יום שישי, 8 באפריל 2016

LG G5 REVIEW


After Samsung in spite of everything took design critically in 2015 by way of incorporating copious quantities of glass and metallic into telephones just like the Galaxy S6, they left LG as some of the ultimate primary telephone firms to nonetheless produce all-plastic flagships. LG stuck some flack for it with the release of the G4, so for 2016, they presented the G5 as their first all-metal telephone.
Along side the metallic frame, LG controlled to stay their fashionable detachable battery function whilst making an attempt to bring in an generation of modularity thru telephones, via providing up modules that would probably add-on capability at the fly. The theory may just imply giant issues someday, however the G5 and its couple of modules are right here now. In different phrases, we're going to pass judgement on them these days. LG additionally went with a dual-camera setup to provide its customers extra flexibility when taking pictures, a transfer that can have ended in a questionable design.
I’ll say this, although, you’ve were given to provide it as much as LG within the possibility division as a result of they definitely took some this time round. Did they repay? Let’s in finding out.
That is our LG G5 evaluation. 
lg g5 review

The Just right


Specifications
LG did a lovely nice process at ticking many of the bins on the subject of specifications at the G5. It has a 5.3-inch QHD IPS LCD show, 4GB DDR4 RAM, 32GB inside garage with microSD slot for enlargement (as much as 2TB), Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, detachable 2800mAh battery with rapid charging, twin rear cameras at 16MP and 8MP, entrance digital camera at 8MP, all-metal frame, USB Sort-C port, and Android 6.0.1 beneath LG’s latest pores and skin.
Positive, the telephone is lacking water resistance and wireless charging, however no longer a lot else. That is indisputably a contemporary flagship that are meant to remaining you thru a freelance or cost plan as much as two years. With long run tool updates serving to get probably the most out of its internals, the G5 will have to handiest recover and higher over the years. The G5 would possibly not have the very best specifications within the industry, however they're nice sufficient to compete.
Efficiency
Just like the V10 ahead of it, the G5 excels within the efficiency division. No, I’m no longer speaking about benchmarks, since we don’t run benchmarks. I’m speaking, in-hand, real-world efficiency – the G5 is a clean operator.
That is a type of telephones that unexpectedly glides any place you are taking it. The telephone jumps out and in of apps, video games, and streams video with the most productive of them. The efficiency of this telephone is a space I haven’t had one 2d considered or perhaps higher put, there hasn’t been one example the place I assumed I wished a reboot or complete app-close because of lag or stuttering. The one reboots this telephone will get are from battery swaps once I want a recent battery.
Because of all of that RAM (4GB) and the Snapdragon 820, LG has fine-tuned the G5 to be one of the crucial extra memorable telephones to make use of as a result of how simply it's to get issues completed. As a telephone reviewer, you'll be able to incessantly inform virtually in an instant if a telephone goes to have its problems (just like the Nexus 5X), however I’m no longer fearful about the way forward for the G5 in any respect.
If there used to be one space to nitpick, it will be with the digital camera release. Some days, the double-tap-to-launch at the quantity down button to open the digital camera works extremely temporarily, identical to the fast release at the Galaxy S7 does, however then others, it takes an additional couple of seconds to center of attention the primary time sooner than you'll be able to snap a photograph. This isn’t a dealbreaker situation, I simply want it used to be extra constant as a result of when it’s running correctly, it’s simply as rapid as Samsung’s implementation.
lg g5 review

Pricing and Availability
At many carriers the G5 is priced as it should be, which is more or less $50 not up to the Galaxy S7. I say “correctly,” as it’s lacking a few the S7’s options (water resistance and wireless charging) and in addition doesn’t have slightly the polish of Samsung’s latest. Out of doors of the ridiculous pricing that AT&T has followed in recent times, you have to virtually name the G5 “affordable” when compared to a few flagships. If you purchase this telephone at US Mobile, and not using a contract, you're paying simply $585. At Verizon, the G5 can also be had for as low as $624. Now not dangerous, proper?
Detachable Battery
LG has been pushing this detachable battery factor as a significant promoting level for years, whilst its competition have run from the theory. I, for one, haven’t precisely given a sh*t about detachable batteries for years and so I’ve by no means actually checked out this as being a large deal. What I’m looking to say is that I've by no means made a telephone purchasing determination in response to whether or not or no longer I will be able to switch a battery when wanted. I care about design and cameras and tool reviews and accent choices and rapid charging ahead of swapping.
With that stated, it's a shockingly to hand choice in the event you do personal a telephone with detachable batteries. In my time with the G5, I will be able to’t lend a hand however admit how handy it's been to easily switch out a low battery for a recent, complete one on the finish of the paintings day to kill any ideas on whether or not or no longer I’ll make it in the course of the night time. It has additionally freed me up from having to plug in a telephone within the early night once I want a fast most sensible off. Actually, I haven’t in reality plugged the G5 right into a charger in a few week as a result of I continuously have a complete, spare battery charged up and waiting to head always.
lg g5 review

