Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is a gorgeous smartphone! It's already a year old, but the device is still relevant. Especially for 30,000 rubles. In the article I’ll tell you about my personal experience of buying a smartphone at such a good price, and at the same time about the reasons for my behavior. Let's go!
Why Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge?
There are four reasons for this. Let's go in order.
1. Disappointment with the Chinese
I had OnePlus 3T - perhaps the best device among modern Chinese smartphones. I haven’t tried it yet, there’s nothing to say about it.
3T is an almost perfect smartphone, especially for 24 thousand rubles. With cashback it will be even cheaper. However, the word “practically” personally made me refuse it. And it is expressed in the cameras - they are such bastards, they are lathering! Both.
Look, there I closely compare the 1+3T and P10 cameras. It couldn't be any clearer.
2. If we take it, then the current flagships
Currently it is iPhone 7 Plus or Samsung Galaxy S8+. Both models have large screens, which is a real boon. Both smartphones are very powerful, with top-end cameras. There is only one question left - the price.
7 Plus now costs at least 45,000 rubles. Spending so much money and getting a very narrow 32 GB of memory is a special form of masochism.
The 128 GB version will cost 54 thousand, and here the price tag is already very close to the Galaxy S8+, which is just a Batmobile compared to some Skoda in the form of an iPhone. However, to pay more than fifty thousand rubles for a phone, which in a year I can sell for half the price - hell no!
3. Former flagships cost more or less adequately
I looked at the price tag - 38 thousand rubles. And this is for a smartphone that was released a year and a half ago. Excuse me, but you have to be crazy enough to pay that kind of money for “this,” or even not know what’s going on in the market.
But Samsung S7 Edge for “thirty”, for a new one - you can already work with this.
4. Samsung S7 Edge is still wow!
The smartphone is not a bit outdated. It is powered by a very powerful Exynos 8890 processor. The chip is completely comparable to the more famous Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, and the power of these two guys will surely be enough for the entire 2017, and most likely, the next year.
Edge fully supports wireless payment. If the iPhone can pay only where the terminal supports contactless technology, then Samsung Pay works everywhere. Even on terminals that were 10 years old!
The S7 Edge has exactly the same camera modules. Yes, the algorithms are different, thanks to which the S8 shoots a little better. But does this difference correspond to the price gap of 25 thousand rubles? As if not.
In addition, the S7 Edge is simply beautiful, stylish, with a curved display - a smartphone with a real model appearance. And that’s what I need.
How and where to buy Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge for 30 thousand rubles?
If we cut off all dubious offers on Yandex.Market, then the minimum price tag is 37 thousand rubles. Of course, the device will be gray. However, there is an option to save another 7,000 rubles.
The store is called From.ae. Delivery to Russia costs about $20. The parcel takes a week, and we receive it at home - it is delivered by a courier from EMS mail. Beauty!
I will not describe in detail the process of registering on the site and paying for the purchase. The store has a Russian version, so everything is extremely simple there.
I'll tell you two things you should know. Everything, as they say, is experienced firsthand.
All products are for UAE
This means that Samsung Pay did not work in my Edge. However, this problem is easily fixable. The phone just needs to be reflashed. Here, all applicants should go to the appropriate forum thread on 4PDA. By the way, the instructions there are as detailed as possible and are suitable even for beginners.
The only thing I will add from myself. The Arabic firmware also has Russian language and everything, in principle, works as expected. There is only no Samsung Pay. Before changing the region, I updated the Arabic device to Android 7.0, and after that I installed the firmware on the same Android 7. There is no need to roll back to version 6.
After spending an hour and a half, I flashed the smartphone and turned it into a device for the Russian market. Samsung Pay instantly set up and accepted my bank cards, and this is a definite success of the event.
From.ae Help Desk
If you save, then save as much as possible. It is for this reason that I ordered the single SIM version for $496. The dual-SIM model cost $30 more at that time.
A day later they write to me from From.ae technical support and say that I shouldn’t have ordered this model after all. It's the last one in stock and the screen is defective. A new party is not planned yet.
