GSMArena.com GSMArena.com

Tip us

1.5m
109k
RSS

EV

Merch

Log in

Login

I forgot my password
Sign up
  • Home
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Videos
  • Featured
  • Phone Finder
  • Deals
  • MerchNew
  • Coverage
  • Contact
ADVERTISEMENTS
GSMArena team, 11 March, 2016

A refinement act


Samsung Galaxy S7 review: A refinement act

  • Comments (255)
  • User reviews
  • Galaxy S7
  • 4.6

1. Introduction
  1. 1. Introduction
  2. 2. Unboxing, 360-degree spin, hardware overview
  3. 3. Display, connectivity, battery life
  4. 4. User interface
  5. 5. Performance
  6. 6. Telephony and loudspeaker, pre-installed apps
  7. 7. Gallery, media players, audio quality
  8. 8. Camera
  9. 9. Conclusion
  10.  
  11. Samsung Galaxy S7 specification
  12. User opinions and reviews
  13. Review comments (255)

Samsung Android

Introduction

Close your eyes and picture the Samsung Galaxy S6, but the way you wanted it to be, not the way it came out. Now open them and look at the Galaxy S7. Better? Let's see.

The Galaxy S6 was Samsung's response to growing criticism that the design of its high-end models just didn't live up to their price tag and market position. Okay then, a dual-glass sandwich with aluminum all around is premium enough, but you had to live without the storage expansion, replaceable battery and protection against the elements that were all available in the Galaxy S5.

The Galaxy S7 marks the return of the microSD slot and water-proofing, and while the battery is still sealed (which doesn't seem likely to change going forward), Samsung has been a lot more generous with the capacity for this generation.

Galaxy flagships have always led the way when it comes to imaging, their cameras always being among the top performers in the market. This time around, Samsung went backwards to play a different game of numbers: fewer but larger pixels, all 12 million of them capable of phase detection. Lightning-fast autofocus is the promise, and we've already seen the S7 deliver on it.

AMOLED has long since shaken off the stigma of being all punch and no precision, to actually bring the best of both worlds. The Always On displays are all the rage this season, and being able to light up individual pixels has always made this specific technology inherently suited for the job. "Why so late?" is probably the question to be answered.

Samsung Galaxy S7 key features

  • Premium dual-glass design, aluminum frame
  • 5.1" Super AMOLED display, QHD (1,440 x 2,560) resolution, ~577ppi, Corning Gorilla Glass 4
  • Exynos 8890 chipset: quad-core 2.6 GHz Mongoose + quad-core 1.6 GHz Cortex-A53, Mali-T880 MP12 GPU (our review unit)
  • Snapdragon 820 chipset: dual-core 2.15 GHz Kryo & dual-core 1.6 GHz Kryo, Adreno 530 GPU
  • 4GB of RAM; 32GB/64GB of built-in storage, microSD up to 200GB
  • Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow with TouchWiz and Samsung Pay
  • 12MP camera, f/1.7 aperture, 1,4micron pixel size, phase-detection diodes at every pixel in the sensor, 4K video recording, LED flash, optical image stabilization
  • 5MP front-facing camera, f/1.7 aperture, QHD video, HDR
  • Active noise cancellation via dedicated mic
  • Fingerprint scanner
  • LTE Cat.9, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, GPS/GLONASS/Beidou, NFC, IR port, Bluetooth 4.2, ANT+
  • 3,000mAh battery, fast wired and wireless charging (Qi/PMA)

Main disadvantages

  • No FM radio (except for T-Mobile units in the US, so far)
  • No IR blaster
  • No stereo speakers

The FM radio is perhaps gone for good, the assumption apparently being that the jury has ruled in favor of streaming over the internet. The IR blaster is another feature due for retirement - the S6 had it, then the Note5 didn't, and now with the S7 the trend is clear.

Update: A software update has enabled the FM radio at least on T-Mobile S7/S7 edge in the US. It turns out the FM receiver hardware has always been there and was just not enabled at launch. The T-Mobile units are powered by the Snapdragon 820 chipset, so technically the option is there for all variants running on Qualcomm's chip. Our international unit, however, runs on the Exynos 8890 and so far we haven't heard of FM radio enabling update (if there ever will be one).

