Review: Will Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge Get Hot?

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Here is my short review on the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge. Truthfully, both are almost the same except for the screen size (S7 edge is 5.5-inch and S7 is 5.1-inch). During my review, I used the S7 edge as my secondary phone while my primary phone is the Galaxy S6 edge. I spent about 2 weeks with the s7 edge but it is NOT enough to do a full review. During my review, I will constantly compare the S7 series with the S6 as I think it is the easiest to show the differences and the pros and cons between them.

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Samsung Galaxy S7 edge and S7

In my opinion, if you already have the Samsung Galaxy S6 or S6 edge or edge+, you will not miss much on the Galaxy S7 unless you want the MicroSD card slot (or dual SIM), the waterproofing, the bigger battery capacity and the brighter camera. If not, stay with S6 or S6 edge.

To see the features of the Samsung Galaxy S7, follow the liink below.

Click Here to Check It Out

The review units that I received are sample units. I am no sure if they are post-production or pre-production unit. Nevertheless, thanks to Samsung for providing both phones (The gold S7 edge and the black S7) for the review.

Physical look of the S7 edge and S7

Samsung Galaxy S7 edge

My first impression is that it is almost bezel-less and the black screen is blacker (as compared to my S6 edge). It has rounder corners and is slightly more comfortable (smoother) to hold. The screen has a 2K resolution (Full HD). Secretly,  I am hoping to have a 4K (Ultra HD) screen.

The heart rate sensor is incorporated near the camera flash (same as S6). When taking selfie with the front camera, you can lightly tap on the HR sensor to take a picture (same as S6).

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On the front (top), it has the usual ambient sensors and the Front camera. On the front (bottom), it has the usual main button which is also the fingerprint scanner.

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From the bottom of the phone, you can see the Micro USB connector, the 3.5mm headphones jack and the speaker. Samsung did not use USB C connector. On the top, it has a tray that houses the MicroSD card and SIM card.

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On the side, it has the usual volume buttons and the power on button.

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If you look closely at the edge, you can see that the bezel is very thin. It looks really nice, especially if you are playing a 16:9 ratio video clip. However, the biggest problem I faced with this thin bezel and curve screen is that when I am taking pictures with just one hand, I always accidentally touches the screen while trying to tap on the screen to focus on the subject and at the same time, reaching out to the shutter button. The results is that I cannot activate the shutter or I accidentally exit the camera mode.

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I have tried using the volume buttons to execute the shutter but it is equally frustrating. As for S7 without the curve screen, it is slightly easier to perform the same task. Since the S7 screen is smaller, it is easier to stretch my finger to reach the shutter button and as the screen is not curve at the edge, the chances of accidentally touching the screen is smaller. Maybe I can overcome this issue with more practice.

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Samsung Galaxy S7

The Galaxy S7 has a 5.1-inch screen. It has the same screen size as S6. Many of my friends who saw the S7 for the first time commented that it looks the same as S6 and “not as interesting as the S7 edge”. This is also my opinion.

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The physical appearance and the placement of the buttons and slots are the same. So, I did not want to show them again. In my opinion, the biggest difference is the edge. It seems thicker as compared to the S7 edge.

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As I had mentioned earlier, it has a slot to house the SIM card and MicroSD card.

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From the picture below, you can actually install two SIM cards on the S7. However, to install SIM 2, you will have to give up the MicroSD card slot.

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As you might already know, the Samsung Galaxy S7 is rated IP68 which means you can submerge it into water with maximum of 1 meter deep for 30 minutes. I did not really test out the waterproofing. I only submerge it into the water on my basin. And yes, the waterproofing works. Samsung has done a good job to seal the phone internally.

From my observation, there is a gasket on the card slot (greyish looking rubber as shown below) which is there to ensure that no water can go into that slot. On the S7 edge, it fits almost seamlessly but on the S7 it did not fit seamlessly but I am very sure the gasket is able to hold the water from going inside. Make sure that this slot is secured properly before you dip it into the water.

