[MWC2016] Samsung sets the bar sky high with the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge

While the leaks and speculation have been pouring out all over the net about Samsung’s next big thing, it’s finally time to put those rumours to rest! Just mere moments ago, during their Galaxy Unpacked event in Barcelona, Samsung shed light on what their latest Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge will bring to the table.

Much like its predecessor, the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge, these new flagships boast the most cutting-edge technology and design Samsung has to offer. Both devices are created for today’s consumer lifestyle and has set the bar quite high as it comes with a more refined design, more advanced camera, streamlined software functionality and unparalleled connectivity to a wealth of products, services and experiences.

At a glance, the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge may look very similar to its predecessors but Samsung paid close attention to the feedback they received from customers and have tweaked and refined several aspects of its new flagship.

Like the devices that came before them, both these new smartphones have chassis that are made out of metal with a 3D glass finish. The ergonomic curves also help in making them much more comfortable to hold.

The S7 retains the 5.1-inch QHD Super AMOLED display while the S7 edge gets the 5.5-inch QHD Super AMOLED with dual edge. Both protected with Gorilla Glass 4.

The camera bump has been substantially reduced, now rearing its head at just 0.46mm.

Besides just great looks, the devices are also now IP68 water and dust resistant and the ports have also been given a special treatment that helps to repel dust and water. Good looks and durable. That’s a pretty impressive combination.

The expansion slot, returns

One of the biggest gripes many users had with the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge was the lack of a microSD slot, well, you can throw that gripe out the window as both these new devices come with a hybrid SIM slot. This is now quite the norm in most devices where one slot on the dual SIM tray also acts as a microSD slot. So now users can either have two SIM cards in the device or one SIM card and one microSD card for up to 200GB of additional storage.

More power, more performance

As to be expected, the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge also sport much better performance and trumps the S6 when it comes to compute power and graphics. Samsung says it’s 30% faster than the S6 in CPU power, and over 60% faster in graphics.

Not only that, it even runs cooler due to its super cool water cooling technology where a copper pipe channels water to dissipate heat. This is very impressive as water cooling has only been used in high-end gaming PCs or workstations. Once again, Samsung is clearly setting the bar high for its competitors to follow suit.

Best for gaming

Thanks to the incredible hardware under the hood, the S7 is perfect for gaming. The better, faster processor and bigger battery delivers more immersive gaming experience and longer playing time. To complement this, the S7 comes with Game Launcher that allows you to manage aspects of your gaming experience. You can tweak power settings to manage battery consumption, reduce notifications so you have an interruption-free gaming session. With Vulkan API, you’ll get the most optimised gaming experience while keeping battery consumption low.

The best camera, again

The camera on the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge was revered as the best smartphone camera last year by countless tech pundits and reviewers. It may be hard to top that but it seems Samsung have found a way to improve that as the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge are the first smartphones to come with the very first 12MP Dual Pixel camera. Think HTC’s Duo Camera, but combined into one module. More detail, depth, colour information. So better, sharper images overall.

The big change is the superfast f/1.7 lens that lets in 25% more light. To push it even further, the camera module now has a bigger pixel size. The Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge’s camera had a pixel size of 1.14um but the new flagships have a pixel size of 1.4um. This results in 60% more light.

Attributed to the new Dual Pixel module as well, is 100% phase detection autofocus, delivering instant focus. Yes, even faster than the already-fast S6.

Longer lasting

Another similarity it shares with its predecessors is the fact that the battery is now no longer removable. But to let users continue consuming or creating multimedia or documents throughout their busy days, Samsung have fitted the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge with much larger batteries. The Galaxy S7 now has a 3,000mAh battery (2,550mAh on the S6) while the Galaxy S7 edge sports a 3,600mAh battery (2,600mAh on the S6 edge and 3000mAh on S6 edge+). What is now a norm for most devices, both these powerhouses support fast charging and also wireless fast charging.

Marshmallow love

Both the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge come with Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box, the very first Galaxy devices to run the latest Android OS. On the S7 edge, the Edge UX has been enhanced and updated to allow more functions across Apps Edge, Task Edge and People Edge.

Crazy cool accessories

Along with the S7 and S7 edge, is a collection of accessories and add-ons for that enhance the mobile experience. First there’s the new Lens Cover, giving you the ability to add-on a Telephoto Zoom and a Fisheye lens. There’s also a LED View Cover and a Game Pad; a new wireless charging stand and enhanced Keyboard Cover.

Pricing and availability

Both these new and very impressive devices will be available globally starting from 11 March and will be available in three colours – White, Black and Gold.

In selected markets, buyers of the S7 and S7 edge will get a Gear VR for free when they pre-order either one of the devices.

Samsung has gone on record to also announce that the devices will reach Malaysian shores on 18 March.

https://youtu.be/cyohHyQl-kc