The S7 Edge really sets the bar. Even for those who won't commit to a non-iPhone device, you have to appreciate that the competition is raising the stakes, which should hopefully lead to a better iPhone 7 for you to own.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
is the Galaxy S 7 a real threat to iPhone ? how many here would switch ?
- Thread starter Subu
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
- Status
Absolutely agree...remarkable hardware. It's a software choice for me personally.
For me, Apple would need to bring their A game both on a software front and hardware front.
Hardware-wise:
I'm concerned about the thinner iPhone rumor. What will that mean to the battery? Are we going to finally see wireless charging? Waterproofing? (I think currently the iPhone is semi-waterproof? Not sure.) What sort of camera improvements will we see? The dual camera sounds interesting. As do dual speakers. How will the actual redesign look? I am no fan of the 6/6S generation of design. It'll be interesting to see how they build on it. And are they going to shrink the device for better ergonomics and design? Holding the S7 Edge next to or up against the 6S Plus makes the Plus look embarrassingly large.
Software-wise:
Please open up iOS just a little more. Make the experience more consistent especially when it comes to unlocking and making purchases with the fingerprint scanner. Organize settings a little bit better. Allow for customization of Control Center, 3D Touch, etc. Allow users to download apps and updates via data if they wish to. Notice I'm not asking for a complete redesign with home screens and whatever ala Android. If Apple is going to maintain its springboard style of software, so be it, but at least open up a bit of everything else within. Will the keyboard finally have gesture-typing natively? Will they introduce their own form of an Always On type display setting?
And I wonder how they'll differentiate the Plus model. I much prefer what Samsung has done with the S7 standard and Edge variant. The only upgrades between the two are obvious ones: larger battery cause the device itself is larger, and larger screen with Edge features. Other than that, there is virtually no other compromise. Can we say Apple will do the same? Already the rumors are pointing to the dual-camera being exclusive to the Plus model.
Anyway, those are just my wishes for the iPhone 7 and iOS 10.
Samsung better slim down Touchwiz even more. The iPhone 7 Plus vs Note 6 will be a great battle.
The Note 6 will most likely have 5gb or 6gb ram, 4000mah or better battery and USB C. I wonder if there will be a Note 6 edge, since the edge is popular.
I know Apple will introduce at least one or two features that will wow everyone. If they don't, I'll be disappointed. They will most likely bring a 2K display. It's possible iOSX will get a design revamp like iOS7 did.
It's almost a given, Samsung's design will be more sleek and compact with equal to or slightly larger display size. The iPhone 7 will most likely be thinner.
The Note 6 will most likely have 5gb or 6gb ram, 4000mah or better battery and USB C. I wonder if there will be a Note 6 edge, since the edge is popular.
I know Apple will introduce at least one or two features that will wow everyone. If they don't, I'll be disappointed. They will most likely bring a 2K display. It's possible iOSX will get a design revamp like iOS7 did.
It's almost a given, Samsung's design will be more sleek and compact with equal to or slightly larger display size. The iPhone 7 will most likely be thinner.
If I were to purchase any Android device, how well would that work with the rest of my stuff ? Would I still be able to accept phone calls on my iPad ? How well does AirPlay work with an Android device. Is there a Samsung or Android podcast app that has every podcast that is available in iTunes ?
I've been working with a broken system for too long. Apple finally got it right with the 6+ (I always felt that iPhones had too narrow of a screen, so I never got one till the 6+. I didn't even consider a 6.)
Samasung doesn't offer the full experience that Apple does. I finally have a system that works great and is even getting better as third parties evolve. Why would I want to even consider breaking it because another company realeased a new handheld device that may or may not be temporarily better in stand alone test than the current device I have now ?
I've been working with a broken system for too long. Apple finally got it right with the 6+ (I always felt that iPhones had too narrow of a screen, so I never got one till the 6+. I didn't even consider a 6.)
Samasung doesn't offer the full experience that Apple does. I finally have a system that works great and is even getting better as third parties evolve. Why would I want to even consider breaking it because another company realeased a new handheld device that may or may not be temporarily better in stand alone test than the current device I have now ?
If Apple's ecosystem works for you, then that's good. But many of us choose to build our own ecosystem that works just as well, and in some cases do much more.
I can't use airplay with my Android devices. But I can stream and mirror content to my Samsung TVs. I can also mirror my Samsung TV to my Samsung devices. I have other setups to control music throughout my home on Android.
95% of my ecosystem is not device or OS dependent, and is far easier to troubleshoot if something goes wrong.
For me, the "Full Experience" iPhone users talk about is equivalent to putting all your eggs in one basket. If the basket drops, all the eggs crack. I know cause I've been there, done that.
