxy S6 edge than its battery life. Despite the gesticulating over how easy and fast it was to charge the phone, you just couldn't deny that the phone wasn't set to last through a day for most people. That turned into a disappointment for Samsung as well, which heard the calls and boosted the battery size in the Galaxy S7 edge to 3600 mAh.
If you've been following smartphones for any length of time you'll know that there isn't a direct correlation between battery size and battery life, and boosting the battery in the Galaxy S7 edge by 20 percent over the Galaxy S6 edge+ hasn't exactly added the same amount of longevity through the course of the day.
It's a full-day phone, but it will come up short if you push it too hard.
After several days using the phone in a variety of conditions I can say that it's safely a 16-hour phone in my regular use with some battery to spare, which of course includes tons of email, messaging, podcast listening and camera use. My screen is on for at least three hours every day, though like most people it's usually not for extended periods at any given time.
If I had heavier needs, like when I was traveling and hitting mobile data heavily, I could kill of the entire battery in just 12 hours — though I haven't found any of my recent phones to be able to handle such usage and still make it through the entire day. With a lighter day that involved mostly standby time resting in my pocket, I was easily hitting 20 hours of usage before I got down to the five percent battery mark to engage Power Saving Mode.
Those usage numbers are only slightly better than I experience on the Galaxy Note 5 and S6 edge+, and are just about reaching what I get out of the Nexus 6P on an average day as well. This larger-than-average battery capacity is definitely required to get the Galaxy S7 edge through a full day without making you worried about where a power outlet is, and it means I rarely worried about battery life on the phone. It doesn't, however, give you the confidence of "do anything, no consequences" battery life that so few phones can offer.
Performance
With these internal specs it would be surprising if anything else was the case, but it needs to be said that the Galaxy S7 edge really flies through anything you could want to do on a phone with a 5.5-inch screen. Whether that's a single heavy game or quickly switching between a handful of your favorite apps — or heck, using Multi Window to run two at once — the phone didn't slow down or give up. Samsung's own apps, crucially including the camera, were flawless in their performance.
I've yet to see a phone that was truly free from all slowdowns and hiccups, particularly once they get loaded up with apps, services and user data, but these small hiccups were few and far between on the Galaxy S7 edge — I only found a few simple delays in launching apps after closing a heavy game or updating several apps out of Google Play at once.
Speaker
When Samsung moved to this sleek new design last year, it clearly didn't plan to incorporate big speakers as a tentpole of the experience. You'll find the same speaker blasting noise out of the bottom of the phone through an eight-hole grille next to the micro-USB port, and while it's hardly challenging the likes of the Moto X or Nexus 6P it does get plenty loud for speaker calls and short videos.
Since the quality isn't that great — and frankly can't be with this size of speaker — Samsung does let you crank up the volume pretty considerably to try and at least give you something to work with, even to the point of introducing notable distortion depending on the type of audio. Chances are you won't need to push this thing to 100 percent volume to get what you need out of it (again, you won't be listening to music on this), but if you do it really shows off the relatively low quality of the speaker. I really would like to see Samsung move to a front-facing speaker(s) setup, but I'm just not sure how there would be room to do so in this current industrial design.
Worthy flagship
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge Bottom line
When you pull everything on offer in the Galaxy S7 edge together, it's pretty darn impressive. Don't let the physical similarities to the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge turn you away — there is so much to like about this year's flagship.
The phone is gorgeous to look at, and even if it collects some fingerprints on the back and the curved screen makes it a tad tough to hold those are small obstacles to overcome to have such a great design in your hand every day. It has all of the top-end specs you're looking for, great performance and still manages to get through a full day on the battery without carrying around a charger or battery pack. Samsung also brought back the SD card slot and waterproofing — all without changing the profile of the phone.
The latest version of Samsung's software hasn't changed the interface dramatically, but Marshmallow itself brings lots of useful improvements and the extra features that Samsung added in this release add up to a notable improvement from what we got with Lollipop. The edge screen experience may not be one that brings you over to buying a Galaxy S7 edge, but it also picked up notable improvements and can do even more than before.
And even the parts of the phone that were unchanged from the past models are standout features. The screen is absolutely the best available today, and the fingerprint sensor is still great to use every day.
Perhaps the only puzzling part of the whole experience is the camera. The Galaxy S6 edge set sky-high expectations that the Galaxy S7 didn't universally exceed, which leaves us a tad sour. Even still, this camera stands to be in the running for the best of the year, which really shows just how far Samsung is pushing its camera technology.
Should you buy it? Yes
Now here's the golden question: whether you should actually put down the hard-earned cash on a Galaxy S7 edge. Aside from its exceptionally high price that will likely push toward $800, there isn't really much you can find to keep the phone off of your short list if you're in the market for a high-end phone. If you're coming from an earlier Galaxy S phone it's pretty much a no-brainer, and if your phone from another manufacturer is over a year old you're likely to see lots of value in that upgrade as well.
Really, the only thing that will weigh heavily in keeping average people from upgrading their older Galaxy S phone to the new Galaxy S7 edge will be the external design similarities to the previous generation. Keeping things very similar has the upside of building a strong and consistent brand that's recognizable across years, but that doesn't do much in the way of getting people to upgrade to a new phone when it looks basically the same as the one in their hand today.
But looks can be deceiving — the visual similarities shouldn't keep you from considering the Galaxy S7 edge. It is in every way an improvement over the Galaxy S6 edge, and in nearly every way a better choice than the Galaxy S6 edge+ that was released just six months ago.
Where to buy the Galaxy S7 edge
This is always a tricky question when it comes to a device that's available globally from a variety of retailers, but we can at least offer up some handy links of those who want to buy in the U.S. from one of the major carriers. Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint all have the Galaxy S7 edge for sale, and you can also check out major retailers like Best Buy to buy for use on any of those carriers as well.
- See at Amazon (opens in new tab)
- See at Verizon (opens in new tab)
- See at Sprint
- See at T-Mobile (opens in new tab)
- See at AT&T (opens in new tab)
Also: Read our Galaxy S7 review!
The Galaxy S7 edge is a seriously great phone, but it's only half of this year's Galaxy S launch from Samsung — there's also the "standard" Galaxy S7. It's smaller and flatter, but offers much of the same experience we've covered here. It's worth learning about it to help you decide which of the two is right for you.
Hit the link below for our comprehensive Galaxy S7 review.
Andrew was an Executive Editor, U.S. at Android Central between 2012 and 2020.
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Should have my s7 edge soon. Hurry up Verizon! Will miss my Note 5 but I know I will enjoy this phone until the Note 6 drops. I Love being a tech junky! S7 edge will make America great again!
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My wife is getting the S7 Edge. If I wasn't waiting for the Note 6, I'd run out and get one, too. It's an awesome phone.
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I'm in exactly the same situation as you! Lol. My wife is getting the edge from me for her birthday, it arrives on the 15th, I have Note 5 but I'm thinking of waiting until Note 7, but will see. And by the way, I accidentally hit the wrong button when I was voting up your comment and reported it instead. I am so sorry, but I think they will understand I made a mistake.
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I love being one too. Posted via the Android Central App
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Funny reading these comments now, knowing what happened with the Note 7.
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Yeah. Hilarious.
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Because Samsung is an american company.... right?
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Nice review! Posted with ❤Love❤
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Great review, Andrew.
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Didn't expect a review before the official March 11th launch. Hopefully, you guys got quite a lot of time using the phone. Anyhow, to me, the S7 is a worthy step-up from the S6, keeping what made it great while improving on its flaws. It's the top contender for Phone of the Year 2016 in my books as it's a really great phone. One question, though. Have you tried everything to keep the dynamic range of the camera in tune? I couldn't see the sample images due to an error, so I had to use Phil's flat S7's camera samples to get a general idea. They honestly don't look too bad to me, about the same as my LG G4. Then again, they're just samples. I need to get more real-world time with the S7 to see how the camera is really like. Given that the phone isn't officially released yet, could Samsung be finalizing some tweaks to the camera software? Just a fun fact. The Galaxy S7 uses a Sony Exmor RS IMX260 as its main camera sensor. The DAC is a "Lucky CS47L91 Sound", which seems to be a custom DAC.
