Samsung Galaxy S7 Oder Huawei P10

TechRadar Verdict

5 stars to Samsung, as the brand iterates perfectly on an already accolade-winning smartphone, adding a vivid camera and gorgeous pattern.

Pros

+
Beautiful screen
+
Corking experience
+
Super camera

Cons

-
Slight plastic feel
-
Expensive

Update: The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge at present has Android Oreo and is significantly cheaper than it once was. But it's as well getting old, with the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S9 range both superseding it and even the Samsung Galaxy S10 on the mode presently. We've updated this review accordingly.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge had a tough task when it launched in February 2016.

That'south because information technology was following in the footsteps of its predecessor, a multi-accolade-winning phone, simply considering it packed all the power of the 'normal' Galaxy S6 and yet... that curved edge.

We weren't alone in loving the Samsung Galaxy S6 Border, whipping it out proudly whenever possible.

But that was 2015, and the world wasn't going to exist so easily wowed by the curved design of the Galaxy S7 Edge. We'd seen it. Information technology had been done. So what did Samsung do to make its new phone a real step forward?

Well, different what it's done on the Milky way S7, which looks (initially) like 2015's model, the changes on the S7 Edge were brilliant, adding a zest to a design that could have quickly go tired.

Information technology was so good in fact, nosotros crowned information technology the "all-time telephone of 2016". Of course, it's now been superseded past the Galaxy S8 Plus, and the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus, but it's still a solid smartphone.

The screen is larger than the Galaxy S6 Edge, nonetheless somehow the phone doesn't feel too much bigger in the hand. The rear of the phone is curved likewise, making information technology sit down nicely in the hand. It's also water-resistant, and there'southward a microSD carte du jour slot.

The bombardment is boosted massively too versus its predecessor, giving u.s. a handset that'southward able to concluding over 24 hours between charges.

Sure, it's no longer the gold child in Samsung's smartphone line-up. In fact, information technology now plays 2nd fiddle to not only the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus, just also the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus.

But if your upkeep can't stretch to Samsung's latest smartphones (they are rather expensive) the Galaxy S7 Edge is even so a strong selection.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge price and release date

Released: March 2016
Price at launch: £640, $769, AU$i,249
Now downwards to: £320, $390, AU$600

At launch the Samsung Milky way S7 Edge was priced at £640 ($769, AU$1,249) SIM-costless, but that has dropped significantly.

In the US nosotros've found the S7 Edge for effectually $390, while SIM-free prices in the UK take gone every bit depression every bit £320 and in Australia yous're looking at around AU$600.

It still non inexpensive, only in our view, it's still worth every penny.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Border specs

Weight: 157g
Dimensions: 150.9 10 72.6 10 7.7 mm
OS: Android 8
Screen size: 5.5-inch
Resolution: 1440x2560
CPU: Snapdragon 820 / Exynos 8890
RAM: 4GB
Storage: 32GB/64GB (with microSD)
Bombardment: 3600mAh
Rear camera: 12MP
Front camera: 5MP

Design

The Samsung Milky way S7 Edge is a telephone that lives and dies by its looks. If you're only interested in the ability then just get for the standard Galaxy S7.

The smaller, 'normal', model has got still smarts, but a slightly sharper screen thanks to packing the aforementioned amount of pixels into a smaller area.

What it misses is the clever elements that Samsung'due south used on the Edge. The display curves further abroad into the sides of the phone than always earlier, which means that even though you've got a phablet-sized display, the phone is as meaty every bit possible.

Place it side by side with the iPhone 7 Plus or 6S Plus and you'll see what nosotros mean. The amount of bezel used in a higher place and below the display on Apple's phone is almost laughable, particularly when you compare it to how tightly packed everything is on the S7 Edge – and the Samsung has a much, much larger bombardment. Though of course newer phones like the iPhone XS now show it up.

The S7 Edge is shorter and narrower (150.9 x 72.6mm) than the seven Plus and 6S Plus (158.2 x 77.9mm), even though both devices have the aforementioned five.v-inch screen size. The iPhone is notwithstanding, a pilus thinner at 7.3mm versus the Samsung's 7.7mm girth.

Information technology's also very similar in size to the LG G5 (149.iv 10 73.9 ten 7.vii mm), which again sports a 5.5-inch display - with the Android manufacturers really sticking it to Apple.

One of our favorite parts of the blueprint upgrade on the S7 Edge comes on the rear. A process called 3D Thermo Forming – which sounds like information technology's been named by a sentient marketing machine – enables the make to curve the rear of the phone into a single metal rim that runs all around the border.

Information technology's a feature that was used on the Note five (and is also used past brands like Xiaomi) to really assist the telephone sideslip into your palm and remove any abrupt metallic edges.

