Is The Galaxy S7 Camera Better Than Galaxy S5

Samsung Galaxy S7

MSRP $699.99

"Samsung's Galaxy S7 is the standard-bearer for Android phones in 2016."

Pros

• Gorgeous, waterproof, design
• Better battery life than Galaxy S6
• Camera shoots better in low calorie-free, focuses faster
• Micro SD carte slot
• Powerful Snapdragon 820 processor

Cons

• Carrier locked with carrier bloatware
• All-glass design is fingerprint magnet
• Prone to glass cracking, expensive to repair

Samsung's Galaxy S7 and Milky way S7 Edge have arrived, and they pb the pack of Android phones in 2016. Neither of them reinvent the wheel from a blueprint perspective, only plenty of notable changes help drag them above previous Milky way phones. There's plenty to know if you're considering migrating from an iPhone or another Android.

If you're feeling curvy, check our full review of the Milky way S7 Border. This review will focus on the standard, flat-screened Galaxy S7. It may look the same as terminal year, simply this new Galaxy packs a few new surprises, joyful moments, and disappointments nether its sleeky outside.

Editor'southward Note: Nosotros've updated this review after a few months of using the Milky way S7. We've also added news of its availability unlocked from online retailers.

Beautiful, waterproof, frail, fingerprints

If you're at all familiar with the Samsung's 2015 Galaxy devices, you know precisely what to look from the Galaxy S7. This year, information technology's all about refinement. The GS7 sports the aforementioned smoothen, brushed-metal bumper sandwiched between front and back glass. Information technology's gorgeous. This improved blueprint extends to the photographic camera on the back, which withal protrudes, only only about half as much as last year's model.

With a 5.i-inch apartment AMOLED screen that is the envy of every other telephone, and a gentle bend to its dorsum, the S7 is very comfortable to hold in your palm. It'due south almost identically sized to last year'south Galaxy S6 (and the Milky way S5, for that thing). Overall, information technology's a comfortable smaller telephone that almost people should exist able to hold (unless you prefer very extra tiny phones like the old iPhone 5S).

Simply glass is still glass, and the Galaxy S7 and S7 Border are covered in the stuff, potentially making them the about fragile phones available this yr. Because that Gorilla Glass is proprietary and curved on the back, it may as well toll hundreds of dollars to replace broken or croaky screens, should the slippery phone autumn from your grasp. Don't buy a Milky way S7 without a case.

The other major caveat to the drinking glass design this twelvemonth is how like shooting fish in a barrel it is to cover in fingerprints. A calendar week of utilize left our S7 then caked in fingerprints that it feels downright grimy to hold (another reason to get a case). If this sort of matter bothers you, consider a competing telephone, or buying a nice case. Seriously, you lot'll want a case. We can't stress that plenty.

We can't complain for too long, though. Unlike many competitors, Samsung has water and dust-proofed the Galaxy S7. It has an IP68 rating, meaning dust should not penetrate its electronic innards, and you lot can submerge it in upward to a meter of water for 30 minutes with no damage.

This should be an absolute relief for anyone who's ever used their phone in the rain or near the water, and a return to form for the Galaxy brand. The Galaxy S5 was waterproof in 2014, but the peace-of-mind feature was missing from the Milky way S6 devices and Note 5.

An sound mystery

We don't have a lot to say on the audio front. The Galaxy S7 has a standard audio jack on its bottom and a single speaker. Audio from the speaker is expectedly tinny and weak, like all phones outside of the HTC One serial, which have dual-front facing speakers. The full-volume sound from an iPhone 6S is even so noticeably crisper than the S7, but neither device hits it out of the park.

Our sound experts haven't had enough time to spend with it yet, simply the S7 may lag behind this year's other Android flagships when it comes to high-res sound. Our initial impressions were mixed.

Always On and Android Marshmallow

Following in the footsteps of innovations Motorola made ii or three years ago, both Samsung and LG are calculation Always On screens to their flagship phones this yr. The GS7 always shows a clock when the phone is asleep. This feature should disable one time yous put the phone in your pocket. You lot tin change this screen to evidence a agenda, too.

It's a condom investment if you want a height-of-the-line Android telephone.

In that location aren't a ton of other software innovations. Samsung has loaded the phone with Android half dozen.0 Marshmallow, but it has kept the S6's bubbly, colorful TouchWiz interface and old-schoolhouse menus. The interface is easy enough to utilise, but a little resistant to change. For instance, Samsung still doesn't accept on-screen navigation buttons, instead sticking with haptic buttons on either side of its concrete Home push button beneath the screen, which is besides an outdated location for that button (if you aren't an iPhone user). Competitors like the Xperia Z5, LG G5, and Nexus 6P have plant other places to stick their Abode buttons.

But nosotros digress. Samsung's settings menus have grown cluttered and disorganized, and the S7 even lacks the fun Flipboard home screen app that previous Galaxy phones had, so you'll need to download a launcher if you want to read news from the home screen.

