Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge announced!

[AlanAlan]

GALAXY S7 OR LG G5?

[Belgarathian]

Looks good. Interesting to see the slide in MP count from Samsung as the general consumer shops by numbers, where larger numbers are clearly better (sarcasm).

 

Most of my local telco McNubbins try to get me to upgrade my iPhone to Samsung because it has 4 more MP in the camera, and is therefore better (rather than the stuff that actually matters). 

 

 

[thexzenon]

16 minutes ago, AlanAlan said:

GALAXY S7 OR LG G5?

HTC ONE M10!

[ZetZet]

1 hour ago, Ramamataz said:

So they didn't go with their own CPU's this time. Not sure why.

there are two variants, one exynos, one sd820

[LAwLz]

I am very, very impressed by the Galaxy S7. Other than the non-removable battery, which I can kind of live without (but really wants) and USB type C it looks to be the perfect phone right now.

I think it was a very good idea to make the Edge version have a bigger screen. Hopefully they will now trim down their lineup to just S7, S7 Edge and Note 6. None of that Edge+ crap.

 

 

Glad to hear that IP68 is back. Not because I think diving with your phone is a good idea, but because it just adds a bit of peace to my mind knowing that it won't break from having it out while it is raining. I also find it very handy to just put my water resistant tablet under a tap when it gets greasy.

 

I am looking forward to seeing what improvements Samsung has made to the display. The S6 basically had a perfect display already, but I am still hoping for some improvements.

 

Very excited for the camera. F/1.7 seems kind of wide but it remains to be seen how the photos comes out. The S6 already had a great camera so it will be interesting to see what Samsung can do with these bigger pixels. It is also very good to hear that they are no longer competing in the megapixel race. Two bumps up for the camera being almost completely flush with the back as well.

 

Thank God microSD is back. I don't really care for the dual SIM but I guess there is no harm in adding the functionality for it.

 

Why did they go with microUSB 2.0? Why not USB Type C and 3.0/3.1? Come on Samsung. Surely you could have done it.

 

Pretty big increase in battery capacity. I wonder if that will have a big impact on battery life.

 

I am super excited to see how the Snapdragon 820 and new Exynos SoC. Not sure 4GB of RAM is needed but I won't complain.

[Mew]

Something rather concerning from Anandtech's first impressions with the new phones:

Quote

One observation I made today which was particularly concerning, was that both with the Snapdragon 820 LG G5 as well as the Exynos 8890 Galaxy S7 got considerably warm after running some heavy workloads. The fact that the Galaxy S7 touts having a heat-pipe thermal dissipation system is a quite worrying characteristic of the phone and should in no way be seen as a positive feature as it points to to high power draw figures on the part of the SoC.

Is it going to be another year where phone cpus have to be clocked super high in order to get acceptable single threaded performance which results in more heat output (higher frequency requires more voltage which directly impacts power consumption and heat output)

http://www.anandtech.com/show/10075/early-exynos-8890-impressions

[thexzenon]

13 minutes ago, kurahk7 said:

Something rather concerning from Anandtech's first impressions with the new phones:

Is it going to be another year where phone cpus have to be clocked super high in order to get acceptable single threaded performance which results in more heat output (higher frequency requires more voltage which directly impacts power consumption and heat output)

http://www.anandtech.com/show/10075/early-exynos-8890-impressions

Great find! Leave it to AnandTech to properly inspect a phone, even in such a short period of time. I guess we'll have to wait for the phone to be launched and see how it performs in real life.

[thexzenon]

1 minute ago, Jack_of_all_Trades said:

So if we ignore the cpu and I don't even care for ram since it won't have less than 3(which is plenty). Its the same phone but with a better camera ( talk about changing the standard) and some water protection that is always hit-and-miss.

 

People gave so much crap to htc when they released the 9 and it looked exactly like the 8, hope they haven't forgotten >.> cause these are identical to the 6th generation.

The thing is HTC was supposed to improve the camera, which they didn't. The sensor was just bad and performed worse in low-light due to the pixel count. The infamous SoC also overheated like crazy. That makes the only 2 visible "upgrades" were shit. That's why they got a ton of crap for the phone.

