VERDICT
Five stars to Samsung, as the brand iterates perfectly on an already award-winning smartphone, adding a brilliant camera and gorgeous design.
PROS:
- Beautiful screen
- Great feel
- Super camera
CONS:
- Slight plastic feel
- Expensive
The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is a phone I'd hate to have had to make. Its predecessor was a multi-award-winning phone, simply because it packed all the power of the 'normal' Galaxy S6 and yet... that curved edge. I wasn't alone in loving it, whipping it out proudly whenever possible.
But that was last year, and the world is bored of the curved design. We've seen it. It's been done. So what can Samsung do to make the new phone a real step forward?
Well, unlike what it's done on the Galaxy S7 , which looks (initially) like last year's model, the changes on the S7 Edge are brilliant, adding a zest to a design that could have quickly become tired.
The screen is larger, yet somehow the phone doesn't feel too much bigger in the hand. The rear of the phone is now curved too, making it sit nicely in the hand. It's waterproof. There's a microSD card slot. There's so much power in there I'm pretty sure I could strap it on the back of a speedboat and make my way across the Atlantic.
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge review
And that's even more possible because the battery - such a disappointment on last year's S6 phones - is boosted massively too, giving us a handset that's able to last over 24 hours between charges.
All this comes at a cost obviously, and a pretty hefty one. In the UK that cost is £640 (although if you shop around it can now be found for around £630), while in the US you're looking at a huge $299 on a two-year contract, or the new unlocked price of $769 (again, shop around and you're looking at more $600 now). In Australia, the Galaxy S7 Edge attracts the highest price for a Galaxy yet: AU$1,249 for the 32GB version.
That's quite a jump from last year's AU$1,149 starting price, showing this is one of the most expensive phones around.
But, in my view, it's worth every penny.
Design
The Galaxy S7 Edge is a phone that lives and dies by its looks. If you're only interested in the power then just go for the standard Galaxy S7. The smaller, 'normal', model has got all the same smarts, but a slightly sharper screen thanks to packing the same amount of pixels into a smaller area.
Even the simple option to double-tap the home button to activate the camera (which is a really nice element, if not as fast as some others on the market) helps the snapper feel more usable and intuitive; Samsung has really thought about the way it's put this package together.
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge review
Pro tip: use the volume down button to take a picture, as the phone will feel a lot steadier in the hand given its slightly less wieldy size.
Whether you're shooting a big landscape or a wide-angle close-up, or just want to capture the moment, the Galaxy S7 Edge's camera performs superbly - take a look at the snaps on the next page to see what I mean.
Camera interface
One of the things that struck me during testing was just how many of the features on the Galaxy S7 Edge's camera interface were similar to the iPhone's.
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge review
I'm not getting drawn into the argument of which came first, as both brands can lay claim to doing things a certain way, but there are a lot of similarities between the two. Samsung is certainly leaning towards a simpler camera interface, where Apple is packing in more settings - and the two are meeting somewhere in the middle.
One feature that Samsung has weirdly added is 'Motion photo', which captures a very shot video before taking a photo. It's just a rubbish feature, producing low-res, silent videos that start way too early and have random lengths - not something I'll ever be sharing.
Oh, and it's a little like Live Photos, isn't it, Samsung? Why aren't you making a bigger deal of 'Sound and Shot' instead?
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge review
Testing out the low light capabilities of the Galaxy S7 Edge's camera yielded some interesting results - the combination of the larger pixels with a big sensor and fast aperture means it should be sensational in low light.
And the good news is, it is. I compared the S7 Edge to the iPhone 6S Plus (Apple's best at low light photography, complete with optical image stablization) and last year's Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, to see where the improvements have come and how the two leading manufacturers' flagships fare.
You can see the comparison shots on the page after next, but my big takeaway was that the S7 is both fast at focusing in low light and excellent at capturing detail, not blowing out the highlights in a desperate attempt to let in more light.
The S6 Edge can arguably capture brighter pictures if you force it to do so, but they were horrendously muddy and noisy, as the camera left the shutter open a touch too long in an effort to pull in more light.
The iPhone 6S Plus fared better against the Galaxy S7 Edge, but didn't capture as much of the scene, nor with as much sharpness generally. Forcing the cameras on each to expose as hard as possible (by tapping on a pitch black element of the screen) showed that, again, the S7 Edge had the… er… beating of the other two, with a brilliant balance of sharpness and detail.
We'll update this section again once we've put the Galaxy S7 Edge head-to-head with the dual cameras on the back of the new iPhone 7 Plus .
Selfies
I loathe selfies still (you don't need to be in every picture, nor is it hard to ask someone else to take a photo of you). But, love or hate them, they're here to stay - and brands are working hard to pack as many features as possible into their front-facing cameras.
