Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge Rumor Round Up

The S series of Samsung phones are always some of the most anticipated phones of the year, and for good reason. They are 2 of Samsung’s top end flagships and usually come packed with features, and lots of power. With the release coming up there are always plenty of rumors and leaks. Let’s take a look at some of those rumors and what the S7 and S7 Edge might be.

Let’s start off with the display according to several sources the S7 will have a 5.1 inch screen size. While the S7 Edge will jump to 5.5 inches. They will both keep the same quad HD 2560×1440 pixel Super AMOLED screens. If there is one thing Samsung knows how to do right it’s their AMOLED panels, so good news there.

There has been mention of an always on display though for showing notifications, which would consume 1% battery per hour though. As well as mention of a pressure sensitive screen, like force touch on the iPhone. Although don’t expect it to be as functional as you’d find on an iPhone. As with most Samsung addons it’ll probably only work with Samsung apps. Although developers will be able to use the Samsung APIs to utilize it also, if they choose to do so.

Speaking of battery life, both models are going to take a jump in battery size this year. Going from 2550mAh in the S7 to 3000mAh and 2600mAh to 3600mAh in the S7 Edge. A most welcomed changes as one of the biggest complaints last year was the battery life. While the batteries won’t be replaceable they are both supposed to have quick wireless charging. Said to be 2 hours for S7 and 2.2 hours for S7 Edge.

As for the CPU it’s a toss up between the Exynos 8 Octa 8890 or the Snapdragon 820. In the past Samsung has gone with the Snapdragon for North American markets, while using the it’s own Exynos for other models. Until last year when they used the Exynos in all variants, due to the overheating issues with the Snapdragon 810. We’ll have to wait and see which way they go this year.

Both variants can expect to come with 4GB of ram, with a choice of 32GB or 64GB of storage. As well as the possibility of a 128GB version. Most importantly though it’s rumored they are bringing back the microSD card slot, with support for cards up to 200GB.

Something many users myself included, were complaining about last year when it was removed. However last year it was also rumored to have expandable storage, and we all know how that turned out.

Last year Samsung had some of the best cameras you could find on a mobile device. Bringing together a great blend of high end hardware, and software processing. Finally even taking the crown away from the iPhone. This year we should hopefully see it get even better. Especially with other manufacturers stepping up their camera game.

In a surprising change it’s rumored they will drop from 16MP to 12MP. Which doesn’t have to be a bad thing. As we’ve seen from the Nexus 6P megapixel count is not everything. Another area where you’ll see the numbers shrink is the f/1.9 aperture changing to f/1.7. Which is always a good thing, the lower the number the more light those pixels can suck up. Giving you better performance in low light.

Another notable change is that the camera bump should vanish on the S7 and S7 Edge this year. Which is something that will be most welcomed by many users. The front facing 5MP selfie camera is said to remain unchanged though.

The design should stay pretty close to the S6 and S6 Edge. Except Samsung is supposedly bringing back the IP67 water and dust resistant feature. As well as rumors saying this could be their first devices to use USB-C. It’s also been mentioned that they might include a retina scanner.

However this sounds a bit useless and like overkill to me. Then again this is Samsung we’re talking about. Who added features like heart rate sensors and UV sensors into their phones.

All in all if these rumors turn out to be true. It sounds like the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge will be everything I wished the S6 and S6 Edge had been. A phone with a fantastic screen, high end specs, great camera, good battery life, and expandable storage.

While I was very impressed with the screen and the camera of the S6 and S6 Edge last year. I hated seeing Samsung lose such features as removable batteries, expandable storage, and IP 67 certification. It really made me wonder if Samsung had to remove some features, just so they could add them back again to give people a reason to upgrade.

Whether not any of this is true we’ll have to wait and see. Although we might not have to wait long, as Samsung usually unveils them in mid to late February.

Source: Android Police and Venture Beat