“Well, it’s begun! I got into an adventure on my own head.” — I thought.
However, TP offered me an alternative - they send me the same dual-SIM version and I don’t have to pay anything extra. Plus, I will receive a $5 discount on my next purchase. They might as well not have asked at all. Of course, I agreed.
Fly in the ointment - guarantee
The smartphone came to me within a week. I immediately unpacked it to, so to speak, document the fact of purchase, delivery, and that there were no problems with the smartphone.
After flashing, setting up and using it for a couple of days, I finally discovered the catch. Or rather, marriage.
All photos have a dark spot in the upper right corner. Obviously, this is a speck of dust that got between the lens and the matrix. Maybe.
Of course, I immediately reported this to technical support, hoping that the issue could be somehow resolved.
It’s clear that for 30,000 rubles it’s a sin to complain. However, I bought the smartphone new, not refurbished, without defects or flaws. I think I have the right to count on just such a product, even if it is significantly cheaper than all other offers on the market.
At the time of publication, they responded to me from TP - they offered to send the smartphone back to them via EMS mail for repair. Delivery there at my expense (2,400 rubles) and back at their expense. I agreed (what should I do?) and sent the parcel back to Dubai. Currently in standby mode...
I'll be sure to keep you posted and let you know how this mostly glorious story ends. Well, for now, no conclusions...
Both smartphones offer more than a luxurious set of features, excellent cameras, top-notch displays and good batteries. So how are they different from each other, and which phone is right for you? Chip brings you the results of a direct comparison.
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge vs Apple iPhone 7 Plus
With a 5.5-inch diagonal, both devices are considered giant smartphones. So that you can immediately get an idea of each of them, we provide a visual table listing the technical characteristics of the devices.
Comparison: Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge vs iPhone 7 Plus
iPhone 7 Plus vs Galaxy S7 Edge: Camera Comparison
The first point of interest for comparison is the camera. While Apple installs a dual camera with different lenses in the iPhone 7 Plus, Samsung makes do with a single lens. But the description of the S7 Edge camera’s characteristics cannot do without the word “Dual” at all. It offers the “Dual Pixel” technology known from Canon SLR cameras, which significantly speeds up autofocus performance.
However, we find the iPhone 7 Plus camera more interesting because it offers a quasi-optical zoom feature. Switching from a wide-angle lens to a longer focal length is made easy and simple through the appropriate app. However, in terms of image quality, according to our measurements in the test laboratory, the S7 Edge has a slight advantage.
iPhone 7 Plus battery: during the test, the iPhone lasted longer than the S7 Edge - but it also takes much longer to charge Galaxy S7 Edge or iPhone 7 Plus: battery comparison
Large displays, powerful processors, fast Internet - all this actively absorbs the energy stored in the battery. To prevent smartphones from draining too quickly, manufacturers should try to pack batteries with as much capacity as possible into fairly flat cases. Samsung managed to pack a whopping 3,600 mAh battery into the S7 Edge. Apple's figures are a little more modest - the battery capacity of the iPhone 7 Plus is 2900 mAh.
Even though the iPhone 7 Plus has a smaller battery, it was able to last longer during testing. The device we tested lasted as long as 9 hours and 33 minutes in web surfing mode, which makes it one of the most durable mobile phones in our respective ratings. The battery life of the S7 Edge was slightly less - 9 hours 14 minutes. But thanks to support for Quick Charge technology, it charges much faster than the iPhone.
iPhone 7 Plus vs S7 Edge: Conclusion
The iPhone 7 Plus made a very good impression during testing. We have never seen a faster and better equipped smartphone from Apple. The overall system speed exceeds even that of the S7 Edge. But in the end, a higher place in our ranking goes to a device manufactured by Samsung. The reasons for this were: higher quality images from the camera, significantly faster battery charging, the ability to charge the battery inductively, as well as a higher display resolution.
And of course, don’t forget that when buying a smartphone, its appearance and price play a big role - thus, each of these two smartphones will find its fans.