 

Samsung added an SD slot (for those who actually care about this), possibly a better camera (we'll have to see for sure), and water resistance. While IP68 rating doesn't mean you can take the phone swimming, although I don't know who the hell would want to, it does mean that you can take it in the shower or be somewhat safe if you drop it on the ground while raining (as in falling in a hole with water and going kaput).

 

As far as design goes you are indeed right, the S7 is just a rounder S6. The phone might also get hot if the findings from AnandTech proove to be true (search a few posts up).

[Guest]

null

[Aniallation]

2 hours ago, Jack_of_all_Trades said:

I know and remember all the issues m9 has , I was talking about the design since it was something people bitched about even before the camera and soc issues started being painfully obvious.

The point is, HTC tried to fix their main points of criticism on the M8 and flopped, while Samsung tried to fix their main points of criticism on the S6 and actually did a decent job.

[Mew]

1 hour ago, Jack_of_all_Trades said:

 

How do you know they did a decent job ?They raised the numbers , whoopty f-ing doo, would've never seen that coming. Have you tested it ? Have you used it for a prolong amount of time so you can make such conclusions. I doubt it. So I'd rather wait for it to come out and people to start actually using it and then make conclusions. Is it going to have a better battery life than the S6 , absolutely, but that ain't much of a praise considering the S6 lack-luster battery. 

 

And the point is this not so much S7 , as much as S6s with micro sd slot that was missing for some reason from the previous model and basically servers as to "Hey they added an sd-slot , they listened to us" "Why was it gone in the first place ? "

 

S6 - "I am a strong independent phone that don't need no sd-card expansion."

S6s - "Well on the other hand."

Apple's been doing the "Tick-Tock" cycle since the 3G and 3Gs. The latest 6s despite being indistinguishable from the 6, is a very highly rated phone. Intel does the same thing with their CPUs- first gen core iseries was a tick (die shrink, big changes, albiet small performance changes), second gen (sandybridge) was a tock (same manufacturing process, big performance increase), Ivybridge-tick, Haswell-tock, Broadwell-tick, Skylake-tock.

IMO only tock based products are the ones you should be buying because they are the most refined and overall best performing products whereas tick based products serve to be on the bleeding edge and might result in problems. 

[xmx1024]

I really hope this means that Samsung will release the "Active" variant soon on AT&T.

[LAwLz]

9 hours ago, Jack_of_all_Trades said:

So if we ignore the cpu and I don't even care for ram since it won't have less than 3(which is plenty). Its the same phone but with a better camera ( talk about changing the standard) and some water protection that is always hit-and-miss.

 

People gave so much crap to htc when they released the 9 and it looked exactly like the 8, hope they haven't forgotten >.> cause these are identical to the 6th generation.

Same phone with a better camera and water resistance? Oh come on...

 

Better CPU (how much better remains to be seen).

Much better GPU.

Improved processing node (LPP instead of LPE, which means less leakage).

More RAM (and higher RAM bandwidth)

microSD card slot or dual SIM.

Better modem

Possibly better screen (it would be weird of Samsung stopped improving their SAMOLED tech now, although the S6 had a pretty much perfect screen).

Slightly refined design.

Possibly better camera, at least for low light and focus.

Much bigger battery (about 18% larger).

Better WiFi, Bluetooth and modem.

Water and dust resistant (without flaps on the ports this time)

Some new software features like the always-on display.

 

Even if you cross out a few the list of improvements is still pretty long.

If you only care about the looks of a device then sure, the S6 and S7 are very similar, but to me that's like saying Sandy Bridge and Haswell are the same because both are gray squares. It sounds really silly.

[RedRound2]

13 minutes ago, LAwLz said:

Same phone with a better camera and water resistance? Oh come on...

 

Better CPU (how much better remains to be seen).

Much better GPU.

Improved processing node (LPP instead of LPE, which means less leakage).

More RAM (and higher RAM bandwidth)

microSD card slot or dual SIM.

Better modem

Possibly better screen (it would be weird of Samsung stopped improving their SAMOLED tech now, although the S6 had a pretty much perfect screen).

Slightly refined design.

Possibly better camera, at least for low light and focus.

Much bigger battery (about 18% larger).

Better WiFi, Bluetooth and modem.

Water and dust resistant (without flaps on the ports this time)

Some new software features like the always-on display.