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge review
The Galaxy S7 Edge now has a very similar 'screen flash' method of illuminating faces in the front-facing camera to the iPhone - it's hard not to note the similarity when this feature wasn't present in the S6 duo and has popped up since Apple introduced it last year.
It's very similar in function as well, although it actually appears to give a brighter glow than Apple can manage. One thing that is evident is that Samsung's selfies are a lot smoother, with the processing software cleaning up images well.
And that's even before sticking on beauty mode, which will smooth over skin, enlarge eyes and adjust the lighting to make you look 'your very best' / 'like a weird monster if you push the settings too hard'.
I know it's perhaps a cultural thing, but I really wish beauty mode would disappear. I don't mind having a simple option to smooth out images a little, but this is just crazy - and irritating if you forget to turn it off, and wonder why you look a little like a confused alien in the resulting snap.
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge review
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Samsung Galaxy S7 edge review
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Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review
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Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review
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Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review
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Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review
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Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review
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Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review
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Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review
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Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review
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- For each image set, the order is as follows: Galaxy S7 Edge, iPhone 6S Plus, Galaxy S6 Edge (except for the last set, as the S6 Edge doesn't have a front-facing flash)
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review
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Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review
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Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review
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Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review
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Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review
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Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review
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Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review
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Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review
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Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review
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Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review
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Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review
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Samsung has given us some of the best-looking smartphones on the market when it comes to display technology, and it's delivered again with the sumptuous curves of the latest Edge. For watching movies it's one of the best phones around.
There's also the effort put in by Samsung's audio engineers over the years to bring the best possible sound quality to the mix on its flagship phones.
I remember the smile I had on my face listening to music on the Galaxy S2 - that was a phone that could only just play higher-power MP3s, but compared to the rest, it was brilliant, with only Apple offering something similar to the mass market.
That heritage has been carried all the way through to the Galaxy S7 Edge - although it's not as necessary any more, which is something I'll come onto in a moment.
And when it comes to gaming, given the amount of power being offered by Samsung's Exynos chip (or the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 choice in the US) and the gruntiest GPUs alongside, there's a lot to be excited about.
Music
The audio capabilities of the Galaxy S7 Edge are among the best out there. Samsung has always managed to pipe very balanced, stable sound through its headphone jack, with all kinds of audio formats supported.
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge review
The Galaxy S7 Edge is also a member of the Hi-Res Audio revolution, although Samsung doesn't make a big deal about it for some reason. You can play back high-end FLAC files on the S7 Edge - and yes, they sound pretty good.
But here's the issue I alluded to earlier: it doesn't matter as much these days if a phone is capable of pumping out incrementally better quality sound. What's arguably more important is whether or not it can play Spotify, or stream internet radio, or how much capacity it has for your millions of MP3s.
Don't get me wrong, it's BRILLIANT that this phone caters for the audiophiles out there, allowing them to download and put on the really high end stuff. Even streaming services (with a decent enough bit-rate) combined with a good pair of headphones will give you a great experience straight into your ears.
But delve into the audio settings on the Galaxy S7 Edge and you're offered a few nice tweaks: UHQ audio upscaling, different equaliser settings, amp-style alternatives to your current sound. They're all present, correct and great to see - although they offer very little in terms of out-and-out improvements to the mix.
The upscaler can only work so much magic to your Spotify streams, and while there is a perceptible difference you have to strain to hear it.
The only thing that's really going to change things for you is Samsung's Adapt Sound feature, something that's too often overlooked. By running a series of bleeps through your headphones the phone can work out where your perceptible hearing range is, meaning it can tailor the sound to be perfect for you.
It really does work, with the difference between the original and upgraded sounds being marked. Check it out if you buy the phone.
In terms of music players, it's clear where the market is going. There's no bundled Samsung player here, so you're forced to use Google Music, which will instantly cajole you into signing up for its subscription service. It's fine - once you skip the screens it'll let you play stored music instantly, but it's a very basic player.
It's telling that hitting 'audio settings' in the app will take you to Samsung's inbuilt controls - a deal was clearly struck to use Google's music player to save bloatware. You can always download one of the reams of free players out there though, so you won't be stuck if you're not a fan of Google's offering.
Movies
I'll always love watching movies on the Galaxy range of phones… no, let's qualify that. I'll always love watching them on OLED screens, because there's a richness to the color range, and the contrast ratio is so strong that you feel like you're peering at a high-end TV.
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge review
The Galaxy S7 Edge doesn't add anything radical here - suffice to say everything looks really great and clear on the 5.5-inch screen. Even lower-res streams will still come out clearer thanks to the screen technology, and while the edge display doesn't really add anything technologically, there's something cool about feeling like you're looking at a bezel-less phone in your hand.
Your fingers don't hit the screen when you're watching either, so you can continue to watch unencumbered by the controls popping up and down.
