Samsung held its annual Unpacked event at Mobile World Congress 2016, officially unveiling their next generation Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge smartphones. Both the devices sport top-of-the-line specifications while also offering some exciting features compared to last year’s models.
The Galaxy S7 sports a 5.1-inch QHD Super AMOLED display (2560×1440 pixels), while the Galaxy S7 Edge wields a larger 5.5-inch dual-edge screen (2560x1440px), with both handsets boasting water resistant features that were missing on the S6 and S6 Edge.
When it comes to the camera, The rear camera in the new S7 and S7 Edge is now 12 Megapixels, down from last year’s 16MP. However, Samsung claims both the S7 and S7 Edge camera now has larger pixels that let in 56% more light than the previous model’s camera, allowing better photos in low light conditions.
The camera can also focus three times faster than the previous model thanks to its new dual pixel system, which uses every pixel as a “focus pixel”.
Both S7 devices are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 processor rather than Samsung’s own Exynos chips, which powered the S6. However, Samsung notes that some regions of the world will still receive S7 devices powered by the Exynos chips. Both devices also have 4 GB of RAM, up from last year’s 3 GB.
As for storage, Samsung is restoring the ability to add a micro SD card up to 200GB, but the battery won’t be replaceable by users, something Samsung had allowed before last year.
Both of the new handsets have larger batteries than their predecessors. The S7 now features a 3,000mAh and the S7 Edge a 3600mAh battery, which promises longer battery life.
According to Samsung, the S7 Edge will be able to perform for 13 hours while playing non-stop video content. For example, a whole series of Game of Thrones, as reported in Dailymail.co.uk.
Apart from introducing the two latest flagship phones, Samsung also announced the long anticipated outcome from its Project Beyond – a 360 degree camera called ‘Gear 360’ that will be able to record 360 degree video and then play it back through a Samsung VR (virtual reality) headset.
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg joined Samsung at the event in Barcelona, to announce that their companies are teaming up to push VR in mobile phones and social networking.
Zuckerberg said virtual reality films can be easily shared on Facebook and technology is being rolled out in the coming weeks to make the process easier.
The Gear VR is already on sale and the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge handsets will go on sale on 11 March. The phones are available in 4 color options: Onyx black, Gold platinum, Silver titanium and White pearl.
The prices may be vary by carrier and region. In the U.S., AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile are offering the regular version for $650 US to $695 US and the Edge version for about $100 more. In some markets, including the U.S., users who purchase an S7 or S7 Edge between February 23rd and March 18th will receive a free Gear VR headset.