Anandtech's Review of S7/S7 Edge

[Jetcat3]

I used an S7 Edge for a little over a week while contemplating selling my 6s for it in a trade. After a week of using it, I did notice some things about the phone I hadn't noticed before while playing around with the demo's. Some good, but more so negative. Now, I'm not here to create more contention, just here to give Apple credit for the iPhone 6s/6s Plus. The S7/S7 Edge has some pretty wonderful advantages over the latest iPhones, but overall this review surprised me. Anyways, thought y'all might like it as the review almost feels like it's being compared to the 6s/6s Plus the entire time.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/10196/the-samsung-galaxy-s7-and-s7-edge-review-part-2

 

[Surf Donkey]

Didn't you hear? Anandtech is only credible when they give favorable reviews to the products you like.

 

[Jetcat3]

Didn't you hear? Anandtech is only credible when they give favorable reviews to the products you like.

I like the S7/S7 Edge too, it's just nice to see a reviewer point out some of the problems that come with owing the phone. 99% of the reviewers you'll read make it seem like the iPhone 6s is now a child's toy compared to the S7. They breakdown all of the specs on paper and give no actual real world usage feedback for what those actual numbers do for you.

 

[widgeteer]

I used an S7 Edge for a little over a week while contemplating selling my 6s for it in a trade. After a week of using it, I did notice some things about the phone I hadn't noticed before while playing around with the demo's. Some good, but more so negative. Now, I'm not here to create more contention, just here to give Apple credit for the iPhone 6s/6s Plus. The S7/S7 Edge has some pretty wonderful advantages over the latest iPhones, but overall this review surprised me. Anyways, thought y'all might like it as the review almost feels like it's being compared to the 6s/6s Plus the entire time.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/10196/the-samsung-galaxy-s7-and-s7-edge-review-part-2

Hysterical. This is why it's nonsense every time Android folks use phrases like "outdated tech" when discussing iPhones.

 

[IFRIT]

Hysterical. This is why it's nonsense every time Android folks use phrases like "outdated tech" when discussing iPhones.

Certain things are a bit antiqueted though like the massive bezels and the screen resolution.

 

[Surf Donkey]

I like the S7/S7 Edge too, it's just nice to see a reviewer point out some of the problems that come with owing the phone. 99% of the reviewers you'll read make it seem like the iPhone 6s is now a child's toy compared to the S7. They breakdown all of the specs on paper and give no actual real world usage feedback for what those actual numbers do for you.

That's just the typical Samsung honeymoon for you. Phones start lagging after a few months, updates stop, etc. Happens every release cycle with them.

 

[timeconsumer]

That's just the typical Samsung honeymoon for you. Phones start lagging after a few months, updates stop, etc. Happens every release cycle with them.

This is what I keep reading which always scares me away from purchasing a Samsung device as they want Apple prices for their phones. However, I'm pretty impressed by the hardware features of the phone though. Small form factor (compared to iPhone 6S plus) with an excellent screen, expandable storage, fast charging capabilities and water resistance.

 

[Jetcat3]

Certain things are a bit antiqueted though like the massive bezels and the screen resolution.

I agree. Bumping up the 6s to 1080P would be perfect in my opinion. Maybe the 6s Plus to 1440P. That's all you'd ever need as far as PPI goes in my honest opinion. Then shrink the bezels!

 

[jamezr]

This is what I keep reading which always scares me away from purchasing a Samsung device as they want Apple prices for their phones. However, I'm pretty impressed by the hardware features of the phone though. Small form factor (compared to iPhone 6S plus) with an excellent screen, expandable storage, fast charging capabilities and water resistance.

I think that was true in the past. But not anymore. Look at the Note 5. It was released with Android 5.1 and performed really well. When it got the update to Android 6 or Marshmallow it actually improved it performance and battery life.
Samsung does have the best hardware in the business. It needs to continue to work on TW and getting faster updates out to it's phones.

 

[Jetcat3]

This is what I keep reading which always scares me away from purchasing a Samsung device as they want Apple prices for their phones. However, I'm pretty impressed by the hardware features of the phone though. Small form factor (compared to iPhone 6S plus) with an excellent screen, expandable storage, fast charging capabilities and water resistance.

Yeah, I don't think I'll ever be able to own one unless those things change. I am as well. Very impressive indeed!

 

[jamezr]

I agree. Bumping up the 6s to 1080P would be perfect in my opinion. Maybe the 6s Plus to 1440P. That's all you'd ever need as far as PPI goes in my honest opinion. Then shrink the bezels!

I would love to see some kind of back button and recents buttons on the bottom of those bezels!

 

[Jetcat3]

I think that was true in the past. But not anymore. Look at the Note 5. It was released with Android 5.1 and performed really well. When it got the update to Android 6 or Marshmallow it actually improved it performance and battery life.
Samsung does have the best hardware in the business. It needs to continue to work on TW and getting faster updates out to it's phones.

But they don't though. They have parts of their phones that have the best hardware but so does Apple. That's evidenced in this review. The best SoC is the A9 without question.

 

[jamezr]

But they don't though. They have parts of their phones that have the best hardware but so does Apple. That's evidenced in this review. The best SoC is the A9 without question.

Agreed! Didn't mean to leave Apple out...i was more referring to the Android side of things. The Apple A9 is a monster!
Can't wait to see what the iphone 7 and A10 will be like!

 

[Surf Donkey]

This is what I keep reading which always scares me away from purchasing a Samsung device as they want Apple prices for their phones. However, I'm pretty impressed by the hardware features of the phone though. Small form factor (compared to iPhone 6S plus) with an excellent screen, expandable storage, fast charging capabilities and water resistance.

