Samsung Galaxy S7 Detailed In FULL: Specs, Hardware & New Features

If you've been following things for a while then you've already been spoiled silly by all the rumours for the last few months, as most of them are dead on point and much of what we're looking at here has been long expected. The Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge are not massively different from the Galaxy S6 series, but they are different enough, as there are plenty of little, but significant, tweaks here and there.

As per the rumour mill, the Galaxy S7 packs a 5.1in display and is more or less the spitting image of the Galaxy S6 from 2015, complete with metal and glass bodywork. The Galaxy S7 edge is also similar in design to the Galaxy S6 edge but is substantially larger  than both it and the regular Galaxy S7, thanks to the use of a 5.5in display.
"The Galaxy S7 Edge display is similar to the Galaxy S7, but it has a curved screen OLED display that is manufactured on a flexible plastic substrate so that it can bend around the corners on both the sides of the phone to provide two display areas that can be viewed and controlled from both the front or the sides, which is especially useful for viewing notifications and scrolling news items. The Galaxy S7 Edge has a somewhat larger 5.5 inch screen, but has the same 2560x1440 resolution with 535 pixels per inch," notes Display Mate.
"Our detailed Lab tests show there have been a number of significant display performance improvements for the new Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge including a much higher maximum brightness and contrast in high ambient light, together with a significantly improved Automatic Brightness that provides much better screen visibility in high ambient light, all resulting in a number of new records for Smartphone display performance, and delivering absolutely stunning and beautiful images."
Plus both new models feature the return of microSD card support AND waterproofing! Yes, those nay-saying rumours about the waterproofing were false after all and you can use either member of the new Galaxy S7 series around the wet stuff without worrying. Interestingly Samsung has achieved this through the use of special coatings on the phone's internal components and ports, so there aren't any fiddly port covers to deal with.

ZERO Support For Adaptive Storage

Well here's a thing. One of the cool new features of Android Marshmallow is known as 'Adoptive Storage' a neat little trick that allows the operating system, and therefore a phone using it, to use microSD card space and treat it as if it's internal storage. Apparently, despite all running Android Marshmallow, Samsung's Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, and the LG G5, all lack this capability.
The word comes via ArsTechnica, which cites a report from Android Central regarding the LG G5; AC reportedly tried accessing the feature on a unit at MWC 2016 but found it missing. ArsTechnica questioned Samsung over Adoptive Storage and was told:
"Samsung decided not to use the Android Marshmallow “adoptable storage” model. We believe that our users want a microSD card to transfer files between their phone and other devices (laptop, tablet, etc), especially the photos and videos they shoot with the camera."
Adoptive Storage works by allowing a microSD card to be formatted and encrypted as if it was internal storage - the software "will then merge the microSD card and internal storage into a single storage pool, allowing you to seamlessly install as many apps as you want, or load it with media," says Ars.
Samsung elaborated further, adding, "With adoptable storage, first of all the card may be erased the first time it is inserted into the device. This behavior may be unexpected by many users and we don’t want our users to lose their files. Second, once Marshmallow starts using a card for adoptable storage, it cannot be read by other devices, so it loses this ability to be used for file transfer. Adoptable Storage is also primarily targeted towards emerging markets where devices with only 4-8GB of onboard storage are common. We think that our model of using microSD for mass storage is more in-line with our owner’s desires and expectations for how microSD should behave."
However, the original feature did allow users to choose between using a microSD card in the normal way Samsung describes as a portable storage device, or formatting it to become internal storage. What Samsung (and apparently LG) has done is to limit user choices seemingly arbitrarily. LG is yet to comment on the matter, but we're sure it'll pipe up soon.

Carrier Lock Incorporated

"A leaked image of the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge setup guide revealed that Samsung’s 2016 flagships will lock to a carrier once a SIM card is inserted," reports Android Authority. "Historically, most Samsung devices sold through carriers were nevertheless unlocked due to the hassle involved in custom-ordering carrier specific devices. Now it appears that Samsung has found a way for their smartphones to self-customize and lock to a specific carrier when they are first set up, and if carriers take well to this, then we can probably expect the Galaxy line to include this feature going forward."

While the design and build is familiar, in many ways that's quite welcome as we're once again greeted with a pair of very attractive and well-made devices fashioned from high-end materials.
Both phones feature QHD (2560x1440 pixel) Super AMOLED displays, with the Galaxy S7's 5.1in setup packing in 577ppi, and the larger 5.5in Galaxy S7 edge a slightly lower, but no less impressively sharp 534ppi. They're also both equipped with a new camera setup with a 12MP sensor - that's lower than last year's, but don't fret because it's a deliberate move towards better image quality by instead focusing on a wider f/1.7 aperture, a larger 1.4um pixel size, and a dual-pixel sensor with 100% phase detection.

