Samsung Galaxy S7 vs Samsung Galaxy S7 EDGE

Samsung's new Galaxy S7 flagships are here. But which is the best?

This year seems to be Samsung's year so far, the firm launched its new flagships just ahead of Mobile World Congress in February, and as expected from the earlier rumours there was a duo of Galaxy S7 series handsets just like the previous Galaxy S6 series from 2015. These phones have gone on to break Samsung out of its two-year downward funk and have sold like proverbial hot-cakes, particularly the Galaxy S7 edge model with a curved display, according to Samsung's statements.

Analysts are now recalculating their projections for Samsung's performance in 2016, expecting big things from the company. At the same time, we're sure the Korean firm's execs are popping Champagne corks at the news that Apple's first quarter figures are comparably poor, in fact it's the first time in as long as anyone can remember that Apple actually lost market share and saw a drop in sales.

With the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, as before with the Galaxy S6 series, both devices share more or less the same specs and hardware, including waterproofing, processing power, camera, and onboard storage. However, there are important differences, most notably that the Galaxy S7 edge has a curved display, and unlike last year's S6 generation (which were the same size) is a larger model. Like last year, however, it carries a higher price tag, but that's because curved OLED tech is more complex and expensive to produce.

But is it worth the extra cash?

A lot has already been said about Samsung’s 2016 flagships. General word on the street is positive; the phones have been updated in all the right places. But is this enough? KYM’s Richard argued, no, in his piece on why the LG G5 and not Samsung’s Galaxy S7 was the runaway success of MWC 2016, as well as potentially THE Android handset to beat in 2016.

Samsung is a big deal. Very big, if you’re talking about gross phone shipments. But it has alienated a lot of the users by implementing changes (sealing the battery in, removing SD-support) that kind of ran contrary to what people wanted. Samsung became obsessed with becoming more like Apple and, somewhere along the way, its handsets lost some of their charm and utility.

And because there is so much choice in the Android space, a lot of users simply went elsewhere -- or waited for the Galaxy Note which launches the following quarter after the Galaxy S. LG, for one, made a lot of friends in the past couple of years and the company looks set to make a whole load more in 2016 with the release of its LG G5 handset.

The Galaxy S7 series may indeed have been the winning ticket Samsung needed to pull it out of a two-year decline in flagship sales, as reports from analysts in Asia claim the firm has shipped as many as 10 million units during March, in the one month since the phones hit the market. The reports don't distinguish between the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, but analysts say shipments are far higher than the expected 7 million previously predicted by industry watchers.

Analysts are now shifting their sales predictions for 2016, although it's important to note the new estimates are not based on sales and shipping figures from Samsung, as the firm is yet to reveal anything other than initial pre-order figures. Previously Samsung execs had stated that pre-orders had been better than expected, and that based on this it expects to sell more Galaxy S7 series units than previous models.

Samsung seems to be planning to pick this success and turn of fortunes up and run with it as much as possible. Later in 2016, August 2 to be precise, the firm is going to introduce the Galaxy Note 7. This time it'll be a global launch (rather than the restricted Asia and North American release of the Note 5) and it does look like the phablet will see the culmination of many of Samsung's evolutionary steps so far. There won't, for example, be two variants with flat and curved EDGE displays, there'll just be one, with an EDGE display, but it'll just be called the Galaxy Note 7, meaning the EDGE display feature has just been normalised and rolled into the standard feature-set, in a sense. It'll also use the Exynos 8890 and Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processors (region dependent) 6GB of RAM, and come in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB storage flavours!

For 2017, Samsung's plans are even more ambitious, with talk of not only a Samsung Galaxy S8 and Samsung Galaxy Note 8, but also a Galaxy S8 EDGE and Galaxy Note 8 EDGE, AND a Samsung Galaxy X; a new device which will debut Samsung's folding flexible Super AMOLED technology in a clamshell design. There is also a rumour for a second folding device which unfolds from a 5in display phone into an 8in tablet form factor.

But how do Samsung’s flagship phones compare against each other? We took a look at the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge to find out.

Samsung Galaxy S7 vs Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge: Storage, RAM, and CPU

Here’s the specs for the Galaxy S7:

• Display: 5.1-inch display with a 2560×1440-pixel resolution at 577ppi
• Dimensions: 142.4mm  x 69.6 mm x 7.9 mm
• Weight: 152 grams
• Storage: 32 or 64, plus support for microSD cards up to 200GB
• Memory: 4 GB RAM
• Processors: Samsung Exynos 8890
• Front camera: 5 MP
• Rear camera: 12 MP, f/1.7 aperture, 4K video
• Battery life: 3000 mAh
• Colors: Dark Grey or Gold

And here’s the specs for the Galaxy S7 Edge:

• Display: 5.5-inch display with a 2560×1440-pixel resolution at 534 ppi
• Dimensions: 150.9mm  x 72.6 mm x 7.7 mm
• Weight: 157 grams
• Storage: 32 or 64, plus support for microSD cards up to 200GB
• Memory: 4 GB RAM
• Processors: Samsung Exynos 8890
• Front camera: 5 MP
• Rear camera: 12 MP, f/1.7 aperture, 4K video
• Battery life: 3600 mAh
• Colors: Dark Grey, Silver, or Gold

When it comes to the storage, RAM, and CPU of each phone—they are exactly the same! The Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge both feature 4GB of RAM and the custom Samsung Exynos 8890 chipset. As for as storage goes, both phones come in a 32GB and 64GB model, though the latter will be difficult to track down in  the US and Europe, and each of those models also both feature a new high-capacity micro SD card slot, which can take cards up to 200GB in size.

