Samsung galaxy s7 edge review

Announced during the development of the Mobile World Congress 2016 in Barcelona, ​​the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is a great evolution in the line of smartphones from the Korean manufacturer. Samsung took the 2015 smartphone, which was already good, and improved the small details for the new edition.

This review has not been sponsored by Samsung or any other company since they do not give us the sample. We have bought the product for personal use and on the way give you our opinion on the smartphone.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge technical characteristics

Unboxing and design

Samsung gives us a presentation similar to the one we have seen in other similar themes of the Samsung A5 series (2016) with a black box and screen-printed letters that indicate the exact model it has inside.

Once we open the box we find:

• Smartphone Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. Quick start guide Card extractor Headphones Mini USB cable and wall charger

There are two versions of the S7 Edge, each with a different processor. The model that Samsung distributes in most countries is the one that uses a latest-generation eight-core Exynos processor, produced by the company itself. The chip has two sets of four cores; one set is responsible for heavy tasks, which require higher performance, and the other is dedicated to lighter tasks, optimizing battery usage. With 4 gigs of RAM, you cannot detect any lag, crash, or decreased performance.

The design of the Galaxy S7 Edge is the best in the category of smartphones in 2016: aesthetic, ergonomic and lightweight. The smartphone, which comes in three colors (black, silver and gold), has a glass and metal finish. The infinity edge of the sides is something unique.

It is a very thin device, only 7.7 mm thick. To the right of the device is the on / off button and on the left, the volume control.

The microSD card slot is located on the top of the smartphone, in the same slot as the operator's SIM card. It is the same location that Motorola already used a while ago in its Moto X, by the way. The S7 Edge slot, however, looks more fragile as it's made of plastic.

The glass finish gives a more refined look to the smartphone, but it is impractical. The glass catches the mark of the fingers, leaves the device slippery and fragile, forcing the user to use a protector, which nullifies the aesthetic advantage of the material. The only design evolution compared to the previous year is the curvature at the rear that allows a better fit in the hand.

It is important to note that there are changes in relation to the previous model. The main one is in the back of the Galaxy S7 Edge, which now has a buckle to favor the footprint. This detail of the design, which made its debut on the Galaxy Note 5 and liked it so much, Samsung decided to offer it again in this new device. The result is an ergonomic device that is comfortable to operate for several hours, which is quite normal today.

The other major change is in relation to thickness. The Galaxy S7 Edge has increased 0.7 mm compared to the Galaxy S6 Edge, and 0.8 mm compared to the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, which ended up being reflected in the protrusion of the rear camera.

Another interesting feature of the new Samsung smartphones is the ability to interrupt the operation of power through the micro USB cable when the device is detected to be damp or wet. The solution is ideal to avoid possible accidents between water and electricity.

Hardware and performance

Equipped with 4 GB of RAM memory and a very powerful octa-core processor (Samsung Exynos 8 Octa 8890). Of course there is nothing to complain about the performance offered by the new devices of the South Korean company.

It is necessary to mention an important difference between the variants of the Galaxy S7 Edge distributed internationally and those sold in the United States. In the U.S. market, the device will be equipped with the Snapdragon 820 processor, the most powerful chipset available from Qualcomm.

In contrast, in the international version, Samsung uses its own chipset, the Exynos 8890. There is a significant difference between the two models, which ended up generating some controversy. It also has an Arm Mali-T880 Mp12 650 Mhz graphics card that is capable of moving any current game with 2K resolution.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge has an impressive 32 GB of internal storage capacity, which is enough to install a good number of applications. For those who want to store more files, such as photos and videos, it is possible to use a micro SD card of up to 200 GB.

5.5 ″ inch screen with 1440p resolution

The screen remains one of Samsung's strongest points. The company confirmed the 2560 x 1440 resolution, which is more than enough pixels for a 5.5-inch panel. The model has excellent saturation, contrast, brightness and color. The fact of being an AMOLED panel also allows the resource in which the screen is always connected showing the time, since few pixels must be lit to show this information.

The QuadHD Super AMOLED screen is quite sharp and responsible for the high battery consumption of the Galaxy S7 Edge. Finally, Samsung has implemented something they call “Always-on display”, which is that small customizable screen that is activated when the smartphone is on a table, for example.

The question of the infinite edge, with sides that flow through the phone, adds functionalities (although only from one side) and gives a very interesting effect to whoever uses it.

