Yes, Samsung's Galaxy S7 edge won an award at MWC 2017 one year after launch

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Reading the title of Samsung's latest press release, "Samsung Galaxy S7 edge Named Best Smartphone at MWC 2017," (opens in new tab) 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.

Andrew Martonik
Andrew Martonik

Andrew was an Executive Editor, U.S. at Android Central between 2012 and 2020.
49 Comments
  • Are you kidding me?? The S7 range had terribly fragile glass and poor fingerprint scanner which scratches easily and also the glass scratches easily too. And every time i have a Samsung phone it's always poor battery life. I can't believe they award Samsung for a over rated product and those curved sides are impractical and have no real use or benefit
  • Battery life is far from poor on the S7E (Exynos). It's one of the best of there. The award was given because overall it was a better product. It's one of the best looking devices or there, touch latency is excellent on the vibrant screen and the phone is fast. Added wireless charging, camera tech and water resistance only makes it an excellent overall product. BTW I'm not a Samsung "Fanboy". I'm just defending a good technology product.
  • Terrible glass, bad fingerprint scanner? I had my s7e 6 months do far. No screen protector. Still looks new. Finger print scanner works flawlessly and fast everything. Not a scratch on it.
  • Hahaha do you work for Apple? My S7 Edge has performed perfectly ever since I purchased it. The battery life is amazing. I am a power user and developer so I guess this qualifies me. I haven't had a single scratch on my device to this day. What are your metrics? Have there been overwhelming consumer complaints that I missed?
  • Typical comment no I do not work for Apple or any other manufacturer.
  • Well, every other phone on that shortlist has its flaws iPhone 7 Plus - No 3.5mm jack, limited customizability.
    Google Pixel XL - No water-resistance, somewhat mediocre (by 2016) headphone and speaker performance
    Huawei P9 - Software (to an extent)
    Moto Z - Battery life, infrequent software updates About the fingerprint sensor, a lot of phones use plastic on their FPS. It's not just the S7. There's a faint scratch on the sensor on my Moto Z. It doesn't impede its functionality, but it's funny that a premium phone is using a rather soft material to cover a component that will see a lot of use.
  • Lol. You mad bra?
  • YOU are kidding, right?
    Just last Saturday I visited Helton Creek waterfalls. I pulled my S7E from my pocket and I watched in horror as it flipped out of my hand. It slammed into the rocks at the bottom of the waterfalls, and slid into the water. I reached into the (freezing cold) water and pulled it out. Wiped the water off of the camera lens, and took my picture. I have no doubt that if it had slammed into the rocks a different way, the screen would have exploded, but there wasn't a mark on it. (yes it is in a thin case) So fragile is relative.
  • I barely touch my fp scanner and it works less than a second. Even more so with 7. Stop with the nonesense.
  • To be fair, the fingerprint scanner is fast but does not work as good as from other manufacturers, like Huawei or LG or even the Nexus and Honor line.
  • I've never had an issue. I don't speak for people. I speak from my own. If less than a second is an issue I feel sorry for people.
  • I call that UNFAIR. Seriously! It's just like the 2016 President Candidates all over again! If I picked the awards for next year's MWC, I take anything from China instead!
  • China Phones Matter!
  • LMFAO
  • S7 wins in build quality and features.
  • Rightly so, this is the best battery life, camera, fit and finish of any device I have ever owned, stable operating software, wireless charging and IP68 FTW! Haters gonna hate lol
  • Well, maybe its best smartphone of the year 2016, but its audio capability and quality are mediocre. My old Lumia 930's audio capabilities are way better.
  • According to you and the 5 others that bought the Lumia hehe . But seriously that s7 edge was the most innovative phone of 2016 it checked all the boxes
  • Well I've owned almost all flagship Lumias before moving to Android and I agree, the older 930/1520 has far better audio quality than the S7E. The S7E has a low sound quality external speaker (low quality and low volume) due to the water proofing.
  • I wont trade water resistant for anything. That's why I us headphones. My only s7 edge regret is i missed out on the blue coral . But my gold and the wife's silver are stunning
  • Picked up one for $360 Great deal. It's a very nice phone.
  • Heck yeah. I got the phone of the year for $360 as well. Love it, well deserved award. (This coming from a hardcore Apple fan, but I love Android too).
  • Congratulations! Still the best phone of 2016 in my eyes, which is actually amazing since no Samsung has ever made it in my list. Your mileage will of course vary.
  • My sentiments as well.
  • Kinda wished I got one to replace the Note 7.
  • I know a Note 8 is on the table this year. I really hope it is essentially a Note 7 that does not explode. That's all it would have to be for me to buy one.