I do think it's a shame that a trick from the Galaxy Note Edge wasn't used again here - the option to have the video controls hidden out of the way on the curved screen at the bottom, although that was more of a novelty than anything else to be fair.
Gaming
The gaming experience on the Galaxy S7 Edge is one of the best around, but it's not flawless. I've already covered the Game Launcher, and while it does help in lots of ways - getting rid of the alerts during gameplay is something many of us will appreciate - the little Game Tools icon that sits in the corner of the display still seems to get in the way a lot.
Tap-based games see me hitting the icon on occasion and ruining my efforts, which isn't something that seems very intuitive. Yes, you can move it out of the way, but I shouldn't have to, and while you can disable it altogether before you start gaming, sometimes you want the functionality it offers (minimizing games is a big plus, for instance).
I appreciate this is getting a little nit-picky, but I really wanted to explore this new option Samsung has given us, and it's a bit off. It's good that you can drop the frame rate on some of the games to improve performance (and it doesn't even have that much of an effect on higher-powered games, to be honest) but it can slow down some titles oddly.
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge review
Overall, gaming performance is slick and smooth on the Galaxy S7 Edge. That's not to say there weren't some times where it got a bit stuttery - when playing Real Racing 3 with 20 cars crashing together on screen at once the performance coughed a little bit. It was hardly worth crying over, but did detract from the experience a little.
On the whole though, you'll find games should look clean and crisp on the screen, taking full advantage of the combination of the higher pixel count and the grunt-filled engine pumping underneath.
Okay, you've read this far. You're feeling PRETTY good about the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, but you're not quite sure whether it's the right phone for you.
I get that. You're a discerning person, and you want the best of the best. With that in mind, these are the phones that should be catching your eye, shimmying into your vision and giving you lustful yet conflicting thoughts before you make your final decision.
Apple iPhone 7 Plus
iPhone 7 Plus
I always wonder about this - do I really need to compare Apple and Samsung phones? Aren't people already in one camp or another, having taken sides in the Android vs iOS battle royal?
I hope not. Flicking between phones is as simple as can be nowadays, and while you might lose a message or two, there's no worrying about whether or not you can get your apps and content across.
Both phones offer easy switching methods now, shifting key information from one handset to the next.
So that's that out of the way. Now, onto the phone.
The iPhone 7 Plus has the same size 5.5-inch screen, similar battery performance (albeit slightly less impressive in some situations), and a wider range of apps thanks to the entrenched iOS platform.
Which the S7 Edge has one 12MP camera, the 7 Plus sports two 12MP lenses on its rear, but it's the S7 Edge which offers better snaps, with better autofocus.
And then you have the issue of size - the 5.5-inch screen on the Edge is wrapped into the phone, making it SO much more compact than Apple's effort. However, the iPhone 7 Plus does feel slightly more premium thanks to the amount of metal used, which many will see as a plus.
LG G5
LG G5
Samsung is one of the safest options when it comes to buying a new flagship smartphone. You get a load of tech and a premium body, and the S7 Edge brings it all together into a compelling package.
LG on the other hand, likes to take a walk on the wild side. With its latest flagship phone, the LG G5, you get a slightly smaller 5.3-inch display on the back the two (yes, TWO) cameras are 16MP and 8MP, offering dual focus (one for 'normal' photos, one for wide-angle) which is an innovative, if not overly-unimpressive, feature.
The big selling point is its modular capabilities. Pull the bottom bezel off the phone and you're able to slide in additional accessories giving the phone extra functionality, whether it's the handy Cam Plus grip for photographers or the music booming Hi-Fi Plus DAC for the audiophiles among you.
The phone fits well in the hand, has a powerful Snapdragon 820 CPU, and has all the top-end features you'd expect from a flagship phone - plus LG handsets always cost a little less that the competition.
I'm not impressed with the modular elements yet - the ability to remove the battery is less of a selling point these days, and the hi-fi / camera grip add-ons don't seem to add that much to the mix. However, it's a solid and fun phone, and one that will cost you a little less.
Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
Z5 Premium
Sony's phablet is probably the closest in spec (and price) to the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, but it has another headline feature on top: it's got a 4K screen on a phone with a display that measures only 5.5 inches - that's a lot of pixels shoved into a small space.
It's also got a 23MP camera that's blisteringly quick to autofocus, a waterproof design and oodles of power - although it's a step below the S7 Edge, as it's got the best features of 2015, rather than this year's.
However, it's not as ergonomic as the Galaxy S7 Edge, and the camera doesn't excel in as many areas (although the technical brilliance of Sony's sensor is worth checking out). It's a little cheaper to buy, and the speed of the phone is impressive - and with audio smarts that easily rival Samsung's, it's well worth a look, if not quite in the same league.