I will be able to for sure perceive why any person would wish a detachable battery. I’m envisioning the kind of one that is tricky on their telephone, however doesn’t all the time have a charger waiting. In case you are that form of individual, the G5 is almost definitely for you, because it’s actually the one flagship doing the detachable battery factor this present day.
Simply understand that popping the battery out from the telephone takes some being used to and is in fact kind of frightening. If you pop the battery module out from the telephone to switch batteries, LG tells you to tug the battery from the center of the module against the out of doors to get it separated. Each and every time I do it, as a result of the spine-tingling cracking or clicking noise that exudes from the method, I’m surprised that the little hooks that cling it in position haven’t damaged. Critically, it’s no longer a nice state of affairs and I’m frightened that those batteries gained’t grasp up for years value of swaps.
SD Card Slot
As has been the case for years, LG is as soon as once more together with a microSD card slot. This time, they're bragging about 2TB enlargement, despite the fact that 2TB playing cards don’t in point of fact exist. Nonetheless, you'll be able to toss in a 200GB or 128GB card and most probably by no means want to fear about garage once more.
Because the G5 handiest has 32GB of inner garage, you'll need to spend money on an SD card. After putting in place my G5 with my 80 or so same old apps, I temporarily reduce that 32GB in part and used to be grateful to have an SD card available. And consider, that’s after setup, no longer after taking loads of pictures over a yr or two span. I do know that cloud garage is all of the rage in this day and age, however a high-capacity SD card for your G5 will permit you to no longer have to fret such a lot about garage control.
Digital camera(s)
At the G5, LG made up our minds that this might be a nice yr to introduce a twin digital camera setup, a tech setup that hasn’t precisely had a lot good fortune prior to now. LG isn’t attempt to do publish focusing gimmicks, although, they're as an alternative hoping to offer customers the power to shoot new angles and seize moments that no different digital camera can. As a result of they went with a standard 16MP shooter along a wide-angle (135-degree) 8MP shooter, they no doubt completed that. The LG G5 is able to shooting some lovely cool pictures, although the vast attitude photographs are just a little low within the solution division.
Ahead of we get to the huge quantity of samples, let’s communicate concerning the digital camera tool. As soon as once more, LG is supplying you with all of the controls it's worthwhile to need in a digital camera revel in. You've ratio possible choices, complete guide controls (ISO, shutter velocity, center of attention, white stability, and so forth.), easy or auto modes, picture-in-picture modes, multi-view capturing with all 3 cameras, landscape modes, time-lapse and slow-mo options, and extra. You want to spend a heck of a large number of time within the G5’s digital camera simply studying and tweaking and checking out. For me, no less than for this assessment, I caught with auto, as a result of that’s what maximum of you are going to most probably shoot in.
g5 camera g5 camera-5 g5 camera-4 g5 camera-3 g5 camera-2
In my effects, I might say that I got here away most commonly inspired with what the G5 may just do. You'll be able to see an entire bunch of photographs under, the place I went from indoors and martinis to outside and purple plants. I attempted to seize low-light, nice mild, sunlight, or even an evening shot or two. The G5’s digital camera is moderately versatile, however I wouldn’t say that it excels in low mild. I don’t know why this is, however there's a comparability of low mild on the backside of this segment to the Galaxy S7 and you'll be able to see that Samsung’s digital camera dominates the G5. In the remainder of the comparability photographs I took, despite the fact that, particularly those in sunlight, my findings are that the cameras are lovely equivalent.
Under, I attempted to turn you the diversities between the 2 cameras at the G5 in a handful of scenarios. What you'll see are photographs with the 16MP shooter adopted by way of the similar shot, from the similar position with the 8MP wide-angle digital camera. Relying at the surroundings you're in, you'll be able to in point of fact do a little a laugh issues.
And listed here are the ones low mild comparisons I discussed above. This used to be in my studio the place I slowly opened a door and took 3 photographs from the similar place with the G5 and the S7. The S7 photographs are spectacular, to mention the least, whilst the G5 struggled relatively somewhat within the darkest environment.
g5 low light g5 low light-2 g5 low light-3
LG G5 (above) vs. Galaxy S7 (under)
s7 low light s7 low light-2 s7 low light-3
General, I feel the digital camera at the G5 is a winner. It’s rapid more often than not and has all the controls and lines it's essential to ask for in a contemporary smartphone that will help you take lovely superb pictures, however then it has this in reality cool wide-angle digital camera for the ones moments the place you wish to have to shoot one thing slightly other. Or perhaps you simply need to snap a photograph that nobody else for your team can.

