Samsung Galaxy S7 And S7 Edge Preview

[MobileEditor]

Samsung follows up last year's radical redesign of its Galaxy flagships by fixing common complaints, polishing up the design, and resurrecting microSD support and IP68 environmental protection.

Samsung Galaxy S7 And S7 Edge Preview : Read more

 

[Nashten]

Glad to see that Samsung brought the MicroSD card slot back.

I still won't buy a Samsung phone, but they look even better. I can't wait to see what the SD820 holds in store for us when more products hit the street with it.

I shouldn't talk about SD slots though considering I own a Nexus 6...

 

[chuckydb]

Micro-usb 2.0...
Come on!! Really?

 

[xHDx]

What staggers me is how does a Phone manage to use that much RAM? Windows uses a max of 2/2.5

 

[alchemy69]

Take drink every time someone whines about the lack of a removable battery.

 

[Edwin Herdman]

The "(sensors with) smaller pixels are bad" line is a myth, and I'm disappointed to see it spread here. There are densely packed sensors, and there are physically large sensors - both are good things.

Of course, if you had the exact same pixel count, larger pixels are naturally better, but this is not the question facing sensor makers. The "small pixels" line is harmful because it leads people to think that small pixels are naturally compared to large pixels - almost nobody does this, because it would mean viewing pixels off different size sensors at the same size. With a few exceptions, people compare the full images at the same size - where total sensor size is much more important.

DP Review's Richard Butler took a look at this question last year, with some extra math details on page 2 of the article "The effect of pixel size on noise."

 

[Calvin Huang]

Micro-usb 2.0...
Come on!! Really?

I have a phone with USB-C (Nexus 6P), and while I do appreciate the ergonomics of the new plug (it both feels more secure while being less awkward to insert/unplug), the lack of compatibility is a huge drawback. I have to be sure to always carry my own cables with me, and there are no wireless charging dongles that use USB-C. So if you go to Starbucks and want to make use of their Qi charging pads, you're SOL. Granted, it'd be less of an issue if the device had Qi charging built-in, but in the case of the S7, it still doesn't make sense to release a phone that isn't compatible with their VR hardware.

 

[thezooloomaster]

Micro-usb 2.0...
Come on!! Really?

Who uses USB on phones for anything other than charging these days, anyway?

 

[none12345]

Removing the MicroSD slot, and the waterproofiting from the s5 were 2 big mistakes. Glad to see they realized their stupidity and added them back in for the s7.

I wouldn't even consider a phone that doesn't have a microsd slot.(or whatever replaces it in the future). The non-removable battery sucks, but its far easier to live with when the waterproofiting and microsd slot are back in.

 

[MasterMace]

USB 2.0 and a locked down battery are big signals for me to stay away from Samsung, still. That, and my experience with the GS4

 

[giovanni86]

Still concealing the battery. There almost back to normal. if there note 6 doesn't have battery removal its another year im skipping my Note 4 is plenty.

 

[Lord Carmine]

dont need LTE cat9
need Gorilla Glass 5 and bigger battey and USB C
nothing more..batttery bump is nice..but i aint buying anything without a USB C..would have settled with GG 4
all in all Lucky number Seven is a disappointment.

 

[dstarr3]

I suppose I can accept a non-removeable battery. I haven't needed to actually replace a phone's battery yet. SD slot, though, extremely happy to see it back.

But still, no sale until proven rootable.

 

[uglyduckling81]

Micro-usb 2.0...
Come on!! Really?

Who uses USB on phones for anything other than charging these days, anyway?

I do. I use it in my Gear VR headset. Changing to Type C would mess that all up. It was always forecast when they released Gear VR with the old Micro USB connection.

 

[amk-aka-Phantom]

I have a phone with USB-C (Nexus 6P), and while I do appreciate the ergonomics of the new plug (it both feels more secure while being less awkward to insert/unplug), the lack of compatibility is a huge drawback. I have to be sure to always carry my own cables with me, and there are no wireless charging dongles that use USB-C. So if you go to Starbucks and want to make use of their Qi charging pads, you're SOL.

That's a never-ending loop: lack of compatibility and chargers because few devices use the port because of lack of compatibility and chargers... someone has to break this ugly circle.

