What’s the difference between the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge?

Price When Reviewed

Samsung Galaxy S7: $670

Samsung Galaxy S7 edge: $780

Last night Samsung unveiled two new Samsung Galaxy S7 smartphones at Unpacked 2016, the standard Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 Edge. Here we look at the main differences between the S7 and S7 Edge. You can also check out our individual Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review and Samsung Galaxy S7 review.

Also see: Best Black Friday Phone Deals

Samsung Galaxy S7 vs Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge: What’s the difference?

Price

The Samsung Galaxy S7 is cheaper than the Galaxy S7 Edge, available to pre-order from Samsung now at £569 and £639 respectively. Those who pre-order before 5 March will get their handset on 8 March ahead of the 11 March official on sale date, and will get a free Samsung Gear VR headset. Also see: Best Samsung Galaxy S7 deals.

You can also pre-order the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge from UK mobile operators Vodafone, EE, Three, O2 and The Carphone Warehouse.

Colour

There’s an extra colour option for the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, which comes in Silver Titanium. Both S7 and S7 Edge are available in Black Onyx and Gold Platinum. Also see: Best smartphones 2016.

Screen

The key difference between the S7 and S7 Edge is that the S7 Edge has a larger, dual-edge screen. While both feature Quad-HD (2560×1440) SuperAMOLED panels, with new always-on technology that makes it easier to see notifications or the time at a glance, the 5.1in S7 is smaller than the 5.5in S7 Edge. This means the S7 has the higher pixel density, with 577ppi against the Edge’s 534ppi – though both are very high. Also see: Best new phones, tablets, laptops & more at MWC 2016.

The dual-edge screen on the Galaxy S7 Edge is used to display notifications and provide shortcuts to your most frequently used apps. Also see: Samsung Galaxy S6 vs Samsung Galaxy S7.

Size and weight

Unsurprisingly, given the differences in screen size, the 150.9×72.6×7.7mm, 157g Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is larger and heavier than the 142.4×69.6×7.9mm, 152g Samsung Galaxy S7. Also see: Best Samsung phones 2016: What is the difference between Galaxy Note, Galaxy S, Galaxy A and Galaxy J?

Battery

…But extra room inside the case allows for a larger battery for the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. Fans were disappointed by the non-removable battery in the Samsung Galaxy S6 and, while it’s still fixed inside the Galaxy S7’s metal and glass body, the capacity has seen a useful bump. You’ll find a 3000mAh battery inside the S7, and 3600mAh in the Edge. Both support fast- and WPC/PMA wireless charging, and use Micro-USB rather than USB-C. ALSO SEE: Samsung Galaxy S7 launch as it happened | Samsung Galaxy S7 & S7 Edge UK release date, price, new features and specifications | Samsung Galaxy S7 review.

Samsung Galaxy S7 vs Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge: What’s the same?

Everything else is the same for the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge, from the core processor and storage to the cameras and connectivity features. Also see: Best Android phones 2016.

We’ll start with one of the highlights: 32GB of internal storage PLUS MicroSD support up to 200GB. This feature was removed (to much dismay) from the Galaxy S6, but here it returns to both the S7 and S7 Edge, along with another sought after feature: IP68 dust- and waterproof protection. Samsung’s latest Galaxy S-series smartphones will survive up to half an hour at depths of up to 1.5m. Also see: Best MiFi 2016.

Which processor powers the S7 and S7 Edge depends on your region, but you’ll find one of two chips: the quad-core (2x 2.15GHz + 2x 1.6GHz) Qualcomm Snapgragon 820, which comes with Adreno 530 graphics, or Samsung’s own octa-core (4x 2.3GHz + 4x 1.6GHz) Exynos 8890. This is paired with 4GB of LP-DDR4 RAM in both smartphones.

We’ve had confirmation from uSwitch that in the UK the S7 will come with the faster Exynos 8890 processor. Also see: Samsung Galaxy S7 vs LG G5.

The 12Mp primary camera on paper looks like a downgrade over the 16Mp snapper in the Galaxy S6, but Samsung uses larger pixels and an f/1.7 aperture to allow in 95 percent more light. This f/1.7 aperture is also used for the 5Mp selfie camera. Also see: Funny things to ask S Voice.

Both phones run Android 6.0 Marshmallow with TouchWiz and support LTE Cat 9 networks (depending on your region), dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi with MIMO, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC ( Samsung Pay is coming to the UK in 2016), GPS and the usual array of sensors, including the fingerprint sensor and heart-rate sensor seen in the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge.

Samsung Galaxy S7 video review

Read next: Best new phones coming in 2016.

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