There are many Airplay apps for Android (I like AllConnect). After making the switch, the ONLY two things that I haven't found a replacement for are iMessage and FaceTime.
You are the perfect consumer for Apple. They trap you into the ecosystem and it costs you a lot of money to get out. I really wish Apple would open up the software to Android.
Airplay, iMessage and Facetime would be my top 3 apps for sure!
That's pretty much my scenario as well. I'm well aware that Android offers many things not available on iOS but for me, the benefits of staying within the Apple ecosystem carry more weight. Not saying it's better, just that it's what works best for me and my family.
Completely understand this sentiment as well. If I wasn't micromanaging my household's technology, I'd probably skewing more in this direction as well as I love trying and tinkering with all kinds of tech. The reality for me though is I don't have the time to dedicate to it that I'd like to and the 'plug and play' aspect of the Apple ecosystem usually make my life signficantly easier (translation..the better half
). Apple's Family Sharing program alone puts it above life in the Android ecosystem presently.And truthfully, I don't feel like I'm settling when using an iPhone/iPad/Apple TV, etc. I'm not ignorant to the fact that there is often better hardware available but the level that Apple is providing more than meets my needs and expectations so I don't obsess (too much
) about what's out there that's better because I genuinely like how my stuff works together now. That's not to say thought that if there was an unlocked/carrier free version of the S7 edge available in the US that I wouldn't be severely tempted to give it a whirl. To each their own, of course.
I have an iPad and MBP that I can iMessage or Facetime. I never been in a situation that I absolutely need those for or couldn't use an alternative on my android smartphone.
That's pretty much my scenario as well. I'm well aware that Android offers many things not available on iOS but for me, the benefits of staying within the Apple ecosystem carry more weight. Not saying it's better, just that it's what works best for me and my family.
Completely understand this sentiment as well. If I wasn't micromanaging my household's technology, I'd probably skewing more in this direction as well as I love trying and tinkering with all kinds of tech. The reality for me though is I don't have the time to dedicate to it that I'd like to and the 'plug and play' aspect of the Apple ecosystem usually make my life signficantly easier (translation..the better half
And truthfully, I don't feel like I'm settling when using an iPhone/iPad/Apple TV, etc. I'm not ignorant to the fact that there is often better hardware available but the level that Apple is providing more than meets my needs and expectations so I don't obsess (too much
To each their own, of course.
I agree that Apple's "set it and forget" ecosystem under one umbrella is a hard act to follow. If only they gave the choice to have more control.
Well the rumored are that there will actually be 3 models...the 7, 7+, and 7 Pro (one rumor for the name) with the latter being the same size as the + model yet with the dual camera. I personally don't see a problem with this arrangement, especially considering I believe rumors stated that securing enough of the dual camera models for all devices wouldn't be possible at this point. Of course, Apple does love to have a reason to up-charge for a premium model so that's not really out of character for them, like it or not. I do hope that the camera's are the same between the standard models (re: both have OIS).
I was reading an article with the TCL CEO saying last year, many Chinese manufacturers filed for bankruptcy. One reason was the higher wages. It was interesting because he was saying the Chinese have to keep innovating. Lower-end phones might win in VOLUME but lose in VALUE which will affect PROFIT MARGINS. Especially if many Chinese manufacturers just copy and then sell off a cheaper imitation since they have the benefit of stealing information from factories that make iPhones and any other brand.
You can see the decline on tablets already. I remember a decade years ago, people were lining up outside to buy an Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 to sell on eBay. This is now a decade about mobile devices but how long will the excitement last? Another 15 years? Just throwing caution in the wind because we can never be too confident. Remember the Los Angeles Lakers? They won their 5th title in the century six years ago and after 2011 never advanced beyond the 2nd round! The perennial doormats, Clippers, are now the better team in LA. Tables turn too quickly.
During the Gil Amelio years, Apple was a joke. Samsung was still a second rate manufacturer nobody in my high school years was taking seriously. Google wasn't a definition in the dictionary yet. During 2000, the most talked about company was Napster. People were still using AOL and YM to socialize and not Facebook. YouTube didn't exist yet. The term selfie wasn't popularized and neither was ecosystem applying to the tech world. Nobody cared yet about software updates.
I don't see smartphones ever being eliminated out of our lives completely especially for the Millenials who grew on it mostly. But anything can happen during the ten to fifteen years. IBM has actually dominated tech longer than Apple has done. Where are they now? I' ve seen enough companies go down that you can never get complacent. Similar to sports when you watch your favorite athlete get really old and he or she is no longer cool or relevant (Kobe). Or music artists. Sony is in that stage where they try to remain cool but is now a complete joke to so many others or simply never experienced their heyday. I remember last year I had a co-worker who was born in 1994 and didn't know what a Walkman was.