Someplace-in-the-Center


Modules
The LG G5 is making an attempt to be the primary consumer-ready modular telephone. By way of being modular, it has the prospective to make bigger capability thru hardware add-ons, which LG is doing through providing up a digital camera grip that doubles as a battery pack and thru a B&O DAC for high-end audiophiles to get giddy over. The theory of a modular telephone is lovely thrilling, however I don’t assume I’m going out on a limb once I say that the LG G5 is not anything however an explanation of idea at this level within the modular recreation. LG is giving us a take a look at what the way forward for modularity may just imply, handiest the G5’s present choices aren’t compelling sufficient for me (otherwise you, for that topic) to get interested by.
LG’s digital camera grip and DAC are two merchandise that in reality aren’t for everybody. The digital camera grip doesn’t flip your smartphone right into a point-and-shoot, because it doesn’t support the picture sensors or processing or sharpness or some other factor out of doors of letting you press a bodily button or spin a wheel to take an image. The capability there's tremendous restricted and turns out to have a unmarried significant use, which is giving the G5 additional battery lifestyles. As for the DAC, properly, until you're an audiophile who cares concerning the crispiest audio, you most likely couldn’t care much less about it.
With a modular telephone, I need to see modules that in reality give a boost to the pictures I take or that may add-on an impressive exterior speaker or secondary show or perhaps even simply give me higher battery lifestyles with out being a cumbersome digital camera grip. And that’s the item with the G5 – we don’t know if any of this may come or if there'll ever be new modules to make use of. Presently, LG is giving us a DAC and digital camera grip, however they aren’t pronouncing if there are different modules within the pipeline to get in point of fact enthusiastic about.
For now, I feel we will have to applaud LG for introducing a modular telephone idea and hope that with the G6 we get the actual items.
lg g5 review

Design
Since seeing the LG G5 in early leaks, then all through a pre-briefing prior to the telephone used to be made respectable, after which taking within the response to it in fresh weeks, I've been lovely torn at the design. I don’t assume it offends me, nevertheless it’s additionally no longer on the degree of polish as Samsung’s newest or the Nexus 6P, and even the Moto X Natural Version.
LG has completed some great issues right here, like use metals and transfer the quantity rocker again to its right kind side-rail location. The telephone feels lovely nice in hand too, no less than with regards to measurement and roundedness. Certainly not is the G5 outsized or tricky to make use of with a unmarried hand. It’s additionally no longer too tough across the edges, out of doors of the place the button is to eject the ground battery module. Within the few weeks that I've used the purple, titan, and silver variations of the G5, I've by no means as soon as idea, “Guy, that is one unsightly dude!” However I haven’t seemed on the G5 and stated, “What a good looks,” both.
Clearly, the twin digital camera hump at the bottom isn’t precisely a shining second of design innovation. You'll be able to do two cameras tastefully, simply take a look at the brand new Huawei P9. There are methods to do humps higher too, proper, Nexus 6P? My bet is that LG will in reality re-work the digital camera space subsequent yr, in the event that they even stay the twin sensor setup.
The G5’s new metallic frame and design most probably will have used some other spherical of sprucing and tweaking. Maximum smartphone producers are in point of fact settling in to their very own high-end design languages at this level, and LG gets there prior to lengthy, we simply could also be a yr clear of it. The G5, like with its modularity, is appearing us that we aren’t slightly there but.
lg g5 review

