Galaxy s7 edge description. Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Exynos - Specifications

Samsung Galaxy The S7 and its larger sibling, the S7 Edge, were revealed last night at a presentation at MWC. The new products are expectedly very interesting, stylish, high-quality, with an improved camera, and so on. There are already first impressions, results in AnTuTu and examples of photos from the built-in camera.

Instead of packaging, here is a photo of the box the newest flagship. For now, we move on to the main part of our mini-review of the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge.

Design

Evolution is evident Samsung versions. We didn't see anything new. The surfaces at both the front and back are now slightly rounded. The result is a now fashionable 2.5D effect. By the way, if in 2016 you release a smartphone without such glass, then I don’t even know... what are you even counting on?

The bright, pearlescent, iridescent surfaces of both devices are very easily soiled. In the demo area, next to each pair of new products, there was a specially trained person armed with a soft cloth. At every opportunity, he wiped down the devices. You will do the same thing when you buy yourself one of the devices.

In the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, the screen remains curved on both sides. It is still quite difficult to use in everyday life, since the display located on the sides is easily pressed with your fingers or palm. This is especially difficult during shooting - some photographing mode is constantly activated. Holding a smartphone without pressing the screen is problematic.

There will be four color options available: gold, white, silver and black. We make allowances for very high gloss, so the colors are not present in their pure form.

Hardware features

There are a few things to note here.

Firstly, protection from moisture and dust has returned to the S7. IP68 standard. Previously, only the S5 could boast of this function, and then with the caveat that the device was splash-proof. Now, company representatives have officially announced that the smartphone can be immersed in water for 30 minutes to a depth of 1.5 meters and nothing will happen to it.

Secondly, no need for you USB Type-C. On the one hand, why is it needed at all, since USB 3.0 is still an extremely rare phenomenon. On the other hand, many manufacturers have already released a device that supports the new connector, but the most important innovator, Samsung, is dragging its feet.

Thirdly, this is the return of Micro SD cards. Users around the world were indignant about their absence and the Koreans fortunately took this moment into account. The card is installed in the SIM card slot instead of one of the SIM cards. Both, by the way, have the Nano SIM form factor.

Fourthly, it's time to look at Samsung Galaxy S7 specifications(model SM-G930):

• RAM 4 GB
• 5.1 inch display Super AMOLED with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels (576 ppi)
• front camera 5 MP
• 3000 mAh battery (fast charge in 90 minutes)
• OS Android 6.0
• Dimensions: 142.4 x 69.6 x 7.9 mm
• weight 152 g
• Navigation: GPS, A-GPS

The younger version differs from the older one uncritically. Essentially, these are two identical devices, just one has a smaller screen, while the other is larger and curved at the edges.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Specifications(model SM-G935) look like this:

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor (MSM8996) 2.2 GHz (64-bit)
• processor (alternative) Exynos 8 Octa 8890 with a frequency of 2.3 GHz (64-bit)
• Adreno 530 or Mali-T880 MP14 graphics
• RAM 4 GB
• built-in storage 32 or 64 GB
• Supports Micro SD memory cards up to 200 GB
• 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels (534 ppi)
• main camera 12 MP (f/1.7, pixel size 1.4 microns)
• front camera 5 MP
• 3600 mAh battery (fast charge in 90 minutes)
• OS Android 6.0
• Sensors: accelerometer, gyroscope, hall, proximity and lighting sensors, digital compass, barometer, fingerprint scanner
• connectors: Micro USB 2.0 (OTG works), 3.5 mm audio output
• Dimensions: 150.9 x 72.6 x 7.7 mm
• weight 157 g
• Communications: 4G (LTE Cat 9), Wi-Fi (802.11 ac), Bluetooth 4.2, NFC
• Navigation: GPS, A-GPS

For games

Something has been done for gamers as well. No, I’m not talking about the monstrous performance, which has increased by 30 percent compared to its predecessor, although it, of course, plays an important role. Here's the thing. Samsung decided to create additional tools for players who play a lot and actively share their achievements in in social networks and so on.

To do this, smartphones come pre-installed with the Game launcher software node, which catalogs all the toys in one place, allows you to turn off all notifications during gaming, is responsible for recording video from the device screen, takes screenshots, and so on.

Software chips

The smartphone screen is now always on. More precisely, when it is not lying face down, or in a pocket, or in a bag. At other times, it will always display the most necessary information (time, date, calendar, missed notifications). However, the appearance of constantly glowing elements can be customized quite deeply, even to the point of setting different pictures.

In addition, the device interface, including wallpapers, screensavers and application icons, can be changed to your liking. All this is now official and available in the corresponding app store from Samsung.

For Edge, it is now possible to install up to 9 side panels with shortcuts, folders, contacts and other useful information. You can install up to 10 elements on each panel, so you may not have to navigate the menu.

Camera Samsung Galaxy S7

The most important advantage of the new flagships is, of course, the camera. The main module here is 12 megapixels. Not much, it would seem, but after you look at the examples of photographs from samsung cameras Galaxy S7 Edge, you will understand that the number of megapixels is completely unimportant.

Below are examples of pictures from the camera of a regular Samsung Galaxy S7. They are in no way inferior to the camera of their curved brother.

You can download all photos in original resolution in one archive using the link.

In the new generation of smartphones, the pixels have become larger (1.4 microns), and the aperture has decreased to an impressive f/1.7. Thus, the photos will turn out even brighter, and their quality will improve.

In addition, a special mode called Motion Panorama has appeared. The point is this. You are taking a panoramic photo. Everything is as usual: we move the smartphone lens from left to right. After this, you get something like a photograph, by moving it left or right you can view what was happening while you were taking the picture. This is the cunning response from the Koreans to Apple's Live Photos.

The file can only be played on a smartphone. When transferring it to another device, the device offers to save it either as a photo or as a video.