Is S7 a threat to iPhone's profits? Nope. A vice-versa where no iPhone no matter how great it is will catch Android and Samsung with mass global adoption. I think that is why Samsung didn't release a Exynos version of the S7 to the US. Apple and postpaid plans territory while the rise of buying $700+ unlocked phones is getting more common in Asia cutting out the carrier middleman, crappy branding, and more bloatware. Cater their best to the continents they are beating Apple because Samsung knows they may never be #1 in the States.
You can see the decline on tablets already. I remember a decade years ago, people were lining up outside to buy an Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 to sell on eBay. This is now a decade about mobile devices but how long will the excitement last? Another 15 years? Just throwing caution in the wind because we can never be too confident. Remember the Los Angeles Lakers? They won their 5th title in the century six years ago and after 2011 never advanced beyond the 2nd round! The perennial doormats, Clippers, are now the better team in LA. Tables turn too quickly.
During the Gil Amelio years, Apple was a joke. Samsung was still a second rate manufacturer nobody in my high school years was taking seriously. Google wasn't a definition in the dictionary yet. During 2000, the most talked about company was Napster. People were still using AOL and YM to socialize and not Facebook. YouTube didn't exist yet. The term selfie wasn't popularized and neither was ecosystem applying to the tech world. Nobody cared yet about software updates.
I don't see smartphones ever being eliminated out of our lives completely especially for the Millenials who grew on it mostly. But anything can happen during the ten to fifteen years. IBM has actually dominated tech longer than Apple has done. Where are they now? I' ve seen enough companies go down that you can never get complacent. Similar to sports when you watch your favorite athlete get really old and he or she is no longer cool or relevant (Kobe). Or music artists. Sony is in that stage where they try to remain cool but is now a complete joke to so many others or simply never experienced their heyday. I remember last year I had a co-worker who was born in 1994 and didn't know what a Walkman was.
Is S7 a threat to iPhone's profits? Nope. A vice-versa where no iPhone no matter how great it is will catch Android and Samsung with mass global adoption. I think that is why Samsung didn't release a Exynos version of the S7 to the US. Apple and postpaid plans territory while the rise of buying $700+ unlocked phones is getting more common in Asia cutting out the carrier middleman, crappy branding, and more bloatware. Cater their best to the continents they are beating Apple because Samsung knows they may never be #1 in the States.
I would have never guessed companies like LG and Samsung would produce better quality TV displays than Sony. Sony's Bravia line produced the best 720p and 1080p TVs, and they produced the best tube TVs. Sony still produces great quality TVs, even with 4K. But LG and Samsung surpassed them with the best display technology.
Samsung should do a bit better converting iPhone owners with this year's line up since they're focusing more on tangibles. The average consumer is oblivious to specs but tangibles like picture quality, design, water resistance, display, payment that works virtually everywhere, etc. are clear cut.
Nope I won't switch. I have become a real fussy bugger about phone sizes. And as the S7 is physically bigger then my 6S I wouldn't get it.
I compared the two the other day, and with a case on or without a case on it is a bigger device even if it's not massively bigger I would notice.
The S7 also looks rather pale next to the S7 Edge which is a fantastic design, you refuse to believe it's a 5.5" screen!
I compared the two the other day, and with a case on or without a case on it is a bigger device even if it's not massively bigger I would notice.
The S7 also looks rather pale next to the S7 Edge which is a fantastic design, you refuse to believe it's a 5.5" screen!
I am curious what id the difference in profit margins between selling an unlocked phone vs subsidized phones? Even if carriers pay Samsung to sell their phones, Samsung doesn't have much control with what carriers want on it the way Apple has total control. Samsung bring their best stuff to the States and it is all for naught when Apple still sell iPhones in record numbers and where Samsung has to watch carriers ravage their phones with ugly branding and bloatware.
I believe Samsung should raise the white flag in the United States. Not give on it completely but should use their marketing budget in other countries. They will NEVER win there when it comes to volume sales and profits. Americans are already completely brainwashed with Apple and their ecosystem. Samsung is part of other industries anyway while iPhones has been Apple's bread and butter.
For many years, Nokia (the former #1 volume seller) ignored the U.S. market except sending their cheapie phones. And Nokia was #1 in 1998 surpassing Motorola (globally) and were still on top until 2011 when Microsoft got involved with them. Samsung can still win the premium segment in other continents especially in Asia where the growing middle-class can easily afford $700+ unlocked devices since many people unlike Americans don't need to pay rent or rely on a car. Americans are too dependent with getting subsidized phones because of the many more bills they have to pay for their independence and dependence on credit cards paying in smaller installments.