Gamers likewise become a couple other pocket-size, but fun features. The Milky way S7 can record gameplay, has a gaming Do Not Disturb fashion, and lets you throttle your frame rate to save battery life through a special game launcher.

Samsung Pay, which lets y'all pay via NFC or fifty-fifty tap on a standard magnetic card reader, is nonetheless nowadays. It appears that on some carriers, Samsung Pay volition not come preloaded, though Android Pay will.

A new app called Samsung+ is besides on Google Play, but non loaded on the telephone. It gives loyal Samsung fans admission to perks and deals, but more than importantly has customer service information and ever-available 24/seven video support.

Available unlocked in the U.Southward.

The Galaxy S7 is one of the well-nigh popular phones in the globe, but initially, it was only available locked to wireless carriers in the U.s.a. — that is to say, you lot could only purchase a version that worked on your specific network. Thankfully, though, that is no longer the case.

Beginning on June 30, unlocked versions of both the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge became available in the U.Due south. Samsung says the models work on all four major carriers — Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T — and, unlike the carrier-locked variants, ship costless of whatever third-political party apps and services. The Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge are available on Samsung's spider web shop, Amazon, eBay, and brick-and-mortar retailers like Best Buy, Sam'southward Club, and Target, and cost $670 and $770, respectively.

The unlocked Milky way S7 and S7 Edge are, in terms of hardware, identical to their carrier-locked counterparts: they sport Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processors, 4GB of RAM, h2o resistant exterior casing, wireless charging, and contactless payment with Samsung Pay. And they come with Samsung's full manufacturer warranty.

The lack of overbearing apps is i of the best reasons to buy unlocked. The Verizon testing units used heavy-handed diction to effort and pressure u.s. into using Verizon deject fill-in for managing contacts and vital info. Worse, the default messaging app was replaced with a Verizon Messaging+ app. We cannot think of a reason to ever apply a messenger app created past your wireless carrier, and highly recommend y'all make Google Hangouts or Samsung's messenger your default.

There are ix Verizon apps on the phone nosotros reviewed, three Amazon apps, and a bunch of Samsung and Google apps. Verizon's offerings include gems like NFL Mobile and Go90, which is a Verizon Mobile TV network app that we don't particularly desire to utilize. Merely they are unremovable.

Now that there is an unlocked version, you can avert all this bloatware.

A bombardment case, Gear 360 cam, and more

The battery capacity of the Milky way S7 improves to 3,000mAh this year, which is several hundred mAh larger than the S6, but the bombardment life still doesn't last much more a day.

Samsung is making its own battery case for the S7, which should extend your battery life by about 3,100mAh or roughly 2X the battery life of the phone. Because the battery is non-removable, this or a portable charger are your best options for days when y'all need some extra gas.

In addition to the battery case, Samsung is making a case with a photographic camera lens enhancer built into information technology (like an Olloclip) and an updated wireless charging pad that sets the phone at an angle and tin charge at high speed.

Finally, 360 cameras are the hot new detail this yr, forth with virtual reality, and Samsung is never 1 to permit a trend pass it by. To capitalize, information technology will release the Gear 360, a dual-camera 360-degree action cam that looks similar a tiny robot out ofPortal orWall-E. By stitching photos together from 2 15-megapixel fish-heart cameras, it creates a VR-set spherical image or video. We tried taking a couple videos and stills on it, and though they won't win whatsoever awards, for home movies and viewing, they do get the job washed. If y'all own a Gear VR (our favorite mobile VR headset), you can nearly instantly view your 360 videos in actual virtual reality.

One other cool annotation virtually the Gear 360 (read our total Gear 360 writeup) is that its handle splits out into a quirky trivial tripod. Unscrew that tripod and information technology tin connect to any other photographic camera stand up.

A powerful, warm phone

If impressive specifications assistance you slumber at night, the Galaxy S7 may as well be Ambien. It runs on a new quad-cadre 2.15GHz + one.6GHz processor, merely the maker of that processor will vary by region. In the United States, we're getting a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, simply in the residual of the globe, Samsung is using an Exynos chip of its own design. Samsung claims the new processors are supposedly virtually 30 percentage faster than the Milky way S6, and the integrated graphics processor is well-nigh 64 percent faster.

The Milky way S7's Snapdragon 820 processor runs circles around most every competitor.

Initial benchmarks are showing that the Galaxy S7'south Snapdragon 820 processor runs circles around virtually every competitor. Luckily, our model runs on the 820. It's done very well in our initial tests, performing merely above the Google Pixel C tablet in 3D Mark's Sling Shot three.1 test and narrowly outperforming the iPhone 6S on the Ice Storm Unlimited graphics test. On AnTuTu, it blew away all competition by a massive margin, outperforming every listed Android device, including the Galaxy Annotation 5. Other benchmarks have shown similarly practiced results. This is a great phone for gaming.

It'south also a bully phone for calling. We had no issues making or receiving calls on the Verizon network.

Be warned, however. Though it doesn't go "hot," the GS7 feels noticeably warm at almost times, despite its new liquid cooling. Even with a case, this is a warm phone.