The only problem with this is that, depending on the position in which the smartphone is held (for example, lying in bed), one of your fingers may interfere with touch and slightly confuse the operation of the S7 Edge.

The company has created a platform that allows developers to create features in these spaces, allowing viewing of sports news and results. However, the functions are still few, and the curvature of these edges is still basically aesthetic. It also causes usability issues, as the palm of the hand tends to rest on the corners of the screen and cause unwanted tones on the panel, even with Samsung software working to try to override this type of accidental touch.

Quality sound

Regarding the audio of the Galaxy S7 Edge, there is nothing new. The smartphone has the same audio output as its predecessor, capable of providing a fairly clean and loud sound. However, we expected greater investments in this regard.

It would have been interesting, for example, the inclusion of stereo speakers to improve the sound experience of the Galaxy S7 Edge. This would have been a good addition and would become the most consistent mobile phone with its price range and top smartphone category. The headphones that come with the model are the same as those of the last generation, a nice and quality accessory.

Perfection turned into a camera

First off, its viewfinder in the rear decreased relative to the S6 Edge. Second, the camera includes 12-megapixel Dual Pixel technology. Dual Pixel means that, on the sensor, Samsung managed to place two pixels instead of just one. So, in theory, your final image has better quality and sharpness.

Another important point is the lens with f / 1.7 aperture, very bright. In the professional photographic world, f / 1.7 lenses are usually very expensive. The question of light is important. Flash is not always the best option. Its use is always better in the latter case only in night scenes.

The rear sensor megapixel count decreased, but all the rest has improved a lot. The camera is very fast, allowing for good photos even with moving objects, and auto focus adapts to distant and near objects almost instantly. Optical stabilization is also capable of solving and correcting hand tremors when taking photos and recording videos.

The S7 Edge camera impresses in automatic mode, but it really shines when the user explores the options in manual mode. There it is possible to find options that allow a very fine adjustment of the photographs, controlling the details of focus, white balance and adjustment of exposure time of the photograph.

Extra battery

It was the Achilles heel of the Galaxy S6 Edge, and it continues to be the problem of the S7 Edge, even with higher capacity (over 3, 600 mAh). In daily use tests, the phone uses 16% of the charge in 9 hours and 24 minutes. Despite this, the S7 Edge comes with a fast charger - it can go from 16% to 100% charge in just over an hour and a half.

The models with Exynos chip have a much higher autonomy than those with Snapdragon 820 chipset, and several tests with the Galaxy S7 Edge make this very clear: the Exynos 8890 is much more energy efficient than the Snapdragon 820, remembering that both variants have a 3600 mAh battery.

Despite the fact that many users prefer the Snapdragon 820 processor variant over the Mali graphics card with the theoretical higher power in games, the results show that a slightly lower score in benchmark tests like AnTuTu will be rewarded for a while. greater independence of the support for recharging.

But we saw it falter with the Pokemon Go game when we had been walking for almost 2 and a half hours, the battery had been consumed up to 65%, and that we had deactivated the augmented reality of the application.

Software: TouchWiz and Android Marshmallow

Software remains a weak point for Samsung. The TouchWiz user interface has evolved aesthetically in recent years, but the use of a cleaner and more efficient launcher such as Nova or Google Now Launcher is still recommended. The company has also greatly reduced the number of pre-installed needless apps unnecessarily, but there's still more than it should. Most of them cannot be fully uninstalled, and at most they can be disabled, including WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and Office applications that should be able to be removed freely.

Interface

Already updated to Android Marshmallow 6, the Galaxy S7 Edge brings subtle changes compared to previous versions of the operating system. TouchWiz brings some visual changes, like the re-paging of the notification panel, which is now more beautiful and can be expanded to show even more tools.

However, despite having few changes, Samsung deserves praise for the optimization it has managed to deliver with the latest versions of Android. We still haven't found the same experience offered by the pure operating system, which is not really the original intention of the manufacturer. But now it is possible to use the smartphone without bothering with the locks and the slow interface. Something interesting is the possibility of organizing lines with five icons on the main screen.

The most interesting thing about the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, after all, is the integrated system that Samsung has been creating around its devices, such as cameras, virtual reality glasses and the Samsung Pay payment system.

If the competition does not manage to move much in that direction, mainly that of payments, it will be difficult for them to compete as equals against Samsung. The smartphone giant considered investing more in design, using glass and metal in the construction of the mobile. The counterpart was the loss of the microSD card slot and the impossibility of removing the battery, which displeases the older fans of the company, who saw these resources as an advantage over the great rival iPhone.