Accessories

There are a lot of them. These include all kinds of cases (transparent and not so transparent, flips, batteries, etc.), and new portable batteries, and wireless charging and more.

Let us now focus on only one accessory called Lens Cover. There are two versions in nature. Each differs in the lens it comes with: something similar to a “telephoto lens” or a wide-angle lens. They are only available for S7 Edge. By at least, there were no models for a regular Essemer at the stand.

First, examples of photos and videos from one lens.

Here are examples of content shot on the S7 Edge camera, already with a wide-angle lens.

Bottom line

The new items turned out to be very, very interesting. No revolution happened, but no one expected it. Performance has increased, the already very decent camera has improved, new goodies have appeared - these are the updated Galaxy S series smartphones.

The devices will go on sale starting March 11. Where and for what money - these questions have not yet been answered. I doubt that we should expect anything different from iPhone cost 6S in the US, and let me remind you, it is $649 and $749 for the 6S and 6S Plus, respectively. In Europe, and as a result in our country, these are 749 and 849, only in euros.

Part 1: general introduction and comparison of performance with iPhone 6s Plus and Moto X Force

The announcement of the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge at the Mobile World Congress 2016 expectedly became one of the main IT events in recent weeks. And although in general there is nothing revolutionary in these smartphones - it is, rather, an evolution in relation to the S6 Edge, and not a revolution, nevertheless, from first impressions and from the totality of the information voiced about the new products, I got the impression that this is really almost best flagships first half of 2016. Now that we have received the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge for testing, it's time to check whether this is true or not.

We talked about our first impressions of the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge in a report from the presentation. Here we emphasize that although Samsung, like a year ago, releases two smartphones at the same time and maintains its positioning, there are still more hardware differences between them than between the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. Firstly, the display of the two new products differs not only in the presence or absence of curvature, but also in diagonal - 5.1 inches in the case of the Galaxy S7 and 5.5 inches in the case of the S7 Edge. Secondly, the battery capacity, which was almost the same in the S6 and S6 Edge, now differs quite significantly: in the S7 this figure is 3000 mAh, and in the S7 Edge it is already 3600 mAh.

Apparently, the manufacturer decided to more thoroughly justify the price difference between the S7 and S7 Edge. On pre-order in Russia, smartphones cost 49,990 and 59,990 rubles, respectively. 10,000 rubles difference just for the spectacular curve of the screen is a bit much, but if you add to this a more capacious battery and a larger screen area, it turns out much more interesting.

We especially note that when pre-ordering, the user receives a second-generation Samsung Gear VR helmet as a gift, which individually costs almost 8,000 rubles. Nice bonus!

Let's take a look at the specifications of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.

Specifications Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge

• SoC Samsung Exynos 8890 Octa
• CPU Mongoose @2.6 GHz (4 cores) + Cortex-A53 @1.6 GHz (4 cores)
• GPU Mali-T880
• Operating system Android 6.0.1
• Touchscreen 5.5″ SuperAMOLED, curved on both sides, 2560×1440, 534 ppi
• Random access memory (RAM) 4 GB
• Persistent memory: 32 GB
• Map support microSD memory up to 200 GB
• SIM cards: 2 × Micro-SIM
• Communication GSM/GPRS/EDGE/3G/LTE Cat.9
• Bluetooth 4.2 LE, NFC, ANT+
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n/ac 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz
• GPS with A-GPS, Glonass
• Sensors: accelerometer, geomagnetic sensor, gyroscope, light sensor, proximity sensor, barometer, Hall sensor, fingerprint scanner, heart rate sensor
• Cameras: 5 MP (front) and 12 MP (rear) Dual Pixel, with LED flash, optical stabilization system and autofocus, f/1.7, 4K video shooting
• Battery: lithium polymer 3600 mAh, non-removable
• Dimensions 150.9×72.6×7.7 mm
• Weight 157 g

For clarity, we decided to make a table with Samsung specifications Galaxy S7 Edge and its immediate predecessor Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+, and also added to the table Moto X Force and iPhone 6S Plus - the most obvious competitors of the new product.

	Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge	Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+	Moto X Force	Apple iPhone 6s Plus
Screen	5.5″ Super AMOLED, curved on both sides, 2560×1440, 534 ppi	5.7″ Super AMOLED, curved on both sides, 2560×1440, 515 ppi	5.4″ AMOLED, 2560×1440, 540 ppi	5.5″ IPS, 1920×1080, 401 ppi
SoC (processor)	Samsung Exynos 8890 Octa (4 Mongoose cores @2.6 GHz + 4 Cortex-A53 cores @1.6)	Samsung Exynos 7420 (4 Cortex-A57 @2.1 GHz + 4 Cortex-A53 @1.5 GHz)	Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 (4x Cortex-A57 @2.0 GHz + 4x Cortex-A53 @1.5 GHz)	Apple A9 (2 cores @1.8 GHz, 64-bit ARMv8-A architecture)
GPU	Mali-T880	Mali-T760	Adreno 430	Apple A9
Flash memory	32 GB	32 GB	32 GB	16/64/128 GB
Connectors		Micro-USB (with OTG support), 3.5mm headset jack	Micro-USB (with OTG support), 3.5mm headset jack	Lightning dock connector, 3.5mm headset jack
Memory card support	microSD (up to 200 GB)	No	microSD (up to 2 TB)	No
RAM	4 GB	4 GB	3 GB	2 GB
Cameras		rear (16 MP; 4K video), front (5 MP)	rear (21 MP; 4K video), front (5 MP)	rear (12 MP; 4K video), front (5 MP)
LTE support	There is	There is	There is	There is
Battery capacity (mAh)	3600	2600	3760	2750
operating system	Google Android 6.0.1	Google Android 5.1 (updated to 6.0.1)	Google Android 6.0.1	Apple iOS 9.0 (updated to 9.2.1)
Dimensions (mm)*	151×73×7.7	154×76×6.9	150×78×9.2	158×78×7.3
Weight (g)	157	153	170	190

*according to official data from manufacturers

The table clearly shows what major changes have occurred in the new product compared to the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+. First of all, there is support for microSD memory cards. In addition, the smartphone is now equipped with a new SoC and a significantly more capacious battery. True, two parameters may confuse those who are choosing between the Galaxy S7 Edge and S6 Edge+. Firstly, the new product has become a little thicker, and secondly, the rear camera now has a resolution of 12 megapixels instead of the previous 16 megapixels. However, both of them are justified by some technological features, which we will discuss later, so you shouldn’t immediately write them down as disadvantages.

