Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review
The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is a phone I'd hate to have had to make.
Its predecessor was a multi-award-winning phone, simply because it
packed all the power of the 'normal' Galaxy S6 and yet... that curved edge. I wasn't alone in loving it, whipping it out proudly whenever possible.
But that was last year, and the world is bored of the curved design. We've seen it. It's been done. So what can Samsung do to make the new phone a real step forward?
Well, unlike what it's done on the Galaxy S7, which looks (initially) like last year's model, the changes on the S7 Edge are brilliant, adding a zest to a design that could have quickly become tired.
And that's even more possible because the battery – such a
disappointment on last year's S6 phones – is boosted massively too,
giving us a handset that's able to last over 24 hours between charges.
I say "for the most part" because, on rare occasion, there are some graphical stutters as the UI misses a beat. Not a deal-breaker, certainly, though noticeable when it happens.
Either way, it's given 4GB of LPDDR4 memory to play with, which is
more than healthy. As you'd hope, for the most part Android 6.0.1
Marshmallow is smooth and creamy: apps load swiftly, multitasking is
lag-free, and the whole thing feels perky.
I say "for the most part" because, on rare occasion, there are some graphical stutters as the UI misses a beat. Not a deal-breaker, certainly, though noticeable when it happens.
But that was last year, and the world is bored of the curved design. We've seen it. It's been done. So what can Samsung do to make the new phone a real step forward?
Well, unlike what it's done on the Galaxy S7, which looks (initially) like last year's model, the changes on the S7 Edge are brilliant, adding a zest to a design that could have quickly become tired.
The screen is larger, yet somehow the phone doesn't
feel too much bigger in the hand. The rear of the phone is now curved
too, making it sit nicely in the hand. It's waterproof. There's a
microSD card slot. There's so much power in there I'm pretty sure I
could strap it on the back of a speedboat and make my way across the
Atlantic.
All
this comes at a cost obviously, and a pretty hefty one. In the UK that
cost is £640, while in the US you're looking at a huge $299 on a
two-year contract, or the new unlocked price of $769. In Australia, the
Galaxy S7 Edge attracts the highest price for a Galaxy yet: AU$1,249 for
the 32GB version.
Design
Samsung rightfully won plaudits for its Galaxy S6 design, though
admittedly part of that was just our relief that the company was finally
over its plastic addiction. The Galaxy S7 refines that aesthetic,
better faring in the rear camera so that its bulge is less conspicuous,
and shaving away at the metal bezel that runs the phone's periphery.
If I could fly to South Korea and find the Galaxy S7's designers I'd
give them a well-deserved hug. Rather than chasing thinnest above
all-else, Samsung has opted to make the new phone thicker than its
predecessor: the S6 was just 6.8 mm, but the S7 is 7.9 mm.
Display and Specifications
See, too, the return of the memory card slot. The ability to add
extra storage was much-prized in earlier Galaxy phones, to the point
where its omission in the S6 felt like a slap in the face to the Samsung
loyal. Samsung has not only returned it on the Galaxy S7, but done so
in an even more aesthetically-clean way, integrating it into the nanoSIM
tray.
So, though the S7 comes with 32GB of storage - there's no 16GB version,
something Apple could frankly learn from - you can add up to a 200GB
microSD card if you're an absolute glutton for capacity. Honestly, most
of the time I'm content with online backup and streaming services like
Spotify, but not everyone is, and so I'm glad to see Samsung cater to
them again.
Processor and Android Marshmallow
Which silicon beats at the heart of the Galaxy S7 depends on which
market you buy it in. In the US, for instance, it's Qualcomm's
Snapdragon 820, though other regions will get one of Samsung's own
Exynos chips.
Either way, it's given 4GB of LPDDR4 memory to play with, which is
more than healthy. As you'd hope, for the most part Android 6.0.1
Marshmallow is smooth and creamy: apps load swiftly, multitasking is
lag-free, and the whole thing feels perky.I say "for the most part" because, on rare occasion, there are some graphical stutters as the UI misses a beat. Not a deal-breaker, certainly, though noticeable when it happens.
One of Samsung's goals has been to show you that UI less often, mind,
with the S7 getting an always-on display. Since we're now trained to
sup desperately at the datum teat, slobbering eagerly over every
Facebook Like, Instagram heart, and Twitter mention and thus checking
our phones hundreds if not thousands of times a day to see if a
notification slipped through our obsessive watchfulness, Samsung makes
them always visible.
I say "for the most part" because, on rare occasion, there are some graphical stutters as the UI misses a beat. Not a deal-breaker, certainly, though noticeable when it happens.
One of Samsung's goals has been to show you that UI less often, mind,
with the S7 getting an always-on display. Since we're now trained to
sup desperately at the datum teat, slobbering eagerly over every
Facebook Like, Instagram heart, and Twitter mention and thus checking
our phones hundreds if not thousands of times a day to see if a
notification slipped through our obsessive watchfulness, Samsung makes
them always visible.
