Soon, you will have a glossy black Samsung Galaxy S7
Soon, you will have a glossy black Samsung Galaxy S7Samsung Mobile Press

South Korean consumer electronics major Samsung unveiled its new generation smartphone series Galaxy S7 at the ongoing Mobile World Congress 2016, Barcelona.

The new Galaxy S7 series come with huge upgrades in terms of internal hardware and also with regard to durability.

To provide a clear perspective between the two Galaxy S siblings, we have done a quick specification rundown of Galaxy S7 and its predecessor, Galaxy S6.

Display:

Like its predecessor Galaxy S6, the new 2016 series too comes in two variants -- a normal Galaxy S7 with flat display panel and another with dual-edge curved screen, dubbed as Galaxy S7 Edge.

However, the latter is a bit bigger than the former. Galaxy S7 Edge comes with 5.5-inch screen, whereas the Galaxy S7 sports a 5.1-inch display. Both the devices will have QHD (2560x1440p) resolution screens with "Always On" feature and come encased with 3D glass and metal fuse body.

Galaxy S6 series come with QHD (aka 2K: 2560x1440p) display, having pixel density of more than 577 pixels per inch on the screen.

S6 Edge too features same display resolution, only difference is that the screen stretches to both right and left side edges.

Build quality:

2015 based Galaxy S6 series comes with a blend of metal and glass body.

The new Galaxy S7 features almost identical design language seen in the Galaxy S6 series, but it comes with one key upgrade in terms of durability, which was sorely missed in the Galaxy S6 series.

They boast IP68 water-proof certification. This means the new Galaxy S7 series can survive up to five feet under water for close to 30 minutes.

Processor, RAM and storage:

In 2015, Samsung, citing over-heating issues in Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810 CPU, launched Galaxy S6 series with company's proprietary Exynos 7 Octa-core processor only. It is backed by 4GB RAM and comes in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB storage models.

This year, Samsung has renewed partnership with Qualcomm again. Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge come with two SoC (System on Chip) variants, depending on the region of sale.

One will house the company's proprietary Exynos 8890 series Octa-core CPU, while the other will come shipped with Qualcomm's 2.2GHz Snapdragon 820 series quad-core processor. They are backed by 4GB RAM and 32GB/64GB inbuilt memory with an option of expansion up to 200GB.

Camera:

In 2015, Galaxy S6 was touted as the best camera phone in the smartphone industry by critics. This year too, Samsung is taking a notch up with the Galaxy S7 series.

Galaxy S6 series features 16MP with F1.9 apertures and an array of dedicated photography apps. On the front, it houses 5MP snapper. The new phones boast Dual-Pixel 12MP camera with f/1.7 aperture and smart OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation) feature.

Many might wonder why Samsung would lower MP count in its flagship phone from 16MP seen in Galaxy S6 series to 12MP in its successor.

For those unaware, this is actually a myth. Higher the MP count doesn't necessarily guarantee a nice image. There are other aspects which help in capturing good quality pictures. Aperture and lens size are two such key parameters that are considered while designing a good camera, and Samsung plans to deliver the same in the Galaxy S7series.

Battery:

The new Samsung Galaxy S7 and the S7 Edge come packed with 3000mAh and 3600mAh batteries, respectively.

On the other hand, Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge houses 2550mAh and 2600mAh cells, respectively.

Key specifications of Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S6 series:

Models Samsung Galaxy S7 series Samsung Galaxy S6 series
Display Galaxy S7: 5.1-inch QHD (2560x1440p) super AMOLED screen with Gorilla Glass Shield
  • Pixel density: 577 ppi (pixels per inch)

Galaxy S7 Edge: 5.5-inch QHD super AMOLED screen with Gorilla Glass shield

  • Pixel density: 534 ppi (pixels per inch)
Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge : 5.1-inch QHD (2560x1440p) super AMOLED screen with Gorilla Glass Shield 4 protection
  • Pixel density: 557 ppi (pixels per inch)
OS Android v6.0 Marshmallow Android v6.0 Marshmallow
Processor
  • Model 1: 14nm based 64-bit class Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 SoC
  • Model 2: 14nm based 64-bit class Samsung Exynos 8890 CPU
14nm based Exynos 7420 Octa-core CPU
GPU
  • Model 1: Adreno 530
  • Model 2: Mali T880 MP12
Mali T-760
RAM 4GB 3GB
Storage 32GB/64GB, expandable up to 200GB 32GB/54GB/128GB (not expandable)
Camera
  • Main: dual-pixel 12MP camera with F/1.7 aperture, smart OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation)
  • Front: 5MP camera with F/1.7 aperture
  • Main: 16MP camera with OIS, F/1.9 aperture
  • Front: 5MP camera
Battery
  • Galaxy S7: 3000mAh
  • S7 Edge: 3600 mAh

Both the versions boast Fast Charging both on wired and wireless and
Wireless Charging compatible with WPC and PMA

  • Galaxy S6: 2550 mAh
  • S6 Edge: 2600 mAh

Both the devices come with fast charging technology

Network 4G-LTE (Cat. 9: with up to 450/50 mbps download/upload speed) 4G-LTE (Cat. 6: with up to 300/50 mbps download/upload speed)
Add-ons 3D glass and metal fuse body, Always Display feature, finger-print sensor, IP68 water-proof certifications, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz), MIMO,
Bluetooth v 4.2 LE, ANT+, USB 2.0, NFC (Near Field Communications), MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission)
Finger-print sensor , WiFi: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz), HT80 MIMO(2x2) 620Mbps, Dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, Mobile hotspot, Bluetooth®: v4.1, A2DP, LE, apt-X, ANT+, USB 2.0, NFC,IR Remote, Samsung Pay works with both Near Field Communication (NFC) and Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) technology to make it device, merchant and card issuer agnostic , Samsung Knox security app now upgraded to defence grade
Dimensions
  • Galaxy S7: 142.4 x 69.6 x 7.9 mm
  • S7 Edge: 150.9 x 72.6 x 7.7 mm
  • Galaxy S6: 143.4 x 70.5 x 6.8 mm
  • S6 Edge: 142.1 x 70.1 x 7.0 mm
Weight
  • Galaxy S7: 152 g
  • S7 Edge: 157 g
  • Galaxy S6: 138 g
  • S6 Edge: 132 g