Samsung Galaxy S7: news and rumours
Samsung's Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge reinvigorated the flailing smartphone brand giving it a new lease of life with a fresh design and some brand new features.
Samsung is going to have to do a lot of work to be able to do the same again but there's much more that can be improved upon in the new phone.
We don't expect to see the new phone until early 2016 though – most of the time Samsung takes time out in early March to announce the new phone at MWC in Barcelona, we expect it to be the same again this year.
Rumors are already beginning to roll in for the new phone so here's everything we've learnt so far from the new phone.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? The next flagship phone from Samsung's Galaxy S line.
- When is it out? We expect early in 2016, potentially MWC in late February
- What will it cost? Expect expensive – it's bound to be one of the more costly phones to buy next year.
Samsung Galaxy S7: The TechRadar concept
When it comes to the new Samsung Galaxy S7, we want to see Samsung departing from the usual design of standard, blocky phone.
What we want now is something innovative, something that pushes the boundaries and takes into account all the awesome technology Samsung keeps promising.
So here's how we think it should shake down – TechRadar's Galaxy S7, complete with all the technology Samsung has talked about… and some of our own desires too.
The main difference is, again, the screen. If Samsung is going to make a success of the Gear VR, it needs a better screen, and leaping forward to 8K will make shoving the phone on your face a pin sharp experience.
The other big thing we're hoping to FINALLY see is the iris scanning technology that supersedes the fingerprint scanners we're seeing everywhere. With dual hi-res scanning cameras on the front, with enhanced aperture, simply turning the phone screen on will prove who you are.
The edges of the super sharp screen are now properly pushed to the side of the phone, with the notifications now showing properly either side – the S6 Edge has the curves as decoration, but now they're actually going to be used.
And bass-rich speakers top and bottom will utilise Samsung's omni-sound technology to make the phone a true media marvel – no more backwards-facing tinny sound here.
Of course, Touchwiz still remains… but hey, there's only so much we can hope for…
News and rumors
So what exactly do we know so far about the Samsung Galaxy S7? The real answer is not all that much, it's only a few months since the Galaxy S6 hit the market so real, worthwhile details are a little hard to come by.
A few different reports have mentioned the codename 'Jungfrau', claiming that's the name Samsung is using internally for the Galaxy S7.
However a new rumour from the South Korean website Newsis apparently cites insider sources who claim that Samsung has started work on the Galaxy S7 about 2 to 3 months ahead of its usual schedule.
If this is true (and that's a big if, as the sources of this rumour are unclear and unverified), it could just mean that Samsung is eager to start work on the S7 as soon as possible to give it a longer development period.
However some people are getting excited because it could mean that Samsung is gearing up to launch the Galaxy S7 early, which could mean we'd see a second Galaxy S flagship handset in 2015. In fact December has already been mooted as a potential Samsung Galaxy S7 release date - although we reckon that's highly unlikely.
Traditionally, Samsung usually releases one Galaxy S and one Galaxy Note flagship device a year, so it would be a big departure if it released the S7 in 2015. This rumour could just be a case of getting lost in translation, so we'd recommend caution when taking it at face value.
Curved screens?
One rumour does seem to have a little weight thrown behind it though as sources believe the Galaxy S7 and Samsung Galaxy Note 5 may be coming with curved screens.
According to supply chain sources both phones will be launching with flexible displays after Samsung put in some big orders with Taiwanese manufacturers. It may end up being a separate version of the Galaxy S7 much like with the Galaxy S6 Edge but it's interesting all the same.
There's even talk that Samsung will go further and deliver a foldable phone, but this seems incredibly unlikely. Even if the technology is in place (which is a big if) it's doubtful that Samsung would risk something so new and untested on its flagship.
Beyond that we can guess at a few things. The design is unlikely to change much for example, having only just been overhauled, while Android M's inclusion is all but guaranteed and an announcement at or around MWC in February 2016 is likely given past form. With a 4K screen rumored for the Galaxy Note 5 it's always possible the Galaxy S7 will get one of them too.
Not much else is known about the Samsung Galaxy S7 just yet so follow on over to the next page and we'll show you what we'd like to see.
Samsung Galaxy S7 power
Snaps of supposed internal Samsung documents regarding its Android M update have made their way onto social networking site Weibo, and appear to confirm the rumoured Galaxy S7 codename 'Jungfrau' and a key spec of the upcoming flagship.
That spec is Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 processor, which is expected to launch later this year and is set to feature in some of the biggest phones of 2016.
The fact the Snapdragon 820 chip is being linked to the Galaxy S7 is interesting, as Samsung ditched Qualcomm's offering for the Galaxy S6, instead exclusively using its own Exynos processor.