  • The S7 Edge. That's touching!
  • It's odd and egregious that a year old phone from Sammy wins an award for being the best phone? Dude got burnt and scarred up by the note 7 and his didn't even explode. Give it a rest, Sammy makes great products. Still. You'll be healthier if you can learn to forgive.
  • I just bought Mate 9 to replace the S7E, IP68 is super amazing thing and i use it to wash the phone a lot :D, while the GS7 is much slower than mate 9, it has best display, best camera ip68 wireless charging, mediocre DAC(Exynos), poor speaker that could be better via (dual speaker mod root), and it looks ravishing... just too small for me. IDK if the mate 9 will fully replace it, but i might be tackled by 6.2 GS8 or even more by the Note 8, GS7E deserve best award no doubt, it ticks all the boxes that matter
  • Galaxy s8 plus to the rescue for you my dear man has everything you want plus 6.3 in of all screen^^
  • Honestly, my ONLY complaint with my S7 Edge is pulling down the notification shade tends to momentarily freeze the OS. I may just need to do a factory reset. Otherwise, I like the phone. Still would prefer my Note 7 back though.
  • "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." Or they simply felt it was still the best even after the Moto Z and Google Pixel were released... which many would argue is the case.
  • I DEMAND A RECOUNT!! LOL Seriously for me I don't care if they won an award, I personally know what device is the best of 2016, and it's definitely not a Samsung device. This is an award given based off an OPINION, not factual data that it's the best of the best. Don't take this award so seriously.
  • Aren't all awards someones opinion. In this case a bunch of tech guys decided that it checked all the boxes
    50 Millon sold means a whole lot of average Joe's thinks the same . No matter which phone they choose not everyone would've agreed . In the end the populus chooses with there wallets. In that case it's a WINNER
  • "Aren't all awards someones opinion.", ofcourse, I didn't say otherwise. "No matter which phone they choose not everyone would've agreed", I get that too, there will always be folks with different preferences, I didn't insinuate that it wouldn't be. " In the end the populus chooses with there wallets. In that case it's a WINNER" I respectfully disagree, lets use the iPhone 7 Series as an example, Apple sold more Phones than Samsung, but in the end, Samsung received the award for "Best Smartphone of 2016". That is all due to an opinion (like all of us have), not necessarily it's sale figures.
  • No it's not necessarily all sales figures
    But the s7 edge is a beast of a phone and the fact that it has a better camera then the iPhone so says most of the people that run photograph magazine and in most blind test and it has expandable memory which the iPhone does not add a much better screen resolution iPhone still using 720 and 1080p that's a fail in my book. That's the tail of the tape which is not subjective those are facts. And the s7 edge just looks better that's an opinion, that most will agree on I think . Hey there has to be winners and losers in every contest
  • We are dying to hear which was the best! Please tell us ( but don't use opinion). Lol
  • Ikr
  • Ok, from my "point of view", I think the LG V20 was the best smartphone of 2016, from "my point of view" I felt that the LG V20 offered more to the competition in comparison to Samsung's Galaxy S7.
  • If the V20 can hold up for a year without a bootloop issue, it might have a shot this year.
  • They were given the wrong card. It was actually the Pixel XL that won. Everyone had gone home but Google will get the award, from Samsung's dead hands, tomorrow. xD
  • Haha this one would be easy comparing the s7 and the bezel phone hold them both side by side lets run down that list and see who check all the boxes ...OK all done, bezel phone loses, sorry maybe the next one will at least have expandable memory excetera excetera but you get the point oh and am taking away 5 points cause the bezel phone is butt ass ugly haha I kid I kid
  • You mad bro?
  • A tad irritated, yes Sis.
  • Seems like a fair win to me , the S7 variants tick more boxes than any other smart phone , no device is perfect , but overall Sammy did a great job on S7/edge .
    Without a doubt if Sammy had not buggered up the note 7 it would have been a clean sweep .
  • Wouldn't have it any other way.
  • It's a great phone, it is fast (Exynos), has amazing battery life and outstanding camera. ...And despite all of that I just swapped it for a Moto Z Play as I could not stand it any longer due to the "form over function " design. It slips on any surface, it's almost impossible to handle it without accidental touches on the screen, there are barely any spots on the phone that you can touch without triggering some sort of unintended interaction ....But it looks beautiful . I couldn't be happier with the swap, even if it meant I had to compromise - particularly on the camera front .
  • Probably would have been the Note 7, if it didn't blow itself out of existence.
  • Expected. For all the year, yes.