Reading the title of Samsung's latest press release, "Samsung Galaxy S7 edge Named Best Smartphone at MWC 2017," you may have done a bit of a double take — didn't Samsung release this phone coinciding with last year's MWC? Yes, but that doesn't mean Samsung is doing anything shady here.
The Galaxy S7 edge did indeed win at the MWC Global Mobile Awards 2017 — the same show it teased the Galaxy S8 while confirming its launch date. But you need to remember that this is an industry event that's actually rewarding companies for their products released in 2016. Indeed, the Galaxy S7 edge won the "best smartphone of 2016" category this year.
Junho Park, Vice President of Global Product Strategy, Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics, had a statement on the award you'd expect any company to make:
"We are honored to be recognized for our craftsmanship in design and innovation with the Galaxy S7 edge. This award is a testament to our constant pursuit of excellence as we continue to exceed consumers' expectations through revolutionary mobile technology."
The short list for the award consisted of the Apple iPhone 7 Plus, Google Pixel XL, Huawei P9 and Moto Z, and you'd bet that if any of those companies won they would be more than happy to put out a press release saying so. It wouldn't be quite as egregious for the Moto Z or Pixel XL to be considered for an award just a few months after launch, but it does feel a bit more odd when a phone that is precisely a year old wins an award as newer phones have been released.
But that's how these things work. This time next year there's a darn good chance we'll be talking about the Galaxy S8 making an appearance on the list at MWC 2018 as well.
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