As for comparison with the Moto X Force, the smaller amount of RAM is noteworthy here. And, of course, the screen has no curve (although, according to Lenovo, which owns the Moto brand, it is also plastic). As for the remaining differences (SoC and camera parameters), this needs to be tested. The same is true in regarding iPhone 6s Plus, where direct comparison of characteristics is generally meaningless due to different OS. But it’s worth noting that compared to the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and Moto X Force, the iPhone 6s Plus has a much less capacious battery, although the dimensions are no smaller (only thickness).

However, let's move on to direct testing and in the process we will answer a number of questions that arose when comparing the characteristics. Including the main one: which smartphone is the most productive at the moment.

Equipment

The smartphone arrived to us in a test box, different from those that will be on the counter. Alas, it was not a beautiful suitcase at all, like our colleagues from Poland, but just a white cardboard package. However, the packaging inside appears to be in line with what shoppers will get in store.

This Charger with Quick Charge support, Micro-USB - USB cable, key for removing SIM card and memory card cradle, OTG adapter (for connecting external USB drives with a full-size plug), as well as headphones in a separate plastic box and with an additional set of rubber ear pads.

The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ had the same headphones, and, admittedly, it was not for nothing that the manufacturer included them again. They have tangle-free flat wire, very convenient form embouchure, and most importantly - decent sound. We tested it on the FLAC version of the new Massive Attack EP "Ritual Spirit" (by the way, the smartphone plays FLAC tracks without any problems) and were pleasantly surprised by the transmission of deep bass in the songs Dead Editors and Take It There.

As for the charger, we will talk in more detail about all the issues related to the battery and recharging in the second part of the article, but for now we will report only one result: in 15 minutes using the included charging block The smartphone is charged by 20%. Quite a good result!

Design

In terms of appearance Samsung differences Galaxy S7 Edge from S6 Edge+ and 6S Edge are minimal - first of all, they concern slightly changed sizes. And yet, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge can without any doubt be called one of the most beautiful modern smartphones.

Almost the entire front panel is occupied by a screen that effectively wraps around both edges along the long sides. And this not only delights in itself, but also creates an illusion complete absence framework In fact, of course, there are frames, but they are already quite thin, and thanks to the rounding of the screen they seem quite insignificant.

Both the front and rear panels are completely covered with glass. They are quite easily soiled, especially if we are talking about the black version of the smartphone (silver and platinum versions will also be on sale), but they still look great. Very narrow zones below and above the screen are also a plus. Thanks to this, with the same dimensions Samsung screen The Galaxy S7 Edge turns out to be significantly more compact than the iPhone 6s Plus. True, the iPhone is just a little thinner, but this is completely unnoticeable. And thanks to the narrowing of the side edges, the Samsung smartphone seems even thinner than the Apple device.

In general, the size of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is optimal. The S6 Edge+ was still a bit big and didn’t feel as comfortable in the hand. But the S7 Edge is just right! Of course, because of the glass in front and behind, it is slippery, you are afraid to drop it, but it is still pleasant to hold in your hand.

All edges, like its predecessor, are made of metal, as are the buttons. They press with pleasant elasticity. The layout of buttons and connectors is similar to the previous model. On the right is the power button, on the left are separate volume buttons.

On the bottom edge there is a speaker, a Micro-USB connector with OTG support (it’s strange that Samsung is not switching to USB Type C, unlike many other manufacturers), a 3.5 mm headset jack and a built-in microphone hole. Interestingly, the location of this hole has changed, meaning that the internal layout of the components appears to have undergone significant changes. As for the speaker, its maximum volume is quite sufficient not to miss a call/alarm clock, and for watching movies or videos, but, of course, it should not be used for listening to music due to unnecessary overtones and the not very pleasant nature of the sound in in general. However, it would be strange to expect something different from a device of such a form factor.

On the top edge we see another microphone hole and a combined slot for a SIM card and a microSD memory card. Yes, as we already said, Samsung has fixed one of the main disadvantages of Galaxy S6 Edge and S6 Edge+, adding to Galaxy S7 Edge support memory cards. And given that the manufacturer is especially proud of the smartphone’s camera, this is especially relevant, since own memory 32 GB for a camera phone that shoots video in 4K is frankly not enough.

At the top of the front panel, next to the eyes of the front camera and sensors, there is led indicator events. The large round dot lights up in different colors depending on the battery charging status or incoming messages. This element was there before, but I’m glad that Samsung didn’t sacrifice it.

The rear camera lens still protrudes quite a bit above the glass of the rear panel, but this can hardly be considered a serious drawback.

The Home button on the front panel also protrudes. But this is even a plus, since it is easier to find it by touch. And you will have to do this every time you turn on the smartphone, since this button contains a fingerprint sensor. It works very quickly, the recognition rate is very good, so there are no complaints here.

Despite the fact that the external design has changed minimally, the new smartphone has one very important quality: water resistance according to the IP68 standard. At the same time, there are no plugs on the ports here. That is, moisture protection is ensured thanks to the design and materials. This is, of course, a wonderful and unexpected gift, a real feat of engineers!