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FWIW, we say in every review exactly how long we've been using it. :)
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If this phone was a 6 inch screen, I'd have one. I'm using an iPhone 6 Plus and honestly, it's getting too small. I think my eyes are going to crap. Which is why I'm leaning towards a Note 5, or the LG V10, or just waiting until what the Note 6 looks like.
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Could always just pick up a Galaxy S6 edge+. Or like you said, wait for the new Note.
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If you really want the 6 inch screen, go for a Nexus 6 or a Galaxy A9.
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I wish they would beef up and make a new mega 3 Omega for whatever but put the specs in it I've always enjoyed large phones but I want one with great specs I don't need a turtle Posted via the Android Central App
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A turtle. LOL
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the V10 probably won't fix you up. Wait for the Note 6. I went from Note 4 to the Nexus 6 to the V10. After the Nexus 6, everything seems tiny
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I am currently using a Nexus 6, and you've articulated my worry perfectly. Yes, everything does seem small after using a Nexus 6. My N6 is still going strong, and I have no plans to replace it at this time, but when I do, I've got to stick to phablets. I can't go back to a smaller phone. I'm glad phones in general are larger now, but N6 size is ultimately what I would want. I would have to get a Note, if I were to buy a Samsung phone. Posted via the Android Central App with a Nexus 6
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I think to expect a company like Samsung to release their flagship phone at a size even bigger than their flagship phablet would be kind of silly. If you want to keep with companies like Samsung or LG you may have to give up the flagship level specs or settle with the 5.7 inch screen of the Note 5 (and likely Note 6) or V10. I don't see many major companies going bigger than 5.7 inch screens just because anything past 5.7 inches is entering a very niche market segment which isn't appealing for these bigger companies. Huawei, xiaomi, oppo, letv and some other Chinese companies I know have monstrous phones with flagship specs but outside of that, there aren't very many options. Posted via the Android Central App
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The upcoming Samsung A9 pro has 6 inches screen. It is not a flagship, but it's camera should be better than those of chinese phones. The 6 inches A9 is out already and gets a quite good review on Gsmarena Posted via the Android Central App
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Sounds like maybe you should consider a tablet instead of a smartphone, or maybe new glasses. (I have bad eyes, myself. I know.)
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Shouldn't this be compared to S6 edge+ instead of the S6 edge?
I mean realistically the S7 edge replaces the S6+ right? -
It replaces both the S6e and S6e+
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Either way the S6E+ was not on the spec comparison chart and I feel it should have been.
I feel like this is the comparison samsung wants to make it seem seem like a bigger upgrade than it is.
LIKE "ZOMG battery is bigger by 40% " whereas compared to S6E+ it's 20% bigger.
Not that 20% is bad by any means but 40% bigger does sound better than 20% -
It very much replaces the Galaxy S6 edge, coming one year on from that device. Considering the Galaxy S6 edge+ will still be on sale and supported for a long time to come, and is just 6 months old, I can't really say this "replaces" that phone, though. Samsung isn't expecting anyone with a GS6 edge+ to be dropping it for a GS7 edge. That being said, I pointed out similarities with the Galaxy S6 edge+ throughout the review where it made sense to.
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I'm not saying you didn't mention it or compared it to it.
I just feel it should have been on the chart.
Do you think Samsung will release a S7E+? -
Rumor has it that they might not do so this year. Apparently, the S6e+ didn't sell so hot compared to the Note 5. IMHO, their decision to not sell the Note 5 alongside the S6e+ in Europe is a very poor one.
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Well the price difference was like $75 when it shouldn't have been.
You traded the Stylus for the edge display so price should have remained the same IMO
On the S6/S6E it kinda makes sense since you gain something while giving up nothing but on the Note it doesn't. -
Well, I'm guessing people felt that the Note was the better buy as the S Pen actually has its own set of useful features while the Edge display at the time was just a fashion piece for a glorified shortcuts menu, something that an app can already emulate. I'm glad they made it more useful this time, though.
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Well, this is only one data point, but I've seen more people with the S6E+ than with the Note 5. I'd pick the Note 5, personally.
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"Supported for a long time to come." LOL that's a good one. Samsung and support are not synonymous. Every galaxy ever released has been reluctant to see one firmware update in its life cycle and it's usually 6 months to a year after the said firmware is released by Google.
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I don't understand what people do on their phone that battery life is an issue. I'm off the charger at 7:00 AM, and at midnight I'm at 60% or higher. Is it games or what? Maybe watching movies or something? I think the lowest I've ever been, and it was while traveling, is around 40%.
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Is this a serious question?
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What phone do you have? Posted via the Android Central App
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You just said it. Usage patterns differ from user to user. I'm a medium-heavy user. As such, when I get home from college, my battery is around 20% or lower. That's after 8 hours of use. Others can squeeze more hours out of the phone if their usage pattern is lighter than mine. Said phone is an LG G4.
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For many people their cell phones are not toys nor entertainment devices. For many of us they are actually tools that are relied upon heavily for work with work specific apps and/or built in apps that double as work apps. Is entertainment part of our use? Yes, but at least for me it is but a small fraction. As a matter of fact I have zero games on my devices and only one social media app yet I usually require about 4-6 hours SOT per day. Posted from my BlackBerry PRIV/Note 4/ iPad Pro
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Sir, you are severely in the minority of users, not "the many." Of course your point is valid nonetheless.
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Same here. I get to work and the phone mostly sits in my jacket pocket for most of the day. I only use it for waze on my way to and from work so it's still above 80% in the evening. If it weren't for podcasts, I doubt I would need a smartphone.
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Look at the pictures he took. NYC. That means subway which means no service down there. Some of those places are in Brooklyn and Times Square which can be from 30 min at best to 1 hour with delays. Try not having 1 hour of no service and see what that does to your battery. If you are home and work all day with Wi-Fi, your battery will be much better.
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Yeah, that's mostly false since ~2013.
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Some people use it as a tool, not just to BS on things like Instagram for example. If you use it for work or as a tool for money at all your phone will not last. I have a Note 5 and it's dying around half way through the day. Posted via the Android Central App
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Note 5 has really good battery life. But, your right. If you go hog wild as a real tool then it gets eaten. I used to swap batteries every day w Note 3 ... so easy. But now it's hang around a charger, power bank, and use "power saving" mode from time to time.
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I use a Sears Die Hard Deep Cycle Marine power bank with 650 Cold Cranking Amps on a backpack connected to my phone. Still have 20-30% to spare at the end of each day. Lots of multi-tasking you know. :-D
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that Verizon logo almost ruins the design for me. Posted via the Android Central App
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"What? It's just a tramp sta-"
"OH MY GOODNESS!!"
...
"VERIZOOON!!!" -
Hey, at least it doesn't have the Note 2's home button tramp stamp. I actually think Verizon's new logo looks much better than their old one.
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Yeah, it looks better, but not better than it would look clean.
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A little annoying, yeah.
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Hey, with VZW, you should be thankful that it doesn't wrap all the way around the front and use a watermark across 1/2 the screen. And at least they spared the hardware key. Geeeeesh Verizon.
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32gb isn't bad when you can add! Posted via the Android Central App #6P Android/Google Forever!
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Well, it's not really "adding". More like supplementing, since you can't adopt the SD card to use as internal storage, so you're really mainly using it for media files, which is no bad thing since it leaves the entire internal storage partition for apps and whatnot. And you can still move apps to the SD card via the Settings app if you want to. Not that I recommend it, but if you're pressed for space, that's a pretty nifty way to free up some space without losing the app.
