cnet.com: MWC in Barcelona is a beautiful specimen of cutting-edge tech and seductive metal-and-glass build. The problem is, we've been down this road before. Or have we?
I admit, the new Samsung Galaxy S7 unmasked here at
"It looks almost exactly the same as the S6!" you say. And it does. But it also has things that Samsung stripped out of the S6. Important things, like a microSD card slot to store photos, movies and games (which means you won't have to buy a pricier model to get more storage). It's once again water-resistant, too. Battery capacity swells, and both the camera and processor promise sharp performance. (But you still can't remove the battery as you can on the metal LG G5, announced here a few hours earlier.)
If you already own an S6 or S6 Edge, the specs might be too similar to what you already pocket to truly entice you. I'm battling my own expectations as I type this, because it doesn't seem like much has changed compared to similar Samsung phones, like the S6 Edge+, released only a handful of months before. On the other hand, the S7 (and larger-screen S7 Edge) has the makings to be of one of the year's best phones, and features such as wireless charging and expandable storage play a big part in that -- especially since these are features the iPhone lacks.
Still, year-to-year sameness is a problem that Samsung in particular has to face. The Korean megacompany has steadily lost money and market share to brands selling less expensive -- and often less distinctive -- phones. Samsung needs the Galaxy S7 and larger S7 Edge to resonate with buyers or else continue to watch aggressive brands like Xiaomi and Huawei eat its lunch.
The S7 and S7 Edge are available March 11, with preorders beginning February 23. Samsung hasn't announced pricing, but it did announce a deal: If you buy either S7 phone between February 23 and March 18, Samsung will give you a free Gear VR virtual-reality headset with a bundle of six games. The Gear VR will work with both new S7 phones.
Read on for more details and the full list of S7 specs.
New and notable features
- Android 6.0 Marshmallow software
- 5.1-inch screen with 2,560x1,440-pixel resolution
- Either 32 or 64GB of storage, depending on the region
- MicroSD card slot for extra storage up to 200GB
- 12-megapixel camera (get the story below)
- Water-resistant (IP68 rating)
- 3,000 mAh battery (versus 2,550 mAh on Galaxy S6)
- "Always-on" display shows time, calendar or images from the lock screen
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor (or Samsung's Exynos chipset in some regions)
- Dedicated gaming feature makes it easier to record sessions and screenshots; a do-not-disturb mode blocks incoming notifications
- Colors: black onyx, gold platinum .
This is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Accordingly, it is difficult to figure out when to end it. But then, this is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Period.
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