Samsung Galaxy S7 & S7 Edge Review

Provided you’ve not been hibernating or living in a cave for the past couple of months, you’ll probably have noticed that a couple of high-profile additions to the smartphone family have just hit the shelves. That’s right, the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge are now available on Tesco Mobile, and to find out whether two of the most anticipated phones of 2016 can really live up to the hype, we’ve taken them for a little spin.

So, what’s new?

You might not think it at first glance, but quite a lot.

In terms of looks, the Galaxy S7 is no great departure from its dad, the S6, but that’s by no means a bad thing. After all, the old man’s certainly a handsome fellow, and thanks to the addition of a few rounder edges, we think that Samsung have actually improved on their previous design.

What’s more, its big sister – the S7 Edge – looks even better. In fact, we think it might just be the best looking smartphone currently on the market, particularly when you choose the superbly elegant gold finish!

Even more encouragingly, the S7 and S7 Edge don’t just look like a high-quality flagship smartphones, they feel like it too. Where some historical incarnations of the Galaxy have felt somewhat flimsy – usually due to their plastic casing – the sleek, metal bodies of the S7s feel elegant, expertly built, and sit in your hand comfortably.

The S7 is also highly water resistant, with Samsung claiming it can be submerged in up to a metre of water for 30 minutes without damage. While we are not encouraging our customers to test features like this, it could certainly prove a useful defence against the constant threat of spillages and trips down the loo!

Samsung Galaxy S7 specs & features

Among many new features, the Galaxy S7 benefits from an improved screen, which – despite appearing suspiciously similar to that present on the S6 – is in fact a little brighter and sharper. Throw in a hugely powerful octa-core processor, wireless charging, 4GB of RAM, and Android’s brilliant Marshmallow operating system, and suddenly we’re looking at an impressive handset. Put all this together and there aren’t many smartphones that can even get close to the S7 in terms of power and performance.

If you think that sounds great, you’ll be delighted to hear that the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is even more powerful, and – as a result – faster. Perhaps even more impressively, the huge power of both Galaxy handsets doesn’t seem to have had a detrimental effect on their battery life, which stack up well against their competition. The S7 Edge, in particular, stands out in this regard, with its excellent 3,600mAh battery compensating brilliantly for the increased power needed for its larger display.

Admittedly, you’ll still probably find yourself needing to charge either phone once a day, but thanks to a variety of power-saving options and fast battery charging, you’ll have them back in action in no time.

This is hugely useful for busy socials and on-the-go professionals, who’ll want to fully utilise the huge range of apps and media on offer on two of the world’s best high-performance smartphones!

Samsung Galaxy S7 camera

As an enthusiastic mixture of amateur photographers and general smartphone fans, we also loved the 12-megapixel rear cameras on both models. Somehow, Samsung has actually managed to improve on the amazing model mounted on the S6, with the S7 and S7 Edge not only taking better photos in dim lighting but also focusing faster and reacting more intelligently to motion and changes in brightness. We often advocate an ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ approach to phone design, but the Galaxy S7s stunning cameras provide a great argument for making small, sensible improvements that don’t compromise existing quality. The 5-megapixel front-facing cameras aren’t half bad either, and while perhaps not the best selfie grabbers we’ve ever seen, this certainly isn’t enough of an issue to dampen our affection for the brilliant Galaxy S7s.

Where do I get one?

Fortunately, both the Samsung Galaxy S7 and the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge are available to buy today from The official Samsung Store.