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Here's where rubin comes in.. "garbage phone" But seriously, not a garbage phone
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We don't need Rubin anymore. We've found his replacement. See the 4th comment.
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"I'm not a program! I'm a user!" Yeah, yeah
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I had a very bad feeling about dropping down the megapixel count in the camera, and it seems my concerns were justified. I remember HTC did the same thing with the one m7 I owned in an attempt to improve low light photos. In that case low light was marginally improved but regular picture resolution and quality suffered big time. I'm not a camera engineer or professional, but lowering the Megapixels never seems to result for the better. This is a deal breaker for me as the camera is hugely important to me. I was waiting for the note 6 anyway to replace my note 4, but I seriously hope they get the Mega pixels back up to at least 16. Why do companies always have to ruin one thing to make something else better?
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Megapixel count is not the most important spec on the camera. This phone still takes better shots than its predecessor. Posted via the Android Central App
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no, it doesn't. did you even watch the video review. even andrew said it was worse than last year in daylight because of loss of MP.
only low light is better. -
Can't say that I kinda knew it. Lowering the MP count will negatively impact daylight image quality, but from the samples, I don't see any obvious degradation in quality until you zoom in. Depends on how low you lower the resolution to. And even then, for most people, it's more than adequate. 12MP is still a solid number. 4MP on HTC's cameras is just ridiculous.
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I don't think this is an overall upgrade in camera experience over the Galaxy S6 generation. Low light is better, to my eyes, but the way it handles some situations in good lighting just isn't any better than last year.
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The speed at which it shoots is a big step up on the camera. Its focus speed is the best on any phone I have ever tried.
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Terrence..... famous last words of HTC ultrapixel owners everywhere. So I suppose you won't mind if Samsung goes back to a 1080p screen, who needs all those pixels either. Yet, it does matter.
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I had a very bad feeling about this comment. I have a crazy amount of money invested in quality camera gear and would say 2 things...
1) if you are taking critical photos with a smartphone you are falling short of quality
2) more light = better photo, no exception. You are allowed to complain about mp if you frequently blow up photos to greater than 14 inches for permanent display as prints. If you are doing this with photos from a smartphone you have failed. What you care about is large aperture and low noise at high ISO. -
Great review! Would be nice for the video samples to be in 2k on YouTube Posted via the Android Central App
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Yeah it was a bit tough to balance that out. It's one 4K video sample amongst all the clips that have lower res, so we went with the whole thing at 1080p — that being said, you'll still notice the increase in quality even if you can't view it natively in 4K on YT. Perhaps we'll put together a set of all 4K clips at some point.
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i heard the video stabilization still sucks
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Very nice review. Awesome phone no doubt. Yes, expandable storage and waterproofing should be a standard feature... USB-C has a lot going for it, but if all can be done on a micro usb, why put the consumer through the change just for the latest tech? I like to use my phone in all environments... So far I am back to owning two. My dual sim life one x where I will either use both sims or just put one in my second phone when I am fishing/biking. Screw premium finishes... I just about fell for the Samsung active a few months back. Form over function. I will see how this storage situation will play out... I have no issues with the way SD functions on lollipop. LIke Windows mobile 10, as long as I can store most apps along with data on my sd, I am fine... The only argument I wil entertain when it comes to expandable storage is security if the card is removed... So a fast card and encryption is a must... When using his new "adoptable storage" and the card is removed/stolen and never returned... what does the phone do? Will it still function or crash? Does it store anything critical for the os? Anywho, good review of a very solid phone.
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Great review and I agree with just about everything after having my S7 Edge since last Thursday (the 3rd). I have owned every iteration of the Nexus devices since the Galaxy Nexus up to the Nexus 6. I was reluctant to give up on the Nexus 6 but the camera was awful and the size was annoying (even for a guy with big hands). I'm still getting used to TouchWiz, but through Nova I was able to "hide" TW considerably. Assuming it holds up, I may have become a Samsung fan over Nexus.
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I feel exactly the same way.
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glad I waited for review. the day light camera shots are no better than my iPhone 6S+, daylight photos are the most important for me.
with apple watch giving me every widget I would ever want, I see no reason to buy the S7E.
if the go 12MP on the Note 6, guess I will getting an iPhone 7 and staying apple for a while longer. -
I wouldn't say that you should instantly write off the Note 6 (for dozens of reasons) just because it hits the same 12MP. We have to see if they use the same exact sensor, and what is done in the software.
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I think Samsung made a mistake with this phones camera. Mostly it will do great, but they set a pretty high standard with the S6. I think they shouldn't have experimented with a proven flagship camera. They are going to take some flack for it and only the most observant of actual users will notice. LG is going to eat this up.
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Depends on what you want. This thing has been taking some pretty awesome night shots, which is mostly when my camera comes out Posted via the Android Central App
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I don't find the S7's daylight shots to be that bad. In fact, after looking at the samples, I think they still look quite good. Maybe a little less detailed, but I honestly can't see much of a difference. Sure, it's not an intergalactic improvement over the S6, but I still think Samsung deserves a medal for defying marketing convention with the S7's camera while still delivering pretty good results. That said, I'd like to see improved OIS + DIS in the future. Maybe it's just me, but I'd like to see DIS smoothing out that OIS wobble you get while recording video.
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Maybe I am missing something or are the picts on AC in full resolution? I am viewing them on a brand new 5K iMac, which has a calibrated, very clean/clear screen and I am viewing them in full screen. to me they look grainy. ( the day light photos )
The night shots do look good. But I like to take pictures during the day when I am out walking around.
I don't really want to write off the Note 6, but I will certainly wait for reviews again before purchasing.
I am a little disappointed since I went from hating samsung back in the day to being a bit of a samsung fanboy as of the S6 and Note 4 and 5.
Guess the good part is, I love iOS and I love android, so I don't mind hanging out with iPhone while I wait for Note 6 and iPhone 7 to see who wins. The S7E is completely off the table as of now.
I am also not happy about the 32GB and SD card... if the Note 6 doesn't come out with 64GB internal storage, I guess I will be on iPhone 7 for at least a full year while I wait to see if the Note 7 is decent. -
I viewed them on a 25-inch 1080p IPS monitor. They honestly look quite good and are pretty sufficient for sharing and whatnot. I'm not sure if the photos on AC are at full-resolution, because I've just viewed them on my iPad Pro and the detail isn't as crisp when I zoom in. Bear in mind that my Pro has better display calibration and a higher resolution than that monitor. The colors still look good and the dynamic range, while somewhat iffy at times, is still solid. It's kind of a shame that the end result isn't better in every way compared to the S6, but it does improve on a weak point on many phone cameras while making a (IMO) worthwhile trade-off of a tiny bit of daylight photo quality. In the perfect world, we want the highest resolution with the best lowlight picture quality. But we don't live in the perfect world.
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I'll say it again,,, Nothing bothers me more than when the damn screen lights up when another call comes in, when the thing is pressed against my face. Then some part of my ear mutes me, connects the incoming call, or hangs up on my original call. Have I mentioned how much I hate TouchWiz??
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But does anyone really like TouchWiz though? Or those that do, I think should really ask themselves why.
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I do and I'm proud of it. When you see TouchWiz for the Whole picture, not just the colors or themes, then you realize that you can't have ALL the TONS of features (some more useful than others obviously) Samsung provides with their phones without it. Just tell a Galaxy Note user to change to another phone without the SPen and the dozen of useful features TouchWiz adds for it. I respect but I don't understand how a person can choose the Fugly and boring Pure Vanilla Android with just a handful of Quick Toggles, horrible colors and without even a feature as simple as Close all apps option when seeing all opened apps. I respect everybody's opinion and I don't have any issues with people choosing other Android skins or Pure Android devices like the Nexus line, diversity is a the best thing on the Android World. I just feel obliged to reply to this nonsense comments...