Aside from the processor, the Milky way S7 comes with 4GB RAM, 32GB of storage, and the Nano SIM tray also has a Micro SD card slot that can concur whatsoever cards available today (up to 200GB). Samsung has even struck a deal so the GS7 and S7 Edge are the first phones compatible with the Vulkan API, which should aid high-end game development.

An improved camera

Samsung really wants a ameliorate camera than the iPhone, and it has 1, by some measurements. The S7 has a 12-megapixel rear cameras that operates faster thanks to an F1.7 lens (upwards from F1.9 in final year's), and focuses faster thanks to its "dual-pixel" blueprint. Samsung claims that every pixel in the lens besides acts every bit a focus pixel, and that this is a start for smartphones.

In a direct shoot off in depression-light and dark conditions, the Galaxy S7 often outperformed the iPhone 6S. Samsung'south camera was able to capture sharper images in the dark and illuminate areas that the iPhone could not. The speed of focusing too helped information technology grab a few shots of moving scenes that the iPhone was unable to shoot as smoothly.

It'southward a victory for Samsung, just the GS7 photographic camera is not perfect. Samsung'southward photos often come out warmer (more than yellow and orange) than in reality, and than on the iPhone. So while information technology can grab a clearer, lighter shot, Samsung has some work to do in making that photograph expect realistic. Some S7 shots came out looking similar they already had Instagram filters applied.

Selfies on the S7 were not noticeably worse or better than competing phones, like the iPhone.

Pricing in the U.Southward.

Beginning on June 30, you can get unlocked versions of both the Galaxy S7 and S7 Border in the U.S. These models work on all four major carriers — Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T. The unlocked Galaxy S7 and S7 Border are bachelor on Samsung's spider web store, Amazon, eBay, and brick-and-mortar retailers like Best Purchase, Sam'due south Order, and Target, and price $670 and $770, respectively.

The Galaxy S7 and Milky way S7 Border is available to club on all major carriers in the U.S. — AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon, U.S. Cellular.

The Galaxy S7 volition come in black and gilded to start, and prices range from $620 to $695. U.S. Cellular has the lowest cost if you pay in total, but Dart is offering the best toll with an installment programme. Sprint also has the best overall deal with its 50 percent off a 2nd Galaxy S7 offer.

• U.S. Cellular – $620 prepaid / $672 ($28 for 24 months) / $200 with two-year contract
• Sprint – $650 ($27.09 for 24 months)
• T-Mobile – $670 ($27.92 for 24 months)
• Verizon – $672 ($28 for 24 months)
• AT&T – $695 ($23.17 for 30 months)

Check out a full list of locations here.

Warranty

The Milky way S7 has a standard one-year limited warranty that covers the device and its battery, unless you practise damage to it. If the waterproofing fails you may or may not get a replacement, so we don't suggest y'all douse it intentionally, and drinking glass breaking is not covered. Samsung can cull to supercede your device or repair it.

You lot likewise take the option to "opt out of arbitration" if y'all buy the Milky way S7. Samsung gives users thirty days to opt out of the feature from buy, and email and number to contact are in the warranty booklet. Mediation takes abroad your right to file a complaint in the court of law against Samsung, if you believe information technology has wronged you.

Conclusion

The Galaxy S7 looks fantastic and is more comfy to hold than the Galaxy S6 was last year. We're very impressed with Samsung's new camera, increased bombardment capacity, accessories, and waterproof blueprint. Those benefits come up on height of an industry-leading AMOLED screen and powerful processing power of the Snapdragon 820.

Our biggest worry is breakability. With more curved glass than always, these phones may exist expensive to set up if dropped, and they're glace as all hell to hold. Samsung hasn't all the same provided us details on how expensive it is to replace the glass in the GS7. We highly recommend a case of some sort. It will protect the phone, relieve you from an annoying amount of fingerprint smudges, and block some of the heat that comes from the telephone.

If you're concerned by breakability and you lot're with AT&T, yous could always purchase the Galaxy S7 Active instead. It has all the same specs, only they're packed into a more rugged trunk that can handle drops without shattering also as extended dips in deep water. The Active has a bigger battery also, which solves some of our battery concerns. Then long as you don't mind its looks, the Agile is a amend choice.

However, if you do want the regular S7 for its beauty, take reward of the free Gear VR with early orders. The Gear VR was our favorite production of 2015, and we recommend you endeavor it out if you go the chance. It's the first run a risk y'all'll get to try legitimate VR at home.

Though we prefer the Galaxy S7 Edge because of its larger screen and battery, the standard S7 is an absolutely fantastic phone. It'due south a model for what phones will be like this twelvemonth, and is a condom investment if yous want a top-of-the-line Android telephone.

Editors' Recommendations

• Samsung addresses study of exclusive chipset for 2025 Galaxy phones
• How to cull the best microSD cards for your smartphone or tablet
• Microsoft patent imagines a seemingly perfect foldable phone
• Latest Street View app update volition send you dorsum in fourth dimension
• The all-time Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 cases and covers

Source: https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/samsung-galaxy-s7-review/

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