WE RECOMMEND YOU The Galaxy S10 will launch in early March

IP68 certification: Protection against water and dust is one of the great highlights of the new generation of Samsung smartphones. Both the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge are now IP68 certified, which means the phones are water and dust resistant.

According to the IP68 rating, the Galaxy S7 Edge is capable of holding up to 30 minutes in water, with a depth of 1.5 meters. The manufacturer does not recommend dipping the smartphone with other types of liquids, although the models can still withstand this test.

Compatibility with Samsung Gear VR virtual glasses

During the official presentation event of the Galaxy S7 Edge, in which Samsung has revealed the price and launch date, the South Korean company has also confirmed a novelty for those who want to take advantage of the pre-sale period. Between March 18 and April 1, consumers who bought a smartphone also brought the Gear VR as a gift to enjoy all the gadget functions. Too bad he didn't follow the offer!

The Gear VR is Samsung's virtual reality device that works with some devices from the brand itself. It offers an immersive 3D recording experience, plus a new way to enjoy games, movies and photos.

Game Launcher

An interesting novelty for game lovers is the resource called Game Launcher, a kind of game manager that brings all the titles together in one place. Through this manager, it is possible to block alerts and calls during the game, receive suggestions of new popular games at the moment and activate some energy saving modes for those who venture to play when the battery is running low, but not they want to end all the charging of the smartphone.

The Game Launcher also allows you to lock the capacitive buttons on the Galaxy S7 Edge, in addition to taking a screenshot or even recording a section of the game. Despite the benefits, we feel the lack of some of the most useful tools, such as the ability to allocate hardware resources or suspend background activities that would allow for increased game performance.

Always-On Display

Another novelty in the new generation of Samsung smartphones is the presence of Always-On Display, a function that allows you to see information on the screen while it is deactivated. Thus, it is possible to display the time, calendar or even some simple images with the phone idle.

According to Samsung, the Always-On Display relies on the use of technology that does not consume much energy. This means that even displaying the content continuously, the Galaxy S7 Edge's battery is not easily lost. This feature is smart enough to turn off the feature in case the phone is turned upside down or inserted into a pocket.

Samsung Pay & Samsung Concierge

As Samsung had promised, the Samsung Pay came alongside the Galaxy S7 Edge. Several banks will receive the payment system and this implies some of the largest in the world, but it is still far from encompassing the entire population. Now, bank customers and owners of Samsung phones with Pay support will be able to make purchases and payments much more easily.

Samsung is also launching a new service to serve consumers. The Samsung Concierge is a personalized service for customers who purchased these smartphones, giving the possibility of solving technical problems or even answering questions over the phone.

The Samsung Concierge service is also offered through an app where consumers can speak to a specialist on the subject. Problems can be solved through prior customer instructions, remote access, or technical support in the event of a smartphone repair need.

Final words and conclusion

If we tell you that the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is one of the best smartphones of 2016, we will not discover anything new. But it is true that its 5.5 ″ inch size is barely noticeable due to its exquisite design and quality finishes. Really when we have it in hand it looks like a 5.2 ″ terminal because of how comfortable it is.

We loved the performance with respect to power, it can handle everything and shows that with 4GB of well-distributed RAM it is better than poorly designed 6GB. Incorporating Android 6 and a great update support benefits us in having a safe and quality device.

The camera is undoubtedly another of its strengths, the quality of the photos and the focus has nothing to envy the iPhone 6S Plus that we analyzed a few months ago. We really liked the experience.

Although the battery for daily use is more than enough, having a resolution 2506 x 1440p and in games that requires a lot of resources is too exhausting. We believe that 1080p resolution would have benefited us greatly to the new Pokemon Go game.

Its price in store is being seen at about 620 to 650 euros free of origin. What we believe that now it can be converted into a purchase much more advisable than at launch. If you are undecided, buy it that will not disappoint you.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ DESIGN.	- BATTERY DURATION.
+ CURVED SCREEN.
+ SPEED.
+ POSSIBILITY OF VIRTUAL REALITY AND SAMSUNG PAY.
+ PROTECTION AGAINST WATER AND DUST.

And after carefully evaluating both the tests and the product, Professional Review awards him the PLATINUM medal:

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge

DESIGN

PERFORMANCE

CAMERA

AUTONOMY

PRICE

9.5 / 10

BEST SMARTPHONE 5.5 INCHES