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I agree. Touchwiz is excellent. a nexus is a great device, i just find it as boring as iOS.
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I don't agree. Not sure how a Nexus with stock Android is boring. It does exactly the same things. And if it is missing a feature that Touchwiz offers, the app store is a just a couple clicks away and you can add just about anything. It can be just like touchwiz only much faster. It is fine to like touchwiz over stock. but both you and arasat claim to have nothing against stock, yet you both cut it down. If someone says something is boring, which is clearly wrong when it comes to stock or something is "Fugly" when it relates to stock android, clearly they do not have any creativity in altering the look and feel of stock android or how to add just about any feature of Touchwiz and then some. It isn't even a matter of taste. You can easily change the look of stock android to whatever you want. Your defense of Touchwiz vs stock is poor. Best to just stick with why you like Touchwiz and leave it at that.
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The feature set is beyond compare, and some of the things that tw does differently from the other oems, including pure are a vast improvement. It needs work but there are lots of plusses to tw Posted via the Android Central App
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"I'll say it again..." Lest we think you are saying it for the first time?
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Or when you hit the power button to turn off the screen and you hang up the call lol Posted via the Android Central App
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Wow, I don't have the problem on the Note 5. Is it a PBCK issue?
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Waiting for the lg g5 review. Still not sure which one to get between the s7 or g5. Posted via the Android Central App
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It's a bit disappointing to see the camera isn't a total improvement over last year's offerings, but I'm hoping Samsung can learn from these reviews and push out updates to improve the quality. Since the camera quality really got pushed in 2015, they did set the bar pretty high. Posted via the Android Central App
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Some of it can be improved with the software, for sure. We just don't know how much and obviously don't know how long that'll take, if it ever happens.
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Uh Oh the Camera.
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I am really confused by the camera comments, because I haven't seen anywhere else that is suggesting the S7 is worse than the S6. The pictures of the lamps that Andrew took are amazing with no artifact, which is not something I can achieve on my current S6. If you look through the following photos: http://www.hardwarezone.com.sg/feature-samsung-galaxy-s7-vs-galaxy-s6-wh... the daytime photos are similar, and the low light photos are much much better on the S7 than S6. Here is another comparison: http://www.technobuffalo.com/2016/03/08/samsung-galaxy-s7-camera-sample-... - in general the S7 handles low light situations much better, but there are some blurry pics in there which is probably related to the slow shutter speed as Andrew mentioned.
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Honestly I'm waiting for lots of samples from many you tubers and techies before I make a judgment, this is Samsung anyway. But I'm curious as to who has the best "12 mp low light performer" type camera? Nexus or Samsung? Because me and my wife's Nexus phones slay in the camera department CONSISTENTLY. In Google I trust.
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Did you mean to put suck in there instead of slay? The 6p is above average, all the other pure Google phones have had crappy cameras. Some even went so far down to reach pure **** levels Posted via the Android Central App
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When I said "12 mp low light performer" it should have given away the NEW nexus phone smh. In Google I trust.
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You better trust Google, your life is in their hands these days. Nexus camera's are ok, but seriously? They slay? Slay what, HTC phones? Certainly not a S6, V10, or G4.
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Wow of course I'm talking the 5x and 6p. We have taken hundreds of pictures and they perform excellent. In Google I trust.
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Photos were much improved on my 6P. But it's my Note 5 that comes out when I need to rely on a quick photo. Posted via the Android Central App
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Ooof. It's a shame that 3 of the S7 edge's 4 potential trump cards (battery, camera, expandable storage) aren't as good as they could be. It's also still significantly more expensive than my Nexus 6P, locked to whatever carrier you buy it from, probably won't get its bootloader unlocked on Verizon, and still has Touchwiz. I can live without the waterproofing. I was considering upgrading to the S7 edge, but I guess not.
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So, I had the S6 Edge and finally switched carriers yesterday.......away from Sprint (after 10 yrs) and couldn't be happier. I checked out the S7 Edge in store yesterday and this is only my opinion but I still prefer the S6 Edge over S7.. To me, the S6 feels better in the hand and could tell little difference in performance (probably no difference once the S6 gets Marshmallow). The S7 camera did auto focus a bit faster, otherwise I could tell little difference. Sure the S7 has a bigger battery (my last S6 always got me through the day...so this is moot). Personally, I couldn't care less about water "resistance" , a bit larger screen, or expanded storage. Finally, the nail in the S7 coffin was the exclusion of an IR blaster which I have come accustomed to so I couldn't justify the cost of an "upgrade' to the S7 which would actually be a "downgrade" for my preferences. For me, the S6 Edge is the perfect phone and I'll be quite happy with with it, especially when Marshmallow finally arrives.
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Great review Andrew. Thanks for posting it. I'm sure a separate article on this is coming, but if you exclude the security update issue, how would you compare this to the Nexus 6P. Does it feel any faster? Is the Nexus still smoother overall because of it being pure Android AOSP? Camera wise, are they similar given that Samsung has in essence adopted some of the Nexus attributes. Which would you rather use as your daily driver, the Nexus 6P or the S7 Edge?
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I love the design of the hardware, just wish bootloader was unlockable and easily rooted. Samsung and carrier bloatware-No thanks. Probably get a Mi 5. They promise to unlock bootloader, but would be missing out on water proofing and wireless charging.
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Milliampere, not milliamphour.
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Good review. I have pre-ordered and look forward to upgrading from Galaxy Note Edge. I am hoping for improved stability and performance, as my Note Edge often lags and crashes and my Microsoft Lumia 950 XL isn't much better. I frequently use the Edge screen on my Note Edge so I am glad there will be better options on the S7 Edge. My expectations are high and I hope to be able to keep this phone for years.
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I agree about the Edge software. A few of the edge panels can be useful but in reality, they are just another way to to do things on the phone and I don't think they make doing things faster or more convenient. I still have a Note Edge and the edge panel and functions are much different I am enjoying the S7 Edge and the battery life is excellent.
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This phone is crazy tempting LoL Citizens 4 Constitutional Freedom
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That's my problem with it :-). I had an S6 Edge+ on AT&T and I loved it, but their security updates were terrible. T-Mobile was a lot more current on these. I'm switching to T-Mobile anyway, but my current phone is the Nexus 6P. I'm enjoying it, but missing the sexiness of the Edge, the camera, and Samsung Pay. The 6P is smoother and faster than the S6 Edge+ by a little bit. But it just doesn't feel anywhere near as premium or just plain sexy. Shallow perhaps. #1stworldproblems. Posted via the Android Central App
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I have a Verizon LG V10. I'm considering switching to t-mobile. If I do, this is the phone I'm seriously considering. The real question is does it get better battery life than the V10? I tend to push my devices pretty hard, stream a lot of media - and will be doing even more with T-Mobile. I also don't do too much CPU intensive stuff so I normally leave power saving on. Battery is really the only thing I'm concerned about as this would be my first device without a removable battery. I can quick charge my V10 all I want, if I destroy the battery I can just buy a new one, not having one makes me a little nervous. If at the very least I heard from people I can get 4 hours Screen On Time, with power saving mode? That'd be good enough for me
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I don't own one, but based on having had an S6 Edge+, and reviews comparing that battery life to the V10, this should be better since it's battery is bigger than the S6 Edge+' battery.
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Well done Andrew. I think this is one of the best articles I have read of yours. Phil is a great guy, but I wish you would have wrote the regular S7 review as well. I would of had a better sense of what that phone was really like, as I know have for the Edge after reading this. Can we talk about your diet now? Haha! You take a lot of food pictures and I must say, it makes me hungry. I wish I could still eat like that, oh to be young..
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Excellent review, as always. I can't wait to get my hands on this when it's delivered tomorrow!
