Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge set to become best selling smartphone in Q2
The new Samsung Galaxy S7 launched on 21 February this year, just ahead of Mobile World Congress (MWC), alongside the Galaxy S7 edge.Here we round up all the latest news on the Samsung Galaxy S7, including release date, price, rumours, and features.
Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge: at a glance
- Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge launch date 21 February
- Galaxy S7 and S7 edge on sale in the UK 11 March
- Pre-orders made through Samsung will be delivered on 8 March
- Galaxy S7 UK price from £599 inc VAT
- Galaxy S7 edge price from £639 inc VAT
Samsung Galaxy S7: latest news
13/05/2016: The Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge are set to lead the US smartphone market in the second quarter of 2016, according to new data.Kantar Worldpanel has released data highlighting the ongoing success of Samsung's Galaxy S7, which accounted for almosy 6 per cent of smartphone sales in the US during the first quarter despite only being released on March 11.
This makes the S7 and S7 Edge the fifth best-selling smartphone during this period, and Samsung's ranking is set to climb still higher in the second quarter.
Amongst those who bought the device in March, battery life, camera quality, storage capaity and processing speed were all heavily cited as incentives.
07/04/2016: Samsung hopes sales of its Galaxy 7 smartphone will fuel a 10 per cent leap in operating profit for the first quarter of 2016.
The South Korean phone manufacturer predicts its operating profit to reach 6.6 trillion Korean won (£3.9 billion) between January and March this year, compared to six trillion won in the same period last year.
It comes after the Galaxy S7 launched in late February to good reviews (including our own), with the model breaking records in smartphone displays, such as highest colour accuracy highest peak brightness and highest screen resolution.
The device is widely believed to be selling well, and Samsung will release its first quarter results later this month.
06/04/2016: People have been testing just how waterproof the Galaxy S7 really is, with YouTubers and bloggers putting the device through its paces with various experiments.
YouTube user Unbox Therapy, reports Tech Times, went one step further than many others by leaving the S7 submerged in a jar of water for a total of 16 hours and 36 minutes.
Though, the site notes, the water was not putting any pressure on the phone due to its shallow depth, it did still function as normal once it was removed.
04/04/2016: The Samsung Galaxy S7 has undergone a price cut of around $150 in the US. According to CNN, Walmart is holding a "Rollback" promotion on these handsets and $100 on all Apple iPhones until the end of June.
The discounts apply to the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6S, new four-inch SE, and the Samsung Galaxy 6 and 7.
01/04/2016: The release date for one of the Galaxy S7's main competitors - the HTC 10 (probably) - has been announced as Tuesday, 12 April.
There is a live stream taking place at 1pm London time for the device, which could be called the HTC 10 or HTC One M10, depending on which rumour you listen to.
Leaks suggest the HTC 10 will have a new chassis design, 5.1in 2K resolution screen supporting Super LCD, not AMOLED, a 12 megapixel rear camera and come in a variety of colours. Inside, it is expected to feature a Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB RAM, 32GB internal memory with microSD support, and a 3,000mAh battery.
With an anticipated May launch, following the April announcement, HTC is quite late in launching a new phone this year, with rivals LG and Samsung - and even Apple - having already released handsets in 2016.
On paper, these specs are also quite similar to the Galaxy S7, from screen size to storage to camera specs, so HTC will need to pull off something quite special in order to compete.
22/03/2016: Galaxy S7 Edge users in the UK have received Google's March security update, which features vulnerability fixes for the device.
The update amounts to 74.34MB, reports Android Central, with the Galaxy S7 expected to receive the same security patch in the near future. S7 Edge users can download the patch now by going to the settings menu and choosing download.
Nexus devices will also receive a security update to tackle the Linux kernel exploit, which is present in older versions but not in the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge due to them running on version 3.18.20 of the kernel.
10/03/2016: Samsung has issued an urgent software update for the Galaxy S7 Edge, despite the device not yet hitting shops.
The phone became available to pre-order on 23 February but is not expected to arrive in shops until tomorrow, according to Phandroid.
However, some purchasers have apparently already received their device, revealing the existence of the update.
The 3.32MB update resolves errors with the Edge screen, however, no further information is presented in the on-device alert.
IT Pro has contacted Samsung for further information regarding the patch and will update once we have heard from them.
08/03/2016: The UK version of the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge won't feature Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 820 processor, rumours suggest, but instead sport Samsung's much older (and less powerful) Exynos 8890, reports 9to5Google.