Overall, the design deserves the highest marks. Of course, its subjective perception depends primarily on how much you, in principle, like the screen that bends on the edge. There are people who don't like it. But even they are unlikely to argue with the fact that the design of the Galaxy S7 Edge is certainly original (except, of course, for its predecessors), and thanks to the excellent ratio of dimensions and display size, the smartphone is also very practical. It will fit into any pocket without any problems and will fit comfortably even in a small hand. As a huge plus, we note the appearance of a slot for memory cards, and among the minuses is the absence of a green option. For the Galaxy S6 Edge, it was the green (“emerald”) version that was one of the most attractive, original and stylish.

The color options for the new member of the Edge family are also quite good. But here is a strange situation: only black, gold and silver options are available for pre-order in Russia. But white - no. Although we saw it at the exhibition and, to be honest, it was the one we liked the most. It has a very interesting pearl shade. The black device that we are currently testing seems a little less advantageous and practical (due to fingerprints), although the color is still interesting, deep, and not banal.

Performance

The smartphone runs on the new Exynos 8890 Octa SoC, made using a 14 nm process technology, improved with FinFET LPP (Low-Power Plus) technology. It uses new Mongoose CPU cores (four cores with a frequency of 2.6 GHz) and the already familiar four Cortex-A53 cores with a frequency of 1.6 GHz.

The Mali-T880 acts as a graphics accelerator.

Samsung has not used this SoC before, meaning this is our first look at it. Therefore, it is necessary to compare it with the main competing solutions: Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 and Apple A9. Of course, it would be even more interesting if the comparison involved the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, but we have not yet had devices with this SoC. So we’ll be content with what we have, and at the same time we’ll try to answer the burning question that worries the Internet community so much: who is more powerful - the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge or Apple iPhone S6 Plus?

Let's start with browser tests: SunSpider 1.0.2, Octane Benchmark, Kraken Benchmark and . We used the Chrome browser on all Android devices and Safari on iOS. If there is a dash in the table field, it means that the corresponding smartphone was not tested in this benchmark (or in this version of this benchmark).

As you can see, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is confidently ahead of its Android competitor and its own predecessor, but the iPhone is still ahead in the overall standings.

Now let's see how the gadget performs in complex benchmarks - AnTuTu 6 and Geekbench 3.

Unfortunately, we do not have AnTuTu 6 results for the previous Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+, since we tested it in the fifth version of the benchmark, and it was radically different in the principles of scoring, so it is incorrect to compare the results. But AnTuTu finally worked fine on iOS. So we added the iPhone to the table too.

And again the picture repeats itself, although superiority iPhone already less, and in Geekbench 3 multi-core mode Apple smartphone and is completely inferior to the new Samsung product.

In addition to our ongoing test method We decided to compare the Galaxy S7 Edge and iPhone 6s Plus in the cross-platform benchmark Basemark OS II. The results are in front of you. The screenshot on the left is Samsung, on the right is Apple.

As we can see, Samsung lost here. Although not in all subtests (see Memory).

The last group of benchmarks is dedicated to testing GPU performance. We used 3DMark, GFXBench and Bonsai Benchmark. All of them show real 3D scenes and allow you to clearly see how the devices cope with them.

Let's start with GFXBench. Let us remind you that Offscreen tests involve displaying images in 1080p, regardless of the actual screen resolution. And Onscreen tests mean displaying a picture in the resolution that matches the device screen resolution. That is, Offscreen tests are indicative from the point of view of the abstract performance of the SoC, and Onscreen tests are indicative from the point of view of the comfort of gaming on specific device. Additionally, this year's Android devices featured a new Car Chase scene using OpenGL ES 3.1. This standard is not supported on iPhone, so this scene is not available there, nor is the Manhattan version of the scene with ES 3.1. However, there is enough data to draw conclusions.

	Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge (Samsung Exynos 8890 Octa)	Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ (Samsung Exynos 7420 Octa)	Moto X Force (Qualcomm Snapdragon 810)	Apple iPhone 6s Plus (Apple A9)
GFXBenchmark Car Chase ES 3.1 (Onscreen)	7.9 fps	—	3.2 fps	—
GFXBenchmark Car Chase ES 3.1 (1080p Offscreen)	15 fps	—	5.1 fps	—
GFXBenchmark Manhattan ES 3.1 (Onscreen)	24 fps	—	10 fps	—
GFXBenchmark Manhattan ES 3.1 (1080p Offscreen)	26 fps	—	18 fps	—
GFXBenchmark Manhattan ES 3.0 (Onscreen)	25 fps	—	—	39 fps
GFXBenchmark Manhattan ES 3.0 (1080p Offscreen)	38 fps	—	—	40 fps
GFXBenchmark T-Rex (Onscreen)	52 fps	37 fps	40 fps	59 fps
GFXBenchmark T-Rex (1080p Offscreen)	84 fps	57 fps	53 fps	80 fps

As we can see, the Galaxy S7 Edge and iPhone 6s Plus performed approximately equally. The difference in Onscreen mode is naturally explained by the higher resolution Galaxy screen S7 Edge. As for comparison with other Android smartphones, the picture here is clear and requires no comment.

The next tests are 3DMark and Bonsai Benchmark. In 3DMark, the Sling Shot scene ran in OpenGL ES 3.1 on Android devices, and in OpenGL 3.0 on iPhones.

One can immediately say about Bonsai Benchmark that it is no longer indicative for such productive SoCs - in particular, this is evidenced by the results of two Samsung smartphones. But with 3DMark it’s more interesting. And here the iPhone is still in the lead.

In general, the benchmarks allow us to draw the following conclusions. Undoubtedly, this is a powerful device that has no equal among Android smartphones. At least until the appearance of devices based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820. However, it will surpass the iPhone 6s Plus new product Samsung failed - Apple's flagship leads in most tests. Although the gap is minimal and is rather of theoretical interest. The practical result (performance in games) will depend primarily on how well the game is optimized for a specific SoC.