Samsung Galaxy S7
Galaxy S7
The conflict that pits Galaxy against Galaxy: which S7 is best for you? Both of these phones are alike in nearly every way: camera, power, screen performance and more.
The S7 is better if you want a cheaper phone without compromising on power, or want something a little more compact.
But the S7 Edge has a larger (and longer-lasting) battery, a more premium look, and a larger screen to coo over. In my opinion, if you're spending this much money and can handle the extra heft, it's the one you should be looking at.
However, both are great phones, and stand head and shoulders above most of what was offered last year, so it just depends on your ergonomic preferences and budget.
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge
S6 Edge
You can't help but look backwards when you're looking at the latest phones, as most brands now shove their older models down the price plans to make them more mid-range players.
And the S6 Edge is an award-winning phone, and one that still packs a lot of power into an attractive frame.
Sure, the camera isn't AS good as the one on the new S7 Edge, but it was one of the best of 2015, and will still give you brilliant snaps.
It's a lot cheaper too - and given that it's only got a 5.1-inch screen, with the same QHD resolution, you'll still get a good viewing experience (if a teeny bit darker at times).
While the Galaxy S6 and S7 are very alike in terms of design, the two Edge variants are quite distinct here - so you've got a genuine choice to make between the two.
It's nice to have a phone like the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge to review - a handset from a brand that worked out what was missing from last year, and both addressed those issues and improved the phone in other ways to make it a distinct upgrade.
Is it the perfect phone? Surely no such thing exists...
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge review
We liked
The second you pick up the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, you know you're holding a premium phone. Actually, that moment happens before you pick it up, as when you get close to it the always-on display will intrigue you, and the blended curve design will entice a little further.
Perhaps that's a little hyperbolic, but it's the same feeling I got with the earlier HTC One line - a set of phones that draw you in at first look and first touch.
Then you can add the fact that this phone is waterproof, which gets people's eyes raised. To some, the microSD slot is a big win (although I still want to see how that works with a card inserted over time, to make sure it doesn't munch up performance)… and then there's the camera.
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge review
Some of the pictures I took were much better than I expected, and people were constantly commenting on the quality of even a quick snap.
Blown up and analysed, they're not DSLR quality, but for sharing on social media and viewing on phone screens (and even sent to a TV) they look sensational - this will be a real selling point for Samsung's new handsets.
The battery life improvements are a relief, and push Samsung back into the realm of 'decent enough power management'. You'll easily get a good day's use out of the Galaxy S7 Edge; it could be better, but it's something that sorely needed fixing, and Samsung has fixed it.
However, the main thing I liked about the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge was that everything about it was a little bit above what I expected, whether that's the refinements to the home screen and interface, the improved power management, the speed and performance of the camera, the fact it can be thrown in a pond… it's these little improvements that add up to making a truly great phone.
We disliked
I'm still not sold on how well the microSD support will work in the Galaxy S7 Edge. If you're putting in an average-quality card I've got a sneaking suspicion that over time it's going to slow the phone down a little if you've got too much information that needs to be scanned, so definitely think about choosing something with a high read / write speed.
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge review
Battery life is another thing that will need to be watched: while Samsung has definitely improved things massively here, it's not in the same league as some of the more hardcore smartphones that can run for days without charge.
I get that there's a trade-off here, but with a phone that's got a mega 3600mAh battery underneath I was thinking it was easily going to last for possibly 4-5 years on a charge. Perhaps I'm something of a dreamer.
However, while battery life is good enough for a phone of this size and power, it would have been nice if Samsung had managed to team up the best camera with the longest-lasting battery.
Game Launcher is something that leaves a lot to be desired - it's got a lot of potential, and being able to customise your gaming experience is a nice touch. But it still can get in the way at times, and could do with a bit of tweaking by Samsung.
And let's not forget: this thing is EXPENSIVE. It's rivalling the iPhone 7 Plus for cost, so you'll need to be ready to pay a premium for this phone.
That said, the excellent design, specs, power and performance on offer make the Galaxy S7 Edge a leader in many areas - if a phone is going to cost a helluva lot, this is the kind of phone you'd expect it to be.
Verdict
As you can see above, the positives far outweigh the negatives with this handset. Once you're past the cost element (and that is something to take into consideration), you've got a phone that you'll find hard to put down.
Whether it's just rolling the refined chassis around in the hand, taking pictures that look great nine times out of 10, or just enjoying the clarity and sharpness of the screen, the Galaxy S7 Edge manages to delight, and stand out in a world where new smartphones are increasingly being offered with razor-thin differences between them.
We could always want more from our handsets - that seems to be the way we're programmed nowadays - but if you're looking for a well-designed, powerful phone that actually packs some useful day-to-day features, the Galaxy S7 Edge is the one to go for.
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