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The big question: This or the Nexus 6P?
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That's like asking, "Finely aged porterhouse steak, or possum roadkill for dinner?"
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Which is which?
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I stated them respectively to your question. But you decide. The Nexus 6P lacks: * OIS
* Excellent low-light photography
* Instant focus
* Wireless charging
* Fast wireless charging
* MST for payments at any magnetic strip reader
* The latest SoC (820 vs last year's 810)
* UFS 2.0
* The best possible display
* A microSD slot The S7 Edge lacks: * The ability to plug in your charger cable upside down
* A paper-thin metal back
* Cheap plastic dovetail joints holding the bottom together Tough choice, I know. -
My yellow and discolored edge display begs to differ about best possible display. The only thing on your list I would consider as a reason not to get the 6p is the processor. Posted via the Android Central App
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Well, you know what they say. One man's trash is another man's treasure. To me, the Nexus 6p is trash.
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if they display is not cracked, the S6 has (had) a 1 year warranty. get the screen replaced, free.
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S7 if you want the latest and greatest and lots of features. 6P if you want timely updates and a debloated software experience. That's what it boils down to.
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Another reviewer said that there was still random lag, then other reviewers say there is no lag, just like a nexus, and still others say lag but only when performing intensive tasks. If any of you reviewer types out there are listening can you run the S7E next to the 6P with GPU rendering profile enabled and report on the results? Really want to know how well the S7E holds 60 fps throughout the UI.
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Every phone is going to lag if you push it to its limits. In everyday use, I haven't seen one bit of lag. Posted via my LG G4
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After finally choking down my self hate, I decided to pre-order this after doing a bunch of reading on the current state of android and what not along with some assumptions based on my small bit of knowledge about Galaxy phones. I have not received it yet but I'm starting to already be disappointed with the route they took. I thought "Adoptable storage" was a cool feature, but don't know if you can encrypt your external memory without it. Hopefully someone can answer that for me?
The IR blaster thing was something I'd always envied from Samsung just because I don't know any guy who wouldn't want to control all of his electronics from a single device...Its the dream... So finding out that its no longer there was a bit of a let down but not as big as having raw data on my phone in this day and age. The 5.5 inch screen is a bit smaller than what I'm used to but hopefully that's not going to be a pain point, but these mixed reviews about the camera also have me worried about my decision considering I'm coming from a 20mp with OIS and it did pretty well in low light situations (not so well in fast changing light situations like a concert but I don't know any consumer phone does that well enough). I was also disappointed about the USB not being type-c but if they don't have the software to support the features it enables (assumption on my part) then there's no point to having it just to have it I suppose (other than it supposedly not being as fragile). The VR doodad seems like a cool add-on but not knowing how much content there is or if it will make me motion sick, it can't really be a plus point for buying the device. Colors look nice and it seems fast in the videos, I just hope there's a way to enable full device (including sd) encryption other than the feature they removed (Adoptable storage). -
Unless you're a first class nerd who knows what to expect and how to keep everything on the microSD after converting it to adoptable storage backed up constantly, adoptable storage is an abomination. No normal user should ever enable it. Fortunately for normal consumers, the S7 Edge doesn't support it. My wife is getting the S7 Edge. Fortunately, she wouldn't even know how to enable adoptable storage. But if she did, all I can think about are the nightmares I'd go through restoring her phone if the microSD card died. All she'd know is nothing works right anymore. And just to make my point -- microSD cards DO DIE and they DIE BIG. Her microSD card died a couple months ago on her S4, and she lost everything. Fortunately, I had backups of the photos, which is mostly what she didn't want to lose.
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I thought everyone kept everything backed up to Google... In Google I trust.
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Yep. Just had a less than 1 year old high end name brand SD card die in my Surface Pro 3. PITA but even worse on a phone with adoptable storage.
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I've had my Edge a few days now, and this phone is a work of art. It's like you want to cradle it and protect it it's so damn pretty. Posted via the Android Central App
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So, how is it compared to the Note 5, especially in terms of battery life?
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In the three days I've used it, I'm finding the edge to be better, but not by much, but I do much more multitasking on the Note also so... I think people are expecting leaps and bounds better battery life based on a 600mah difference. My expectations were that it would be a slight improvement over a phone I already thought had very good battery life. Keep in mind I'm still optimizing the S7 as I go. Posted via the Android Central App
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Yeah, it's still being run-in. I'm eager to see the Note 6, as it should be an absolute powerhouse. Maybe it'll have a 6-inch display with really thin side bezels. One can hope.
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I'm actually still excited to see what the G5 and HTC 10 have to offer, just in terms of comparison. But yes, Note 6 should be a monster. Posted via the Android Central App
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I actually hope the HTC 10 finally packs in a good camera. They've had lackluster shooters for nearly 3 years now. They can't fail with this one.
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Well Samsung has left the door wide open for LG or HTC to take the camera crown this year ( at least as far as reviews go). I have yet to find any problems with the S7 camera, but I've only taken a few night shots so far. Posted via the Android Central App
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Honestly, I'm a little shocked that there are issues with the dynamic range with the camera and its processing to cope with that. It's not prevalent in the sample shots, all of which actually look very good, but I think we'll need more time with it before we can come down to a final conclusion.
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I've been reading that memory management and UI hiccups are still just as bad, if not worse, then on previous models. Very disappointed that none of the major reviews have really gone in depth on these subjects. For the price of this phone, I absolutely could not accept any form of lag/stutter/hiccup or poor RAM management. Waiting on G5 reviews to make a final decision though.
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Not sure where you got that information. All the videos I've seen show much improved multi-tasking and RAM management. Posted via my LG G4
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Based on what I've seen with the one I ordered, its just as bad as the S6. Things will fly along, and then just randomly grind to a halt or drop frames
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See, that's insanity. In 2016 our mobile processors are powerful enough to run entire desktop environments, if we want them to. I just can't justify this much money for something so poorly optimized. I need my Android to be as fluid as an iPhone, and by this point that's not an unreasonable request. I think I'll just get a Nexus 6p at this point.
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lag and hiccups is Android. not just samsung. I have tried the "pure" android phones, and they lag just like every other phone.
you mess around with a nexus 6P for 30 min and watch for it. it hiccups and lags here and there just like samsung devices. I think we are all just too spoiled. a little hitch here and there is not a big deal. -
Lag and hiccups is technology. The Samsung variants just happen to be the biggest offenders of the flagship devices. The only way I can use a Samsung device is if I run a custom ROM. That being said my iPad Pro with its beast of a processor can lag here and there as well just not as badly. My BlackBerry is just as fast as my work iPhone if not faster. With any device you will have some sort of hiccups here and there since none of them are perfect. Samsung just takes the cake though. Posted from my BlackBerry PRIV/Note 4/ iPad Pro
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Not really understanding this. From the Note 2, 3, 4, and now 5 we have not seen any 'lag' or similar behavior. Could you force it to happen; very likely. Does it happen in the normal course of use, no. Now, sure, if you try to run a modern high end game on a Note 2 it is not going to load/play/work as fast/well as on a Note 5 but that is just the reality of the 12 month tech refresh cycle - nothing to do with a phone or an OS.
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I'm not finding that at all in day to day use. What I am finding is that phone geeks can be quite over dramatic sometines. And we all use our phones differently. Posted via the Android Central App
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So you seem to be implying I should ignore all the people with this problem because you don't have it. And I'm the one being overly dramatic? Look at the reply above. People have this issue. Just because your perspective prevents you from seeing something doesn't mean you can't acknowledge its existence. Just going to walk away now before this turns into a flame from Samsung fans, which are turning out to be as bad as Apple fans.