In the second part of the article you will find detailed testing of the screen, a story about battery life, a description of the software, as well as a test drive of the camera in field conditions - on the Kola Peninsula, including underwater shooting! Do not miss!

In 2015, Samsung made a breakthrough and radically changed the concept of creating smartphones. Then new unusual flagships entered the market - S6 and S6 Edge. The version with curved display edges became the most popular, so in the first months the developers did not have time to make up for the shortage of this model in store windows.

The following year, the manufacturer decided not to delay the release of a new phone, so the S7 and S7 Edge immediately appeared. This time the “couple” was more balanced, and therefore the “plus” version was not worth expecting.

At the time of the release of the Galaxy S7 Edge, this model became the most popular in the world. Pre-orders again showed that the buyer gives preference curved screens. In addition, the new smartphone was able to fix problems with the display. Let's find out what else has changed in the phone.

Equipment

The new Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, the pre-sale price of which was about 60 thousand rubles, comes in the usual configuration for the company. The box contains a charger with support for Fast Adaptive Charge and, accordingly, a USB cable. There are also instructions, a clip for the slot and headphones. This kit is quite sufficient for any user.

Appearance

Comparing with last year’s flagship S6 edge, it is noticeable that the new model’s display diagonal was immediately increased, so the Galaxy S7 Edge is no longer a smaller copy of its older brother, but a smartphone with the same dimensions.

At first glance, no external changes No. But still, the developers refined the sharp edge of the body and made it more curved. Now the smart phone has become more convenient to hold in your hand. Its dimensions have also increased slightly due to the new voluminous battery and durable finishing materials.

The main changes that affected the flagship's body are the return protective coating from water and dust. There is the familiar IP68 standard, which works stably without any errors. The phone is protected in every possible way from dust and especially water getting inside. It can stay for about half an hour at a depth of up to one meter.

I was also pleased that the body was rid of the already boring, ugly plugs. All connectors are protected by a special membrane. The new Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, the price of which meets all expectations, has become a monopod. Now the battery can only be reached in service center. The cover of the smartphone is taped with a special protective tape, which allows you to immerse the phone in water.

Everything is in its place

Basically the design remains the same as before. Naturally, there are no frames around the screen. There is a speaker above the display, sensors on either side of it, and the company logo flaunts right there. A classic button is located under the screen.

On the back panel there is a main camera with LED flash. The logo was placed under it again. At the bottom end of the case there is a speaker, a microphone, a connector for a charger and a place for headphones. At the top end there is only a small hole for an additional microphone and a SIM card tray. On the right side there is a lock button, on the left there is a volume rocker.

Unusual design solution

The screen of the new flagship did not become a sensation, but still continued to delight customers. For the Galaxy S7 Edge, the price depends specifically on the rest of the smartphone is no different from its brother S7.

The display resolution has not changed, as in last year’s smartphone, Quad HD with a resolution of 2560x1440. The screen has been noticeably improved. We increased the overall brightness reserve. The matrix remained the same - juicy and rich it turned out to be of very high quality. The black color looks “charcoal”, the contrast is balanced, and the brightness is comfortable both at night and at midday in the sun.

In the settings, you can adjust the screen display if AMOLED seems too artificial to someone. There is a mode that allows you to adjust the color scheme to be closer to more realistic.

Energy costs

The press release featured a special Always On option that looks really good. It works as follows: when the user locks the device, the calendar, clock and some notifications are still displayed on the screen. That is, the phone is still partially active. The developers claimed that Always On only consumes 1% of charge per hour. In practice, it turned out that the function is quite expensive for the smartphone’s energy. If you turn it off, the phone will live 20-30% longer.

"Filling"

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, whose price fluctuates around 60 thousand rubles, received the top version of the operating system - Android 6.0.1. It works in tandem with the already familiar TouchWiz. In this model, the option has been redesigned for the OS, so everything looks very harmonious and balanced.

Considering the cost of the device, it’s probably not worth saying that you can find some errors or lags in the system. There were no slowdowns, the OS “flies”. Thanks to the redesigned corporate shell, the menu is collected on one screen, which looks quite concise. IN separate folder they placed “Google applications” and, of course, branded software.

"Memorable" changes

Last year, the company decided to remove support for memory cards from all its flagships. Most likely, such changes occurred in pursuit of fashion. What followed was a series of mistakes. It was decided to release smartphones with 32, 64 and 128 GB. In practice, it turned out that to find latest version device is almost impossible. Naturally, such problems could not go unnoticed.

In 2016, microSD support was returned. The situation with internal memory remains the same for the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. The price depends on the version of the device. The most expensive is the 64 GB model.

Considering that you can now put microSD in a smartphone, the 64 GB version has become less popular. By the way, the tray for memory cards and SIM cards is combined. The user can choose what he needs: two SIM cards or one, but paired with a memory card.

The new flagship also has more RAM - 4 GB. Naturally, this improvement affected the phone's performance.

Performance

The company changed its preferences and instead of the famous Qualcomm, there is an Exynos 8890 inside the smartphone. Fans were at first skeptical about replacing the processor, but, as various tests show, the device with 8 cores not only outperformed the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, but also had moderate power consumption.

Testing of the new Mali-T880 graphics chipset also showed stunning results. Compared to previous version, this one has become “faster” by as much as 80%.

Activity

The new Galaxy S7 Edge has a powerful 3600 mAh battery. Its autonomy shows excellent results, taking into account display size, performance metrics and multitasking. The developer also took care of excellent optimization, which allows you to maintain the device’s charge for a long time.

Despite the newfangled Type-C connectors, Samsung did not move away from the proven microUSB. The kit includes a charger that allows you to charge your phone from 0 to 100% in just 100 minutes. There is also the possibility of wireless charging.

Pleasant trifles

At the time of the release of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, it could not be found in Svyaznoy. Which seriously upset fans, especially those who had been waiting for a new product with an amazing camera since the press release.

