Review of Samsung Galaxy S7

VERDICT

Samsung has tweaked the winning design from the S6, righted the wrongs of its previous flagships, and made a phone you don't want to put down. The Samsung Galaxy S7 is iterative perfection.

PROS:

Improved, waterproof design
Fantastic screen and power
Superb camera

CONS:

High price
Only 32GB internal space
Fingerprint magnet

Update: The Samsung Galaxy S7 is now available in the US unlocked. We've added the new price to this revised review.

We won't beat around the bush: needing to improve upon a stellar phone in 2015'sGalaxy S6 , Samsung has made a handset that packs great battery smarts, excellent camera abilities and loads of raw power into an increasingly affordable package.

The design is similar to last year - meaning some have said this phone should be called the Galaxy S6S - but in this in-depth review it's clear that there's a lot more going on under the hood to supplement the improved design.

If you're looking for the curved phone variant of this design, the S7 isn't competing as closely with the Galaxy S7 Edge as the S6 was with the S6 Edge last year, with the curved display variant getting a bump in screen size this time round, taking it more into phablet territory.

If you're going to be doing a lot of web browsing from your phone, the Galaxy S7 isn't a bad choice - it's just the HTC 10 may be a slightly better fit.

If you know you're going to be away from a charger for an extended period, the Galaxy S7 has two options to help you make the battery last longer.

First up is the standard power-saving mode, which limits performance, vibrations and background data without cutting off any functionality. This can give you a few precious extra hours as your stumble home from a heavy night.

If you're really up against it, then Samsung's ultra-power-saving mode takes battery conservation to the extreme. This strips out all the fancy features of the Galaxy S7 and gives you a stripped down, black and white interface with access to only a handful of functions including calls, texts and a web browser.

Just how much extra time these modes give you will depend on individual usage, but with just 5% left in the tank the S7 was telling me that the standard power saver would only give me an additional two minutes over the 45 minutes it predicted the phone to last.

The ultra mode, however, claimed it could keep my phone going for 1 hour 45 minutes, which could be a real life-saver. Obviously, the more you have left in the tank when you enable these modes, the longer they'll be able to keep you going.

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy S7 has taken a positive step forward when it comes to battery life. It's not the best performer out there, and you'll want to plug in every night to be sure of a full day's use when you wake - but you won't find yourself dashing for the charger come mid-afternoon.

Gaming mode offers useful ways to save battery
Can record on-screen action directly

The Samsung Galaxy S7 is a flagship device, so it comes as no surprise to find that it takes movies, TV shows, music and gaming in its stride.

While the S7 doesn't offer the 64GB or 128GB internal storage options that were available with the S6, you do get a microSD slot to compliment the 32GB of built-in storage.

That slot supports cards up to 200GB in size, which is handy seeing as 7.51GB of the internal space in the S7 is taken up by the system memory and pre-installed applications.

Samsung Galaxy S7 review

With a vibrant 5.1-inch Super AMOLED display and a whole heap of power under the hood, the Samsung Galaxy S7 is an excellent gaming-on-the-go device.

Games load quickly, run smoothly and look great, with no hint of slowdown. The Galaxy S7 has no trouble running the graphically-intensive Real Racing 3, and the new curved design means the phone is easier to hold for extended periods.

The big talking point here though is Game Launcher, a brand new feature from Samsung which is debuting on the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge .

Samsung Galaxy S7 review

This puts more power in the hands of gamers, and whenever you download a game the S7 will automatically add it to the Game Launcher folder on the home screen; and it will add any game - even fantasy football apps, which aren't necessarily traditional games.

You can remove any app from the folder that you don't deem fit, plus you can add games which the S7 may have missed.

So what does the Game Launcher actually do? Well, when you fire up a game you'll notice a small red dot to the side of the screen - tap this at any point during your game and you'll bring up the menu.

Samsung Galaxy S7 review

From here you can take a screenshot, record live footage of your gameplay, and minimize gameplay so that you can quickly jump into another app before getting straight back to the action.

The two most useful functions, though, are the ones which probably sound the least interesting.

First up, you can disable notifications during gameplay, so you're not disturbed by panels dropping down in front of the action. It's something I found really handy, and it keeps you engaged with your game for longer - which for some parents may not be a good thing.

