21 days with the Galaxy S7 Edge
Here I am after having spent 21 days with the S7 Edge. I came out alive, and so did it – but only barely. Over this time, I was able to completely immerse myself in the device, and I want to share my experience with you. On this adventure, I even took the phone to Japan, where a ghost of Japanese legend threw the S7 Edge to the ground. A stroke of abysmal luck.
During the time I spent with the S7 Edge, I realized it’s more of the same from Samsung, but dressed up in a spectacular design. Yes, the smartphone turns heads and draws jealous comments from friends, but ultimately for me there is one thing that lingers in my memory from the time we spent together: the camera.
A spectacular camera
If I had to pick a highlight from the S7 Edge, the camera is undoubtedly it. Not only does it focus with lightning precision, it produces spectacular shots under almost any conditions. It is almost impossible to take a bad picture with the S7 Edge. Most surprising are the nighttime or low-light photos it pulls off. You can see this demonstrated in the gallery of images I created during a trip to Japan.
Most of these photos I shot in automatic HDR mode and only at night did I find it necessary to delve into the manual mode. It is true that there is an intrusion of yellow into the night shots, but it's relatively minor.
One note: I had repeated trouble with the camera button, which often refused to work. I sometimes had to pummel the smartphone or lock and reopen it to get a reaction. I forgave this annoyance only on the merits of the images produced, that is, when the phone wanted to produce them.
A touch too much TouchWiz
I can’t take anymore TouchWiz. I do not care to change the menus. The icons are still ugly. Meizu’s Flyme UI is better than this. In addition, trying to find a nice and discreet theme in the Samsung store is like diving to the bottom of the Mariana trench for pearls, which incidentally is close to Japan.
Again, as has happened with the Huawei P9 Plus, how can such a nice phone wrap itself in such ugly clothing? Do the TouchWiz designers not know that true beauty comes from within?
Smooth with some exceptions
Keep in mind that the S7 Edge I tested was a Spanish model. That is, it may not be from where the most polished versions go on sale. Still, the smartphone displayed some lag and problems, especially with the HDR camera mode. Sometimes the camera button locked, as I mentioned above. Sometimes it also took a little longer than I’d like to load apps from the recent apps drawer, although this was nothing alarming, a $750 smartphone should do better.
Good battery, but not amazing
During the time I was traveling with S7 Edge, I was left with 15 percent battery at the end of the day. Keep in mind that this was under heavy use of the smartphone but mainly through taking pictures. In Japan, I had no data so I was not pulling on 3G or 4G internet or watching a lot of videos.
Around Berlin, I was using the S7 Edge under more normal conditions, but it lasted roughly the same amount of time. I would wake up in the morning with 10 percent battery remaining. Not bad going, but ultimately you have to charge the phone every night all the same. If you are someone who uses your phone for WhatsApp and little else, firstly, you should not be spending $750 on an S7 Edge, secondly, if you insist, you could draw two days of use out of it.
The tragic outcome
I was in Kyoto, strolling through Fushimi Inari temple, that of a thousand red doors. Suddenly, a ghost described in this book, for unknowable reasons, threw the smartphone to the ground from waist height. The result, a nice design from Samsung Swarovski that you can see in the photo.
It hurts, right? I’ve dropped my Xperia Z3 from the same height a few times and it does not have a scratch. Yes, I know I'm a bit clumsy and should probably just get a Motorola Droid Turbo 2, but this avoidable tragedy does reveal one truth: the S7 Edge is more fragile than smartphones without curves.
The curved screen and the absence of significant side edges make the S7 Edge very delicate. In fact, the terrible picture seen above was taken with the pitiful Z3 camera, and it’s impossible to see, but the smartphone has only one hit in the lower left corner out of which spread this beautiful but useless mosaic. The S7 Edge did continue to work perfectly after the accident, and I could continue to use the screen as well as to take pictures.
The curved screen and the absence of significant side edges make the S7 Edge very delicate
The good news is that the smartphone is being returned to Samsung Spain, where it will be repaired, I guess.
Conclusion
My final note: I am not a person to carry around in my pocket a smartphone worth $750. I live a life across all terrains, and I'm not willing to risk expensive disasters. Maybe I’ll consider getting one in 2017.
It's a personal matter, but a phone for me is not a status symbol, and the S7 Edge feels like a status symbol. As I said in my review, I’d prefer to go with the standard S7; it’s more robust and with the same specs (and slightly cheaper). Still, if you're a fan of beauty, your pockets are well-lined and you’re more careful than I, the S7 Edge is the most beautiful smartphone that money can buy.