As for microUSB 2.0, I don't give a toss that it's microUSB, it's the fact that it's still 2.0 that pisses me off! Can someone give me a logical reason why Samsung got rid of USB 3.0 support after debuting it in SGS5 and SGN3 besides the stupid mumbling how the microUSB 3.0 connector is "ugly"? The best thing I can think of is interference with 2.4 GHz 802.11n but AFAIK that bug is isolated to Haswell (and Broadwell, though seems Intel won't admit it) and I've never read or heard of SGS5 and SGN3 owners complaining about Wi-Fi. Remember, as long as it's not 3.0 (which isn't mandatory), a Type C port is no better than a microUSB 2.0 other than being reversible... in fact it's worse since it will indeed require you to buy new adapters and/or accessories.

 

[Lord Carmine]

Micro-usb 2.0...
Come on!! Really?

Who uses USB on phones for anything other than charging these days, anyway?

Micro-usb 2.0...
Come on!! Really?

Who uses USB on phones for anything other than charging these days, anyway?

Micro-usb 2.0...
Come on!! Really?

Who uses USB on phones for anything other than charging these days, anyway?

We would use it for something else if it were able to do something else..
but you dont seem to grasp the inability of Microusb to do anything..thnak God it can transfer data or we would have two ports..one for charging and one for transfering files from our computer to our mobile
and with USB C i can connect my mobile to a large display and enjoy faster charging without the hassle of which way goes up..
Apple lightning port is the same and after USB c it sucks that samsung ditched it where as many of the unknown brands are adapting to USB C

 

[Lord Carmine]

AS far as compatability goes..the answer isnt dropping USB C
its a vicious cycle
>> we did not include USB C because its not supported by many peripherlas >>and we do not make any peripherals with USB C because it is not supported by many devices,,>>
the answer if there really is one is giving two devices..one that supports Microusb and another USB C
and this is coming whether samsung wants or not.. most of 2016 is still remaining and most of the upcoming devices will adopt USB C..

 

[Lord Carmine]

and if the problem is gear compatibility..they could have included a USB C to USB A converter..easy and cheap solution for the coming few years till the transition to USB C is complete

 

[Calvin Huang]

AS far as compatability goes..the answer isnt dropping USB C
its a vicious cycle
>> we did not include USB C because its not supported by many peripherlas >>and we do not make any peripherals with USB C because it is not supported by many devices,,>>
the answer if there really is one is giving two devices..one that supports Microusb and another USB C
and this is coming whether samsung wants or not.. most of 2016 is still remaining and most of the upcoming devices will adopt USB C..

That sounds like a much more expensive solution than just providing a USB-C-to-microUSB adapter. It's possible that a device with both ports would be cheaper than designing and distributing two variants.

and if the problem is gear compatibility..they could have included a USB C to USB A converter..easy and cheap solution for the coming few years till the transition to USB C is complete

Have you seen a Gear VR? Where do you imagine the adapter would fit? And devices like the Nexus 6P do come with a USB-C to USB-A cable. That lets you use USB-A chargers with removable cables (though, if you left your charger at home, you probably also forgot to bring your cable). But it doesn't help you with the much more common peripherals that connect directly via microUSB.

 

[dthx]

question... when the journalist says:
"It will be interesting to see if this new camera can actually outperform the Galaxy S6, which currently has the best smartphone camera we’ve tested" , is it because he is not considering that the Lumia 950 is not a smartphone due to the Windows 10 or because he doesn't know the exists?

 

[Sparky4688]

Removable battery - only way to really turn off the phone....

 

[Nossy]

I dont care what they do with the S-line, but they should leave the Note line alone for POWERUSERS. The only way I'll buy the Note 6 is if it has removable battery + MicroSD + USB 3.1 Type C.

 

[videobear]

Still no IR. Phones make handy remotes...but not if they can't talk to your components.

 

[dthx]

Still no IR. Phones make handy remotes...but not if they can't talk to your components.

On the other hand, you can now find a nice system (Harmony Hub from Logitech) that acts as powerful IR blaster inside your cabinets (and with a small emitter that you can also place directly on your TV's receiver) and you use your smartphone to zap, change volume etc via WiFi... it works like a charm and you don't need to point at the devices anymore
It even covers some domotic (dim your lights for example) systems and communication with bluetooth devices (like a playstation). It's very efficient: create an activity like "watch a film" and it will turn on your AV receiver/TV/WDLive box, set the correct sources on the AV receiver and dim your living room lighs with the press of just one button

 

[Lord Carmine]

@Calvin Huang
If you think they are gonna put both USB C and Microusb on one device you are delusional. USB C is a fairly new tech and it is not cheap..and thats one of the main reason they ditched it on S7..have you ever read the component price list of a device and seen how many cuts these guys make just to save a dollar on one phone..and a USB C to Micreousb converter is gonna be very cheap..