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You just went way over the top defensive dude. Calm the F down. I'm offering another perspective, and yes, as you just proved, phone geeks can be quite over dramatic. I'm not implying anything, I just haven't had a stuttering experience with my phone so far. You don't have to take my word, but I'm giving my imput anyway. Get over it. Posted via the Android Central App
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No. He's saying that you should see the perspective from different users before coming to a big conclusion. Just look at the G4. I have no major issues with mine but some others do. I even got the bootloop issue on my old unit, while my new one isn't running too badly. Like I don't get performance issues but some others do. Not every S7 will hiccup or have glaring performance issues. In fact, the ones I've seen have been flying throughout the UI. Then again, many were either unlocked units or filled with little carrier bloat, so there's little to slow it down. And no, I'm not saying you're wrong. Just saying that maybe you should also consider the experiences of different users before coming to a conclusion.
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Exactly. Besides I wasn't calling him over dramatic (at least not at first lol), but rather aspects of the community including myself sometimes. You have to consider all aspects of discussion if your trying to make a decision, not just positive and certainly not just negative. Posted via the Android Central App
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I do get over-dramatic sometimes. xD
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The man posts his experience, and I have not experienced any lag or hiccups either.
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Thats the reason i got a note the edge screen is not doing much if u aske me Posted Via Samsung Galaxy Note 5 Platinum Gold & Microsoft 950 XL Black
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The season of Samsung *********** starts again... Overpriced crap.
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Great review Andrew. Thank you.
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Mine should be here any day now. I'm upgrading from the Galaxy S3 (I know, I know....) so I'm expecting big things!
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Your mind will be blown, dude
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I recently upgraded from a Nokia 103 :-P
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Great review, Andrew. One thing I notice is how reviewers tend to focus on accidents when it comes to the waterproofness. My biggest use for this feature is to use the phone in the bathtub or the pool.. Absolutely amazing
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Im going to stay with the 5'7 edge plus i just like the screen size or i would have gone with it, if the size was the same. Posted via the Android Central App
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Great review Andrew! Your videos are better and better. I definitely recommend the edge over the S7. More power more features, higher cost I don't desire but this phone lasts longer. Posted via the Android Central App
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I'm pretty sure the verizon variant is the worst s7 edge version on the globe.
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After a week with the s7 edge I'm going back with the Note 5, the S7E is a beautiful phone but I do prefer the Note 5 and I don't even use the SPen Posted via the Android Central App
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Why do ppl on here assume ppl don't listen to music through their phone speakers? Speakers are very important to me... I don't want to have to put in earphones or attach a Bluetooth speaker just for quality audio... The fact that it was made a point to say "u won't be listening to music on this...." Kinda turned me off this phone Posted via the Android Central App
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I have an awesome Bluetooth speaker that I'll be using with mine :) Posted via the Android Central App
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Quality audio and phone speakers don't match. The best you can do is decent sound, and that's about it. Headphones and dedicated speakers will always give you better sound unless you got some at a discount store for like a penny. The one exception is the One M9. As much as I dislike the phone, the speakers are one of its strongest points. Too bad the phone itself isn't as stellar and that those speakers are already fading off....
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I just looked at those sample images on a large IPS monitor. Honestly, I couldn't find anything that was very obviously wrong with it. Night and indoor shots look EXCELLENT. Detail is retained and scenes were nicely exposed without too much noise and subsequent noise-reduction. Daylight photos also look great. Still retains a lot of detail despite the lower resolution but I did notice a slight iffiness with the dynamic range in some shots. However, I still think they look pretty darn good. And honestly, those daylight shots look very close to the ones I get on my LG G4.
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Daaayyymm. That's one good looking phone! I'm gonna hold out for the Nexus at the end of the year, I can't get over that fugly software tbh Posted via the Android Central App
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The photos can be deleted in a third-party program. I just got my GS7 Edge Tuesday afternoon and I use QuickPic. When you first go to delete a photo it will prompt you to select the SD card, then the root directory. You can then delete your photos from within the app.
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So im stuck with the note 5 for now. Would it be worth it to upgrade? I dont see it as a significant change. Thoughts?
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Stuck? LOL. That's not a bad phone to be stuck on. Posted from my BlackBerry PRIV/Note 4/ iPad Pro
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I own the note 5 and just sold my gs6 edge plus to finances my new gs7 edge . If you have a n5 and your happy maybe not but what I've heard is that the battery alone is worthy upgrade Posted via the Android Central App
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I have a note 5 that is tuned well and I also have the s7 edge. I am having a hard time believing the s7 edge is much better. Currently only getting about an hour more on screen time. The snapdragon 820 doesnt feel any faster than the exynos 7422. Marshmallow is here for the note 5 which should increase speed and battery life. I am disliking the s7 daytime camera compared to the sharp shooting note 5
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Two days of ownership of the Edge and my camera has failed. Rang Samsung and they said they have had quite a few reports of this. Trying to get it swapped out but Samsung customer service is pathetic
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Never heard of a camera just felling to work ...hum that's a new one Posted via the Android Central App
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How annoying are the glare lines on the curved edges. They look really pronounced in the video.
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Not annoying at all to me. That's one minor issue but the other features of the phone more than make up for it.
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Take it back to the shop and demand a replacement. Posted via the Android Central App
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I bet after this, it'll be the Note 6 and Note 6 Edge? :) Posted via the Android Central App
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I'm not to sure about this edge thing. Came from a 2.4yo S5, longest lasting phone I ever had (after many reboots, upgrades, tilt sensor broke...) I'm a swyper, will always be, and it just doesn't play well with with "q" and "p". It also locks screen from touches when gripping the sides, which creates precarious hand holds when reaching with the thumb to top right or left side... I like the edge idea, and would love to see practical uses for it, but not at the expense of dropping my phone. Maybe that suction cup finger hold for the back.....
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Does anyone know for certain that the Whitepages integration has been disabled on Verizon's version? It's not mentioned in this review.
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Great review! One question for you. On one of the screenshots you show a daily calendar/to do list. Is that an app? If so can you tell me what it is called? Thanks so much!
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No fan of glass backs. But after handling this phone live, I have to say that this is the most beautiful looking and premium feeling phone I've ever experienced. Samsung did a great job on the Edge with the nice curves, microscopic side bezels, and larger corner radiuses, which all work together for a gorgeous piece of hardware IMO. Smooth as glass too.
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Best looking phone I have ever seen. The f 1.7 aperture is a very big deal, not an easy feat for a phone. I saw some low light shots and they are a huge improvement. Add the faster focus time and it's a major hit. Samsung hits a home run.
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S7 is great smartphone, but I would stop and think about camera. OK, focusing is fantastic, hdr is great... but well, these megapixels... at once nobody forget to remind size of one pixel in microns. Well, it has more agressive sharpening, more contrast, but in my eyes, pictures from S6 are quite comparable. No miracles here, even so Samsung told us... My lumia 1020 has much smaller pixels, but seems to be much better even in case of higher ISOs (well, suprised me, how bad was lumia 930 next to it, even so, in some reviews, these phones were close to each other...not in reality). Problem is just simple - better quality = large sensor = thicker phone. This can't be really sidetracked.
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so, I received my S7 Edge on Wednesday, and was really excited to use this device. I am an iPhone 6s Plus user and was hoping to find a device with the same screen size that was a little easier to manage in the hand. I'm very disappointed in the device. I have fun into a consistent issue where I can not download apps from the Play Store. I will start the download process and the app just across in the notifications pane, as well as the Play Store app, and never moves past "Downloading....". I've factory reset multiple times, gone through a process of deleting data from the Play Store services, but at some point within 10 app downloads the problem resurfaces and cannot be bypassed until you factory reset. I'm wondering if the device is just faulty. I'm going to return it today and potentially get another handset to play with over the weekend, but yeah, currently the device is not usable, has been reset and put back in the box for return. What a shame.