With each new week, there are more flagships of the Samsung Galaxy S7 family. The manufacturer of cases ITSKINS has been particularly successful in this, which every now and then creates high-quality renderings based on drawings. Now there are four of these devices. We previously heard that the Galaxy S7 Plus with a 6” display will join the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. According to a new portion of renderings, both form factors will receive a variation with the Plus prefix. The main thing to pay attention to is the back panel. Both variations of the Galaxy S6 have a curved frame, which caused inconvenience to some users of the Edge version (the frame is too thin). Here, only the Galaxy S7/Galaxy S7 Plus have this form of back cover, while the Galaxy S7 Edge/Galaxy S7 Edge Plus will have a flat back. Also, the latter have the front camera in the upper right corner, while the standard models have it closer to the center. The rumors about the square key don't seem to be true.
Note that the final versions of the Galaxy S7 may differ from those we see here. In addition, there may be more of them - we remember the plausible rumors about Snapdragon 820 and Exynos 8 Octa depending on the region. All the dots will be set on February 21 - it is on this day that a press conference dedicated to Samsung's new products should take place.
Part 1: general introduction and comparison of performance with iPhone 6s Plus and Moto X Force
The announcement of the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge at the Mobile World Congress 2016 expectedly became one of the main IT events in recent weeks. And although in general there is nothing revolutionary in these smartphones - it is, rather, an evolution in relation to the S6 Edge, and not a revolution, nevertheless, from first impressions and from the totality of the information voiced about the new products, I got the impression that this is really almost the best flagships of the first half of 2016. Now that we have received the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge for testing, it's time to check whether this is true or not.
We talked about our first impressions of the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge in a report from the presentation. Here we emphasize that although Samsung, like a year ago, releases two smartphones simultaneously and maintains its positioning, there are still more hardware differences between them than between the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. Firstly, the display of the two new products differs not only in the presence or absence of curvature, but also in diagonal - 5.1 inches in the case of the Galaxy S7 and 5.5 inches in the case of the S7 Edge. Secondly, the battery capacity, which was almost the same in the S6 and S6 Edge, now differs quite significantly: in the S7 this figure is 3000 mAh, and in the S7 Edge it is already 3600 mAh.
Apparently, the manufacturer decided to more thoroughly justify the price difference between the S7 and S7 Edge. On pre-order in Russia, smartphones cost 49,990 and 59,990 rubles, respectively. 10,000 rubles difference just for the spectacular curve of the screen is a bit much, but if you add to this a more capacious battery and a larger screen area, it turns out much more interesting.
We especially note that when pre-ordering, the user receives a second-generation Samsung Gear VR helmet as a gift, which individually costs almost 8,000 rubles. Nice bonus!
Let's take a look at the specifications of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.
Specifications Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
- SoC Samsung Exynos 8890 Octa
- CPU Mongoose @2.6 GHz (4 cores) + Cortex-A53 @1.6 GHz (4 cores)
- GPU Mali-T880
- Operating system Android 6.0.1
- Touch display 5.5″ SuperAMOLED, curved on both sides, 2560×1440, 534 ppi
- Random access memory (RAM) 4 GB
- Permanent memory: 32 GB
- Supports microSD memory cards up to 200 GB
- SIM cards: 2 × Micro-SIM
- Communication GSM/GPRS/EDGE/3G/LTE Cat.9
- Bluetooth 4.2 LE, NFC, ANT+
- Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n/ac 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz
- GPS with A-GPS, Glonass
- Sensors: accelerometer, geomagnetic sensor, gyroscope, light sensor, proximity sensor, barometer, Hall sensor, fingerprint scanner, heart rate sensor
- Cameras: 5 MP (front) and 12 MP (rear) Dual Pixel, with LED flash, optical stabilization system and autofocus, f/1.7, 4K video shooting
- Battery: lithium polymer 3600 mAh, non-removable
- Dimensions 150.9×72.6×7.7 mm
- Weight 157 g
For clarity, we decided to make a table with the characteristics of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and its immediate predecessor Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+, and also added to the table Moto X Force and iPhone 6S Plus - the most obvious competitors of the new product.
| Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge | Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ | Moto X Force | Apple iPhone 6s Plus | |
| Screen | 5.5″ Super AMOLED, curved on both sides, 2560×1440, 534 ppi | 5.7″ Super AMOLED, curved on both sides, 2560×1440, 515 ppi | 5.4″ AMOLED, 2560×1440, 540 ppi | 5.5″ IPS, 1920×1080, 401 ppi |
| SoC (processor) | Samsung Exynos 8890 Octa (4 Mongoose cores @2.6 GHz + 4 Cortex-A53 cores @1.6) | Samsung Exynos 7420 (4x Cortex-A57 @2.1 GHz + 4x Cortex-A53 @1.5 GHz) | Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 (4x Cortex-A57 @2.0 GHz + 4x Cortex-A53 @1.5 GHz) | Apple A9 (2 cores @1.8 GHz, 64-bit ARMv8-A architecture) |
| GPU | Mali-T880 | Mali-T760 | Adreno 430 | Apple A9 |
| Flash memory | 32 GB | 32 GB | 32 GB | 16/64/128 GB |
| Connectors | Micro-USB (with OTG support), 3.5mm headset jack | Micro-USB (with OTG support), 3.5mm headset jack | Lightning dock connector, 3.5mm headset jack | |
| Memory card support | microSD (up to 200 GB) | No | microSD (up to 2 TB) | No |
| RAM | 4 GB | 4 GB | 3 GB | 2 GB |
| Cameras | rear (16 MP; 4K video), front (5 MP) | rear (21 MP; 4K video), front (5 MP) | rear (12 MP; 4K video), front (5 MP) | |
| LTE support | There is | There is | There is | There is |
| Battery capacity (mAh) | 3600 | 2600 | 3760 | 2750 |
| operating system | Google Android 6.0.1 | Google Android 5.1 (updated to 6.0.1) | Google Android 6.0.1 | Apple iOS 9.0 (updated to 9.2.1) |
| Dimensions (mm)* | 151×73×7.7 | 154×76×6.9 | 150×78×9.2 | 158×78×7.3 |
| Weight (g) | 157 | 153 | 170 | 190 |
*according to official data from manufacturers
The table clearly shows what major changes have occurred in the new product compared to the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+. First of all, there is support for microSD memory cards. In addition, the smartphone is now equipped with a new SoC and a significantly more capacious battery. True, two parameters may confuse those who are choosing between the Galaxy S7 Edge and S6 Edge+. Firstly, the new product has become a little thicker, and secondly, the rear camera now has a resolution of 12 megapixels instead of the previous 16 megapixels. However, both of them are justified by some technological features, which we will discuss later, so you shouldn’t immediately write them down as disadvantages.
As for comparison with the Moto X Force, the smaller amount of RAM is noteworthy here. And, of course, the screen has no curve (although, according to Lenovo, which owns the Moto brand, it is also plastic). As for the remaining differences (SoC and camera parameters), this needs to be tested. The same is true for the iPhone 6s Plus, where direct comparison of characteristics is generally pointless due to different operating systems. But it’s worth noting that compared to the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and Moto X Force, the iPhone 6s Plus has a much less capacious battery, although the dimensions are no smaller (only thickness).
However, let's move on to direct testing and in the process we will answer a number of questions that arose when comparing the characteristics. Including the main one: which smartphone is the most productive at the moment.
Equipment
The smartphone arrived to us in a test box, different from those that will be on the counter. Alas, it was not a beautiful suitcase at all, like our colleagues from Poland, but just a white cardboard package. However, the packaging inside appears to be in line with what shoppers will get in store.
This is a charger with Quick Charge support, a Micro-USB - USB cable, a key for removing the SIM card and memory card cradle, an OTG adapter (for connecting external USB drives with a full-size plug), as well as headphones in a separate plastic box and with an additional a set of rubber ear pads.
The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ had the same headphones, and, admittedly, it was not for nothing that the manufacturer included them again. They have a tangle-free flat wire, a very comfortable ear pad shape, and most importantly, decent sound. We tested it on the FLAC version of the new Massive Attack EP "Ritual Spirit" (by the way, the smartphone plays FLAC tracks without any problems) and were pleasantly surprised by the transmission of deep bass in the songs Dead Editors and Take It There.