But this may not be the worst news, given reports of Snapdragon 810's over-heating issues and the results of a performance test released by benchmarking firm AnTuTu, demonstrating the similarities between the two chips.
As the site notes, however, though overall performance for the average user shouldn't be greatly effected, gamers may notice the inferior graphics performance and loading times of the Exynose 8890 when compared to the Snapdragon 820.
03/03/2016: If you have money to burn, you can get a blinged up version of the S7 or S7 Edge in 24K gold. Thanks to Truly Exquisite, you can get a 24K Gold standard Galaxy S7 sells for £1700, the Rose Gold version is £1750. There is also a Platinum, which will set you back is £1800.
These can be pre-ordered from Truly Exquisite's website. You'll have to stump up a 50 per cent deposit to order one!
29/02/2016: Pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge from Carphone Warehouse are up 200 per cent on pre-order demand for the S6, the retailer reports.
S7 demand doubled in the first two days it was available for pre-order, compared to pre-orders logged in the first 48 hours for its predecessor, according to PC Advisor.
This may be because Carphone Warehouse is offering a free Gear VR headset (worth £79.99) to users who pre-order one of the new smartphones.
The virtual reality device pairs with Galaxy phones, using their processing power to let users experience VR games and films.
Carphone Warehouse will also deliver the phone three days before it goes on general release.
26/02/2016: Samsung’s S7 features the best smartphone display available, according to reputable test site DisplayMate.
Running its screen against various benchmarks, the publication found that the S7’s display has a maximum brightness 24 per cent brighter than the S6 while the contrast has also improved significantly.
The model also broke several records in smartphone displays, such as highest colour accuracy, highest peak brightness, highest screen resolution and smallest brightness variation.
DisplayMate noted that the S7 and the S5 were tied in several categories, but the S7 featured a much higher pixel density.
It concluded: “As the result of its even higher ppi, the Galaxy S7 becomes the Best Performing Smartphone Display that we have ever tested.”
Additionally, the S7 and S7 Edge are the first Galaxy models able to lock to a mobile operator when a SIM is inserted.
Previously, Samsung devices were generally sold unlocked, because it was difficult to produce handsets tied to particular carriers, reported AndroidAuthority.
But new leaked images of the phones’ setup guide shows that Samsung has discovered a method by which its smartphones can lock to a particular mobile operator once the operator’s SIM is inserted.
“If carriers take well to this, then we can probably expect the Galaxy line to include this feature going forward,” the publication said.
24/02/2016: It could be a lot cheaper to buy Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge in three months’ time, it is claimed.
Their pre-order prices of £569 and £639 respectively could drop by as much as 21 per cent in three months, and by 28 per cent in six months’ time, according to price comparison site idealo.co.uk.
The site tracked the price changes in each of Samsung’s previous Galaxy models in order to predict the cost savings.
But the steeper initial prices will not put off early adopters keen to own the latest models.
Katy Phillips, communications chief for Idealo, said: “On one side we have the tech addicts who will queue up overnight and pay whatever it costs to be among the first to get their hands on a new device.
“On the other side, there are rising numbers of savvy shoppers, who want the newest smartphone, without it costing over the odds.”
23/02/2016: Samsung will not activate a feature in Android Marshmallow that allows it to recognise MicroSD cards inserted into the S7 and S7 Edge as internal storage.
The device maker launched its latest flagship phones on Sunday and resurrected a feature that lets users add up to 200GB of external storage, via MicroSD cards inserted into the SIM tray.
The smartphones ship with Android Marshmallow, which is capable of recognising attached storage as internal storage – but Samsung has decided not to switch this feature on, according to Phandroid.
“Samsung says their decision came down to customer confusion, they don’t want people pulling out the microSD card while it’s being used for adoptable storage and potentially making a mess of things,” the publication said, after speaking to Samsung reps at MWC 2016.
However, Samsung’s mistrust of its users means they will miss out on plenty of benefits this feature would have offered, like running apps from the MicroSD cards.
Elsewhere, SamMobile reports that Samsung will not sell the S7 or S7 Edge with more than 32GB of storage in the US, despite 64GB phone models now being commonplace.
It could be the case that Samsung is relying on the expandable storage to make up for the lack of a higher-spec option, but by not enabling Marshmallow’s ability to recognise extra storage as internal storage, it may struggle to do this.
22/02/2016: Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge will feature expandable storage as the new models bring back some of their predecessors' most popular features, it was revealed as the phones launched yesterday at MWC 2016.