Battery Lifestyles
Battery lifestyles at the LG G5 hasn’t been a topic for me. It would possibly not have rockstar battery lifestyles, just like the Exynos model of the Galaxy S7 or the S7 Edge or Droid Turbo 2, however it’ll be appropriate for many. And once more, you'll be able to all the time switch out a lifeless battery for a recent one later within the day in case you are having battery troubles.
In my checking out, I used to be generally seeing between 2-3 hours of display on time and 13 or extra hours of use prior to I used to be in reality in search of that absolutely charged battery to replace with. In order that’s waking up at 6AM and no longer desiring a brand new battery or a most sensible off till 7PM or 8PM at night time. Whilst I might relatively move to mattress with out ever charging up, that is lovely conventional utilization for me and no longer actually a space of outrage.
g5 battery3 g5 battery2 g5 battery1
Because of that in the past discussed detachable battery and the truth that the telephone helps Qualcomm Fast Rate 3.0, you in point of fact shouldn’t have problems with battery in this telephone. Should you do drain one mid-day, toss in a brand new battery or discover a charger. You'll be able to in an instant (with a brand new battery) get your self to 100% or on the very least, seize hours value of use in only a few mins by way of plugging your telephone in.
Tool
The UX 5.0 pores and skin that LG is pushing this time round is LG’s very best, despite the fact that that will not be pronouncing a lot. LG has all the time struggled to supply a nice taking a look and well-functioning device revel in, however they did tone issues down just a little this time round and I don’t assume this yr’s method will offend you. Out of doors of the loss of an app drawer at the house display (which will have to offend you), LG has lightened issues up with a mild gray and lightweight teal theme, made the notification revel in no longer this sort of irritating revel in, and as I discussed within the efficiency segment, has in point of fact come thru relating to how clean the G5 runs with this tool on the helm.
 lg g5 software-3
LG could also be doing little to overdo the tool function set. To me, that’s in reality a nice factor. They took away their actually poorly accomplished multi window function and both killed QSlide or concealed it relying at the type, but added in a really handy function in All the time-On Show. They stored shortcuts for launching into the digital camera or Seize+ and Knock Code and double-tap-to-wake, all of that are extremely helpful. They even can help you absolutely customise the notification colour from having too many choices to only the naked minimal.
Out of doors of that stuff, it’s in point of fact only a skinned model of Android, the place LG is letting Android do many of the paintings with none added fluff. Positive, it’s no the place close to inventory Android, however the general revel in is mild sufficient, assuming you don’t thoughts the manner that LG has given.
lg g5 software-10 lg g5 software-9 
About that no app drawer state of affairs, even though. I don’t need to harp in this an excessive amount of, however LG went forward and killed the app drawer in this telephone and lovely temporarily learned that it used to be a mistake to take action. Simply ahead of the telephone introduced, they launched a video hinting at that converting in a tool update afterward down the street, however for now no less than, the primary LG house launcher does no longer have an app drawer. I lately wrote a work telling you not to worry about it, as a result of there are dozens of wonderful launchers on Google Play that you simply will have to be the use of as an alternative. Critically, prevent being concerned about LG’s house launcher and simply pass obtain some other one. Did LG screw up? Sure. Is a launcher no longer having an app drawer a explanation why to skip the G5? Hell no. Simply get one from Google Play that works for you.
After all, the device at the G5 isn’t in point of fact a topic. LG isn’t doing anything else right here to switch the sport, however additionally they aren’t doing anything else overly offensive. It’s a pores and skin, and whilst we’d want inventory Android or the way that Motorola takes, you’ll be high-quality with what LG has given you right here.

The Now not-so-Just right


Show
The 5.3-inch QHD IPS Quantum LCD show at the G5 is lovely moderate, if no longer borderline not-so-good. Within the fast comparability to different flagships beneath you'll be able to in reality see simply how washed out it makes the whole thing with the brightness cranked up. Simply take a look at the Droid Lifestyles purple within the tab bar in comparison to any of the opposite 3 telephones. At the G5, it’s no longer even with reference to the purple we’re on the lookout for and is as an alternative a paler model. It additionally carries this atypical inexperienced tint on most sensible of whites, such a lot in order that I think love it’s tricking my eye into seeing browns within the different presentations. And it’s like this on all the G5 devices I've available, which incorporates AT&T, T-Cellular, and pre-production devices.
lg g5 comparison-2 copy

lg g5 comparison-3 copy lg g5 comparison-4 copy
In contrast to some telephones, the G5 doesn’t come with another show modes (no less than that I may just in finding), so you'll be able to’t precisely tweak the colours or distinction or another surroundings in an effort to get a greater photo out of it. That’s too dangerous, because the show and its high quality has a tendency to be some of the essential facets to a telephone.
In shiny out of doors lighting fixtures, the G5’s show is lovely tricky to peer as nicely and actually struggles. All the way through a contemporary photoshoot trip within the surprisingly-sunny Portland space, I took out each Galaxy S7 and G5 out for comparability photographs, and that’s once I learned how dangerous the G5 is in daylight. The Galaxy S7’s show got here thru crisp and transparent when snapping footage, whilst the G5 pressured me to squint to peer what I used to be capturing, making it tricky to understand if the photographs have been framed as it should be or if the photographs have been any nice.
Perhaps LG can fine-tune this a bit of with tool updates. As of at this time, despite the fact that, the show right here isn’t whilst nice because the lower-end LCD that Motorola put within the Moto X Natural Version.
No Water Resistance
I’m no longer one to fault maximum producers for no longer together with water resistance, however with the Galaxy S7 preserving its stunning design from the S6 and now that includes IP68 resistance with out compromise, I think like several telephones will have to function some type of coverage from the weather. I don’t want all of them to be as resistant as Samsung’s new units, however let’s no less than throw in some splash resistance (like Motorola has carried out).
Water resistance is a type of options you don’t know you wish to have till it’s too past due. It’s additionally a type of options that will give you a way of additional safety, although chances are you'll by no means want to use it. After coming from the Galaxy S7, I now really feel a little bare or susceptible each and every time I am getting close to water with the G5, and that suggests more than one occasions a week (if no longer days), because of baths for my son, doing dishes, or since the climate is getting higher and the out of doors alternatives have greater.
Perhaps subsequent yr would be the yr. Perhaps LG wanted 12 months to first introduce a metallic frame after which subsequent yr they’ll have the opportunity to weatherproof. However as I stated within the opening, we’re judging this telephone now, no longer according to what LG would possibly do.
lg g5 review