There's not much to say about the front. Its resolution is 5 megapixels, it copes well with its “selfie” function. Correcting the face, changing color and correcting its geometry have been added to the menu.

But the main surprise was the appearance of a 12 megapixel main camera. At first, this news shocked fans, because the previous Samsung model had as much as 16 megapixels. It turned out that a module from Sony IMX260 was developed specifically for the company. Its aperture ratio increased to 1.7, and the main “trick” was the change in pixel size to 1.4 microns. Thus, the developers increased not the number of pixels, but their size, which qualitatively affected the photographs.

conclusions

At the beginning of the year, the Galaxy S7 Edge became the highest quality and strongest smartphone. Outwardly, it has not changed much in comparison with the previous version, but many innovations have been placed inside it, which have significantly improved the performance of the device.

Beautiful design and quality of materials are the first thing that catches your eye. But behind the metal shell lies a huge number of features that make this smartphone the best on the market. Large 3600 mAh battery. High-quality camera module with increased pixel size. Switch to Exynos and an improved version of the graphics chipset.

After entering the market, for some reason the model never appeared in the Svyaznoy store. “Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge” can now be purchased at prices ranging from 40 to 70 thousand rubles. It can be ordered both in China at a low price, and purchased in an online store in any city and country.

Samsung is experiencing many problems, including with the sales of its smartphones. The Korean megagiant has been steadily incurring losses for several years and is losing market share due to growing Chinese companies, which sell the same thing, only a little cheaper. The only thing that still sets Samsung apart from everyone else is the company’s ability to spend huge amounts of money on developing the most advanced technologies. And all of them are condensed into the Koreans' flagship, which they are betting on in 2016: a smartphone called the Galaxy S7 Edge. It is he who should show the world how Samsung is superior to all its competitors. Given the design of the device and its incredible characteristics, it seems that the company is not going to give up without a fight.

Specifications

Dimensions 72.6x150.9x7.7 mm Weight 157 grams Android 6.0 OS Screen diagonal 5.5 inches Resolution 2560x1440 pixels RAM 4 GB Built-in memory 32/64 GB, with support for microSD cards up to 200 GB Processor 8-core Exynos 8890 Octa with frequency up to 2.6 GHz Camera 12 Mpix, front - 5 Mpix SIM cards 1 or 2, nano-SIM, work alternately Non-removable battery, Li-Ion, 3600 mAh

Frame

The design of the Galaxy S7 Edge is one of its most impressive elements. It hasn't changed much since the Galaxy S6 Edge, but that's only because it's unclear what could be improved. The case is covered on all sides with durable protective glass, and it looks simply brilliant. On the left and right, the screen extends to the ends of the device, creating the feeling that it has no edges, and this also looks great. None of the competitors have yet thought of making such a “fitting” screen, and, of course, such original smartphone against the backdrop of all the standard black rectangles it seems like a king. In addition, Samsung seems to have done the impossible: the Galaxy S7 Edge is thinner than the Galaxy S7 - although the battery is much larger. The device fits perfectly in the hand, it is light, thin, and not slippery: the glass actually feels very nice on the palm.

The case is non-separable, the battery is non-removable. SIM cards (nano-sized) are located on a special tray inserted into the end. Depending on the configuration, the tray can be with one card and space for microSD, or with space for two SIM cards - but then one of them will then share its slot with microSD, so you have to choose between them. Fortunately, for its flagship, Samsung was generous and gave us the opportunity to choose between 32 GB and 64 GB of internal storage, so an additional microSD card in this case is not necessary. Most smartphones have only 16 GB of memory, of which a good half is occupied by the system and programs, and you don’t really want to insert a second SIM card into them if it further reduces data storage capabilities. In the Galaxy S7 Edge, everything is fine with this; you don’t have to make a painful choice here. And if you still need to store a huge media library, then even new microSD cards with a capacity of 200 GB are inserted here.

Another huge plus of the Galaxy S7 Edge, even compared to last year's Galaxy S6, is its water resistance. You can take your phone with you to the bathroom, swim with it, wash it in the sink, or walk with it in the rain. The protection standard here is IP68, that is, the smartphone can easily stay for 30 minutes even at a depth of 1.5 meters under water. This is achieved by impregnating the board with a special solution and installing membranes on speakers, microphones, etc.

The new smartphone is quite expensive and its screen is unique, so to stimulate sales, Samsung is providing an extended VIP warranty for their displays. They are quite durable, protected by Gorilla Glass 4, but even if you break them through your own fault, they will be replaced for free in the first year after purchase. True, to gain access to such a program in Russia, you need to buy a smartphone from one of the official brand stores.

Camera

Formally, the resolution of the camera in the Galaxy S7 Edge is even worse than in the Galaxy S6. Previously it was 16 megapixels, now it is 12 megapixels. But in fact, the quality of the photo... has improved! Moreover, significantly. That's because it uses a special new BriteCell camera module. It is so good that even Sony, famous for its cameras, asked Samsung right for its production. The camera matrix in the S7 Edge physically has a clarity of 24 megapixels; adjacent pixels are simply combined to improve the overall picture quality. The improvements are especially noticeable in low light conditions. In the dark and at dusk new smartphone Samsung shoots better than absolutely all other options on the market.

Another bonus of the new camera module is focusing time. Autofocus works in a fifth of a second, even in low light. This allows you to take excellent photographs of moving objects, clearly catch the wings of a bird in flight, or perfectly photograph your surroundings even from an airplane window or from a moving car.

In addition to excellent autofocus and increased light sensitivity, the Galaxy S7 Edge also has a ton of new camera settings and additional modes. Among them, it is worth mentioning hyperlapse and motion panorama. Overall, the camera is very good, although you can’t tell from the characteristics.