Samsung should go the Nokia route. Focus on other continents and developing countries where smartphones aren't oversaturated yet. They also need to bring out more compelling lower-end phones and good prices to battle the Chinese and Taiwanese of ASUS and Acer. The lower end is for volume sales, the premium for countries like South Korea, Japan, and Europe is for higher profits.
It is like the The Force Awakens v Avatar box office receipts. Americans focus on domestic numbers and while TFA became NA box office king, Avatar made $2B foreign money which is why it is still #1 while TFA is only #3 globally. I hate Avatar, btw. I love Star Wars. But you can't just focus on solely American money. Star Wars 7 won the battle in the States but lost the World War box office to Avatar. Star Wars is like the Super Bowl / NFL football. An American thing.
Samsung should start focusing more at raking in foreign money since surpassing Apple in the States (where someone like Donald Trump "could" be President) is highly unlikely. Motorola was #1 for years in the States even during the 2000's while Nokia was #1 globally and they rarely were a Top 5 OEM volume seller in the United States.
I believe Samsung should raise the white flag in the United States. Not give on it completely but should use their marketing budget in other countries. They will NEVER win there when it comes to volume sales and profits. Americans are already completely brainwashed with Apple and their ecosystem. Samsung is part of other industries anyway while iPhones has been Apple's bread and butter.
For many years, Nokia (the former #1 volume seller) ignored the U.S. market except sending their cheapie phones. And Nokia was #1 in 1998 surpassing Motorola (globally) and were still on top until 2011 when Microsoft got involved with them. Samsung can still win the premium segment in other continents especially in Asia where the growing middle-class can easily afford $700+ unlocked devices since many people unlike Americans don't need to pay rent or rely on a car. Americans are too dependent with getting subsidized phones because of the many more bills they have to pay for their independence and dependence on credit cards paying in smaller installments.
Samsung should go the Nokia route. Focus on other continents and developing countries where smartphones aren't oversaturated yet. They also need to bring out more compelling lower-end phones and good prices to battle the Chinese and Taiwanese of ASUS and Acer. The lower end is for volume sales, the premium for countries like South Korea, Japan, and Europe is for higher profits.
It is like the The Force Awakens v Avatar box office receipts. Americans focus on domestic numbers and while TFA became NA box office king, Avatar made $2B foreign money which is why it is still #1 while TFA is only #3 globally. I hate Avatar, btw. I love Star Wars. But you can't just focus on solely American money. Star Wars 7 won the battle in the States but lost the World War box office to Avatar. Star Wars is like the Super Bowl / NFL football. An American thing.
Samsung should start focusing more at raking in foreign money since surpassing Apple in the States (where someone like Donald Trump "could" be President) is highly unlikely. Motorola was #1 for years in the States even during the 2000's while Nokia was #1 globally and they rarely were a Top 5 OEM volume seller in the United States.
I think that's what they're attempting to do with their latest ads. The commercial I've seen the most is the one over black, and it literally just goes through all the major highlights: waterproofing, microSD, virtual reality, etc. All with simple music and sound design. It was used ad nauseum during the Oscars, if I'm not mistaken.
There are those sillier ones too, of course, with Lil Wayne pouring champagne on the device. But all in all, I feel Samsung is really pushing the key features of the S7 to the public. I see a lot less of those "vs iPhone" commercials even though I personally think they're great ads. Mainly because it points out the shortcomings of the iPhone.
It's also hard to be mad at those versus ads when they come true. Case in point, my experience that I posted in the S7 thread:
I seriously couldn't believe that happened to me.
[doublepost=1458138490][/doublepost]
I know you know this already, but they'll hang on to those things til their dying breath. Similar to how Blackberry held onto BBM until it had no choice. With such a large base of users, I can't blame them.
Last edited:
Why is anybody trapped by iOS anymore than google? If I buy a bunch of google apps and android devices aren't I just as trapped?
Maybe I'm not following the topic you're discussing closely enough, but Gmail, Hangouts, Chrome, Google Maps, etc. are all on iOS. No? Airplay, iMessage, FaceTime are only on iOS.
And what Google apps do you need to buy? Serious question. Nearly everything from Google is free both in the Play Store and the App Store.
I agree.The S7 is a real looker and absolutely WIPES THE FLOOR with the iPhone 6s and even the rumoured 7 in both the design and screen department.The only thing keeping me from switching is the software
Exactly. And they're free.
Does Google want you to use Android devices? Of course. But are they "trapping" people in their ecosystem the same way Apple is? Not even close.
And I actually understand Apple's position. I wouldn't share FaceTime or iMessage either knowing the massive base that I have. So I'm not even mad about it. Just correcting i7guy (as usual).
- Status