7 Points on The Samsung Galaxy S7: Release Date, Specs, Hardware & Camera
Looks like the Samsung Galaxy S7 will get a launch in Q1 2016 - here's what you should expect to see!
The Samsung Galaxy S7 is coming; we know this for a fact. We know this because this is simply how the mobile industry works; a successor model always goes into development very soon after a device is launched, and then usually gets a release around the same time the following year. We also have a good inkling about it due to the volume and consistency of rumours, many from reliable sources, which have suggested what we'll see and when.
2016 is a HUGELY important year for Samsung. The company has had a rough couple of years with diminishing sales and market share and worse than expected revenues and profits. In 2016 the company will once again attempt to come out guns blazing with one of the most advanced mobile phones ever conceived. The Galaxy S7, as you’ll see below, will be impressive. But impressive isn’t always good enough. This year’s handset has to be exceptional.
Samsung has confirmed the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 EDGE will launch on February 21, confirming previous reports that claimed the phones would launch in and around MWC 2016 in Barcelona, Spain. Samsung also released a promo video for its new phones called #TheNextGalaxy, featuring the company’s Galaxy VR headset, suggesting it will likely support both new flagships. And if that wasn’t enough, we even saw a leaked image of both the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 EDGE over the weekend too, courtesy of @evleaks, which you can see below.
You can now downloads 13 of the Galaxy S7’s stock wallpapers. The images, posted on Sam Mobile’s forums, have two different resolutions: 2560 x 2560 and 2240 x 2240 pixels — one for the standard model, the other for the EDGE model. The wallpapers come in various colours, potentially matching the colours of the phones themselves, which are expected to ship in black, white, silver and gold colour variants.
There Will Be Two Designs & Multiple Models - A Samsung Galaxy S7 & A Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
Firstly, Samsung has already established a pattern of dual-launches of multiple device variants, particularly when it comes to 'edge' variants of whatever new handset it is releasing. So far we've had the Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note edge, the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge, and the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge +, all as dual-launches.
Secondly, multiple rumours, some from highly credible and reliable sources, have repeatedly stated there will be two design variants more-or-less from the beginning, and one of these will be an 'edge' model with a curved display. All-in-all then, we think it's looking pretty likely Samsung will follow its now well-established MO and the Galaxy S7 will be a dual-launch of both the standard, flat-display Galaxy S7, and a curved-screen Galaxy S7 edge.
HOWEVER -- more recently reports have suggested Samsung is prepping several models of its Galaxy S7. According to the reports, two will be standard models, while the other two will feature curved displays, meaning we’re looking at a standard Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7+ device and a Galaxy S7 EDGE and a Galaxy S7 EDGE+, which makes four in total.
Leaked images from a Chinese retailer have also revealed when the Galaxy S7 will launch. According to China Mobile, the Galaxy S7 will get a release date -- at least in China -- during March, indicating Samsung will launch the handset inside late-Q1. This runs contrary to previous reports, however, which suggested the company would out the handsets as early as January.
Samsung is looking to save some cash in 2016/16 after a rather disappointing two year stretch in which Apple, as well as Chinese brands like Xiaomi and Huawei, have systematically eaten away at its global market share, resulting in lower than expected sales and profits.
The high-end market for mobile phones has kind of stagnated. For instance, 2015 will be the first time the smart phone space has grown below double digits. That is pretty significant and it will affect everybody’s bottom-line, even big players like Apple and Samsung.
"With the smartphone market finally slowing to single-digit growth, maintaining momentum will depend on several factors," said Ryan Reith , Program Director with IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker .
"The main driver has been and will continue to be the success of low-cost smartphones in emerging markets. This, in turn, will depend on capturing value-oriented first-time smartphone buyers as well as replacement buyers. We believe that, in a number of high-growth markets, replacement cycles will be less than the typical two-year rate, mainly because the components that comprise a sub-$100 smartphone simply do not have the ability to survive two years. Offering products that appeal to both types of buyers at a suitable price point will be crucial to maintaining growth and vendor success.”
Android will still be the dominate OS for the foreseeable, however — it has 82% of the market, while Apple’s iOS platform takes care of just 15%. Importantly, though, Apple makes the most money in the smartphone space and with a lack of competition from other platforms – BB10 and Windows — this isn’t likely to change anytime soon.
The Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 EDGE were two of our favourite handsets of 2015. They looked awesome and the performance was excellent. Solid stuff, indeed. Unfortunately consumers weren’t too impressed with what Samsung had brought to the table and sales were well below what the firm expected to shift. And Apple having two record-breaking years in a row did not help matters, neither did Xiaomi hoovering up in China.
But it’s OK — at least we have the Galaxy S7 to look forward to, right? Kind of. But ut all depends on whether or not you liked the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 EDGE because Samsung isn’t planning on doing much to the look and feel of the handset, according to sources familiar with its plans.
The sources mentioned above spilled their guts to The Korea Times, a usually very good publication for all things Samsung and LG. According to the sources, “the S7 will have improvements both in picture quality, performance and other some new features. But because smartphones have already been commoditised, you don’t need to spend more on a surface overhaul.”
Translation? The overall design of the phones will remain the same and all major changes will be under the hood — sound familiar? It should. This is exactly what Apple does with its iPhone cycle year-in-year out. The source claims the Galaxy S7 will feature faster processors, new DRAM chips with expanded storage, and OLED displays. All big, useful upgrades that will no doubt be appreciated by A LOT of people.
