Before buying the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, I wanted to compare it with my current phone, the Galaxy S5. I was unable to find a comparison between the two phones, so I wrote this one after buying the S7 Edge. This will not be an in-depth technical review, more a comparison of the most important and visible differences.
Samsung Galaxy has been my phone of choice since the Galaxy S3 in 2012. What has made this my favorite phone is three factors: The big display, the exchangeable battery, and the memory card slot. Since getting the S3, I have always managed to resist the temptation to buy a new phone every time Samsung launched a new model, meaning that I bought the S5 in 2014.
I have to say that I was really tempted to buy the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus last year. I really wanted the bigger display and the improved camera. Two things kept me from buying: That you could no longer change the battery and the sad fact that the memory card was gone.
I really felt that Samsung had taken a step closer to Apple in not letting the owner be able to change battery or manage storage like before. Changing the battery is maybe the least important feature, but having a memory card is a killer function.
I have all my music, more than 50GB, on a 64GB Micro SD card, so having to sync using USB or WiFi is not an option. This was the main reason for not buying the S6 Edge Plus. When I started hearing rumors, in late 2015, that Samsung would re-introduce the memory card I breathe a sigh of relief.
Galaxy S5 vs Galaxy S7 Edge
In mid-April, when the Samsung Galaxy 7 Edge was announced in white in Norway, I immediately ordered one. After a few days, it arrived in the mail. I was so excited that I could not wait for the three-minute drive home from the post office, I had to unpack it in the car.
In the box
The box itself had the same elegant and minimalistic design as for the Galaxy S5. It contained the following items:
- The phone
- Getting started guide and warranty papers
- Charger
- Earphones
- USB adapter
- Tool for opening the card bay
The earphones were not the same as shipped with my two previous phones. This was a more sporty type that sits better in the ears.
A totally new thing was the tool for opening the card bay on top of the phone. This tool is a factory-made version of what we in the days of the Palm PDA would call a Palm reset tool. Back then we used to straighten the first part of a paperclip. In 2016, Samsung provides a more classy tool to do the same job.
Physical size
The phone itself is about the same with as my old S5, but the S7 is about 1cm (0,4 inches) longer.
The display is about 1cm (0.4 inches) longer and 0,5cm (0.2 inches) wider on the S7 compares to the S5.
The Galaxy S7 is about 1mm (0,04 inches) thinner than the S5.
The Galaxy S7 Edge does not feel any bigger than the S5, but the two phones feel very different in your hand. This is due to the fact that the S5 is curved underneath and flat on top. The S7 is the opposite, flat underneath, but curved on top. Personally, I feel like I had a better grip on my old S5.
Other observations
The phone is faster, the RAM has doubled to 32GB, the camera is much better, and the total impression is a higher quality of build and a sleeker design. I really liked the feature that enables you to connect two phones using the USB adapter and a standard Micro-USB cable.
I like the fact that Samsung has removed the plastic flap that used to cover the micro-USB port. This was clumsy to handle and started to look worn on my two-year-old phone.
For an in-depth review of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, I recommend this review from Android Authority
Memory card issues
After two weeks of use, I am very pleased, with the exception of one annoying issue: During my previous upgrades, I moved the micro SD card from phone to phone with no problems. This time, however, I have experienced massive problems.
At firs, the phone would not find the memory card at all. Then I tried formatting the card in my computer, that did not help. Then I tried formatting the card in the phone. After that, the phone found the card, but I was unable to copy data from my computer to my phone using the USB cable. After copying the files by inserting the memory card in my computer the phone tells me that some files are unreadable. I still have not found a solution for this, making this the third week without being able to play music.
Conclusion
It is definitively worth the cost to upgrade from the Galaxy S5 to Galaxy S7 Edge. Samsung has done a nice job in improving the design. The hardware specs at really good and the software equally so.
Positive:
- Bigger and better display
- More internal memory
- Support for higher capacity memory cards
- Watertight instead of water-resistant
- Sleeker design
- Support for wireless charging
Negative:
- Lesser sound quality. Probably due to the watertight design
- Issues with reading the memory card