Display

The Galaxy S7 Edge has an excellent Super AMOLED screen. It is exactly the same as the Galaxy S6 Edge and Galaxy S7, only slightly larger: 5.5 inches diagonally instead of 5.1 inches. Better display you won't find it in the world of smartphones. And it’s not just about excellent color reproduction, excellent brightness (with perfect auto-adjustment!) and high resolution 2560x1440. An important role is played by the edges of the screen extending to the ends of the body. They looked great in the S6 Edge, but didn't do much good. But now, in the S7 Edge, the edges give room for two additional speakers, open up “bonus” space for information. Several programs actively use it, and Samsung actively encourages the development of new ones.

The most convenient feature, perhaps, is the People Edge function, which gives direct access to your favorite contacts. Icons with photos of your people and loved ones appear on the right side of the screen. You can tap on them to instantly call that person or send them a message. You can also place a compass, ruler, and even a flashlight (which is widely customizable from the menu) at the edges of the display. It is obvious that such “extended” screens are the future. Empty space on smartphones will become less and less over time. Samsung is the first company to create such a design.

Performance

Most big problem Galaxy S6 was missing a memory card slot. Samsung, looking at the success of Apple, decided that 32/64/128 GB would be enough for everyone, and everyone could take the model to suit their needs. In practice, it turned out that even 128 GB was not enough for everyone; many were accustomed to the fact that Android devices can be “improved” to suit their needs. And they released the Galaxy S6 with 128 GB is not enough, many people did not have enough of it. Expand memory via microSD card, which everyone has had for a long time, is still much more convenient than overpaying a lot of money for a smartphone, which only has an extra thirty-two gigabytes of improvements. Therefore, in the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge, the company, fortunately, abandoned its practice. Slots for memory cards have returned to flagships, and even 200 GB cards can be inserted into them (in theory, even 2 TB cards can be inserted).

In terms of performance, this is a giant leap. Qualcomm processors caused a lot of criticism, so now Samsung is putting the super-powerful Exynos 8890 Octa chipset into the bulk of its devices. A version with Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 can also be found, but it is made for the American market and will not be seen very often here. Exynos has a lot of advantages. Firstly, Samsung has more control over their production and can “fit” processors to fit the rest of the hardware, and not vice versa ( new technology Samsung camera autofocus works worse on Qualcomm chipsets). Secondly, they are less likely to heat up. Thirdly, Exynos consumes about 10% less energy with similar characteristics.

The new processor is in all respects one of the fastest and most efficient on the market. It's many times faster best options 2015, and does not require much energy. Plus - there is an excellent graphics chipset and 4 GB of RAM. With such power, the device definitely leaves all its competitors behind. The Galaxy S7 Edge will remain at the top of the smartphone food chain for many years to come.

Interface and OS

It comes with Android 6.0 and a slightly updated TouchWiz shell. You can see several new programs and modes, a slightly neater and lighter interface. In general, there are no big changes here, but they are not needed: the Samsung shell is one of the most pleasant and balanced on the market. What does the company pay for? Special attention, so this is a gaming mode that allows you to take screenshots and turns off notifications so you can enjoy the process. If you are interested in this, if you want complete immersion, the Galaxy S7 Edge interface will please you. I have not yet seen such a function in others.

Battery

The S7 Edge has the largest battery. The modest battery was one of the biggest drawbacks of last year's S6, and now Samsung has found a way to increase its capacity from 2600 mAh to 3600 mAh. At the same time, the weight of the smartphone has remained almost unchanged. True, due to the enhanced processor, the “durability” of the device did not increase so much. Overall, the S7 Edge lasts 20-25% longer than previous models. And about 10% longer than a simple S7 with a smaller diagonal screen.

We should also mention fast charging. In half an hour you can bring the battery up to 80% if you are in a hurry. And a full charge will take 100 minutes. The S7 Edge also supports wireless charging technology. Here the battery reaches 100% in about two hours.

Competitors

Apple iPhone 6S

Until Apple releases the seventh iPhone, the 6S actually has to compete with the Galaxy S7. But the devices here can only be compared by price. In all other aspects, the Galaxy S7 Edge is one and a half, or even two times superior to the iPhone. Screen resolution, battery, RAM, processor speed... the Galaxy S7 Edge is better in all respects. But if you don't like Android and love iOS, you don't have much choice.

Google Nexus 6P

Another flagship with a wonderful screen and a wonderful, bright and clear 5.7-inch display. The official camera resolution is also low (12.3 megapixels), but thanks to similar technologies, the shooting quality is no worse than that of other smartphones. The hardware of the Nexus 6P is noticeably weaker, the fingerprint scanner is located at the back, near the camera, and not in the Home button, and the design is much more standard, without an abundant glass coating, but with an interesting characteristic black plate at the back on top. The manufacturer here is Chinese, Huawei, so the price is much lower.

LG G5

Top flagship from other Koreans. The screen here is slightly smaller - 5.3 inches, not 5.5 inches. The design is much more standard. The LG G5's battery is noticeably smaller. Otherwise the characteristics are very similar. If you like the look of the LG G5 better than the design of the Galaxy S7 Edge with its special screen angles and shiny back panel, go ahead and grab the G5.

Opinions

The Galaxy S7 Edge is not much larger than the Galaxy S7; The main difference between the smartphones is an even more clearly rounded display, a larger screen diagonal and a larger battery. In terms of camera and performance, the device easily surpasses its predecessors, and it also has a microSD slot and protection from moisture. Samsung has done everything it promised and its smartphone is clearly the best on the market right now.

S7 Edge has everything to become the best smartphone 2016: power, beautiful design, high-quality shell. Wireless charging and the ability to expand internal memory also play a role, especially since these functions are not yet available on the iPhone.

On the issue of creating the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge in Samsung they approached it very wisely: this is not a revolution, but a very competent evolution. This is a thorough work in accordance with consumer reviews. The new flagships have become more convenient and beautiful, but remain within the framework of the previous original design concept. In addition, smartphones have been taught to take better pictures in the dark and are equipped with excellent batteries. They didn’t forget about the slot for 2 SIM – although it is a combined one, the main thing is that there is room for micro SD again. Even the protection against water and dust has been returned! It seems that now there is practically nothing to complain about, and the only thing that can scare us is the price of smartphones in Russia.

