Samsung Galaxy S7 deals and reviews

Should You buy the Samsung Galaxy S7?

If you're looking for a high-end Android phone, then the S7 and S7 edge should be at the top of your list. With its top-of-the-range specs, refined design, improved camera and the re-introduction of features like water resistance and a memory card slot, it's hard to come up with reasons not to recommend this. Its main competitors are its stablemate, the Galaxy S7 edge, and LG's upcoming G5.

Design

The Galaxy S7 keeps the same design language as the last generation of Samsung flagship phones, with the focus on refinement rather than a total upheaval. As a result, it's more comfortable to hold, and the flatter fingerprint scanner and less distinct camera bump make for a more pleasing device both aesthetically and ergonomically. The S7 is IP68-certified, which means that it is dust and water-resistant in up to 1.5m of water for 30 minutes.

Screen

The Galaxy S7 retains the same screen size and resolution as its predecessor. The 5.1-inch Super AMOLED display has a screen resolution of 2560x1440 (Quad HD), allowing for sharp image quality and definition. The latest innovation is an always-on display, so you can always see a clock with notifications, a calendar or image on the screen, even when you're not using the phone. Naturally, you may be concerned about whether this affects battery life - Samsung claims that this feature only uses 0.5% of the battery per hour, and if the proximity sensor is covered (e.g. if the phone is in a bag or pocket), the display will switch off, ensuring minimal impact on how long the battery lasts.

Camera

The 12 megapixel camera on the S7 is designed to perform better than its predecessors especially when capturing low-light images. The camera lens aperture has increased to f/1.7,and the pixel size on the sensors has also increased, allowing for more light to be captured. The camera has a new autofocusing method (referred to as a 'Dual Pixel' sensor, used by some DSLR cameras), that will allow for significantly faster autofocusing.

Battery and Power

The capacity of the S7's non-removable battery is 3,000mAh, which represents an 18% increase over the S6, hopefully translating to an notable improvement in battery life. The Galaxy S7 retains Samsung's fast-charging and fast wireless charging features.

Storage

One of the biggest complaints with last year's S6 models was the lack of a memory card slot - the storage you had on the device couldn't be expanded. For the S7 range, Samsung has included support for microSD cards to augment the 32GB internal storage, which means you won't have to worry about running out of space for photos and videos.

Processing Power

Unsurprisingly, Samsung have opted for top-of the range processors for their flagship phone. Depending on which country you buy the S7 from, it will either contain a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, or Samsung's own 8890 octa-core processor. Both provide plenty of power to handle the most strenuous computational tasks. All variants come with 4GB RAM, ensuring smooth performance.

What the critics say (scores are out of 100)