That makes things easy so far, doesn’t it?

As a cool little side note, both the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge feature something a little different - a first for smartphones in fact. Samsung has decided to tackle the issue of processor heat build-up by taking inspiration from conventional PCs and fitting a liquid-cooled "heat pipe" or "thermal spreader" in combination with a heatsink. What this does is essentially allow the processor heat to evaporate a liquid contained inside the heat-pipe, the vapour then moves to another part of the pipe next to a heatsink and cools down, dissipating the heat into other parts of the handset and away from components impacted by higher temperatures.

Samsung Galaxy S7 vs Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge: Display and Battery

Things, of course, become different when you talk about each phones’ display. The Galaxy S7 features a 5.1-inch display while the Galaxy S7 Edge has a slightly larger 5.5-inch display. Interestingly, each display has the exact same resolution: a 2560×1440 Quad HD Super AMOLED display. Yet because the resolution of each display is the same, but they are different sized screens, the smaller Galaxy S7 actually has a higher number of pixels per inch at 577ppi versus the Galaxy S7 Edge’s 534ppi. Of course, at that density the human eye isn’t going to be able to distinguish between the difference.

"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."

Each phone also has a different sized battery. The Galaxy S7 Edge has the larger battery at 3600mAh. This is to be expected because the device is physically larger, so it has the room for a bigger battery, and also it required more power to keep going since it has a larger display. The Galaxy S7 has a 3000mAh battery. Both phones will get 12 hours of mixed usage on average, making it around the same as Apple's iPhone 6s Plus. Not bad when you consider the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge are packing in a hell of a lot more pixels than Apple's 1080p iPhone. 

Samsung Galaxy S7 vs Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge: Design & Build

The overall design and finish of both handsets is very familiar. Iterative, almost. But this is to be expected; most tech brands these days use two year design cycles. This saves on cash and also allows them to focus on refining the usability and overall performance of the device. And nowhere is this trend more obvious than aboard the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge.

Performance is off the charts, particularly if you’re lucky enough to get the Snapdragon 820 model. Sadly, the UK is getting Samsung’s less powerful Exynos setup. Most of you will not notice the difference in day to day usage, but it is certainly worth noting. Particularly with the LG G5 and HTC 10 using an 820 setup.

Each phone is also built very similarly. They each have a metal body and glass display. The Edge, of course, goes a bit further with its curved display. That curve actually gives it a leg up and it’s more comfortable to hold in the hand, despite having a larger display. Naturally their dimensions differ too, but what’s surprising is that the Galaxy S7 Edge is actually the thinner phone. Again, Samsung just has more space to spread internal components around, so they can make it flatter. Perhaps even more surprising though, is that the Galaxy S7 Edge isn't that much heavier than the regular Galaxy S7 at 157 grams versus 152 grams.

Samsung Galaxy S7 vs Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge: Cameras

Apple is rumoured to be creating another iPhone line in 2016 — the iPhone 7 Pro. The reason for this, reports suggest, is because Apple wants to put a dual-sensor camera on the back of it. But as is always the case, Android is a step in front of Apple. As both the LG G5 and Galaxy S7 feature brand new imaging technology, which will dramatically alter the way you take pictures on your phone. 

Here’s what Samsung had to say about its new imaging tech, Dual Pixel, at the launch of the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge: “Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge introduce the first Dual Pixel camera on a smartphone, delivering brighter and sharper images, even in low light. Thanks to the revolutionary Dual Pixel technology, brighter lens with wider aperture, and bigger pixel, the camera has a faster shutter speed and a more accurate autofocus even in low-light conditions. Motion Panorama, a new camera mode, brings movement to traditional panoramic photos, giving the user a completely immersive visual experience.”

But unlike Apple, Samsung isn't making certain imaging attributes exclusive to the most expensive handset. Nope. There is absolutely no difference between the cameras in the two phones. And what’s really nice is each phone has a reduces protruding camera bump on the back. Both phones have a 5MP front and a 12MP rear camera. Each lens features a f/1.7 aperture, which means the either S7 can take great night shots.

Samsung Galaxy S7 vs Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge: Verdict

With virtually identical internal specs and each phone being able to boast a superior screen (for the Galaxy S7 it’s the higher pixel density, for the Galaxy S7 edge it’s the curved display) it’s a very tough choice to declare one phone better than the other. Your choice will likely come down to the screen size. Do you want a huge 5.1-inch display or do you want a bigger 5.5-inch one?

For me personally, the bigger display and larger battery make the EDGE a no-brainer for me. I’m used to the iPhone 6 Plus, Nexus 6P and Huawei Mate 8. Anything smaller than 5.5in, for me, is just too small -- I am fully converted in the ways of the phablet.