Samsung Galaxy S7 vs Galaxy S7 Edge quick look
Samsung just took the wraps off of their
latest flagship offerings, and along with the Galaxy S7 comes an Edge variant,
this time with even more features to take advantage of the curved display in
tow. With two options available once again, the question remains as to which
version of the Galaxy S7 is better suited to you. With their predecessors, we
found that choosing between the two basically boiled down to aesthetics, but
does the latest Edge device have more to offer over its flagship sibling? We
find out, in this quick look at the Samsung Galaxy S7 vs Galaxy S7 Edge!
In terms of design, not much has changed with
the latest Samsung flagships when compared to the previous generation, with the
current flagships also featuring metal and glass unibody constructions.
However, while the design language remains similar, there have been
improvements made across the board, that make the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge
differentiate themselves from their predecessors.
For starters, both smartphones come with
curves along the sides of the back, as seen with the Galaxy Note 5, and along
with the more rounded off corners and sides this time around, helps with the
handling experience, even more so in the case of the larger Galaxy S7 Edge.
With both smartphones, the camera module protrusion on the back isn’t as
significant anymore either, which is a big plus.
However, when it comes to the difference
between these two smartphones, there isn’t much to be seen, of course, with the
exception of the two curved edges of the Galaxy S7 Edge. With the 5.5-inch
display, the Galaxy S7 Edge is also the larger of the two, giving users another
aspect to consider when making a choice between the two, other than it simply
being a case of whether you like the edges or not.
Both devices come with Super AMOLED displays
featuring Quad HD resolutions, with the smaller 5.1-inch display of the Galaxy
S7 giving it the slight leg up in terms of pixel density, compared to the
5.5-inch screen of its flagship counterpart. Samsung’s display prowess is
practically unquestionable at this point, and once again, we get the vibrant
and saturated colors, deep inky black, and great viewing angles that we’ve come
to expect, from both smartphones.
An interesting addition on the display front
with both smartphones is the availability of an Always On display, letting you
see the time, your notifications, the calendar, the weather information, and
more, with a glance, and without needing to wake the phone. If battery life is
a concern, Samsung claims that even with the display always on, the total
effect on battery life is less than 1%. It’s features and applications are
quite limited at this point, but that is bound to improve over time.
As far as performance is concerned, both
phones will be powered by either a Samsung Exynos or a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
processor, depending on the market. We’re still waiting on official word from Samsung
regarding the exact model of Exynos used. Regardless, all versions are paired
with 4GB RAM. In the short time that we got to spend with the device, things
have looked to be smooth and snappy throughout, helped along by an even more
streamlined software experience.
In hardware, the big news is the return of a
couple of key features, namely expandable storage and resistance to dust and
water. As far as expandable storage is concerned, the device utilizes the
secondary SIM slot as a microSD card slot, leaving users with having to make
the choice between expandable storage or dual SIM capabilities. All those that
were in an uproar when the feature went away with the Galaxy S6 will certainly
appreciate its return. When it comes to fighting the elements, both smartphones
come with an IP 68 rating for protection against dust and water.
The Galaxy S7 comes with a large 3,000 mAh
battery, but its bigger size allowed for Samsung to pack an even larger 3,600
mAh unit into the Galaxy S7 Edge. Of course, more testing will be required
before we can make any conclusions as to the battery life available with these
devices, but the good news here is that features like fast wireless charging
and quick charging capabilities have been retained.
Both smartphones come with a 12MP rear camera
with an f/1.7 aperture lens, and the sensor also sports a larger 1.4µm pixels,
which should allow the camera to take in much more light, and make for far
better performance in low light conditions. We were unfortunately not able to
spend a whole lot of time with either device, but we can’t wait to put these
cameras through their paces, and if Samsung’s previous smartphones are any
indication, the experience shouldn’t disappoint.
Finally, on the software side of things, you
get the latest iteration of TouchWiz on top of Android Marshmallow with both
smartphones. Perhaps the biggest change in the software is a new experimental
feature, found in the Galaxy Labs section of th Settings menu, that allows you
to turn off the app drawer altogether. The app drawer is something that LG has
also done away with entirely with the LG G5, but at least the good thing here
is that the choice is left to the users.
While the software experience is obviously
mostly identical with both, we start to see some separation when it comes to
the Edge display capabilities. You still get the People Edge and Apps Edge like
before, but there are now two columns, which makes it a lot more useful. New
are Tasks Edge and the Edge panel. Tasks Edge, as the name suggests, lets you
add shortcuts to specific tasks, like adding a calendar event, composing a text
message, and other activities that you would normally do regularly. The Edge
panel, on the other hand, is basically a slew of customizable widgets that you
can pick and choose between, such as stocks, Yahoo news, Calendar, or Weather,
to quickly give you information at a glance.
So there you have it for this quick look at
the Samsung Galaxy S7 vs Galaxy S7 Edge! A design that has been further
refined, the return of key features, and even more streamlined software
experience define Samsung’s latest flagship offerings, but the great news here
is that it isn’t only aesthetics that are separating the two this time around.
Of course, looks do play a significant part in the decision, but the larger
display of the Galaxy S7 Edge, and the additional features of the edge display
will likely make this edge variant of the flagship more compelling that it ever
was before.