Today might be the first day of the Mobile World Congress 2016, but Samsung and LG didn’t want to waste any time and showed off new flagship devices yesterday, at their respective events. Now’s the time to meet the Samsung Galaxy S7, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, and the LG G5, and see what makes them tick.
The S7 and the S7 Edge Bring Back What the Galaxy S6 Didn’t Have
If you are a Galaxy fan, but you hated the fact that the S6 phones didn’t offer expandable storage and weren’t water- resistant, you are going to be happy to hear that the new Galaxy S7 devices come with both of these features.
Aside from the microSD card slot and the IP68 certification, there isn’t that much of a difference between the last year’s models and these two. Granted, the Samsung Galaxy S7‘s display now boasts curved egdes, like the Note 5, so it will definitely fit better into your hand than the S6. As for the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, it is sleeker than its S6 sibling and its edges are somewhat softer. Both smartphones now have always-on displays, meaning that you can see the time and the calendar even with your phone in the sleep mode. The best part about this is that this feature actually saves the battery life, since you don’t have to light up the whole screen to check what time it is.
Has something changed on the inside, compared to the S6 duo? Not that much, to be honest, as you can see below. However, according to Samsung, both phones will still perform without any flaws.
| Samsung Galaxy S7 | Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge | |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 142.4 x 69.6 x 7.9mm | 150.9 x 72.6 x 7.7mm |
| Weight | 152g | 157g |
| Display | 5.1" | 5.5" |
| Resolution | 2560 x 1440 pixels | 2560 x 1440 pixels |
| Processor* | Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 |
| RAM | 4GB | 4GB |
| Storage | 32GB (expandable) | 32GB (expandable) |
| Main Camera | 12MP | 12MP |
| Front Camera | 5MP | 5MP |
| Battery | 3000mAh (non-removable) | 3600mAh (non-removable) |
| OS | Android 6.0 Marshmallow | Android 6.0 Marshmallow |
| Colours | Black. White. Gold. Silver | Black. White. Gold. Silver |
*Certain international models will come with Samsung’s octa-core Exynos processor instead, but the company promises the performance won’t change.
Before you think “Oh, the back camera is weaker than that of the S6”, let us just say that the phones have a large f/1.7 aperture lens, meaning that they take better photos in low light. There’s also smart OIS on-board, plus the new Motion Panorama feature for wide-angle shots.
Other features include Wireless Fast Charging (WPC and PMA standards), dual-band Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth v.4.2, NFC, MST, and the USB 2.0 connector, instead of the type-C connector. The S7 Edge also has some new tricks up its sleeve, including the Tasks Edge, which allows you to program shortcuts. For example, you can create a task shortcut that will launch the camera app and directly turn on the front camera. Samsung will also allow third-party developers to create their own widgets.
Both phones will become available in the UK starting March 11.
Meet the LG G5 and Its Partly Modular Design
Sure, the 5.3” always-on display, the octa-core processor, 4GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage sound great, as does the dual camera on the phone’s back (16 MP + 8 MP) which lets you take wide-angle 135-degree shots. However, what’s really special about the LG G5 is its new, modular design.
By pressing the button on the side of the phone, you can pull out the handset’s entire bottom module along with the battery, and then swap it with another module. LG showed off the camera module, which adds shutter and zoom control buttons, and the hi-fi module, which improves your phone’s sound quality by adding a dedicated digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and a pre-amp.
What also sets the LG G5 apart its ball-shaped robot companion – the Rolling Bot – a VR headset, and a 360-degree camera. The VR headset connects to the phone using the USB type-C connector and is compatible with the Google Cardboard and YouTube’s 360-degree videos, while the camera shoots both photos and videos and doesn’t have a screen. It connects to the G5 via Bluetooth and has two cameras.
LG is definitely trying something new with this flagship device, but we’re yet to see whether the company will be successful with all these gadgets or not. The LG G5 will become available for sale in April and for pre-order in March.