Combine that with the same bend on the front of the device and yous can see why information technology feels so smooth in the paw, nearly pebble-esque in the way you can roll information technology around in your palm.

Intriguingly, this has left some people with the impression that it'southward not quite got the same premium feel as previous Samsung phones. By having less metal to grasp on to you lot're touching the Gorilla Drinking glass 4 roofing, which can feel a little like plastic due to its lightweight (but nevertheless very strong) construction.

Tap the back of the phone and information technology lacks the sheen of metal, merely in fairness that lack of metallic allows for the wireless charging that's a key feature of the S7 Edge.

That back does accept ane outcome though: it's a fingerprint fairground, a veritable carnival for any crime scene investigators looking to nab yous for some dirty villainy.

So many phones have that criticism thrown at them, but it's particularly true for Samsung's new curved phone. Information technology's easy enough to wipe the mucilaginous offenders off, but information technology's abrasive to have to exercise it time and over again.

The camera protrusion on the rear has been reduced to but 0.42mm, which means it'due south barely noticeable when you're placing the telephone down, while nevertheless beingness strong enough to assistance protect the lens.

So you recall something else: this phone, with its elegant rim and clean lines, and consummate with exposed ports, is waterproof.

No, lamentable, water-RESISTANT, as it's IP68 rated. That means it'due south still able to work after existence dunked in fresh water for 30 minutes upwardly to a depth of ane.five metres, so you lot'll be able to use it happily in the bath, or abreast the shallow stop of the swimming puddle, and non worry about dropping it.

Information technology's less of a 'permit's have our phone scuba diving to get some amazing pictures' characteristic, and more of a prophylactic feature – and the telephone will even turn down to charge if the port is too wet, such is its ability to manage moisture.

Sadly, yous're still left with a single speaker firing out the bottom of the Milky way S7 Edge, which doesn't actually have the most premium of sound; still, it'south serviceable, and noticeably louder than other mono speakers we've used.

Overall, we can't speak highly enough of the S7 Edge's design. It feels astonishing in the mitt, and Samsung has managed to bring enough upgrades to make this look and feel like a completely different phone; and near people trying it for the beginning time will – even if they're non a fan – be able to appreciate something dissimilar in a world filled with blackness, rectangular slabs.

Screen

The display, while technically part of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge'southward blueprint, is worthy of chatting nigh in its own right – but because it looks so great.

It's the defining feature when you pull this telephone out among friends, and while it doesn't arm-twist the same response that the S6 Edge'southward display did the previous yr (like we said, curved displays are nothing new these days), it nonetheless gets a lot of approval looks, especially as information technology'due south combined with the rounded back.

The QHD resolution of 2,560 x ane,440 all the same looks equally proficient every bit anything we've seen on a smartphone. Despite beingness stretched a piffling from last year, the v.5-inch size still looks absolutely pin-sharp, and information technology'south very hard to see any artefacts lying around on the screen.

It'southward astonishing to think that, two years afterwards LG brought out the first mainstream QHD phone, nosotros still don't have any dedicated content that can be viewed at this resolution. Despite that, withal, I don't feel similar the Milky way S7 Border really suffers, as that display makes viewing web pages and photos a really bully feel.

The S7 Edge uses Super AMOLED technology, which Samsung's been chucking out for close to a decade at present, and information technology actually works well to make the telephone look premium and the colors really pop.

The contrast ratio – the difference between the whitest whites and the blackest blacks – is notwithstanding pretty sensational, which is because when they're not in use, the pixels are turned off; with something similar the iPhone 6S or the LG G5 you've got a display that just blocks out the backlight when the pixel is showing a black image, then in that location can be a small amount of low-cal drain-through.

Though annotation that many manufacturers - including Apple - have moved to OLED with newer handsets, then they can now match Samsung's dissimilarity ratio.

The Galaxy S7 Edge screen also has the added benefit of the side brandish, which is accessed by swiping your thumb along from the right- or left-mitt side of the telephone's screen (you can specify which in the settings).

Where this was a nonsense, useless characteristic in years gone past, the side display has a much more defined role on the Galaxy S7 Edge. You can easily get access to news, regular contacts, tools (the ruler, for digi-measuring is dorsum – Make it) and other elements that are currently in development.

Check out the Specs and Performance department of this review to hear a lilliputian bit more most this feature – or skip it entirely if you're bored of hearing us witter on virtually a slice of the display you can swipe.

Gareth has been role of the consumer engineering world in a career spanning three decades. He started life every bit a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grown with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed practiced insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Alive every bit well every bit representing the brand on TV and radio for multiple channels including Heaven, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he can bore anyone rigid almost stress direction, sleep tracking, heart charge per unit variance as well as bemoaning something most the latest iPhone, Galaxy or OLED TV.