Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review: Look elsewhere in 2018

£639
Price when reviewed

In 2016, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge was the finest smartphone you could buy: the trouble was that, cosmetic differences aside, it was the same as the considerably cheaper vanilla Samsung Galaxy S7

Both phones are showing their age now, and while they’re still perfectly servicable now, you’d be brave to lock yourself into a two-year contract in 2018.

So, what are the alternatives? Well, phones have got more expensive now, but while the Samsung Galaxy S9 is currently commanding an expensive £739 fee, the still-excellent S8 has seen considerable price cuts and can now be had for around £450: a bonafide bargain. The good news is that you won’t need to decide between curved screen or non-curved: the S7 was the last generation where it was a choice.

If that feels a bit much for last year’s technology, the OnePlus 6 matches the S9 for performance, and can be had for just £460 SIM-free.

Jon’s original review continues below.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review: In full

The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is the lost flagship of 2016. After the fuss over the launch died down earlier this year, it seems to have been forgotten, shoved to the back of the collective tech-industry consciousness. But it shouldn’t be, because the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is one of the best phones you can buy right now. There are now several solid reasons, other than good looks, to buy it over its less curvaceous sibling, the Samsung Galaxy S7.

Indeed, on its own, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge doesn’t look anything special. Slide it up next to the Galaxy S7, however, and you’ll immediately spot the difference. 

READ NEXT: The best phones of 2017 – our favourite smartphones 

It’s a significant 0.4in larger than the standard S7 and, interestingly, a mere 0.2in smaller than the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ – Know Your Mobile went as far as to say the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge knocked the “build and design out of the park”.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge always on screen from another angle

The other big news is that, although there’s still no removable battery, Samsung has brought microSD expansion and water- and dust-proofing back to its flagship smartphone range. The Samsung Galaxy 7 Edge is compatible with microSD cards up to 200GB in size, with space for the card next to the SIM slot in the drawer that fits in at the top edge, while the phone is rated to IP68. The latter means, technically speaking, that the phone can be immersed completely in water up to 1.5m deep for up to 30 minutes. Drop it in the sink or the bath and it’ll survive, but a trip the bottom of the deep end at the hotel swimming pool might not end quite so well.

Cynics might suggest the lack of these features last year was a deliberate ploy, designed by Samsung to give customers a reason to upgrade this year. However, I believe it’s more likely to be a response to Samsung fans’ outrage following the launch of the S6 and S6 Edge. Removable storage had always been a stalwart of Samsung’s designs until that point – hopefully, this means it will once again become a permanent feature, never to be dropped again.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge rear

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge: Headline specifications

5.5in Super AMOLED screen, 1,440 x 2,560 Quad HD resolution
Octa-core 2.3GHz Samsung Exynos 8890 processor
32GB storage
Curved edges front and rear
IP68 dust and water resistance
microSD slot
12-megapixel rear camera with f/1.7 aperture, “dual-pixel” sensor and phase-detect autofocus
3,600mAh battery
Always-on screen
Internal liquid cooling
Smaller camera “hump” protrudes only 0.46mm
Price: £639 inc VAT | Buy the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge now from Amazon

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge: Design

So those are the major changes. What about the more minor ones? Well, there are plenty of those to cover, so I’ll start with the design, and it’s very much “as you were” on this front.

There’s the bigger screen, of course, but style-wise the phone looks very close to the S6 Edge. A glossy glass finish sandwiches a gleaming, coloured metallic substrate that catches the light in all the best ways, while the long edges of that 5.5in screen dip away to a slim, aluminium frame that runs all around the edges of the phone.

Eagle-eyed readers will spy that the very edges of the glass at the top and bottom of the phone are softly curved, but other than that – from the front at least – little has changed.

It still picks up unsightly fingerprints like mad, and the buttons and ports remain in the same locations: the volume buttons are on the left edge and the power button on the right, the combined SIM/microSD card drawer are on the top edge and the 3.5mm headphone jack, perforated speaker grille and micro-USB port are on the bottom. Yep, that’s right, there’s no USB Type-C here, presumably because Samsung wanted to ensure compatibility with the Gear VR.Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge home button

Continues on page 2

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge specifications

ProcessorUK spec: Most likely - Octa-core (quad 2.3GHz and quad 1.6GHz), Samsung Exynos 8890 Octa; Other regions - Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 (dual-core 2.15GHz and dual-core 1.6GHz) 
RAM4GB LPDDR4
Screen size5.5in
Screen resolution1,440 x 2560, 576ppi (Gorilla Glass)
Screen typeSuper AMOLED, always-on display
Front camera5MP
Rear camera12MP (f/1.7, 1.4μ pixel size, 1/2.6in sensor size, phase detect autofocus, OIS, dual-pixel sensor)
FlashDual LED
GPSYes
CompassYes
Storage32GB
Memory card slot (supplied)Yes
Wi-Fi802.11ac
BluetoothBluetooth 4.2 LE, A2DP, apt-X, ANT+
NFCYes
Wireless data4G
Size (WDH)73 x 7.7 x 151mm
Weight157g
Operating systemAndroid 6 Marshmallow with TouchWiz UI
Battery size3,600mAh

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