Both models can take MicroSD cards to bolster their storage capabilities, slotitng into the same tray as the SIM, while they will also be able to work underwater, Samsung confirmed at its press event in Barcelona last night.
A rear camera that performs better in low light is another improvement to Samsung’s latest tranche of mobile devices, but otherwise, the models are similar to the S6 and S6 Edge.
Featuring the same glass and metal-rimmed casing as their predecessors, the new models are now curved at the bottom.
While the S7’s display measures the same 5.1in as the S6 and S6 Edge, the S7 Edge will come in only one size, 5.7in, with Samsung ditching the Plus model that typically came in that size.
For full stats and specs, scroll below, or visit our First Look article on the S7 and S7 Edge.
16/02/2016: Water resistance and wireless charging features appear likely to feature on Samsung's Galaxy S7 Edge, after a promotional site from Samsung’s Indonesian branch seemed to corroborate previous rumours.
The site, first found by Phone Probe, includes an unlisted YouTube video showing a sportswoman performing training exercises and running in woodland, with her Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge never far from her reach.
The clip demonstrates features like water resistance, wireless charging, low-light photography and syncing with Samsung’s latest smartwatch.
15/02/2016: The Samsung Galaxy S7 will cost around £540, according to new pricing information leaked ahead of its debut next week at MWC.
According to Dutch site Tweakers, the standard S7 model, complete with 32GB of memory, will retail in the UK for €699, or around £540. The curved Edge variant will be an extra €100, pushing the price to roughly £620.
The report is based on "reliable information", and cites 11 March as the device's release date in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. This could mean the device is also set for a UK release on the same date.
On top of this, Evan Blass has leaked what appear to be official images of the S7 Edge, which show off silver, black and gold colour variants. They also showcase a much more pronounced curve than the previous S6 Edge.
The most notable feature is a new camera, which sits flush with the back of the device, and details of 32GB storage are also visible. However, aside from this, the Galaxy S7 seems to be more-or-less a clone of 2015’s Galaxy S6, in appearance at least.
Additional leaked details that appeared with the image but are not immediately visible, include a magnesium metal frame, a faster processor, larger and faster-charging battery and a water resistant design.
Samsung fans won’t have to wait too long to find if all – or any – of these details are correct, as the device is expected to launch alongside the Galaxy S7 edge and Galaxy S7 edge+ at a confirmed event taking place in Barcelona on 21 February.
03/02/2016: The existence of Samsung's Gear 360 virtual reality camera has been confirmed by Sam Mobile, and will reportedly launch alongside the Galaxy S7 later this month.
The camera will allow users to capture 360-degree images using 180-degree fisheye lenses, the site reports, and will pair with compatiable smartphones via bluetooth.
Software tied to the Gear 360 includes a gallery and remote viewfinder application, and viewing options will feature VR view, dual view, panoramic view, time lapse and looping video.
It is thought the VR camera will debut on February 21, accompanied by the Samsung Galaxy S7 family.
01/02/2016: Samsung today confirmed it will unveil its Galaxy S7 smartphone on 21 February as predicted by IT Pro.
A video posted on the company's YouTube account suggests virtual reality will play a role alongside the new phone, showing a man wearing a Gear VR before cutting to a dark blue box, with the words #TheNextGalaxy superimposed on top of the image, followed by the date Feb 21, 2016.
The unveiling date is in line with older Galaxy range launches, which have taken place the day before the official start date of Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona - the conference begins on 22 February this year.
26/01/2016: Images believed to be the front-facing camera and touch-screen display of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S7 have surfaced online at GSM Arena.
The first photo, taken in what appears to be the S7 production facility, shows a set of front camera modules with the model name ‘SM-G930F’ stamped on the board. This corresponds to the Galaxy S7’s known internal designation while the F likely relates to its regional version.
The second photo depicts the entire smartphone face, gripped by a rig, and held above a factory floor. Taken face on, the thickness and curvature of the phone remain hidden by this photo. Nonetheless, even with tap obscuring the brand name, it appears to confirm design rumours that have emerged so far.
The images can be viewed here.
25/01/2016: The Samsung Galaxy S7 will be released on Friday 11 March in the US, according to notorious - and generally reliable - leaker Evan Blass. This fits in with a release timetable revealed by China Mobile in December 2015, which showed the Samsung S7 in a column marked "March".
If true, this would be somewhat out of pattern for Samsung, which has for the past few years launched its flagship phones the day before Mobile World Congress starts in late February, with the devices hitting shelves in early April. However, they have been known to be available for pre-order in March, which could reconcile all these rumours.
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