If you are like the typically user that gloats about Samsung around here, and uses the device for a year or less, it is a nice phone. Outside of that, everyone seems to complain about them. The carriers are mostly the issue, but that is really just a part of the "Samsung experience" to help them sell more devices. And it works well for them, just have to be prepared for it.

 

[timeconsumer]

I agree. Bumping up the 6s to 1080P would be perfect in my opinion. Maybe the 6s Plus to 1440P. That's all you'd ever need as far as PPI goes in my honest opinion. Then shrink the bezels!

I agree with this. I probably would've purchased the 6S if it had a 1080p screen. But if the 6S plus had a 1440p screen that would've been a tough decision!

But they don't though. They have parts of their phones that have the best hardware but so does Apple. That's evidenced in this review. The best SoC is the A9 without question.

I'm curious how well the A9 would power a 1440p screen like most Android flagship phones have.

I think that was true in the past. But not anymore. Look at the Note 5. It was released with Android 5.1 and performed really well. When it got the update to Android 6 or Marshmallow it actually improved it performance and battery life.
Samsung does have the best hardware in the business. It needs to continue to work on TW and getting faster updates out to it's phones.

That's good to hear, it sounds like Samsung is improving their software side of things. I've read good things about Good Lock and I'm impressed how Samsung has been doing with the monthly security updates.
[doublepost=1467741574][/doublepost]

If you are like the typically user that gloats about Samsung around here, and uses the device for a year or less, it is a nice phone. Outside of that, everyone seems to complain about them. The carriers are mostly the issue, but that is really just a part of the "Samsung experience" to help them sell more devices. And it works well for them, just have to be prepared for it.

Ah, I refuse to purchase carrier devices. I'm a huge fan of unlocked devices that work on any carrier. I like the experience of buying the phone outright then going to whatever carrier works best. That may be the biggest reason why I tend to stick with iPhones as Apple is pretty good about supporting a lot of carriers in one device.

With that being said, if I were to purchase an S7, I would get the recently released unlocked version which would get updates directly from Samsung and no carrier bloatware. I'm not sure if that would help with better longevity of the device though.

 

[mclld]

ITT..people not really interested in Samsung phones just trying to stir it up

 

[Jetcat3]

I believe the 6s Plus is rendering at 2208 X 1242 internally and the A9/GT7600 runs it almost as fast as the 6s. That resolution is pretty close to 2K.

 

[Sevanw]

Says the website who's founder works for Apple. Just sayin'
These days, most of us are smart enough to see through the bias (for or against our opinion) of online reviewers and just buy what we like.

 

[Surf Donkey]

ITT..people not really interested in Samsung phones just trying to stir it up

Mostly, but valid points in the review.... and easy to dismiss as just not credible because some don't like what is said.

https://www.engadget.com/2016/07/05/samsung-android-updates-daydream-vr/

I doubt my own experience is unique. Anyone who drops nearly a grand on a smartphone will want to wring the maximum utility out of it. Samsung delivered a great design, great screen and lots of power with the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, and the Gear VR gave users another good reason to consider it. With the discouraging delays to Marshmallow on my S6 Edge, however, I've lost confidence in Samsung's ability to keep its latest model up to date. And once Daydream comes along, it'll have lost one of the best advantages it had in the Android market.

 

[jamezr]

Says the website who's founder works for Apple. Just sayin'
These days, most of us are smart enough to see through the bias (for or against our opinion) of online reviewers and just buy what we like.

Thats what I was saying....Shrimpi might have left but the culture and people that worked for him are still there. It's a very pro Apple anti Samsung site.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

The "Final Words" section was painful to read. I thought people were over exaggerating when speaking on Anandtech's bias. But now I see why everyone is calling bias.

 

[jamezr]

The "Final Words" section was painful to read. I thought people were over exaggerating when speaking on Anandtech's bias. But now I see why everyone is calling bias.

Especially when the consensus from the vast majority of reviewers said it was the best Android phone on the market.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Especially when the consensus from the vast majority of reviewers said it was the best Android phone on the market.

He even mentioned that, then said, but it's doesn't match his data.

$%@# your data!!!!

 

[Surf Donkey]

The "Final Words" section was painful to read. I thought people were over exaggerating when speaking on Anandtech's bias. But now I see why everyone is calling bias.

All he is saying (from what I am reading) is that the Exynos is the superior version. And Samsung could have done more to make the Snapdragon a better experience.

I think the only way to really justify the difference here is if you can get the Exynos 8890 version, which isn't necessarily an indictment of the Snapdragon 820, but rather the attention to detail that the Exynos variant receives.

Very last line to sum it all up. And most of the top reviews are the Exynos version because that is what most of the world gets. This is finally a reviewing aimed at the details of the SD variant. It is pretty simple to see the US version doesn't add that final polish that makes it the very best device the rest of the market gets.

XDA said this since initial release:
http://www.xda-developers.com/s7-ed...rk-stress-tests-of-sd820-810-808-exynos-7420/

But I suppose they are bias too.

This is a good thing. Samsung will listen to a source like Anandtech. We know OnePlus did. If it encourages Samsung to drop CDMA or license for the Exynos, that would be a good thing. Because I guarantee the Note 7 with the Snapdragon won't be as awesome in the same categories (performance, battery, etc) as the Note 5 with the Exynos. Samsung is a foundry. They make these chips. They design their phones for these chips. The US should get the best experience too.

 

[jamezr]

He even mentioned that, then said, but it's doesn't match his data.

$%@# your data!!!!

Then people wonder why we think they have a bias!
Maybe they are just trying to drum up page hits from all the anti Samsung crowd.
Sounds like stuff you would read at AppleInsider huh?