Samsung Galaxy S7 review

Second, the launcher gives you the ability to lock the navigation keys (back, home and multi-tasking), which prevents you from accidently exiting the app during a crucial showdown.

I can't tell you how many times I've done that in the past, so I was delighted to have this function available on the Galaxy S7. It's simple yet effective.

Super AMOLED screen offers great movie-watching experience
Battery drain minimal in this mode
Sound quality excellent using headphones, speaker muffled
Hi-Res audio is supported but still too few files for it to be worth anything

There's no dedicated video player app on the Samsung Galaxy S7, so you'll have to make do with the Gallery app to access any movie files you put on the handset, or Google's Play Movies & TV if you want to access your purchased content, or rent or buy something new.

Playback looks great on the Samsung Galaxy S7, and its brighter display makes watching the latest movie or TV show an enjoyable experience.

Samsung Galaxy S7 review

Samsung's handy Pop-up feature lets you minimise your video to a small floating window, enabling you to use other applications on the Galaxy S7 without missing any of the action.

The 5.1-inch screen can get a little cramped in this mode - it works better on the larger S7 Edge - but it's useful if you need to fire off a quick email, or ping an emoji to a WhatsApp group.

Samsung Galaxy S7 review

The only negative point here is the placement of the speaker at the base of the handset. When held in landscape mode I found my hand muffled audio on several occasions, obliging me to adjust my grip to something less comfortable.

This can be overcome by plugging in a pair of headphones (or connecting to a pair via Bluetooth), but it's a niggling issue when you want to share a video with friends and family.

Music

The only music player on the Samsung Galaxy S7 is Google's Play Music app, and that's really all you need.

Google offers its own subscription music-streaming service through the app, as well as enabling you to buy and download tracks from its store, and control your own music loaded onto the phone separately.

Samsung Galaxy S7 review

Audio quality is also impressive when using headphones, although playback falls down in the same way as video when it comes to the placement of the internal speaker.

I'd have loved to have seen Samsung adopt HTC's and Sony's use of dual front-facing speakers, but alas I'm stuck with a single, downwards-firing solution again.

The best way to describe the Samsung Galaxy S7? Iterative perfection.

It takes the best bits from the Galaxy S5 and Galaxy S6 , and blends them together into a quite brilliant smartphone.

Samsung hasn't reinvented the wheel, but it has listened to feedback. It's righted the wrongs of the S6, reinstated key features and created a stand-out device.

Samsung Galaxy S7 review

We liked

The design may not look all that different, but I love how the Galaxy S7 sits in the palm. It's comfortable to hold, and the curved edges and reduced width means it's easier to use one-handed.

Samsung has refined the design from the S6 in all the right ways, including making the Galaxy S7 waterproof. This is a phone you won't want to put down.

Then there's the display, which still sports an eye-popping resolution and Super AMOLED technology, but is somehow brighter and more enchanting.

Samsung has freshened up TouchWiz, crammed the S7 full of power, and pulled off yet another supremely impressive smartphone camera - the low light performance of the 12MP snapper is something to behold.

I liked the always-on display way more than I thought I would - it's simple yet highly convenient - while Game Launcher is another nice touch, and improves the mobile gaming experience on the S7.

Samsung Galaxy S7 review

We disliked

Very little, if I'm honest. The cost is high, but that's to be expected. The Samsung Galaxy S7 is a top smartphone, and its price tag reflects the going rate for such a device in the current market.

There are Chinese manufacturers making phones with flagship specs at half the price, so when Samsung asks for double it raises the question of whether we're being taken for a ride. We're not. You are getting a much more accomplished package with the Galaxy S7.

Battery life has improved over the S6, but the Galaxy S7 still needs a nightly charge. Fast charging is useful, but it won't help you if you're away from a plug socket for an extended period of time - and unlike the LG G5 's, the S7's battery isn't removable.

The return of microSD support is welcome, but I'd like to see more than 32GB of internal space - especially when you consider that 7.51GB of that is already in use when you take the S7 out of its box.

Oh, and the fact that the S7 is a total fingerprint magnet is just plain annoying.

Verdict

Samsung has tweaked the winning design from the S6, righted the wrongs of its previous flagships, and made a phone you don't want to put down.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 is a worthy recipient of a five-star techradar review. That's no easy feat - only a handful of phones have ever hit the top mark - but the Galaxy S7 has earned its place in our hall of fame.