Samsung Galaxy S7 - How is performance holding up, and will it hold up for a couple more years?

[FrozenInferno]

I've outgrown my tiny iPhone SE and having used Apple since the iPhone 4 I'm ready to try something new. I'm also past the days of paying a fortune for a phone upgrade or needing/wanting the shiny new thing.

I basically want a bigger, nicer screen for browsing (but not a giant 6" phablet or anything), good all-day battery life, and to run the basic apps I'm used to using. No games or processor-intensive editing tools or anything of that nature.

The Galaxy S7 seems to check those boxes and is heavily discounted now on my provider (Koodo in Canada) where I can get one for $0 down without having to change to a more expensive plan. The screen is gorgeous and just the right size. Expandable storage, a 3000maH battery, and water resistance are all big pluses also.

But being almost two years old now I'm curious to know how these phones are holding up from a performance standpoint, and whether a brand new one would still be going strong in another two years when I'd be open to another upgrade. Also how much battery life could I expect two years in?

 

[slitherjef]

Mine still runs ok, I'm using the edge version. Just got an update yesterday. I've ran this device stock (no root).

Battery life has been decent but I only use the phone for texting and maybe a bit of Twitter and Instagram, so depending on use, I'm sure daily charging would suffice, should get you through the day, unless your service is horrendous and constantly looking for signal and you are almost using the thing for games and videos and so on.

Does the typical Samsung stuttering but that could be due to waking up and the system catching up from a lower power state. Other then occasional hiccups things pretty much run fluid especially once the system wakes up

Bottom line?

It works

 

[JackieInCo]

I still have three S7 Edge phones sitting in a drawer. I got the US unlocked S7 Edge out last week and charged it and noticed immediately how much lag there is in that phone compared to my Note 8 and S8+. The current OS update on my S7Edge is sitting on the November 1st update.

I have a blue S7 Edge that I bought back in February when T-Mobile had the $360 sale and it's pretty much the same. It has noticeable lag here and there. The other S7 Edge I have is my launch day phone.
[doublepost=1514828754][/doublepost]I guess the correct works is stuttering as mentioned on the post before mine. It has stuttering.

 

[FrozenInferno]

Thanks for the input guys. Is there any considerable difference between the S7 and the S7 Edge besides just external design and screen dimensions? I'm looking at the standard S7 in this case.

 

[JackieInCo]

The S7 does have a smaller battery.

 

[4RunnerHeaven]

I've outgrown my tiny iPhone SE and having used Apple since the iPhone 4 I'm ready to try something new. I'm also past the days of paying a fortune for a phone upgrade or needing/wanting the shiny new thing.

I basically want a bigger, nicer screen for browsing (but not a giant 6" phablet or anything), good all-day battery life, and to run the basic apps I'm used to using. No games or processor-intensive editing tools or anything of that nature.

The Galaxy S7 seems to check those boxes and is heavily discounted now on my provider (Koodo in Canada) where I can get one for $0 down without having to change to a more expensive plan. The screen is gorgeous and just the right size. Expandable storage, a 3000maH battery, and water resistance are all big pluses also.

But being almost two years old now I'm curious to know how these phones are holding up from a performance standpoint, and whether a brand new one would still be going strong in another two years when I'd be open to another upgrade. Also how much battery life could I expect two years in?

My s7 edge battery is down to 80% health now after 1.5 years. It also lags a lot these days even after a reset to factory settings.

 

[JackieInCo]

My s7 edge battery is down to 80% health now after 1.5 years. It also lags a lot these days even after a reset to factory settings.

It seems the lag/stuttering is a common complaint.

 

[5105973]

I have an S8+ that often struggles with lag and I do not have much loaded onto it beyond what came preloaded. My husband battled lag on his S8+ a lot and doesn’t use it as often now. There’s much I admire about Samsung phones but I’m going to steer clear this year and give a Google Pixel a chance.

I have an S7 and S7 Edge but only use them for VR these days.

 

[lazard]

Using an S7 edge (exynos), still running fine.

 

[Klyster]

My partner uses my old S7 edge.
She's really only using Facebook and the camera but when I have a play either it, it seems fine.
It's a bit hard to gauge after using a Note 8 but it doesn't seem laggy as such , just a bit slower.
I installed a battery testing app on there the other day but it needs to run for a while, apparently.
It's an exynos model and was factory reset when I got my Note 8.

 

[IowaLynn]

Dirty restore from previous model? Setup as new?
I have both S8+ and N8 and while I refuse to install or enable Facebook, Snap, other resource hogs, I'd be surprised another phone would show noticeable improvement.

 

[Tsepz]

My Galaxy S7 Edge is my spare phone, I have the Exynos 8890 variant and it still runs great. Battery Life is still top notch to.

 

[mikef07]

Had an S7 Edge galaxy and it was a complete dumspter fire a few months in. Terrible battery life, lag lag lag, buttons on the browser simply not working, having to force quit the browser all the time.

 

[nickchallis92]

The S7 Edge is probably the best phone i've ever had - and I own the S8.

Excellent battery life, great fingerprint sensor, great screen. great camera. Great all round.

 

[scott craft]

I've had my S7 a little over a year and I'm not too fond of it. The camera is fantastic and I love Samsung Pay and this phone has been super durable, but it gets bogged down way too much and it drives me nuts.

 

[nviz22]

A new S7 would probably be an anomaly in terms of performance. It could have early software. It can come with the latest software installed already. A lot of times, carriers have old inventory they could get rid of. The S7 is fine in terms of getting all the necessities taken care of.

I wouldn't trust Samsung to do right by you in terms of good software update support or reliable warranty support. Their hardware is superb, but their phones won't age well.

 

[Puddled]

A common mistake with Android phones is that users Factory reset them to clear out the junk and bugs which can slow them down and then do a full restore which puts back all the junk and bugs and then they complain that the phone is still slow.

I factory reset my S6 and set it up as new ( i restore messages and phone logs only) every time there is a software update.
My S6 continues to have decent battery life and is fairly snappy with minimal lag.

I do this for all my smartphones.

 

[cabotsolutions]

I have been using Samsung 27 for nearly 2 years, and I have been very happy. Hope to push it to 3 years.

Sometimes it does it a bit slow, but usually restarting or killing all apps seem to resolve the issue. Over the 2 years, I had it reboot on me a couple of times.