100	TechRadar | Gareth Beavis Five stars to Samsung, as the brand iterates perfectly on an already award-winning smartphone, adding a brilliant camera and gorgeous design. Read full review
100	Alphr | Thomas McMullan and Jonathan Bray An outstanding all-round smartphone. Just like its stablemate, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is simply superb. The best recommendation I can think of, however, is that this is the smartphone I would buy if money was no object; I can think of no stronger endorsement than that. Read full review
100	Know Your Mobile | Paul Briden Fantastic bit of kit, stuffed to the gills with well-implemented features that'll have you grinning ear-to-ear... It looks sharp, feels reassuringly expensive and robust in the hand, the camera experience is an absolute joy. Performance is what you hope for from a flagship; it's fast, smooth and responsive, while the battery life is amongst the best available. Read full review
100	Expert Reviews | Nathan Spendelow There's no denying that the Galaxy S7 is yet another outstanding effort from Samsung, and its improved battery life, speed and performance, not to mention the addition of a microSD slot, make it more than a worthy successor. Read full review
100	Trusted Reviews | Max Parker For the majority of people, I'd say the Galaxy S7 is the phone to pick. It looks great, feels a lot better than the Galaxy S6 due to the curved back, and it performs like a champ. It also has the best all-round camera on any phone, thanks to crisp images and a fuss-free app that's fast to open, focus and shoot. Read full review
100	IT PRO | Alan Lu, Aaron Lee The Samsung Galaxy S7 may be 'just' an evolution and a refinement of the Galaxy S6, but it has almost everything you could want in a smartphone. Read full review
100	T3 | Spencer Hart Just like the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, we really love the S7. Whether you should get the S7 or S7 Edge is a different question altogether. This is the more sensible option, but the S7 Edge is sexier... tough choice, but you can't really go wrong with either. Read full review
100	Mobile Choice | Sunetra Chakravarti Exynos or Snapdragon, the Samsung Galaxy S7 is a solid handset. 5-star looks, processor, camera and in a size that is best for one-handed use during your commute.... If there was something that I didn't like, it is how bad the fingerprint sensor is and how often it misfires. The oblong shape might have something to do with that! Read full review
100	Digital Spy | Luke Johnson The Samsung Galaxy S7 has more power than you'll need. Like, ever. Read full review
100	What Hi-Fi? After such a big jump in design last year, we're not surprised to see Samsung stick to its guns and make a series of refinements to the S7's look and feel rather than go for headline-grabbing changes. The fact is, those small tweaks all come together to make a pretty impressive package indeed. Read full review
100	V3 | Matt Farrington-Smith If the S7 Edge was big, brash and bold, the S7 is the sensible, quieter sibling. We love the small design details like the slight tapering of the screen and gentle sloping edges that make it a joy to hold. So if you liked the sound of the Edge, but perhaps prefer your handset more understated and less like a piece of jewellery, the S7 is the perfect choice. Read full review
100	Ubergizmo | Hubert Nguyen Being a waterproof phone, the Galaxy S7 is much less likely to die in one's kitchen, pool or bathtub, and could even be used in the shower (a popular usage in some parts of Asia). All in all, the Galaxy S7 sets the bar for all 2016 smartphones. Read full review
100	Stuff | Robert Leedham Our favourite phone from last year, but even better. The Galaxy S7 is straight up brilliant. Read full review
98	ZDNet | Matthew Miller The Samsung Galaxy S7 has the same cool metal frame, glass front, and glass back seen on the Galaxy S6. It is a bit thicker due to the increased battery capacity, but still feels great in your hand and is quite pocketable. Read full review
91	NotebookCheck | Andreas Osthoff While the Samsung Galaxy S6 with its new metal chassis was a revolution for Samsung's flagship device, the new Galaxy S7 is more of an evolution. Samsung respects the customer's wishes and brings back some features like the memory expansion as well as the IP68 certification for the case against water and dust. Read full review
90	Toronto Sun | Anick Jesdanun It's difficult to justify paying for a high-priced, top-end smartphone these days - unless, that is, you want to take good pictures. Read full review
90	Eurogamer | Damien McFerran Overall, the Galaxy S7 iterates rather than reinvents. Samsung has subtly but significantly refined what was considered in 2015 to be one of the best phones money can buy, and has created arguably the best Android handset on the market right now. Read full review
90	OtherGadgette | Holly Brockwell It has to be said that the base S7 is a superb piece of kit... It's had all the right upgrades, but they don't feel substantial enough to declare this a new generation of Galaxy.... Overall, though, S7 is – as we suspected – the best Android phone on the market right now. Read full review
90	Android Headlines | Nick Sutrich The Galaxy S7 is easily among the best phones Samsung has ever made, and absolutely among the top tier of what you should consider buying on the high-end market right now, the Galaxy S7 is nothing but a great choice all around. Read full review
90	Tom's Guide | Sam Rutherford If the S6 brought premium design to Samsung's flagship phones, the Galaxy S7 refines and combines those trend-setting good looks with all the features you really wanted from the phones that came before it. The S7's camera is faster and better in low light, its battery life is better, its body is more seductive and water-resistant, and as a whole, this phone pushes the smartphone bar higher than it's been before. Read full review
90	The Inquirer | Matt Farrington-Smith We love the small design details like the slight tapering of the screen and gentle sloping edges that make it a joy to hold. Read full review
90	The Journal Improving in all the right ways, the S7 has its flaws, but the design choices and features make it a joy to use. Read full review
90	Recombu | Chris Barraclough The result is a very good flagship phone, although not quite perfect. The S7 will swiftly be beaten when it comes to quick charging, for instance, while many of Samsung's bolt-on features such as Upday and the Always On Display are badly implemented. Still, if you can afford that hefty asking price, there's plenty to love here. Read full review
90	Brighthand | Grant Hatchimonji The Samsung Galaxy S7 is a beautiful, high quality device that performs well and brings back some attractive aspects from previous iterations. Call it "more of a good thing," rather than "groundbreaking." Read full review
90	Mashable | Lance Ulanoff It is, without a doubt, the most able iPhone competitor I have ever seen and used, and one of the best Android devices overall. Samsung returns to form with a smart, solid, fun and fast Galaxy S7 that points the way for other Android devices. Read full review
90	SlashGear | Chris Davies Certainly, it will face stiff competition from LG's G5 when that arrives later in the year, while the specter of the iPhone 7 looms large already, but there's a reason Samsung holds the top spot in Android devices and the Galaxy S7 will only strengthen that grip. Read full review
90	Neowin | Rich Woods It's clear that the Samsung Galaxy S7 is the best device that Samsung has ever made. Of course, that's not so much of an accomplishment as much as there would be something significantly wrong if that wasn't the case. If you were considering a Samsung for your next device, I say that the Galaxy S7 is a buy. Read full review
90	phoneArena | John V. Samsung has yet another formidable offering that sets the benchmark high for all other phones coming out this year. The specs might not be a tremendous upgrade, but at the end of the day, when you want a phone that just works, the Galaxy S7 fits the bill. Read full review
90	Mobile Syrup | Patrick O'Rourke If you're looking to pick up a new Android phone, or are currently holding onto an aging S4 or S5, Samsung's latest flagship effort amounts to one of the sleekest looking high-end Android smartphones on the market. Read full review
90	pocketnow | Juan Carlos Bagnell Of course no phone is perfect, and at this price, it would be completely understandable if one minor issue might turn into a complete deal breaker for some customers, like the headphone playback. Plus the Galaxy S7 doesn't exist in a vacuum, and it faces intense competition from other manufacturers this year. Even so, this will be a tough act to top. Read full review
90	What Mobile | Manny Pham An iteration that is the definition of refinement, Samsung has released what is definitely the best smartphone at the moment. If you want a class leading phone with an eye-catching looks, by all means go for the S7 Edge, it's worthy of that whole number upgrade. Read full review
90	NDTV Gadgets | Jamshed Avari You lose nothing in terms of features by sticking with the more conservative Galaxy S7... You'll be certain to dazzle your friends by taking incredible pictures at night and in dark places. You also get health monitoring and the Concierge services to show off - things that don't come with just any old phone, at least not yet. Read full review
90	CNET UK | Jessica Dolcourt The fast, powerful, beautiful Galaxy S7 phone is 2016's all-around phone to beat. Read full review
90	Engadget | Chris Velcazo While the new Galaxy S7 isn't as dramatic a shift as the S6 was, it benefits immensely from a year's worth of refinement. Read full review
88	The Verge | Dan Seifert The S7 and S7 Edge aren't perfect - the software still lags behind the hardware - but they get the basics right: great screens, great cameras, great performance, and reliable battery life. They also have eye-catching designs and premium materials - the level of polish on these devices is unmatched in the rest of the Android world. Read full review
80	Android Central | Phil Nickinson Samsung has improved on most of our complaints from the previous era. Battery life is improved. Not great, but adequate. The overall design is better and less slippery, and it takes a case well without becoming too large. The display size hits that 5.1-inch sweet spot. The fingerprint feature is excellent. Read full review
80	AnandTech | Joshua Ho The Galaxy S7 is clearly packed with features and ticks all the right boxes, but as soon as I start looking closer at everything I start to see cases where Samsung just doesn't seem to care enough. Read full review
80	Pocket-lint | Chris Hall "When you've got power, design, a great camera experience and a battery that gets you through the day, it's difficult not to like the SGS7. It fixes much of what was generally disliked about the SGS6 and, for those who don't want to grapple with the larger edge version, is the more apparent choice" Read full review
70	AndroidPit | Eric Ferrari-Herrmann Above all, the Galaxy S7 has, thanks to its traditional but polished design, gilded itself with a certain prestige that you only otherwise see with the iPhone - but you get it for much less money. Read full review