As for the charger, we will talk in more detail about all the issues related to the battery and recharging in the second part of the article, but for now we will report only one result: in 15 minutes, using the included charging unit, the smartphone was charged by 20%. Quite a good result!
Design
In terms of appearance, the differences between the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and the S6 Edge+ and 6S Edge are minimal - first of all, they relate to slightly changed dimensions. And yet, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge can without any doubt be called one of the most beautiful modern smartphones.
Almost the entire front panel is occupied by a screen that effectively wraps around both edges along the long sides. And this is not only admirable in itself, but also creates the illusion of a complete absence of frameworks. In fact, of course, there are frames, but they are already quite thin, and thanks to the rounding of the screen they seem quite insignificant.
Both the front and rear panels are completely covered with glass. They are quite easily soiled, especially if we are talking about the black version of the smartphone (silver and platinum versions will also be on sale), but they still look great. Very narrow zones below and above the screen are also a plus. Thanks to this, with the same screen sizes, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is significantly more compact than the iPhone 6s Plus. True, the iPhone is just a little thinner, but this is completely unnoticeable. And thanks to the narrowing of the side edges, the Samsung smartphone seems even thinner than the Apple device.
In general, the size of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is optimal. The S6 Edge+ was still a bit big and didn’t feel as comfortable in the hand. But the S7 Edge is just right! Of course, because of the glass in front and behind, it is slippery, you are afraid to drop it, but it is still pleasant to hold in your hand.
All edges, like its predecessor, are made of metal, as are the buttons. They press with pleasant elasticity. The layout of buttons and connectors is similar to the previous model. On the right is the power button, on the left are separate volume buttons.
On the bottom edge there is a speaker, a Micro-USB connector with OTG support (it’s strange that Samsung is not switching to USB Type C, unlike many other manufacturers), a 3.5 mm headset jack and a built-in microphone hole. Interestingly, the location of this hole has changed, meaning that the internal layout of the components appears to have undergone significant changes. As for the speaker, its maximum volume is quite sufficient not to miss a call/alarm clock, and for watching movies or videos, but, of course, it should not be used for listening to music due to unnecessary overtones and the not very pleasant nature of the sound in in general. However, it would be strange to expect something different from a device of such a form factor.
On the top edge we see another microphone hole and a combined slot for a SIM card and a microSD memory card. Yes, as we already said, Samsung has fixed one of the main shortcomings of the Galaxy S6 Edge and S6 Edge+ by adding memory card support to the Galaxy S7 Edge. And considering that the manufacturer is especially proud of the smartphone’s camera, this is especially relevant, since 32 GB of internal memory for a camera phone that shoots video in 4K is frankly not enough.
At the top of the front panel, next to the eyes of the front camera and sensors, there is an LED event indicator. The large round dot lights up in different colors depending on the battery charging status or incoming messages. This element was there before, but I’m glad that Samsung didn’t sacrifice it.
The rear camera lens still protrudes quite a bit above the glass of the rear panel, but this can hardly be considered a serious drawback.
The Home button on the front panel also protrudes. But this is even a plus, since it is easier to find it by touch. And you will have to do this every time you turn on the smartphone, since this button contains a fingerprint sensor. It works very quickly, the recognition rate is very good, so there are no complaints here.
Despite the fact that the external design has changed minimally, the new smartphone has one very important quality: water resistance according to the IP68 standard. At the same time, there are no plugs on the ports here. That is, moisture protection is ensured thanks to the design and materials. This is, of course, a wonderful and unexpected gift, a real feat of engineers!
Overall, the design deserves the highest marks. Of course, its subjective perception depends primarily on how much you, in principle, like the screen that bends on the edge. There are people who don't like it. But even they are unlikely to argue with the fact that the design of the Galaxy S7 Edge is certainly original (except, of course, for its predecessors), and thanks to the excellent ratio of dimensions and display size, the smartphone is also very practical. It will fit into any pocket without any problems and will fit comfortably even in a small hand. As a huge plus, we note the appearance of a slot for memory cards, and among the minuses is the absence of a green option. For the Galaxy S6 Edge, it was the green (“emerald”) version that was one of the most attractive, original and stylish.