The rumours of a lack of the new Type-C USB port have proven correct, as has the expected sealed unibody with an inaccessible battery cell, however, the battery has been bumped up to a 3,600mAh on the Galaxy S7 edge and 3,000mAh on the regular Galaxy S7, so neither phone should be lacking when it comes to juice. They're also both stuffed full of the latest 4G LTE and Wi-Fi connectivity, alongside the usual selection of GPS, Bluetooth, and NFC.
Whitepages has also confirmed a partnership with Samsung that will provide Galaxy S7 with a seamless experience that helps to identify unknown callers and also protects them against the increased threat of phone spam and scams. The new service will be available for Galaxy S7 users in 16 countries across North America, South America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, providing an overall better phone experience that includes:
· Caller Identification: By leveraging Whitepages’ proprietary data set that includes more than 600 million active mobile and landline phone numbers in the US and over 1.5 billion unique numbers globally, users will be able to make informed decisions about whether or not to answer an incoming call.
· Spam and Scam Detection: With Whitepages’ state of the art phone reputation service, users will have much needed context for unsolicited spam and scam calls, giving them peace of mind when answering or ignoring a call. The service also includes a spam button for users to easily report spam numbers which will in turn, help other users from falling victim to fraudulent calls.
· Nearby Business Search: Powered by a global database of local business information, users will be able to search directly within the native dialer to easily find nearby businesses for any and all of life’s purchases and curiosities.

In the processor and RAM department Samsung has pulled a bit of a fast one, or should we say an "Apple one", by not really disclosing any proper details and instead stating some broad-brush figures, like 30% faster CPU performance than the Galaxy S6 series, and 64% faster GPU performance. This doesn't touch on any of the pre-launch rumour stuff about Exynos vs Snapdragon chipsets, as we know both will be in different Galaxy S7 editions, we just don't know which versions will be hitting which regions. We do know that both Galaxy S7 models feature a rather interesting feature to combat processor heat, taking a cue from full-blown PCs with a liquid-filled tube and heatsink arrangement; essentially the liquid heats up and evaporates, then dissipates the heat to a heatsink, before turning back into a liquid and restarting the process.

In terms of the software, of course we're looking at Android Marshmallow with a TouchWiz layer on top. The new TouchWiz is very similar to the current build rolling out the Galaxy S6 series devices, including the new enhancements to the Galaxy S6 edge display functionality; expanding the number edge display area, the number of apps and shortcuts that can be stored, and adding more tools and widgets. It's a bit more streamlined generally, but should be familiar to current Samsung users.

Samsung has also added the rumoured "Always On" feature to the display functionality on both devices. This is similar to Always On features we've seen before, utilising the ability of OLED to display information on-screen while consuming very little power by only selectively lighting certain pixels. In practice this means the feature can display the date, time, and notifications for quick at-a-glance information without draining the battery much at all.

Samsung Galaxy S7 & Galaxy S7 edge Price & Availability

As of February 23, information has begun appearing online regarding the availability of Samsung's latest Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge devices. Both phones will go on sale from March 11, a date officially confirmed by Samsung's head of mobile Koh Dong-jin, and those sales will be live in a global rollout to 60 countries.
"The Galaxy S7 is slated to go on sale in 60 countries on March 11. We expect its sales to surpass shipments of the previous model, the Galaxy S6," he said. For reference, Samsung's Galaxy S6 sales from last year are estimated around 38 million units - and that's not a figure the firm was pleased with.
However, one thing that's very important to note is that in the US and some parts of Europe (which we expect will include the UK), Samsung will only be selling the 32GB storage model of the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge. SamMobile reports that Samsung has confirmed that some European markets would not be receiving the 64GB model, but has now also confirmed that the US will not get it either. According to some reports it's alleged 32GB models have higher profit margins.
There's also now some info about the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge pricing on UK carrier networks.
EE
If you're with EE you pay an up-front cost of £9.99 for either the Galaxy S7 (32GB) or Galaxy S7 edge (32GB) for a monthly tariff of £49.99 or £54.99 respectively, for a 24 month contract. Colour options include Black Onyx and Gold Platinum.
O2
O2 has the same colour options as EE with the 32GB Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge both once again having a £9.99 up-front fee plus £54 or £51 per month respectively on 24 month contracts.
Vodafone
Vodafone has pretty much the same setup once again - the same colour options - plus a £9 up-front charge regardless of model. A 32GB Galaxy S7 costs £50 per month while the same storage Galaxy S7 edge costs £56 per month - in both cases 24 month contracts.
Three
Again, same colour options and 32GB of storage either way. The Galaxy S7 has an up-front cost of £29 and a £41 per month tariff for 24 months. The Galaxy S7 edge is £49 up front and £47 per month thereafter for 24 months. This is also the fastest way to get the handset as pre-orders made before March 6 will arrive on March 8, while everyone else must wait until March 11.