Samsung didn't disclose reasoning as to why it opted to do this, but the current top-tier Qualcomm chip - the Snapdragon 810 - has been plagued by reports of overheating and patchy performance.
Perhaps this is a sign of Qualcomm's return to form in the chipset market, although it's too early to confirm either way.
However while Qualcomm has been touted as the maker of the Galaxy S7's chip, benchmark results have leaked onto the internet that claim to show Samsung's next SoC, Exynos M1, which could potentially power the new Galaxy.
These benchmarks show the hardware used to make the Exynos M1, and it looks like it uses a series of custom ARM cores.
Intriguingly the benchmarks also show that the Exynos M1 is much more powerful than the Snapdragon 820 in almost every aspect.
While we'd advise taking these benchmarks with a pinch of salt - as even if they are authentic, they would still be referring to hardware that's likely to change before it is officially launched - it would mean that the Samsung Galaxy S7 would likely be a more powerful handset if it again shuns Qualcomm's hardware.
Samsung Galaxy S7: what we want to see
What we want to see
1. Better battery life
Our biggest gripe with the Galaxy S6 was the battery – we found with moderate usage you could get between 17 and 18 hours. That is the average day if you're on a normal sleep pattern but do you really want to be walking that tight rope thinking if I watch a film my phone it's not going to last the whole day?
Samsung need to do better than this with the Galaxy S7; even sacrificing a little of its new found design credentials to thicken up the handset and stick in a bigger cell would have been worth the extra life. Next time let's hope it understands functionality takes precedence over design.
2. Bring us to the Edge
We loved the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge – in fact we think everyone did – it just did something entirely different to the rest of the competition.
We want the same again, but maybe something completely off the bat. If the rumours of the flexible display handset turn out to be true we could end seeing something similar to the S6 Edge come Q1 2016.
3. Another step into VR
When Samsung revealed the Galaxy S6 it also announced there would be a new Gear VR headsetdesigned to go alongside the new phone.
Next time round we want Samsung to keep focusing on VR but up its game even further for the Galaxy S7 – whether it be more sensors, more games or a new way of doing it all together we just want more of a focus on VR.
Samsung is one of the few companies doing Virtual Reality right at the moment and there's no better way to keep that going than innovating on an already good product.
4. A price drop
Samsung's devices aren't the cheapest on the market. One of our criticisms of the latest handset came at the price tag attached to the phone and it'd be nice to see it drop down a little as soon as possible. At the moment Samsung's devices are even in a similar price bracket to Apple.
It may mean we lose a couple of the superfluous features on the phone but taking it down a little would be really nice. Come on Samsung, you can buck the trend and do it with the Galaxy S7.
5. Drop the fingerprint magnet
If you've got a white S6 you're laughing, but if you've got one of the darker options you're probably finding yourself wiping it down with your t-shirt a lot down to all the fingerprints showing up on the rear.
The white option is the best for avoiding this but we shouldn't expect our phones to be covered in grubby marks within a matter of minutes. Let's sort it out ready for the Samsung Galaxy S7.
6. Something brand new
The S6 Edge really showed us something different and we want to see that same inspiration again from the South Korean company.
In the meantime we may not actually know what we want to see, but something to change up the phone market a little and give it a little kick up the bum it needs.
7. More robust design
Almost everybody agrees Samsung nailed the design of the Galaxy S6, but one big feature was missing. The Galaxy S5 had the addition of a water and dustproof design so when the Galaxy S6 was announced it was quite a shock the feature had been taken out.
Fingers crossed Samsung will see fit to return it to the Galaxy S7, but this time in a much nicer design.
8. Slight camera tweaks
It's no secret we loved the Galaxy S6's camera, but there are a few little issues with it we'd loved to see be improved on the next handset.
Slow motion video can look a little sketchy on the handset so we'd love to see some improvements there to see it compete with the glory of the iPhone 6's slow-mo mode.
It'd also be nice to get a few more downloadable camera modes thrown in on top as well - we love the fact they're not clogging up the device with useless modes but there's not enough of them right now to justify the store Samsung has created.
9. Even more power
Not that the Galaxy S6 wasn't powerful enough, but in a year we're going to have a bunch of new processors doing the rounds and we want to see the biggest and best in the Samsung Galaxy S7.
Whether it be an in house created Exynos processor or a jump back to Qualcomm, we don't mind, we just want the best the company can find. Is that too much to ask?
source TechRadar: All latest Mobile phones news feeds http://ift.tt/1cLqoYU
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