 

Even if you cross out a few the list of improvements is still pretty long.

If you only care about the looks of a device then sure, the S6 and S7 are very similar, but to me that's like saying Sandy Bridge and Haswell are the same because both are gray squares. It sounds really silly.

I'm not saying that the S7 is bad but all those features you said are pretty much obvious upgrade (orange) that most flagship phones get. The only real feature i do see (bolded) is IP68, MicroSD and a presumably better camera and maybe the CPU/GPU if it blows everything out of the water like A9.

 

Again I'm not complaining but there isn't anything new IMO to make we want to try it out

[LAwLz]

7 minutes ago, RedRound2 said:

I'm not saying that the S7 is bad but all those features you said are pretty much obvious upgrade (orange) that most flagship phones get. The only real feature i do see (bolded) is IP68, MicroSD and a presumably better camera and maybe the CPU/GPU if it blows everything out of the water like A9.

 

Again I'm not complaining but there isn't anything new IMO to make we want to try it out

What's wrong with "obvious upgrades"? Are you going to complain that AMD and Nvidia's new graphics cards just performs better instead of have the ability to brew coffee?

It might not be a ground breaking upgrade, but I think it is a significant upgrade from the S6. They fixed most of the complains people had (only removable battery left from what I can tell) and they also made lots of "obvious upgrades" which are good to have.

 

I actually prefer this type of release over the "let's just throw shit at the wall and see which features that stick" method they used back in the S3 and S4 days.

[RedRound2]

33 minutes ago, LAwLz said:

What's wrong with "obvious upgrades"? Are you going to complain that AMD and Nvidia's new graphics cards just performs better instead of have the ability to brew coffee?

It might not be a ground breaking upgrade, but I think it is a significant upgrade from the S6. They fixed most of the complains people had (only removable battery left from what I can tell) and they also made lots of "obvious upgrades" which are good to have.

 

I actually prefer this type of release over the "let's just throw shit at the wall and see which features that stick" method they used back in the S3 and S4 days.

I didn't say there was anything wrong with obvious upgrades. I just replied to the reaction you gave to the other guy when he said the S7 wasn't much different (implying there isn't anything new, just refinement). But of course it'll be a whole different story if it ever was the fruit company. People will go raving on how the 6S is same as 3GS if they can

 

Anyways upgrades are nice and overall it is one of the better phones out there ever since S6. I'm honestly glad that Samsung matured from their previously pathetic phones to something that's actually worth it

[AlTech]

17 hours ago, crisro996 said:

The Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge have been announced!

 

Photos:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Quick specs:

  Reveal hidden contents

• Android 6.0 Marshmallow w/ TouchWiz
• 12 MP rear camera - f/1.7 aperture w/ OIS and dual-LED flash
• 5 MP front camera - f/1.7
• 32 GB of internal storage (64 GB versions also available in some regions) w/ microSD support
• IP68 rating (meaning 1.5m of water for half an hour)
• Micro USB v2.0 port
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 (or  Exynos 8890 Octa depending on region)
• Quick charge 3.0: 83% in 30 minutes
• Wireless charging
• 4 GB of RAM
• Always-on display
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
• Bluetooth 4.2
• Curved back for better grip

Samsung Galaxy S7 only:

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge only:

 

The phones will be available for preoder starting February 23rd. The S7 will come in black or gold and the Edge will also feature a silver option. Samsung will also give a free GearVR for early buyers.

 

The S7 camera:

 

Software features:

  Reveal hidden contents

• New edge swipe features (also on the S6 Edge) - Edge variant only
• Always-on display feature consumes only 0.5% battery/hour - shuts off when in a bag/pocket
• Support for Vulkan API

 

Source: http://www.theverge.com/2016/2/21/11077956/samsung-galaxy-s7-edge-smartphone-announced-specs-mwc-2016

 

Imo this phone looks much better than the G5. It's also a clear upgrade over the previous generation S6 (Edge). I guess the camera and battery upgrades will be (at least for me) the main selling points. Good job Samsung!

 

The icons also look much more rounded and nice (not the biggest selling point, I know) and they have kept the app drawer. Looking at you LG! 

 

 

 

You know what? I couldn't give a shit if samsung made more phones.

 

If it doesn't have any of the following then I won't buy it:

At least 1GB RAM (for wp) or 3Gb (Android).

