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Samsung Galaxy S7 Review
After using this phone on and off since March 12, here are my impressions. I have tried to write it like a tech journalist. You can let me know if I have failed miserably - that is why I have a day job in a different profession.
Design and Build
I really like the design and build of this phone. Very well put together, the phone has a nice heft to it which is a refreshing change from the ultra-light phones of late. Samsung did a nice job of reducing the camera hump, making the phone a bit thick and stuffing a 3000 mAh battery in it. The addition of the SD card slot and water resistance are both quite useful, so kudos to Samsung for listening to their customers. The feel in hand is quite superb even with a minimal case from VRS Design. I ordered three different cases from this company as I liked their cases for the S6 and S6 Edge and S6 Edge Plus.
Specs / Hardware / Performance
Snapdragon 820, 4GB RAM, enough said! This thing is fast, fast, fast...SD card slot is nice but removing Android 6.0's adoptable storage feature is a boneheaded move. Battery life is a definite step up over the S6. I had no issues on any day with running out of battery life and am getting somewhere around 4-5 hours of SOT. The main reason for low SOT is that my phone is constantly hunting for a signal at work and this does drain the battery. Also this phone has quick charging with the cable and a Qi wireless charger, both of which are very nice features to have.
Display
While the display is gorgeous, it is a slight step down from the S6 display and that is a consensus opinion and is reflected on sites like Display Mate and Phone Arena. So I guess this is where they might have done some cost cutting.
Camera
The camera takes stellar pictures in every possible setting. The prowess of the camera has been confirmed by multiple sites so I am not going to delve into it further. It is really fast to load, focus and snap pictures in pretty much any lighting condition. On the display the pictures look fantastic. When the pictures are views on a 24" LCD monitor the colors appear a bit on the warmer side just like what the other reviewers have mentioned. Video quality and sound reproduction in the videos is very very good. DXOMark and TheVerge have both rated it as one of the best cameras on a smartphone and I agree. My opinion is also agreed to by AndroidCentral, even if it is by a hair...and yes just like the comparo performed by Derek Kessler, I have tried every single camera in that comparison test - 950XL, 6S, S7, S6 Edge Plus, Note 5, Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X and LG G4. And the S7 is better - enough said.
Sound
The speaker is a bit tinny but adequate. The headphone jack output is a bit low and this is most likely due to the waterproofing feature added to the phone. My Lumia 640 produces a louder output via the headphone jack than this phone.
Software/UX
Touchwiz is getting better but still there are quirks. There is not much besides slapping on Nova or Google Now Launcher that I could do. After that it worked well for me.
Fingerprint Sensor
Fast, very fast and quite accurate. I also used Samsung Pay quite a bit and worked without issues at the places where I regularly use NFC based payments.
Good
Great design and build,
Excellent Screen
SD card slot and water resistance
Bad
Phone will need a case, it is slippery and a fingerprint magnet
No adoptable storage, tch, tch Samsung
Touchwiz is still just okay