Compare Samsung Galaxy S7 specs side-by-side with other phones COMPARE SPECS

Dimensions & Form	Form factor: Touchscreen bar Dimensions 142.4 x 69.6 x 7.9 mm (5.61 x 2.74 x 0.31 in) Weight: 152 g (5.36 oz)
Screen	Size: 5.1 inches diagonal Resolution: 2560 x 1440 pixels Screen Density: 576 ppi Screen-to-Body Ratio: 72.3 % Display Type: Super AMOLED
Runs
Performance	Chipset: Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 820 / Exynos 8890 Octa CPU: Dual-core 2.15 GHz Kryo & dual-core 1.6 GHz Kryo / Quad-core 2.3 GHz Mongoose + quad-core 1.6 GHz Cortex-A53 GPU: Adreno 530 / Mali-T880 MP12 RAM: 4GB
Camera	Main Camera: 12 megapixels with LED flash, 4k video recording Secondary Camera: 5 megapixels
Storage	Built-in Storage: 32GB Expandable Storage: Micro SD
Battery & Charging	Capacity: 3000 mAh Removable Battery: No Wireless Charging: Yes Quick Charge: Yes (v2)
SIM standard	Micro SIM Compare SIM Only deals
Water & Dust Resistance	IP68 Rating: Protection from contact with harmful dust, and protection from immersion in water up to a depth of 30m for up to 30 minutes
Fingerprint Reader	Front
References & More info	Official website GSMArena specs page

Photos taken with the Samsung Galaxy S7

We've used Flickr to find a selection of pictures taken by the Samsung Galaxy S7 camera. Here is a selection of photos taken by users from around the world so you can see what kind of picture quality you can expect from real-world use of the Samsung Galaxy S7.

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All images shown are used under the rights and terms specified by the Creative Commons.