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Rear Camera – Hardware Comparison between S6 edge and S7 edge

One of the features of the S7 series is the almost flat rear camera – 0.46mm protrusion. To some, this might not be a significant feature. However, if you compare it with the older model, S6 edge, you can see why Samsung wants to show it off.

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Accessories

The box comes with the usual charger and cable. It also comes with this pin for you to take out the card slot.

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And inside the box, it has this little gadget, an OTG (On the Go) adapter that allows you to read thumbdrives and etc with the phone.


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Will the Galaxy S7 get hot after heavy usage?

I believe this is one of the hottest questions. For most Samsung phones, they get very hot especially when running apps that need a lot of CPU power. And with Octa-core processor, the situation can only get worse.

Therefore, instead of running away from this problem, Samsung builds a cooling system inside the phone. When the phone gets hot, the cooling system kicks in to cool down the phone. The Cooling System is actually a tube that is filled with liquid (according to Samsung) and when the phone heats up, the liquid vaporized inside the tube to cool down the phone.

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The question is “Does it work?”

Yes, it works but do not think that it will 100% eliminate the heat. Based on my usage, when the phone gets hot to a certain temperature, this cooling system will do its job and cool down the phone. So, instead of hot, you will feel that the phone is warm. In my opinion, it is so much better than my Galaxy S6 which can get super hot.

Using the Galaxy S7

In order to test the battery life in real situation, I installed a SIM card, turned on the data, Bluetooth and WiFi. I also downloaded most of my social apps and turned on the apps notification. I basically use the S7 as frequently as my primary phone on a daily basis. In fact, I think I use the S7 more when I am surfing the net or interacting with my social apps, thanks to the bigger screen.

My conclusion (from my two weeks test) is that the battery life is really good as compared to S6. At the end of each day, I have more than 50% of juice left. However, this results is NOT conclusive because both phones are on different version of the Android OS. The S7 is already on Android 6 (Marshmallow) while the S6 is on Android 5 (Lollipop). I do not know if the battery efficiency is affected by the OS or not.

Edge Panels

On the S7 edge, one significant improvement is the Edge panels. It can now have two rows of icon and more options.

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Rear Camera

Samsung reduces the picture resolution of the S7 to 12 MPX. However, it increases the pixel size and improves its aperture to F/1.7. I took a few pictures at low-light. I am actually quite impressed with the results on first look. However, when you zoom it, it seems a little over-sharpened. As my S7 units are sample units, I cannot confirm if this will be the results of the final product.

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Nevertheless, if you are clueless of what I am talking, you might not even notice it. Here are the pictures I took. They have been resized with no enhancement made.

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Click Here to See the Pictures in Full Resolution

Overall, I am quite satisfy with the camera.

Summary

The Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge are the best phones from Samsung till date. Gone are the days that you will need to replace the cover to perform wireless charging or plug the ports when you dive into the water.

Pros

  • Full of features – The S7 incorporates almost everything I could have imagine – Fast Charging, Wireless Fast Charging, Waterproof, Good Camera with low light capability, OIS, expandable storage memory, Dual SIM, high capacity battery, slim and sturdy chassis, almost bezel-less design, cooling system, 4GB RAM, fast processor, Samsung Pay (Supported by OCBC, DBS and American Express).
    • However, as some has commented, these features could have come earlier (on S6). Now, comparing S6 and S7, the Pros seems less significant (especially after the earlier phone models are upgraded to Android 6.0). Nevertheless, kudos to Samsung to squeeze in so many features into this slim phone.

 

Cons

  • Samsung has removed the Infra-red feature – You can no longer use this phone as a remote controller. Not sure why Samsung removes it.
  • No removal battery – Till date, I have heard people complaining about the lack of removal battery. Actually, I don’t miss it especially when I have fast wireless charging as a standard feature.

That is it. Thank you so much if you care to read till this sentence. Thank you Samsung for the review units.

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