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Sounds like a bad egg. Once you get used to the software you won't be disappointed. I tried the 6plus last year. Had to give it up after 2 months. Posted via the Android Central App
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Should I wait for the HTC M10 or bite the bullet? I came from the gutta now it's all butta
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Not impressed, waiting for the Note 6 to upgrade my Note 5. Hope its much more than this an internal speed bump.
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Good phone and awsome Posted via the Android Central App
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Mine fell out of my pocket as I entered my vehicle tonight. Maybe two feet. Glanced off the plastic door opening then skipped across the pavement. Face down. The phone looks like I did multiple drop tests. Shattered glass all over the front surface. I really expected it to be ok considering it is gorilla glass 4 and the fall was not too far. Already made my insurance claim. Not cased, BTW. Posted via the Android Central App
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That's why I need a good case ASAP because I'm hard on a phone.
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You don't seem to understand the correlation between hardness and fragility. If a thing is hard, ie resistant to scratching, then it is fragile. If phone glass was more resistant to drop damage, ie softer, then it would scratch more easily. Like all material science decisions mobile phone glass is a compromise. Posted via the Android Central App
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Corning doesn't seem to understand either. http://www.corninggorillaglass.com/en/glass-types/gorilla-glass-4 I didn't expect the glass to shatter as badly as it did, considering the marketing hype. I've read about and understand the compromises. Posted via the Android Central App
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Just reread my post. Sorry I sounded like a know it all when I said you don't seem to understand. I didnt mean to sound like such a git. Posted via the Android Central App
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Haha. No problem here. Posted via the Android Central App
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My s7 edge camera's the truth ! Way better than my s5 camera. I told my wife to up grade from her note 4 to s7 edge but she's a note person so she's waiting for the note 6.
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I got my Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge from T-Mobile less than a week ago and I loved it. It was just too darn slippery! I understand it is made of Gorilla Glass 4 on the front and back and it should withstand low drops. A few hours ago, as I was getting out of my car, it slipped out of my left trouser pocket and fell out, hitting the concrete road, with a height of about one foot. Of all the places it can fall on, I think it fell on the least durable portion of the glass back, creating a crack. It is not shattered and the crack still feels smooth, but it just looks ugly. Considering that it is a slippery phone and there are no cases out there available yet as of this posting, I have been carrying it naked. A phone this expensive should be at least durable enough to withstand a 1-foot drop. Look at the link for the picture (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2iN-y94BCcYSm9KTE5UUEZNZEE/view?usp=sh...)
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Is there going to be a S7ACTIVE variant? I *LOVE* my S6active and hope they continue the line. It's main CON is everythign comes later, but man do i love having an 'embedded case'... dropped it so many times with nary a scratch!
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Yes Posted via the Android Central App
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Hmm. Mixed reviews depending on where you go. The dragon CPU has issues with battery life, sound from the DAC. Bloatware still present. Looks like I will wait for the iPhone 7.
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I have owned all Galaxy's since they came out(i still have the original one and the S4. I went from the S4 to the S6 and was disappointed. I was so happy to upgrade a week ago to the S7. I and super impressed. Not only is it fast, it is very user friendly! I love the 4 but the 7 is a great phone to upgrade to! Don't bother with the 6. Im my short time having it(like 4 months), i had battery failure, was slow and just all around a bad phone. Get the 7! Its so worth it!
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This phone or the 6p? (And why)
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I was going to swap my s6edge plus for a S7edge. But I'm not willing to give up 7 percent of my screen area. Hopefully in a few months Samsung will release a s7edge plus. Posted via the Android Central App
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Why do people complain about the reverse of a phone bring a fingerprint magnet? I could understand it if the obverse was a problem, but who cares what the back of a phone looks like? Posted via the Android Central App
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Awesome review! This phone looks soooo good im pretty jelly. Anyone know how Samsung pay is? Like is it any good or would you still need your wallet?
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I really love this phone, it's the best! Octa-core processor Samsung Exynos 8 4GB of RAM, improves the design of its predecessor ... I want one now !!
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We floated the river today and as I pushed in my phone dropped. I didn't realize it was in a foot of water....I was looking for it in the car and the truck. About 10 minutes later we saw it completely submerged. Guess who's still running strong? My phone....it didn't even skip a beat. So glad I always choose Samsung!
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Hello experts, At the beginning of 2009 the best phone going was a iPhone 3GS (both hardware and App availability). Fast forward to present 2016, and I'm going to upgrade finally to a Samsung S7 or S7 edge. Holding both flagship units in hand, the S7 feels great, the S7 Edge not bad either (however slightly less comfortable), however both are new since both are bigger than the iPhone 3GS. Is the S7 Edge an acquired feel after a while? The S7 feels a bit more natural when holding it off the bat. I don't mind the price buying the device outright, I just want to make sure the phone lasts, is functional and will hold up as long as my iPhone 3GS did in the years to come (looking for longevity and some future proof if that even really exists now days). Thanks for your thoughts, all are welcomed.
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I compared the Galaxy S7 Edge and the LG G4 cameras at the store today.. conclusion : the S7 Edge had more accurate colors in the photo (at least on the screen!, I didn't have PC with me) but the extra Megapixels on the LG G4 won the match for me. It really makes a lot of difference!! Once you zoom in the photo, you can really see the difference. Here, I took a photo of both phones with my LG G2 just to show the sharpness diff: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMicmhnnzRBoijXMac3aZgmAx6msyfO_fR3... https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMuMml0o-vRAa-7O56OhGvSrQiBZFOlW2e_...
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Very nice review. For some reason though, I have seen any site reviewing bluetooth quality when people reviewing phone. Does nobody use bluetooth on Android?
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I've had my S7 Edge for over a month now after replacing the first one that had WiFi problems. I should mention with that case, my telco offered to replace it as it was a day old, Samsung Customer Support refused to. The phone is pretty and it works for making calls, browsing etc but it's problems are hard to ignore. If it isnt finicky WiFi issues, its the finicky oversensitive screen when browsing content on youtube. Or, having to restart the phone multiple times just because it's finicky about the SD card, reporting randomly that it's corrupt and recommends you to reformat after the hundredth time which works flawlessly everywhere else. The S7 Edge in a word is Finicky. I could not responsibly recommend to anyone to buy it in its current state until they resolve it's reliability issues. Till then you're better off going with another competitor product or even an iPhone.
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i love to have it but it's more expensinve for me...
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I love this <a href="http://www.azrepair.eu">phone</a> !
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I've had my S7 Edge since March second and haven't had any problems. Posted via the Android Central App
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Many problems with S7 Edge: 1)Internet access is too slow.When other brand phones work OK in the same location, Samsung S7 Edge is pathetic in connecting to higher speed networks like 4G/LTE,keeps switching backto lower speed of 2G in india. 2)Proximity sensor does not work,no option to toggle it on/off. 3)The earphone jack in the phone, is incompatible with other normal earphone. 4)Too many call drops is poor signal areas where other brand phones work ok. Shows that samsung is using outdated technology in S7 Edge modem/antennae. 5)Too expensive and overhyped phone with NO OUT OF THE BOX Features as mentioned in many blogs and reviews.Only marketing gimmick or pitch.The features added are more for having fun rather than to be used as work phone. It cannot work in weak signal areas, cannot provide stable connection for internet, IT IS worthless.
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Hey - great review .. 10-year iPhone user, thinking about trying out Android for the first time, especially due to this particular phone - it's absolutely stunning. One question though .. is this really the gold model? (http://www.androidcentral.com/sites/androidcentral.com/files/styles/larg...)
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Samsung did screw up HORRIBLY with the S7 and S7 Edge for those of us who are Developers and require root access.