While the South Korean manufacturer's mid-range lineup is undergoing significant changes, its luxury counterpart continues to stubbornly hold its position as Samsung's flagship flagship. The model being reviewed today is one of the oldest representatives of the country of Morning Freshness on the smartphone market. And this is not only for the beautiful design. Details - in our review Samsung smartphone Galaxy S7 Edge.

Specifications of Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge

It is quite logical that from a smartphone that proudly bears the title of the most expensive among its fellows, one should expect decent technological equipment. And in comparison with younger models, this is true. Even despite significant changes in the 2017 A-line smartphones, last year's Galaxy S7 Edge is in no way inferior, and in many ways superior to the middle class.

Frame

Like its predecessors S6 edge and the similar edge+ model, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge has a curved display at the edges. However, this time the developers did not rush from one extreme to another and made the size of the flagship average and quite acceptable. The case width is 72.6 mm, length is 150.9 mm, and thickness is only 7.7 mm. The weight of the phone is 157 g.

The buyer has three color options to choose from: black diamond, dazzling platinum and silver titanium (black, gold and silver in common parlance).

The case itself looks quite standard for most Samsung models. Most of the front part of the smartphone is occupied by the screen; under it there is a mechanical “Home” button with a built-in fingerprint scanner and touch “Return” and “ Context menu" On top, as you might have guessed, is a speaker, a front camera lens with its built-in flash, a proximity sensor, and, of course, the logo of the South Korean company.

The Samsung s7 ebge case is made of 3D glass and metal. The developers abandoned the edge that cuts into the hand

In the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, the creators decided to abandon the metal edging around the edge of the most visible Home button. Enough good decision, which wins the device some style points. However, at the same time, the aluminum frame around the entire perimeter of the phone remained in its place, and overall it became a little thicker compared to its predecessor. No matter what, I absolutely don’t want to let go of my smartphone. And the reason for this is the curved 3D glass covering the flagship on both sides.

Glass Corning Gorilla Glass 4, in turn, has an oleophobic coating, which means that your gadget is now reliably protected from dust and scratches, and also does not glare in the sun like a polished basin. Many users, however, noted that the phone has a small drawback, namely, it is very soiled. In other words, any fingerprint remains a very noticeable stain on the case.

Technical stuffing

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge rightfully takes a leading place among its peers. The phone is equipped with the most advanced technological developments, and you will not see such powerful and advanced “filling” in any of the company’s younger models. This flagship is equipped with an eight-core Exynos 8890 Octa processor with clock frequency at 2.3 GHz. The device copes well with many resource-intensive costs due to the competent distribution of tasks between the 2.3 GHz and 1.6 GHz Cortex-A53 cores. The Mali-T880 MP12 graphics accelerator is responsible for a decent picture, which, in comparison with the Mali-T780 in the S6 Edge model, produces 80% (!) better results.

The S7 Edge is equipped with the Google Android 6.0.1 operating system and the TouchWiz shell. The latter adds some lightness and simplicity to the overall appearance of the system. At the same time, its traditional “sticking” has not gone away. True, they are not very noticeable.

Photo: technical capabilities of the smartphone based on tests

In Samsung s7 edge you can even customize the color schemes of the turned on display

Protection from moisture and dust

The S7 Edge can also boast that its body, among other things, is made according to the IP68 standard. You can safely take your smartphone with you to the bathroom, pool, or take it out of your pocket in heavy rain or a sandstorm. After all, the IP68 standard guarantees your favorite device protection from moisture and dust getting inside it. It is important to note that not only the monolithic design protects the “organs” of the flagship. The components of its board are carefully impregnated with a special water-repellent solution. By the way, you won't find any plugs. All vulnerable areas (for example, speakers, microphones and the USD connector) are reliably protected by special moisture-proof membranes.

Fast and wireless charging

The convenience of the phone is added by the possibility of both accelerated wired and wireless charging. As the developers promise, your device will be half charged in half an hour, and for full recovery The battery will require another 60 minutes. However, for such fast charging There are some conditions: the screen must be in sleep mode all this time. Otherwise, the current drops noticeably and the rate of battery replenishment is greatly reduced. The same effect is observed with wireless charging (Qi and PMA standard) - 100% in 1 hour 40 minutes.

Working with games

The phone also has one interesting application called Game Tools. As you might guess, it allows the user to optimize the game process as much as possible. Can be blocked temporarily touch buttons at the bottom of the panel, minimize the game, take screenshots. And now the most amazing part. The phone's power is enough not only for resource-intensive games. It is enough to record gameplay and even stream.

The front camera is good, but not ideal

Other goodies

The choice of quality for recorded video is truly varied. Here you have GA, and HD, and 1:1, and Full HD, and Full HD with 60 fps. The available resolution doesn't end there. The phone can record in QHD and even UHD, better known as 4K resolution.

The extensive settings of the video camera will appeal not only to amateurs, but also to professionals. It’s hard to imagine why a camera on a phone needs 4K quality, but you must admit, its presence definitely cannot but please

Add to this several recording modes (slow motion and time lapse), as well as the ability to create a video collage and conduct live broadcasts. And don’t forget that all this can be done in low light conditions without loss of quality.

Video: example of time-lapse filming

Video: example of slow motion on Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge

In general, the camera in the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge gives its owner simply incredible capabilities. Despite the fact that the lens resolution has decreased, the shooting quality has not suffered at all. A big advantage is the ability to separately configure each parameter, the choice of preset modes, as well as their variety. It should also be noted how clear and detailed the pictures are obtained even in low light conditions. Undoubtedly, the phone stands out from most of its peers. And precisely thanks to great camera it can claim a leading position among flagships.