The color options for the new member of the Edge family are also quite good. But here is a strange situation: only black, gold and silver options are available for pre-order in Russia. But white - no. Although we saw it at the exhibition and, to be honest, it was the one we liked the most. It has a very interesting pearl shade. The black device that we are currently testing seems a little less advantageous and practical (due to fingerprints), although the color is still interesting, deep, and not banal.
Performance
The smartphone runs on the new Exynos 8890 Octa SoC, made using a 14 nm process technology, improved with FinFET LPP (Low-Power Plus) technology. It uses new Mongoose CPU cores (four cores with a frequency of 2.6 GHz) and the already familiar four Cortex-A53 cores with a frequency of 1.6 GHz.
The Mali-T880 acts as a graphics accelerator.
Samsung has not used this SoC before, meaning this is our first look at it. Therefore, it is necessary to compare it with the main competing solutions: Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 and Apple A9. Of course, it would be even more interesting if the comparison involved the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, but we have not yet had devices with this SoC. So we’ll be content with what we have, and at the same time we’ll try to answer the burning question that worries the Internet community so much: who is more powerful – the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge or the Apple iPhone S6 Plus?
Let's start with browser tests: SunSpider 1.0.2, Octane Benchmark, Kraken Benchmark and . We used the Chrome browser on all Android devices and Safari on iOS. If there is a dash in the table field, it means that the corresponding smartphone was not tested in this benchmark (or in this version of this benchmark).
As you can see, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is confidently ahead of its Android competitor and its own predecessor, but the iPhone is still ahead in the overall standings.
Now let's see how the gadget performs in complex benchmarks - AnTuTu 6 and Geekbench 3.
Unfortunately, we do not have AnTuTu 6 results for the previous Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+, since we tested it in the fifth version of the benchmark, and it was radically different in the principles of scoring, so it is incorrect to compare the results. But AnTuTu finally worked fine on iOS. So we added the iPhone to the table too.
And again the picture repeats itself, although the superiority of the iPhone is already less, and in the multi-core Geekbench 3 mode, the Apple smartphone is completely inferior to the new Samsung product.
In addition to our ongoing testing methodology, we decided to compare the Galaxy S7 Edge and iPhone 6s Plus in the cross-platform Basemark OS II benchmark. The results are in front of you. The screenshot on the left is Samsung, on the right is Apple.
As we can see, Samsung lost here. Although not in all subtests (see Memory).
The last group of benchmarks is dedicated to testing GPU performance. We used 3DMark, GFXBench and Bonsai Benchmark. All of them show real 3D scenes and allow you to clearly see how the devices cope with them.
Let's start with GFXBench. Let us remind you that Offscreen tests involve displaying images in 1080p, regardless of the actual screen resolution. And Onscreen tests mean displaying a picture in the resolution that matches the device screen resolution. That is, Offscreen tests are indicative from the point of view of the abstract performance of the SoC, and Onscreen tests are indicative from the point of view of the comfort of the game on a specific device. Additionally, this year's Android devices featured a new Car Chase scene using OpenGL ES 3.1. This standard is not supported by iPhone, so this scene is not available there, nor is the Manhattan version of the scene with ES 3.1. However, there is enough data to draw conclusions.
| Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge (Samsung Exynos 8890 Octa) |
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ (Samsung Exynos 7420 Octa) |
Moto X Force (Qualcomm Snapdragon 810) |
Apple iPhone 6s Plus (Apple A9) |
|
| GFXBenchmark Car Chase ES 3.1 (Onscreen) | 7.9 fps | — | 3.2 fps | — |
| GFXBenchmark Car Chase ES 3.1 (1080p Offscreen) | 15 fps | — | 5.1 fps | — |
| GFXBenchmark Manhattan ES 3.1 (Onscreen) | 24 fps | — | 10 fps | — |
| GFXBenchmark Manhattan ES 3.1 (1080p Offscreen) | 26 fps | — | 18 fps | — |
| GFXBenchmark Manhattan ES 3.0 (Onscreen) | 25 fps | — | — | 39 fps |
| GFXBenchmark Manhattan ES 3.0 (1080p Offscreen) | 38 fps | — | — | 40 fps |
| GFXBenchmark T-Rex (Onscreen) | 52 fps | 37 fps | 40 fps | 59 fps |
| GFXBenchmark T-Rex (1080p Offscreen) | 84 fps | 57 fps | 53 fps | 80 fps |
As we can see, the Galaxy S7 Edge and iPhone 6s Plus performed approximately equally. The difference in Onscreen mode is naturally explained by the higher screen resolution of the Galaxy S7 Edge. As for comparison with other Android smartphones, the picture here is clear and requires no comment.
The next tests are 3DMark and Bonsai Benchmark. In 3DMark, the Sling Shot scene ran in OpenGL ES 3.1 on Android devices, and in OpenGL 3.0 on iPhones.
One can immediately say about Bonsai Benchmark that it is no longer indicative for such productive SoCs - in particular, this is evidenced by the results of two Samsung smartphones. But with 3DMark it’s more interesting. And here the iPhone is still in the lead.
In general, the benchmarks allow us to draw the following conclusions. Undoubtedly, this is a powerful device that has no equal among Android smartphones. At least until the appearance of devices powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820. However, Samsung’s new product failed to surpass the iPhone 6s Plus - Apple’s flagship is the leader in most tests. Although the gap is minimal and is rather of theoretical interest. The practical result (performance in games) will depend primarily on how well the game is optimized for a specific SoC.
In the second part of the article you will find detailed testing of the screen, a story about battery life, a description of the software, as well as a test drive of the camera in field conditions - on the Kola Peninsula, including during underwater shooting! Do not miss!
Camera, battery, design, functionality, Super AMOLED Quad HD screen
Minuses
Average phone speaker quality
Review
My husband and I chose a phone for him, walked around many stores and decided to go to M.video. Our eyes immediately fell on 2 phones: iPhone 6s and Samsung s7. We thought for a very long time which one to choose, read user reviews, watched video reviews. We highlighted the pros and cons of these two devices. Pros of iPhone 6s: - good operating system; - good camera; - high-quality sound both in the phone speakers and in the headphones; - it is possible to turn on the sound of the phone and put it in silent mode with one click; - 3D Touch. Cons of iPhone 6s: - problems with listening to music from social networks. networks (VKontakte); - the phone turns off in the cold; - there is no way to expand the phone memory; - it is possible to insert only 1 SIM card; - closed operating system (you cannot change application icons, themes, photos can only be uploaded to your computer via iCloud, music from the application cannot be transferred to another phone for free, it is impossible to change the ringtone for free to a non-standard one). Pros of Samsung s7: - you can insert either 2 SIM cards, or 1 SIM card and a memory card up to 200 GB; - very multifunctional camera; - phone optimization (maximum capabilities with minimal power consumption); - fast charging; - design; - Super AMOLED (black pixels consume 0% energy); -Always On Display (the time and calendar are always on on the lock screen, notifications are also visible, this function consumes only about 1% per day); - there is a pulse sensor, etc.; - there are 2 energy saving modes; - you can change performance modes (gaming, high performance, optimized and entertainment); - there is Samsung Pay; - Smart View (view the device screen or content on a large display using a wireless connection); - IP 68 dust, moisture protection; - it is possible to divide the screen into 2 parts (in one you can, for example, watch a video, in the other you can respond to messages); - There are many more features that make using the phone easier. Cons of Samsung s7: - operating system (sometimes slow); - there are few low frequencies on the phone's speaker, but this is due to the fact that the phone has ip68 without any plugs. Despite the fact that the iPhone 6s is a worthy competitor to the Samsung s7, we still chose Samsung because some of the disadvantages of the iPhone seemed critical to us. My husband has been using the phone for 3 months now, he likes it, is satisfied with everything, and doesn’t regret the purchase. Thank you for your attention, we hope our review was useful to you.