THEY LOCKED THE BOOTLOADER. Stupid, Stupid and Stupid. That is one thing different between the S6 Edge and S7 Edge for us Developers, A lot of Developers like myself are noticing that they are kind of turning into Apple. HTC had locked their Bootloaders for a while and then tons of people were complaining to HTC and they went above and beyond to create a website that would allow you to Unlock the Bootloader. Anyway, if you are a "Flashaholic" like myself than you may want to try a different phone. We have a petition going around asking Samsung to do this. They released the Note 5 with a Locked Bootloader and it took quite a few man-hours, hacking and more, but they did successfully Unlock the Bootloader. Hopefully the S7 is not that far behind. Thank you. -
This is regarding a big flaw in the product, Galaxy S7 Edge , which is till date, the most disappointing mobile phone cell phone i have ever used throughout my lifetime. I had purchased my phone from Noida , GIP , India, on 18th of March 2016.Promising that the phone is water Resistant upto a dept of 1.5 mts...... As per the claim that samsung provides,, """""The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is an IP68 Rated device. IP68 rating means complete protection from dust ingress, and temporary immersion in up to 1.5 metre of freshwater for up to 30 minutes. Samsung guarantee simple life waterproofing when the SIM Tray is attached tightly but does not guarantee that the device will operate normally if it is used in water or other liquids. And, the touchscreen and other features may not work properly if the device is used in water."""". Now , my cell phone is not working properly after encountering a small amount of water , THAT TOO DESPITE THE RAIN . I am not even asking about the depth of 1.5 mts or a stay of 30 minutes. It was a matter of 10 sec or lower which caused the phone to malfunction and the dept could have been estimated to be around 5cm. First the screen went off and the phone went off instantly. Later that day, i dried the phone throughly and kept it off for the next few days. I even kept it in a rice container to extract all the water from within but still nothing seemed to work right. The display came back but the touch of the screen still doesn't work. Now i went to see the service center in Noida itself, and told them my story and asked them as to on what behalf does the company make such forged claims on a national wide advertisement , guaranteeing that it is water resistant & that the phone can be submerged for 30min to a depth of 1.5 mts with sim tray being locked properly, when it cannot handle such small portions of rain water. With all the conditions being applicable, my phone has water in it and is droplets are visible on the camera from the inside. The company had discarded and warranty claims and is ready to accept the phone only when i am ready to pay for the repair. As per Samsung service center, the warranty has been void as water has entered the device and is not a concern of the company but it shouldn't have entered the phone in the first place as the phone was in brand new condition and had no scope of damage from my (customer) end. Now , buying such an expensive phone, ie flagship, of one of the biggest mobile phone companies throughout the world and receiving such poor grade products with all false and misguiding advertisement, i have made it a point to give my review to every website possible, both within and out of India , to reject the product as neither the product , nor the company seems to respond to the problem. I would also like to add the this experience has been really disappointing as i was a big fan of samsung but with such company responses, i felt really cheated and misled. my complaint no is 8448442204
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It still doesn't have a removable battery. Will they ever learn?
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There's some features from the defunct Note 7 that will filter their way to the edge. One I found for instance is the Always On Display. In Settings, if you go to the Always On Display section, you should see an update for it. Why they didn't do this as a software update push, or a more traditional app update I don't understand, but anyways this is one that is a welcome to have. Hopefully they'll do more edge display enhancements too. Note to Andrew, you might want to update the article to state that the S7 edge can take up to a 256 GB microSD card, not 200. Even Samsung's official specs for the device says 256 GB.
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Only 32 GB? No thanks.
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You forgot one really important con......there are no viable glass screen protectors which work due to the useless curved display as well no film ones which work with a case for the most part. For that reason, myself as a working professional and several others whom I know are all trading in of S7 Edge which were replacements for our Note 7's and moving to the LG V20. Pretty perhaps but not at all what someone working out in the real world needs.
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The V20 isn't water resistant, still uses LCD and not Super AMOLED, less superior processor, and smaller battery capacity, No thanks.
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Same processor...exact same if you're in the US at least.
No it isn't water resistance and whereby that was of great importance to me, having a phone that I can actually put a screen protector on is even more important. No silly gimmicks equals better in that regard.
Yes, no super amoled. I actually used one for a half hour over the weekend after looking at one at the ATT store last week. Now...in my spare time, I am a widely published landscape photographer and I can tell you that after actually looking at this screen on the V20...for my needs it is better than the saturated Samsung screen....which I fully loved when I had it,
And...the screen is actually fully 5.7'..noticeably larger to the eye that the N7 eas because it doesn't take up space with useless rounded corners.
Yes, the battery is smaller but it's REPLACEABLE. My N7 had superb battery life. Best phone I ever had. But it also caught fire. Given that I travel a lot and will likely shoot some video with this phone as well....replaceable batteries are right up my alley. I will miss the wireless charging but someone will come out with a replacement back that allows it I would assume at some point. If not, I will just plug that USB C thing directly into the phone like I almost always did anyway.
Quite honestly, the N7 looks like the same gimmick phone (somewhat better) that the S7 Edge for a functional phone whereas the V20 looks like it's meant for business and not just out to be eye candy. If Samsung stops sucking up to these silly curves that create more fragile devices, I would consider going back. Minus the Pen, this is exactly what I wanted in the N7 -
As far as the processor, Although they were the same speed, the V20 uses a quad-core while the N7 used an octa-core. For me, screen protectors are useless. Not only does it make the phone look bad, I hate the way it feels. This is why I have insurance on my phone though, so that if something does happen I can replace it. For that reason, I don't use a screen protector, or a case. If you have the brightness on the screen up all the way, there's no way you can call the screen "saturated". It has to be one of the nicest screens I've seen out on the market now. I've been a Note user since the 2nd one and I can honestly say that the curve grew on me. It gives you more screen with a smaller phone and has the potential (I say potential because it's new and these things take time to perfect) for a lot more functionality. Can't complain about that! I have to agree with you in having a replaceable battery. This is a must and I just don't understand why it's not the standard. I'm honestly having a hard time deciding on a new phone. I'm debating getting the S7 Edge because it's the closest to the N7 and Samsung is offering $100 off for sticking with Samsung. I just know i'll be depressed 4 months down the line when the S8 comes out. The Pixel is another choice but it looks... well... like crap.
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AC is diggin' up the oldies, now that the new superstar spontaneously burst into flames and was recalled to the realm from which it emerged.
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The SGE7 only has only 32 GB and no removable battery. I have read posts by other that the Edge screen often interferes when you accidentally touch the "edge" of the phone. Nope! I'm looking into the LG V20. But unlike the Note 7 early adopters who got "burned", I will be waiting for it to be in the market for about 1-2 months before jumping. I don't want to be involved in a historical repeat.
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Lol, come on... One single phone gets recalled and you have to start reposting old articles? I guess whatever pays the bills.
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I guess this would be bad news for me recently bought Samsung s6 edge and I was pretty much happy with specs and looks when Samsung S7 edge launched I must say I was disheartened by better specs like 3GB Ram Compared to 2 GB Ram and by god! Screen 5.5. one specs was never been beaten was camera still 16 MP Rear kudos!! Finally happy that Still in Samsung Family and now the cover I found over here http://www.latestone.com/eCommerceCategoryList?productCategoryId=1403 is adequately cool interms of cost and quality looking forward for next gen Smart phones!!!
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...Man, do I miss the Note-7 but this s7-Edge will have to do for now. I didn't start really excepting the s7-Edge until i wrapped it in the Otter-Box Defender case.
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I am in the process of switching from the Galaxy S5 (ATT) to the S7 Edge (Verizon). The problem i have is this- there is a pre-loaded app on the S5 called Notes. Apparently they are no longer including it on the newer phones i.e. The S7 edge. I have tried every which way to get the content of the app - which in my case is extensive over to the S7edge without avail. I have talked to Verizon several times, spoken to someone in person at a Verison store and spoken with someone at Samsung. I'm being told that there is no way to get the data from the app onto the new phone. Any ideas or hacks?
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