2016 is just warming up but the announcements have been so far very interesting. Unpacked just recently at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona are two new flagship devices of Samsung — the Samsung Galaxy S7 and the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. Although it looks a bit similar compared to their predecessors, the S6 and the S6 Edge, we think that what’s inside these devices will interest you more. Check out our quick look comparing the Samsung Galaxy S7 vs the Samsung Galaxy S6 to help you decide whether you should upgrade or not.
Having little visible aesthetic difference from the S6, we didn’t feel the S6 needed to be upgraded in terms of looks because it felt premium already. The slick, metal design it has before was retained and the differences were minute. One of which is the absence of the chrome ring around the button/ fingerprint scanner. As similar as they look, the S7 has welcome upgrades like the reduced camera protrusion at the rear, allowing you to place the phone flat on a surface. The SIM tray has also been squared a bit and slightly repositioned. Since the S7 now comes with a rounder back, it felt more comfortable to hold compared to the S6.
Since the S6 already has the QHD 2560 x 1440 pixel display, the QHD screen of the new S7 showed little to almost non-evident improvement during our quick hands on test. Side-by-side, they are both the same at 5.1 inch equipped with Super AMOLED display that can produce deep, rich colors.
In terms of the camera, the S7 might have lower specs with 12MP on it compared to the 16MP the S6 has but with S7’s dual-pixel technology, it promises an even better image result despite the lower pixel numbers. Paired with that is S7’s F1.7 aperture! It will be better at low light photography compared to S6’s F1.9 aperture.
As I always say, battery life is dependent on real world usage but on paper, the S7 clearly had a significant increase in battery capacity as it was bumped up from 2,550mAh to 3,000mAh. Both still Lithium Ion and capable of quick charging using the right cable and plug. Both still has wireless charging capabilities.
Performance-wise, one thing is for sure. The S7 will be faster than the S6 with an extra 1GB ram totaling to 4GB. The biggest news was the addition of expandable storage which supports up to 200GB! It can double as a slot for a second SIM but you can only choose either of the two. Last but not the least, the new S7 is now IP68 certified! This means that it can be submerged into 1.5 meters of water for 30 minutes and will be dust proof. Take note though that this time, no more ugly “sealing” because they somewhat learned how to keep it water-tight even though the ports are not covered by rubber sealing.
Overall, even though they might look a bit the same, the upgrades are significant enough to elicit an upgrade. It all depends on what features you actually want and need. Do check out the specs comparison chart below comparing the Samsung Galaxy S6 and the Samsung Galaxy S7.
See also: Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge vs Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge
Samsung Galaxy S7 vs Galaxy S6 specs comparison
Samsung Galaxy S7 | Samsung Galaxy S6 | |
---|---|---|
OS | Android 6.0 | Android 5.0 |
Dimensions | 5.61 x 2.74 x 0.31 in | 5.65 x 2.78 x 0.27 in |
Weight | 5.36 oz | 4.87 oz |
Additional Features | IP68 water and dust resistant | |
Screen Size | 5.1 inches | 5.1 inches |
Resolution | 1440 x 2560 | 1440 x 2560 |
Pixel Density | 577 ppi | 577 ppi |
Super AMOLED | Super AMOLED | |
Screen to Body Ratio | 0.721 | 0.707 |
Camera | 12 Megapixels | 16 Megapixels |
Flash | LED | LED |
Aperture | F 1.7 | F 1.9 |
Focal Length (35mm equivalent) | 28mm | |
Camera Sensor | 1/2.6 | 1/2.6 |
Front facing Camera | 5 Megapixels | 5 Megapixels |
System Chip | Exynos 8 Octa 8890 | Exynos 7 Octa 7420 |
Processor | Qualcomm MSM8996 | Quad core 1.5GHz Cortex A53 |
Snapdragon 820 | Quad Core 2.1GHz Cortex A57 | |
Exynos 8890 Octa | Exynos 7420 Octa | |
Graphics Processor | Adreno 530 /Mali T880MP12 | Mali T760 MP8 |
RAM | 4GB | 3GB |
Internal Memory | 32/64 GB | 32/64/128 GB |
Storage Expansion | microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC | |
SIM | Nano SIM | Nano SIM |
Battery Capacity | 3,000mAh Li Ion | 2550mAh Li Ion |
User replaceable | No | No |
Quick Charge | Yes | Yes |
Colors | Black, White, Gold, Silver | Black, White, Gold, Blue |
Philippine release will be on March 11, 2016.
For pre-orders, visit http://smart.com.ph/Postpaid/samsung-galaxy-seven