Until Note 7 appeared, the Samsung S7 Edge was rightfully the most expensive device in the 2016 Samsung smartphone line. Like the larger and more curved version of the standard Galaxy S7, the S7 Edge is much more attractive than the flat little brother and has a much more capacious battery, which provides the device with greater endurance.
Not worse than Note 7
Samsung S7 Edge, reviews of which even after the appearance of Note 7 remain commendable (it continues to be released), for many will be the best choice due to the relatively low cost and lack of a stylus. The smartphone has a lot in common with Note 7, since they have the same processor, camera and screen resolution. In addition, the 5.7-inch Note 7 display is only a few millimeters larger than the S7 Edge, which is unlikely to affect the feel of games or viewing downloads on iPlayer.
But the user is likely to notice the difference if he compares the S7 Edge with a regular S7, whose display size on the diagonal is only 5.1 inches. Here, increasing the screen sets the distance between the models so that the buyer feels the need to update a flat phone.
Before delving into the device of a smartphone, it is worth mentioning that on September 7, 2016, the new iPhone 7 was announced - the main competitor of the model in question. In addition, it is expected the appearance of Samsung S7 Edge Plus, whose characteristics are still unknown. Although it was previously reported that the company excluded the model from its product line.
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge: specifications
What will surprise this smartphone? The device parameters are as follows:
- Chip - octa-core 2.3 GHz Exynos 8890.
- Screen size - 5.5 inches.
- Resolution - 2560 x 1440 pixels.
- Rear camera - 12 megapixels.
- Memory - 32 GB (24.8 GB).
- Supported standards - 3G, 4G.
- Mass - 157 g.
- Size - 151x73x7.7 mm.
- OS - Android 6.0.
Design
In S7, many problems that the entire S6 family had were solved. True, there is still no removable battery, but the S7 Edge now has a micro-SD slot that allows you to expand 32/64 GB of memory to 200 GB, and also received protection from dust and water at the IP68 level, which makes it more flexible and practical for Compared to all predecessors.
For some, this in itself may be reason enough to upgrade to a new generation of Samsung smartphones, especially for Galaxy S5 owners who intentionally shied away from updating due to lack of expandable memory. However, one thing about the S7 Edge has definitely not improved - it's the sheer number of fingerprints that the glass back panel collects. Dirt and grease are not the best attributes for the flagship phone, and users often nostalgically recall the leatherette S5 back panel. Nevertheless, the device lies comfortably in the hand, since its curved edges and the metal frame form a slightly stiffer and flatter edge than the usual S7, and provide decent grip, despite the larger size.
Bend for bend
The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge smartphone has the same amazing screen specifications as the S7, but for the first Samsung made a number of software improvements. The edge panels, activated with a simple touch of a finger on a small translucent tab on the side, became wider, which allowed them to place more information and find more applications for them. The long-awaited application shortcut bar and quick access page appeared again, but now you can devote side screens to Internet bookmarks, compass, weather, S Planner, etc.
A favorite innovation of users is the Tasks Edge application. Perhaps it was a response to Apple Force Touch technology. The program allows you to quickly switch to some functions of the phone, for example, to set a text message or e-mail, view Internet bookmarks, create a calendar event, take a selfie picture or quickly set up your favorite contacts. The My Places Edge screen copies some elements of the HTC Sense 7 home panel. It contains the 3 most used applications that are tied to your current location. For example, if the user is at work, S Planner or Google Docs is displayed, Google Play Music will replace them at home, and Google Maps in other places.
On the verge of expediency
All these add-ons are convenient, but considering that the two best side-screen apps have already been implemented somewhere (and perhaps better), we can assume that Samsung finds it difficult to use its side panels. Although there is no doubt that some of their functions are very convenient, most shortcuts can be easily replaced by adding additional widgets to the main panel. Side screens can reduce clutter at home, but there is no certainty of their absolute need.
The screen has other problems. By bending it, Samsung created GUI problems that are not much talked about. And if the manufacturer’s software, as a rule, is prudent enough not to place vital areas in the curved part, in other cases the edges often cause irritation and inconvenience: it is difficult to crop a photograph that is curved around the edges, a strong light source causes unexpected reflections, it’s inconvenient to use any An application in which user interface elements are located at the edge of the screen (for example, Gmail).
Samsung S7 Edge: display specifications
At least there is one thing that you can not doubt. This is the quality of the S7 Edge display. The 5.5-inch panel with a resolution of 2560x1440 pixels using Super AMOLED technology is the best in its class. The screen covers 100% of the sRGB color gamut along with the ideal black level (0.00 cd / m2 ) . On the S7 Edge, the images look stunning, and its ultra-high contrast covers a lot of detail. You can be sure that photos and videos will always look great.
As usual, Super AMOLED displays are not as bright as their LCD counterparts, as evidenced by a peak brightness level of 361.01 cd / m2. Nevertheless, as in S7, a tricky trick is used here to increase this parameter in very bright sunlight in automatic mode. In this case, the peak brightness values reach 503 cd / m2. This roughly corresponds to the performance of LCD smartphones, so the achievement of Super AMOLED is quite impressive, given the fact that the screen gives rich bright colors, unattainable in liquid crystal displays.