Micro SD.

Removable battery.

At least 32GB storage.

Display resolution between and including 720p and 1080p

[Castdeath97]

Well that's the first time Samsung was able to gain my interest since the S3.

[GarnetDevil]

Welcome back, micro SD slot!

 

I used to shit on Samsung's decision to shit on the lack of micro sd cards on the S6s and Note 5, guess they've finally learned their lesson

[GeekJump]

3 hours ago, AluminiumTech said:

You know what? I couldn't give a shit if samsung made more phones.

 

If it doesn't have any of the following then I won't buy it:

At least 1GB RAM (for wp) or 3Gb (Android).

Micro SD.

Removable battery.

At least 32GB storage.

Display resolution between and including 720p and 1080p

But doesn't the s7 include all that but the removable battery? If its higher than 1080 do you not like it?

---

My previous phone that preformed well up until the last few months I had it was the S3. I thought the design was 10/10 (except the plastic build which was the norm at release). Power rise it held up until 2015 and it it wasn't for the battery finally dying it prob would've last until 2016 (could've just bought a new one but ehh).

 

Even tho the s7 went back to s3 looks I still hate touchwiz and all the extra bs that samsung adds (their ads try to make the features look cool/hip but who actually uses them?!?!?). Plus sometimes the US release gets the older processor or overall is not as good as the S. Korean and international version. 

[Curufinwe_wins]

Why do all you people keep misrepresenting USB type C with USB 3.0/3.1?  Well over half of the USB type C phones out today (and apples lightning connector)  use USB2.0 making this literally no different at all. 

 

 

Just saying.

[GoodBytes]

All phones I see that have USB Type-C are USB 3.0

[beebskadoo]

I'll start giving a shit about Samsung when they release timely software updates for their devices. The hardware is decent enough (Though a lack of USB Type-C actually baffles me considering that is the direction that mobile phones are heading) but what has always made me shy away from their phones was poor support after the first year even on their flagship phones. Last year they released the S6, the S6 Edge, the Note 5, the S6 Active, and the S6 edge+... That's way too much market saturation considering samsung stated 2 years ago that it would start cutting back on how many variants they would release on their flagship line. Some may say it's giving the consumer a choice in the matter and though that may be true, I see it differently. Having so many phones released means that support for that phone will drop off even quicker as they have to support so many other devices as well. That is my biggest issue with Samsung, and many people in the tech community including reviewers feel that way as well. 

[atrash]

1 hour ago, GoodBytes said:

All phones I see that have USB Type-C are USB 3.0

Not with the new Nexus phones.

[carolkarine]

18 hours ago, LAwLz said:

I am very, very impressed by the Galaxy S7. Other than the non-removable battery, which I can kind of live without (but really wants) and USB type C it looks to be the perfect phone right now.

I think it was a very good idea to make the Edge version have a bigger screen. Hopefully they will now trim down their lineup to just S7, S7 Edge and Note 6. None of that Edge+ crap.

 

 

Glad to hear that IP68 is back. Not because I think diving with your phone is a good idea, but because it just adds a bit of peace to my mind knowing that it won't break from having it out while it is raining. I also find it very handy to just put my water resistant tablet under a tap when it gets greasy.

 

I am looking forward to seeing what improvements Samsung has made to the display. The S6 basically had a perfect display already, but I am still hoping for some improvements.

 

Very excited for the camera. F/1.7 seems kind of wide but it remains to be seen how the photos comes out. The S6 already had a great camera so it will be interesting to see what Samsung can do with these bigger pixels. It is also very good to hear that they are no longer competing in the megapixel race. Two bumps up for the camera being almost completely flush with the back as well.

 

Thank God microSD is back. I don't really care for the dual SIM but I guess there is no harm in adding the functionality for it.

 

Why did they go with microUSB 2.0? Why not USB Type C and 3.0/3.1? Come on Samsung. Surely you could have done it.

 

Pretty big increase in battery capacity. I wonder if that will have a big impact on battery life.

 

I am super excited to see how the Snapdragon 820 and new Exynos SoC. Not sure 4GB of RAM is needed but I won't complain.

Between the 820's efficiency over the 810 and the increased battery size, I think battery life will be a breath of fresh air.