The Samsung S7 Edge was launched more than three years ago. During its launch, it was arguably among the best-looking devices in the smartphone market. Three years later, it is still a looker despite being relatively hard to find. The device’s curved AMOLED screen and fantastic camera are among the outstanding features in the device.
Samsung S7 Edge price in Nigeria currently starts at around ₦ 66,025 on Jumia. While this is at par with some current budget and mid-range devices, the current Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge price is still justifiable by the features a buyer gets. Is the device, which was released in March 2016, still a worthy purchase in 2019? Has there been too much tech improvement rendering the three-year-old phone irrelevant?
Overview
Here is a look at the device’s main pros and cons;
The good
- The S7 Edge is a sight to behold. The curves from the back and front, as well as the curved display, add up to a fantastic design.
- Dust and water protection
- Excellent battery life even by modern-day standards
- Remarkable AMOLED display that is near-perfect
The bad
- The phone’s processor is now outdated after several years of being in the market
- Internal memory in the base model is inadequate
- A single-camera setup is not enough in this era of triple and quad cameras
Samsung S7 Edge Specification List
Here is a look at the top Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge specs;
- Release date: March 2016
- Dimensions: 150.9 x 72.6 x 7.7 mm (length, width and thickness)
- Weight: 157 grams
- SIM card: Hybrid Dual Nano-SIM or single SIM
- Display: Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen
- Size: 5.5 inches
- Resolution: 1440 x 2560 pixels
- Operating system: Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) upgradable to Android 8.0 (Oreo)
- Internal memory: 32GB ROM & 4GB RAM or 64GB ROM & 4GB RAM or 128GB ROM & 4GB RAM
- Expandable memory: MicroSD up to 1TB (on Dual-SIM version)
- Rear camera: 12 megapixels
- Selfie camera: 5 megapixels
- USB: MicroUSB version 2.0 with USB OTG
- Bluetooth: Version 4.2 with A2DP and LE and aptX
- Sensors: Accelerometer, compass, front-mounted fingerprint sensor, gyro sensor
- Battery: 3600 mAh non-removable Li-Ion battery
- Charging: 15W fast charging
- Colours: Coral Blue, Black, Black Pearl, White, Gold, Silver, Pink Gold
Hardware Features
Here is a look at the device’s hardware features;
Design
The device comes in an elegant black box that contains a fast-charge adapter, microUSB-to-USB cable, headphones, and a microUSB cable. The USB adapter allows users to connect other USB peripherals to the phone. The phone measures 150.9 x 72.6 x 7.7mm, making it a bit longer and wider than its predecessor, the S6 Edge.
The front and back sides are both covered with sheets of Corning’s Gorilla Glass with a metallic frame separating them. The phone is IP68-certified, meaning that it is designed to withstand immersion in water for up to thirty minutes at a depth of one and a half meters. It is also relatively light by modern standards, coming in at 157 grams.
Display
The device packs a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display, although the slim bezels and curved edges give the illusion of a much smaller display. The screen’s QHD resolution (1440 by 2560 pixels) was essential to Samsung’s virtual reality plans with the Oculus Gear VR headset. The AMOLED panel looks amazing with excellent sharpness, colours, contrast and saturation.
The S7 Edge is still among the devices with the highest pixel density counts to date at 534PPI. As display sizes get bigger with the resolution remaining the same, the pixel density reduces.
Processor, Performance, and Storage
Buyers get one of two available processors in the S7 Edge. The first is an Exynos 8890 chipset and the second a Snapdragon 820. The global version uses the Exynos chip and is the more common version. The processor makes use of eight cores, four clocked at 2.6 GHz, and four at 1.59 GHz. The GPU is a Mali-T880 MP12.
The Snapdragon version comes in a quad-core configuration with two cores clocked at 2.15 GHz and two at 1.6 GHz. In this model, the GPU is Qualcomm’s Adreno 530. There is not much difference between the two versions in terms of performance. The S7 Edge is only available with 4GB RAM and a choice of 32GB, 64GB, or 128GB ROM. Dual-SIM models can accommodate a microSD card up to 1TB.
Battery Capacity
The device packs a terrific 3600 mAh battery. The unit runs for more than twenty hours of continuous video browsing on Android Marshmallow. The battery performance decreases slightly when the phone is upgraded to Android Nougat. In GSM Arena's battery test, the S7 Edge managed an endurance rating of 92 hours running Android Nougat and 98 hours running Marshmallow.
The device supports Qualcomm’s QuickCharge 2.0 technology, which allows for quicker charge times compared to using standard 5W charging cables. Users can also make use of the PMA and Qi-compliant wireless charging capability in the S7 Edge. With wireless charging, it is easier to purchase the optional Samsung fast wireless charging pad.
Speaker and Call Quality
Sound quality is terrific on the device even if loudness levels are not among the best in the industry. Audio output using an external active amplifier is also excellent. There is also the relatively common active noise-cancelling tech, which means that calls sound quite clear even in noisy environments.
Software Features
The S7 Edge comes with Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) out of the box. Users can then choose to upgrade the device to Android 8.0 (Oreo). The device has been among those receiving quarterly updates until August 2019. The company added the S7 Edge handset to the devices that will only receive regular updates, which are still important but not as frequent.
Camera Review, Video, and Image Quality
The S7 Edge features a 12-megapixel primary camera and a 5-megapixel selfie camera. Its predecessor, the S6 Edge had a 16-megapixel primary camera. The camera has dual-pixel focusing technology, which Samsung claimed was four times as fast as the S6 Edge’s camera. Pictures from the S7 Edge are nothing short of fantastic.
Images have excellent clarity, detail, sharpness and colour reproduction. Noise levels are also minimal, and unlike many modern devices, there is no excessive sharpening. The camera’s dynamic range is also excellent, at times close to the best devices in the industry right now. The phone can shoot 4K video at 30 frames per second, Full HD video at 60 or 30 frames per second, and the less-common 1440p video at 30 frames per second.
User Reviews
Here is a brief look at what the device’s users feel about it;
Pricing in Nigeria
The price of Samsung S7 Edge in Nigeria starts at ₦ 66,025 on Jumia up to around ₦ 200,000. The lower price is for the refurbished version, while the latter is for a brand new model. On Konga, the device starts at ₦ 74,990. For refurbished models, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge price in Nigeria compares favourably with modern mid-range devices.
Final Thoughts
This device is still one of the best-looking devices in the smartphone