In this model, Samsung introduced a constantly working element that shows the time, date and battery status when the phone is in sleep mode. This is an incredibly useful feature, because often the only thing that is required from the phone is to show the current time. The battery does not consume much energy, since Super AMOLED only supplies the pixels necessary for displaying information, and does not use the entire backlight.
Performance
Specifications Samsung S7 Edge equally have no analogues, as its eight-core Exynos 8890 processor and 4 GB of RAM move it directly to the top of the rating.
It is interesting to note that the S7 series does not reach the Apple iPhone 6S when it comes to testing a single core - in this regard, the phone is 400 points worse than the 6S. But this only says that it is a little less effective when it comes to low-level tasks. The S7 family has an advantage in multi-core performance (6323 points), since the iPhone 6s scores only 4417 points, but it is clear that the Samsung Exynos chip has room to grow, despite the fact that it is much faster than any other Android-based smartphone. True, this may change after testing the LG G5 with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset.
In the meantime, the Samsung S7 Edge phone’s video accelerator specifications provide greater performance compared to existing Snapdragon 810 devices, as the GFX Bench GL test gives an average frame rate of 37 fps. This corresponds to S7, which is not surprising given identical hardware.
Web browsing is super fast. With 1528 points in Peacekeeper, the S7 Edge smartphone can easily cope with complex web pages, providing quick and easy scrolling even while downloading a lot of photos and ads.
Battery life
High performance is different smartphone Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. The battery characteristics of the device, however, are no less impressive. After setting the display brightness to 170 cd / m2 and conducting a continuous video playback test, the phone lasted an impressive 18 hours 42 minutes, which is an hour more than the result of S7.
The large 3600 mAh battery should have worked longer than the batteries in the S7 with a capacity of 3000 mAh, but if you take into account the large screen, then this is commendable. In any case, you can use your smartphone all day, if not two days in a row, in gentle operation.
Moreover, in Samsung S7 Edge, fast charging characteristics have improved, since the transition from 0 to 100% takes a little less than two hours using a standard fast charger with a voltage of 5 V and a current of 2.0 A. The smartphone supports Qi and PMA wireless charging standards .
If you have a wireless charger, then the S7 Edge can be powered all day, which changes everything radically. It is convenient, just does not require attention. While the phone is on the charging panel, everything is in order.
Camera
On the rear panel is a new 12 megapixel camera. It may seem like a step backward from the 16-megapixel sensor in the S6, but more megapixels do not always mean better image quality. In the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge (32GB) camera, the characteristics have changed: the size of a single pixel has increased from 1.12 microns in S6 to 1.4 microns, which allows everyone to get more light and reduce the amount of noise in low light conditions. The aperture has been increased to f / 1.7, it passes even more light to the sensor to obtain higher quality images.
This is a risky move, but the S7 Edge lives up to expectations. When shooting outdoors, the smartphone allows you to take beautiful photos, high-contrast and bright, accurately transmitting colors. Some parts of the frame are a bit overexposed, especially in bright sunlight, but this can be easily fixed thanks to the camera’s exposure compensation slider. It appears when you touch the screen during focusing, but you can switch to HDR mode if you wish.
Less yes better
Indoors, the camera takes even better pictures. Pictures have not only a very high level of detail, they also have no visible noise even when shooting in low light conditions, which is quite impressive for the phone. Nevertheless, if we compare the test shots with the photos on the S6, we can say that they look almost the same.
This is true, at least at first glance, but if you delve into the shutter speed data, the S7 Edge allows you to shoot in low light conditions at a shutter speed of 1/25 second, rather than 1/15 second, as in S6. This means that in the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge SM-G935F, the camera’s specifications provide greater reliability in low light conditions, as the faster shutter speeds less blur images of moving objects, which gives an overall advantage.
Virtual reality
Another feature of the phone that is worth mentioning is that it fits perfectly with the new Gear VR headset. This is a relatively affordable way to immerse yourself in virtual reality, as you do not have to shell out on an expensive PC or analogues of HTC Vive or Oculus Rift. The implementation is a bit rustic, but it handles a lot of entertainment applications like virtual roller coasters and even some shooters like Suicide Squad: Special Ops VR. And if you purchase a Gear 360 camera, you can record your own VR video and view it using a virtual reality headset.
The best you can get
Currently, Samsung S7 and Samsung S7 Edge, whose characteristics are among the best among Android phones, except, of course, Samsung Galaxy Note 7, are out of competition. Since all three models are very similar in terms of performance, display and camera quality, the question arises, is it worth it to overpay for the S7 Edge if the S7 is cheaper? Like last year, the curved edges look cute, and one large screen will be enough to convince some of the superiority of the model, especially if you take into account the best battery life.
However, the software of the side screens still does not convince of their advantage. And the time it takes to scroll through each edge does not make the device more practical than having all the information on one main display.
Right choice
According to users, the best option is S7. The Samsung S7 Edge phone is a large-sized smartphone, but the S7 is more convenient, the same productive and the battery life is also not small. According to reviews, for those wishing to purchase the most beautiful phone that can only be bought for money, S7 Edge will be the right choice, and more practical users should stay on its flat "brother."