It's not exactly surprising that Samsung has gone down this route. For one thing the poor sales performance by the Galaxy S6 seems to have NOTHING to do with how people regarded its design and build - largely it received glowing reviews and was heralded as the best looking phone Samsung had produced to date. With the design established as really rather good that's the last thing Samsung should want to change, and what's more, it doesn't because that kind of development is a big costly overhaul; that's why Apple doesn't do it every year, and Samsung only just did it, so the design SHOULD be good for a while yet, if Samsung can generate interest through other features.
Personally, I’d like to see a slightly larger display and a big bump to battery performance. If Samsung does this then I’ll be a happy bunny, as I am quite partial to the Galaxy S6’s overall design language and finish.
There Will Be Two Processor Variants
Historically Samsung has followed a pretty standard MO when it comes to processors, particularly with regards to flagship models. For a long time it was predictable that the firm's own Exynos processors would be put into Galaxy S flagship models ditributed in its home market of Asia, while the rest of the world gets a version fitted with whatever Qualcomm's current flagship Snapdragon chip is at the time.
That did get switched around recently, however, with the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge, due to spreading concerns over Qualcomm's then-flagship Snapdragon 810 chip and issues with overheating. It also emerged that Samsung was stepping up its own processor production game, and there was talk of the firm distancing itself from its long-time chip partner.
However, more recently launches from Samsung have returned to the two processor type distribution model, so it seems relations with Qualcomm are in fact healthy, and the Galaxy S6 was a minor hiccup. Rumours have also persisted that there will be an Asian-facing Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge using Samsung's latest home-brew Exynos 8890 processor; this is the first chip Samsung has engineered its own core architecture for and built from the ground up, complete with a built-in 4G LTE modem. These rumours also say that the versions of the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge coming to the non-Asian markets will use Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 820 chip.
The Galaxy S7 edge Will Have A New Display Design
There have been varied rumours about new design approaches for the Galaxy S7, including some ideas about genuine flexible display panels, however, these seem to have largely dropped off in favour of dominant leaks and rumours suggesting a broadly similar design language to the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge for the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge. However, there appears to be one key difference for the Galaxy S7 edge; a persistent rumour that it will feature curved display edges along the top and bottom of the handset as well as the side edges seen on the Galaxy S6 edge. In other words, the edge is about to get edgier.
According to the latest reports from February 10, the Galaxy S7 edge will also have a massive battery cell, increased in capacity by as much as 38% from the Galaxy S6 edge's 2600mAh setup to a 3600mAh cell. The info comes via an FCC filing for the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge, so this is no mere rumour but apparently confirmed. However, while the larger cell is sure to provide a substantial battery boost, it's also worth noting that the display is larger at 5.5in compared to the 5.1in display of the Galaxy S6 edge.
The Exynos 8890 Model Will Be INSANELY Fast
It seems Samsung is prepping quite a debut for its first completely home-made Exynos processor. As well as sporting the firm's own core architecture on its 14nm FinFET semiconductor production, built-in superfast RAM and a built-in LTE modem, the Exynos 8890 appears to deliver blisteringly fast performance unmatched anywhere else, if recent leaked benchmarks are to be believed.
A set of AnTuTu benchmark results were handed to PhoneArena, which showed the Exynos 8890 powered SM-9300 (Galaxy S7), utterly dominating everything else on the chart with a score of 103,692 - considerably higher than the next best Huawei Kirin 950 which has ranged from 79,000-94,000.
There Will Be Advanced Camera Hardware
Samsung always seems keen to up its camera game and the last several generations of Samsung Galaxy top-enders have had some of the best camera capabilities on the market. What's not clear yet is precisely how Samsung plans to improve things, but what we do know is that it has been scoping out a few options. There have been multiple rumour reports surrounding possible camera hardware setups.
The two most compelling so far suggest that, firstly, Samsung has been in talks with Sony to acquire the use of its 23MP IMX300 camera - the one exclusively used inside the Xperia Z5 flagship.
The second isn't really just one rumour, it's several, and relates to Samsung using its own technology. Samsung has been working on its own brand ISOCELL sensors for a while and one or two variants have made their way into launched Samsung devices. One set of rumours suggested Samsung would opt for a 12MP sensor but would use a very large sensor with a larger pixel size in a bid to improve image quality. Earlier rumours have suggested a 20MP ISOCELL sensor, but it seems that some new info points to a newly licensed Samsung BRITECELL brand, pegged as an improvement on the ISOCELL tech - this has also been suggested as a 20MP setup.
So, broadly then, we're either looking at a 23MP Sony sensor or a Samsung ISOCELL/BRITECELL sensor in some advanced configuration using larger sensor size and/or pixel size, ranging from anywhere between 12MP and 20MP. One way or the other you're looking at high quality optics and a very carefully honed setup!
It Will Launch In Late-ish February (Circa Feb 22)
Samsung's fairly predictable on this front. Aside from a brief flirtation with launching stuff whenever the hell it wanted a few years back, Samsung has more-or-less stuck to having its own little launch party a day or two before major tech expos at key points in the calendar - most notably Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona during every February-March period, and IFA in Berlin around September. The Galaxy S flagships have consistently launched ahead of MWC, which this year is kicking off around February 23, leading many pundits to look at February 21/22 as a probable "Samsung Unpacked" event date. Plenty of rumours have backed all this up too.
MicroSD May Be Reintroduced
The wildcard of the bunch. There have been rumours of the re-introduction of microSD ever since it left the Galaxy flagship range and so far it has failed to materialise. A recent rumour did suggest it would return on the Galaxy S7, but whether this is legit is anybody's guess. What we wonder is whether Samsung is still reeling from its lower-than-expected Galaxy S6 sales and if re-adding microSD might be a bid to regain some lost kudos with its core fanbase, many of whom seem to be vocally disappointed in the loss of microSD (and removable battery cells, but that's a whole other kettle of fish!).