Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Test 2018

In 2016, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge was the finest smartphone you could buy: the problem was that, cosmetic differences bated, it was the same as the considerably cheaper vanilla Samsung Galaxy S7.

Both phones are showing their age now, and while they're still perfectly servicable now, you lot'd exist brave to lock yourself into a two-year contract in 2018.

So, what are the alternatives? Well, phones have got more expensive at present, but while the Samsung Galaxy S9 is currently commanding an expensive £739 fee, the still-excellent S8 has seen considerable price cuts and can now exist had for around £450: a bonafide bargain. The good news is that you won't need to make up one's mind between curved screen or non-curved: the S7 was the last generation where it was a choice.

If that feels a bit much for concluding year's engineering, the OnePlus 6 matches the S9 for performance, and can be had for merely £460 SIM-free.

Jon'south original review continues below.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review: In full

The Samsung Milky way S7 Edge is the lost flagship of 2016. After the fuss over the launch died down earlier this yr, it seems to have been forgotten, shoved to the back of the collective tech-industry consciousness. Merely it shouldn't be, because the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is 1 of the best phones you can buy correct now. There are now several solid reasons, other than good looks, to buy it over its less curvaceous sibling, the Samsung Galaxy S7.

Indeed, on its own, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge doesn't await anything special. Slide information technology upwards next to the Galaxy S7, however, and yous'll immediately spot the difference.

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It's a significant 0.4in larger than the standard S7 and, interestingly, a mere 0.2in smaller than the Samsung Milky way S6 Edge+ – Know Your Mobile went as far every bit to say the Samsung Milky way S7 Edge knocked the "build and design out of the park".

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge always on screen from another angle

The other big news is that, although there's even so no removable battery, Samsung has brought microSD expansion and water- and dust-proofing back to its flagship smartphone range. The Samsung Galaxy 7 Edge is compatible with microSD cards up to 200GB in size, with infinite for the menu next to the SIM slot in the drawer that fits in at the summit border, while the phone is rated to IP68. The latter means, technically speaking, that the telephone tin can be immersed completely in water up to i.5m deep for up to 30 minutes. Drib it in the sink or the bath and it'll survive, just a trip the lesser of the deep finish at the hotel swimming pool might not stop quite so well.

Cynics might suggest the lack of these features last year was a deliberate ploy, designed by Samsung to give customers a reason to upgrade this year. However, I believe it's more than likely to be a response to Samsung fans' outrage following the launch of the S6 and S6 Edge. Removable storage had e'er been a stalwart of Samsung's designs until that point – hopefully, this ways it volition once again become a permanent feature, never to be dropped over again.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge rear

Samsung Milky way S7 Edge: Headline specifications

5.5in Super AMOLED screen, 1,440 ten 2,560 Quad Hd resolution

Octa-core two.3GHz Samsung Exynos 8890 processor

32GB storage

Curved edges forepart and rear

IP68 dust and water resistance

microSD slot

12-megapixel rear camera with f/one.7 aperture, "dual-pixel" sensor and phase-discover autofocus

three,600mAh battery

Always-on screen

Internal liquid cooling

Smaller photographic camera "hump" protrudes only 0.46mm

Price: £639 inc VAT |Buy the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge now from Amazon

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge: Blueprint

So those are the major changes. What virtually the more pocket-size ones? Well, there are plenty of those to cover, and so I'll start with the design, and it's very much "as you were" on this front end.

There's the bigger screen, of course, merely manner-wise the telephone looks very close to the S6 Edge. A glossy glass finish sandwiches a gleaming, coloured metal substrate that catches the light in all the best ways, while the long edges of that 5.5in screen dip away to a slim, aluminium frame that runs all around the edges of the phone.

Hawkeye-eyed readers will spy that the very edges of the glass at the elevation and bottom of the phone are softly curved, but other than that – from the front end at least – picayune has changed.

It still picks up unsightly fingerprints like mad, and the buttons and ports remain in the aforementioned locations: the volume buttons are on the left border and the power button on the right, the combined SIM/microSD card drawer are on the top edge and the 3.5mm headphone jack, perforated speaker grille and micro-USB port are on the bottom. Yep, that'southward correct, in that location's no USB Type-C hither, presumably because Samsung wanted to ensure compatibility with the Gear VR. Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge home button

Continues on folio ii

	Samsung Galaxy S7 Border specifications
Processor	United kingdom spec: Well-nigh likely - Octa-core (quad two.3GHz and quad 1.6GHz), Samsung Exynos 8890 Octa; Other regions - Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 (dual-core 2.15GHz and dual-core i.6GHz)
RAM	4GB LPDDR4
Screen size	5.5in
Screen resolution	i,440 x 2560, 576ppi (Gorilla Glass)
Screen type	Super AMOLED, always-on display
Front photographic camera	5MP
Rear camera	12MP (f/1.vii, 1.4 μ pixel size, i/2.6in sensor size, phase detect autofocus, OIS, dual-pixel sensor)
Wink	Dual LED
GPS	Yes
Compass	Yes
Storage	32GB
Retentiveness menu slot (supplied)	Yes
Wi-Fi	802.11ac
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 4.2 LE, A2DP, apt-X, ANT+
NFC	Yes
Wireless information	4G
Size (WDH)	73 x seven.7 x 151mm
Weight	157g
Operating system	Android 6 Marshmallow with TouchWiz UI
Battery size	3,600mAh