What do you think of my experience? Let me know in the comments.
I can´t belive it !!! i broked the same phone in the same place... ten days later....
Hello!!! I have this amaaaazing phone.
I use it for work, i am a manager and i need my apps to open and work fast.
They do!!! Very fast, i write fast emails, i take picture fast and i navigate at 4g speed very very well :)
The camera is amazing.
I find the battery not satisfying, yet it gets charged in 1 hour only.
I am so happy I took this phone at only 28 euro per month for one year!!insurance included!!!
In italy we have wonderful offers for phones....
I can't tell you how fast i am writing here it's a real pleasure!
Thanks for your article!!
Best wishes,
N.
it's good phone put I have Galaxy note 5 I think it's faster than this phone and the very bad thing is the battery day life ,,it's very very bad
This gadget is not for everyone. If you are spending hefty amount than "PLEASE HANDLE WITH CARE - DO NOT DROP - THANK YOU".
I saw the camera is lesser then s6 edge plus.. what are better features then s6 edge plus
Hey, I've read your article - but I really can't get around half the things you're describing as bad.
Touchwiz:
I came from an S5, and touchwiz back then was a nightmare. Half the features were unneccesary, bulky and it was bloated as f*ck. This time around its very bare, complementary and not up in your face. I like how you have the option to hold the home button down to quickly share a screenshot or access Google Now or do a voice search. Very handy.
An amazing feature I found is called my places in the Edge panel. In the settings of that Edge panel you have the option to toggle phone settings for work and home. For example I have Bluetooth and Wifi off and phone on silent when at work, it toggles when on the go (to connect to Bluetooth car kit) and turns on wifi when at home. I used to have to use an app called Tasker for something this simple.
As for look of Android M, a hold of an empty area in the home screen brings up a few buttons to change the look. I installed the vanilla Theme as one of the first things I did when I got the phone.
Camera:
I never used the lock screen icon in the bottom right to access my camera. A simple double tap on the home button brings it up from any screen. In 21 days I have never had an issue with the home button and I'm impressed by how fast the camera loads. There's the rare occasion when you're out and something funny happens and you grab your phone out to capture the moment - this is the first phone I have had where I don't actually miss that moment. (And yep - the camera itself is insane)
Battery life:
I'm a heavy user, hence why I bought the S7 Edge. On average I watch 6-8 40 minute episodes of a TV show on my phone per day and browse the web on chrome from anywhere between 4-6 hours, incl. Remote desktoping. I have my phone out pretty much most of the day, and still have around 20% when I go to bed at midnight. For me, a day of heavy (and I mean heavy) use is pretty impressive.
Fragile:
You're absolutely right - I am scared to drop it. I know I am fairly safe with my phones. For example my last 2 phones the iPhone 4 and Galaxy S5 didn't have one scratch on them and I do not use cases. It's a shame to put a phone like the S7 Edge in a phone case. The S7 looks much more resistant and nearly sports the same specs. And looks good in a case.
S7 edge is hands down the best phone in market. I love my this phone. It is totally worth 780$ (mine wasn't 750..). It has SD slot and its waterproof. Curved glass is pretty awesome design. And the camera is superb. I had to ditch my Z3 for this and it is totally worth the switch.
P.S. (CONS) VR gear is cool! But it over heats your phone real fast (about 30 mins) and you can't use it until phone cools down.. That is a big down side.
That was the worst conclusion I've read all morning
Still not like samsung product
hahahahahaha #kike r u from Mars or from earth......i bet u s7 is more solid phone thn ur z3....
Sorry to hear it blew up on your waist height drop. I've dropped my S6 plenty of times with my 1 year ownership. Provided I do have a thin case on it and a screen protector, the case does minimal to protect the front as it provides opening for the side of the phone to expose the Edge portion. I've dropped it a few times on the backside and the case has eaten most of the damage with some scratches and chips near the corners, however, I did drop it screen first on concrete from my car seat out the door and it landed face first. To my surprise and initial shock, the front face had zero marks whats so ever. Not even within the screen protector do I see a scratch.
Don't know how it happened but I feel lucky. Either way, I think any phone will blow up depending how it lands and the severity. Applaud the phone when it's being used and handled as it properly should. I would never buy a phone so much based on it's durability as I don't go in planning to drop it. If I do... well that's why I pay that extra 10 bucks a month.