Samsung’s new Edge screen functionality makes the phone feel like it is curved for an actual reason, as opposed to just being a point of difference.
In fact, just like how you could use the curved screen in the Galaxy Note Edge to show news feeds and shortcuts to apps, so too you can do these things on the Galaxy S7 Edge, with customisable feeds that you can swipe between for shortcuts or calendar information or financial stock tickers, and so on.
Finally, the edge screen does something worth writing about: it responds the way edge screens are supposed to, almost like a second screen. You have to swipe it in to get it to work, sure, but at least it does something.
There’s also still a fingerprint sensor, and while it works 90 percent of the time, it isn’t quite as impressive as either Apple’s or Huawei’s. Still, not bad effort there.
And then there are the new bits and pieces, and these are likely to be things you may not expect, such as the liquid cooling built into the handset to keep the phone cool.
That’s been brought in to deal with excess gaming and overheating, which we suspect also affects the virtual reality side of things, because the Gear VR headset can overheat the previous Galaxy phones in this area.
It’s also there because gaming is now a properly important thing on the S7 and S7 Edge, with a “game launcher” box that groups your games together and even gives you the option to switch on a special “do not disturb” mode that deal with notifications while you’re playing games.
Phone calls will still come through, but you can game without fear that your boss will send an email asking you to come in, or rather it’ll still come in, you just won’t be notified about such things.
In game, you’ll find a small toolbox pop up that almost feels like something left over from the Note 5 research, and this is here to do some of those things above, while also letting you capture the screen in both images and video, because some gamers are into that.
There’s even an “extra” in the box, with a microUSB to USB converter. Granted, this isn’t exactly an expensive inclusion, but is tiny and cute, and super useful if you keep a USB stick with you as it means you can transfer files to and from the stick without needing to buy a hybrid microUSB to USB stick.
Or you could even use it and a card reader to bring in files directly from your digital camera, post processing images on your mobile like we did the week we tested the S7 Edge.
It’s also handy for migrating from your old Android phone to your new S7, as it works in conjunction with Samsung’s Smart Switch app and makes short work of copying files between devices.
Finally, Samsung has brought something in to take a bit of the wind out of LG’s sails.
Before Mobile World Congress, LG pre-announced that its new G5 phone would have an “always-on screen”, and lo-behold, Samsung’s S7 had one, too.
In the S7, this is an optional thing, but it essentially turns your screen into an always-on clock that doesn’t consume a lot of power providing you with the time and notifications, proving to be quite useful if you don’t wear a watch.
You don’t have to have it on if you don’t want to, but we do wish it could be customised for more notifications, because outside of phone calls and messages, you’re not given a lot of control. You can change from a clock to a calendar to a small selection of background images, but that is more or less it.
What needs work
What’s most impressive with the S7 Edge is that for the first time in ages, you get the feeling that Samsung’s refinements haven’t been about just doing something to be different.
Rather, this appears to be more about solidifying something great, and listening to feedback from customers.
Storage is back. Water-resistance is back. Upgradeability is back. Performance is back.
Yes, Samsung has been listening, and much of what we took issue with has gone, but it’s not entirely perfect, even if it does get very close.
For one, the fingerprint sensor isn’t the best in the world, and doesn’t feel as fast as the ones we’ve used from Apple and Huawei.
It will work, and is generally fast, but the times the sensor fails occur far more often than we’d like. At least the pin-code option seems a little easier to work than in prior versions of Samsung’s TouchWiz, but the fingerprint could be better, and Sony’s sensor in the Xperia Z5 Premium feels like it nailed our prints better.
The screen is the other minor issue for us, because while it’s pretty much pixel perfect, gripping the edge of the display can sometimes lead to delays between when you touch the icons or make gestures, such as scrolling or zooming. This is likely because you are already in contact with the screen by holding it, which conflicts with your finger inputs.
It’s minor, and we didn’t see it often, but felt it important to note as we suspect it’s something that could be fixed with a software update later on.
Conclusion
The Galaxy S7 Edge is Samsung’s best phone yet, and takes the crown as the phone to beat for 2016 thus far.
But more than that, Samsung’s Galaxy S7 Edge isn’t just an improvement, it’s also a stand out product that shows Samsung is listening, and listening well.
Samsung has responded to what was good about the previous phones and what was bad, and even found a few ways to surprise those of us that have been reviewing phones for longer than we’d like to admit.
And while it’s not without flaws, these are very minor, and Samsung’s Galaxy S7 Edge gets very close to nailing perfection.
So while you shouldn’t be surprised that Samsung’s S7 Edge is its best phone yet, you may be surprised to find that it is one of the more complete phones we’ve ever reviewed, providing speed, performance, design, and more in a package that looks pleasing and isn’t made by Apple.
Seriously, things just heated up, and Samsung’s competitors need to take note, because the S7 Edge is well and truly bringing the game this year. Highly recommended.
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