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Building a smartphone that beats the Galaxy S6 has likely been Samsung’s biggest challenge so far. How do you improve upon an already stellar design and one of the best smartphone cameras on the market? You build the Galaxy S7.
With its curved glass back, larger battery, Dual Pixel camera and even more powerful internals, the Galaxy S7 is the smartphone to beat in 2016.
Like Apple, Samsung has come to understand that winning formulas don’t need drastic changes every year. To the average consumer, the Galaxy S7 looks no different to its predecessor, and it doesn’t need to.
The Galaxy S7 is still pretty enough to give the iPhones of this world a run for their money, and when you combine its gorgeous glass design with the best specifications and must-have features, you have an outstanding product.
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0:00
Although it looks just like a Galaxy S6 at first glance, the Galaxy S7 ushs in a number of nice design improvements
0:07
The big one being the curved glass back. Like that found on the Galaxy Note 5, which makes the device incredibly comfortable to hold in your palm
0:15
The aluminium frame around the device is more rounded too. As are the edges with the Gorilla glass that protects the Galaxy S7's incredibly sharp super Amel-led display
0:24
The home button is slightly bigger, which makes the fingerprint scanner more reliable
0:28
The S7 is noticeably thicker than its predecessor at 7.9mm, up from 6.8
0:34
But it makes up for that with a larger 3,000 millie amp hour battery, its rear facing camera doesn't stick out so much either, and expandable storage is back, with support for micro SD cards up to 200 gig in size
0:47
Samsung has stuck with micro USB instead of switching to USBC, like many of its rivals, but this is to maintain compatibility with its gear VR headset
0:57
So if you already own one, you don't need a new one for the Galaxy S7
1:01
Its shiny glass panels make the Galaxy S7 a fingerprint magnet, so you'll find yourself polishing it often if you don't use a case or skin
1:08
That's a small price to pay for a design that looks this good though. The glass also allows power to pass through for wireless charging
1:16
Another big improvement for the Galaxy S7 is water resistance. It's IP 68 certified, which means it can withstand water up to 1.5 meters or 5 feet deep for as long as 30
1:27
We don't recommend you take it to the pool or even in the shower unnecessarily, but it's nice to know if it gets wet, you're not going to end up with a costly repair bill
1:36
The Galaxy S7 performs exactly how you would expect a high smartphone to perform Opening apps and menus is delightfully snappy Scrolling long pages is smooth and mostly jitter
1:47
And the latest games run flawlessly without any hiccups. Samsung has finally fixed the memory management issues that plagued last year's devices
1:55
So switching between apps is a much more seamless experience too. And with 4 gig of RAM on board, apps remain open in the background longer that they need to refresh
2:03
so frequently. We tested the Xenos 8890 version of the Galaxy S7, which is what you'll get in most markets
2:10
outside of the US and South Korea. According to benchmark tests, this model isn't as powerful as the Snapdragon 820 powered
2:16
sibling, but we certainly don't have any complaints. Thanks to the Galaxy S7's larger battery and the power saving improvements baked into Android
2:24
6.0.1 marshmallow, it lasts even longer between charges. Battery life probably isn't as stellar as Samsung led us to believe during its unpacked
2:33
keynote, but I've been pleasantly surprised so far. In standby mode, the device burns hardly
2:38
any power at all, even with the always-on display enabled. With average use, you shouldn't
2:43
have any issues getting through your day with plenty of power to spare at the end of it
2:47
If you do find yourself low on power, it doesn't take long to top up. Samsung says the Galaxy
2:52
S7 series charges up to 60% faster than the S6. Wireless charging is built in too, but that's
2:58
still slower than charging by cable. The Galaxy S7's display isn't vastly different
3:02
into the Galaxy S-6s. It's still a 5.1 inch quad HD panel, but thanks to increased brightness
3:09
it does just enough to become the best smartphone display on the market. Whether you're watching
3:13
movies, playing games, browsing the web or editing photos, you'll enjoy incredibly bright and
3:18
vibrant colors and super sharp text Like all Samsung displays color saturation is ever so slightly excessive but that not necessarily a bad thing And there are other display modes to choose from
3:29
if you don't like the default one. The increased brightness makes the Galaxy S7
3:33
comfortable to use outdoors in bright daylight, which is great when you're taking photos on a sunny day
3:39
What makes the Galaxy 7's display really great is its new always-on feature
3:44
which can show the time and date, calendar, and an image of your choosing on the lock screen
3:48
while the phone is idle. Certain notifications will appear here too. So you can see what's waiting for you without having to wake the device
3:56
Samsung's fingerprint scanner has been improved again this year, so it's faster and more reliable than ever
4:02
It's not quite on par with touch ID, I still have to scan mine twice every now and then
4:06
but it's close and reliable enough to use. Samsung blew us away with its smartphone cameras last year
4:12
and it's raising the bar again in 2016. If photography is important to you and you want the best shooter you can get
4:18
getting a smartphone today, then the Galaxy S7 is the device for you
4:22
Don't let the drop in megapixels from 16 to 12 fool you
4:26
The photos you take with the Galaxy S7 are just as detailed as those you get with the
4:30
Galaxy S6. The new model also boasts larger pixels that let in more light, so images are brighter and
4:36
more vibrant. Low light performance is particularly impressive. While most of the smartphones struggle in darker environments, the Galaxy S7 is able to capture
4:45
enough light to deliver surprisingly decent results. Thanks to Samsung's new dual pixel technology, which Samsung has borrowed from DSLR cameras
4:53
autofocus is insanely fast, whether you're snapping pictures or shooting video. This is incredibly useful when you trying to capture moving subjects like animals cars or kids Optical image stabilization and 4K video recording are also available in the Galaxy S7 and you won have trouble storing those ultra HD movies thanks to the micro SD card slot
5:14
The S7's front facing camera is good enough for sharp selfies and the built-in camera app implies some nice effects in real-time that will make you look prettier
5:22
The camera app also boasts various modes for different shooting scenarios, support for raw image capture and a great manual mode
5:29
There's enough here to ensure you don't need third-party camera apps, but it's easy to use and not too overwhelming
5:36
I never thought I'd write this, but Samsung's TouchWiz software is actually pretty good now
5:41
Performance has been terrific for me, even while multitasking and running two apps side by side
5:45
And the features Samsung has baked in are almost all welcome additions to Android, and the theme engine has returned
5:51
So you can switch up the look of app icons, menus, wallpapers and more
5:55
It's still a far cry from stock Android, but it doesn't get in the way anymore
5:59
Samsung's smartphone lineup was turning into a joke just two years ago when it launched the Galaxy
6:04
S5 with its flimsy plastic form factor, but when sales started falling, it finally listened
6:09
to our cries for big improvements. And boy, I'll be glad they did
6:13
Its stunning design, high-end specifications, and the stellar camera made the Galaxy
6:17
S7 the best Android smartphone on the market right now. And quite possibly the best we'll see this year
6:23
It's a big improvement on the Galaxy S6 and an even bigger improvement over everything else
6:28
Well, that's it for this video. If you did enjoy it, please help us out to smash that like button down below
6:33
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6:38
I promise next week we'll have some more Apple videos. Until next time, I'm Steve Smith and I'll catch you in the next one
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