 - Samsung Galaxy S7 review  - Samsung Galaxy S7 review  - Samsung Galaxy S7 review  - Samsung Galaxy S7 review  - Samsung Galaxy S7 review  - Samsung Galaxy S7 review
Samsung Galaxy S7 press images

The design-conscious among potential buyers will likely be looking at the Galaxy S7 edge, but that in no way makes the vanilla S7 the ugly duckling. The S6's shapes have been refined, gentle curves have replaced whatever sharp edges the old model had, the camera module now only barely sticks out - in other words, the familiar design was improved and refined.

Next up, we're taking a closer look at exactly the build and finish. We kick off with the unboxing and exterior overview after the break.

Next Page » 2. Unboxing, 360-degree spin, hardware overview
1. Introduction
  1. 1. Introduction
  2. 2. Unboxing, 360-degree spin, hardware overview
  3. 3. Display, connectivity, battery life
  4. 4. User interface
  5. 5. Performance
  6. 6. Telephony and loudspeaker, pre-installed apps
  7. 7. Gallery, media players, audio quality
  8. 8. Camera
  9. 9. Conclusion
  10.  
  11. Samsung Galaxy S7 specification
  12. User opinions and reviews
  13. Review comments (255)

Reviews Samsung Galaxy S7 review
  • Comments (255)
  • User reviews
  • Galaxy S7

Samsung Galaxy S7 review: A refinement act - Reader comments

?
  • Anonymous
  • K1L
  • 20 Apr 2022

"The FM radio is perhaps gone for good, the assumption apparently being that the jury has ruled in favor of streaming over the internet." Here in 2022, FM Radio is far from dead. If anything, people want it even more than before consid...

  • Reply
K
  • Konradski97
  • pKH
  • 10 Jan 2022

this phone very good for a good amount of time

  • Reply
J
  • JT STUDLEY
  • yBy
  • 22 Jul 2021

My S7 has been a great phone with no issues. I am having to say good by because it will soon be incompatible with my companies Outlook Mail service being managed by Microsoft. If you do not have the mail restriction and need an inexpensive bullet pro...

  • Reply
  • Read all comments
  • Post your comment
Total reader comments: 255

Phone finder

  • Samsung
  • Apple
  • Huawei
  • Nokia
  • Sony
  • LG
  • HTC
  • Motorola
  • Lenovo
  • Xiaomi
  • Google
  • Honor
  • Oppo
  • Realme
  • OnePlus
  • vivo
  • Meizu
  • BlackBerry
  • Asus
  • Alcatel
  • ZTE
  • Microsoft
  • Vodafone
  • Energizer
  • Cat
  • Sharp
  • Micromax
  • Infinix
  • TCL
  • Ulefone
  • Tecno
  • BLU
  • Blackview
  • Acer
  • Panasonic
  • Plum

All brands Rumor mill

ADVERTISEMENTS

Related articles

  • Top 10 trending phones of week 26
  • Samsung Galaxy Watch4, Watch4 Classic get third One UI Watch 4.5 beta with improved GUI and bug fixes
  • Samsung Galaxy A32 gets the July 2022 Android security patch
  • Samsung Galaxy M11 receives Android 12 update with One UI 4.1
ADVERTISEMENTS

Popular reviews

Apple iOS 14 review

Apple iOS 14 review
Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review

Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review
Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G review

Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G review

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Hyundai Ioniq 5 N spotted testing at Nurburgring Hyundai Ioniq 5 N spotted testing at Nurburgring Toyota has run out of tax credits in the USChevrolet Silverado EV prototypes spotted testing in Detroit
ADVERTISEMENTS

Home News Reviews Compare Coverage Glossary FAQ RSS feed Youtube Facebook Twitter Instagram

© 2000-2022 GSMArena.com Mobile version Android app Tools Contact us Merch store Privacy Terms of use Change Ad Consent Do not sell my data