Different Notes


  • Name high quality: I’ve positioned and won a handful of calls at the G5 and had no problems. Plus, with carriers now upping their voice products and services, like T-Cellular’s Enhanced Voice Products and services, the G5 in point of fact shines on this division.
  • No wireless charging: I don’t love it that LG didn’t come with wireless charging within the G5, nevertheless it’s no longer one thing I’m going to fret about understanding that I've rapid charging and the approach to switch batteries. They more than likely left it out because of the truth that they went with an all-metal design. Now not handiest that, however LG hasn't ever in point of fact been a large wireless charging-focused smartphone maker, out of doors of a few its Verizon fashions.
  • Rapid charging: Yep, the G5 has rapid charging and entirely helps Qualcomm’s new Fast Price 3.0 tech. It’s if truth be told one of the most first to take action.
  • Fingerprint sensor: The fingerprint sensor at the G5 is a forged fingerprint sensor. It really works in a capacitive like sense, because of this you don’t need to press a button so as to use it. All you wish to have to do to free up with the fingerprint sensor is decide up your telephone and set your finger atop the facility button. It’s no longer somewhat the most productive fingerprint sensor I've used (that name most likely is going to the Nexus 6P), nevertheless it’s rattling shut.
  • Backside speaker: The only bottom-firing speaker at the G5 isn’t nice, identical to the singe bottom-firing speaker at the Galaxy S7 isn’t nice, however that is what you're caught with. Telephones, to me, aren’t intended to be audio machines that may rival Bluetooth audio system. On the other hand, if you use a telephone with twin audio system, accepting the G5 or S7’s unmarried speaker into your lifestyles is a tricky tablet to swallow.
  • IR blaster: Howdy, the G5 has an IR blaster! I’ve by no means used it, however our remark threads have made it transparent that quite a few you do and have been pissed that Samsung took IR blasters out in their new telephones. So, IR blaster enthusiasts, the G5 has one!

Galaxy s7 review


Design

Samsung Galaxy S7 - Design
At first glance, you won’t notice any major differences between the design of the Galaxy S7 and its predecessor. Samsung has stuck with the glass-and-metal build of the Galaxy S6. However, once you hold it in your palm, you’ll notice that the Galaxy S7 is much smoother and curvier than the Galaxy S6. Its back is curved around the sides, similar to the Galaxy Note 5. Even the corners are curved. Moreover, the glass panels on the front and the back have 2.5D curves on the edges, making the device even smoother and comfortable to hold. It’s much easier to pick up the device when it is resting on a table as well as when it’s in the pocket. Typing with one hand is fairly easy as well.
Samsung Galaxy S7 - Back
Water- and dust-resistance on the Galaxy S7 gives you peace of mind while taking your device to outdoor locations such as a beach or a pool party. The device is fragile to drops though due to the glass covering. Overall, the device feels comfortable to hold, use, and carry around. It’s easier to put in and take out of your trouser pockets because of the compact size, which might please those that aren’t comfortable with the larger Galaxy S7 edge.

Display

Samsung Galaxy S7 - Display
The Galaxy S6′s display was already the best in the industry when it launched, but Samsung has a habit of improving the display quality with each passing year (or even within six months). The Galaxy S7 comes with a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED display with QHD resolution, which is protected using Gorilla Glass 4. This display is brighter than the Galaxy S6′s in the manual mode. However, when auto mode is activated, the brightness level under direct sunlight is a bit lower than the Galaxy S6′s.
The display is bright, sharp, and colorful. Out of the box, the Adaptive display mode is activated, which cranks up the contrast level. The colors look a bit unreal, but that’s how most people like it. If you’re not a fan of oversaturated colors, you can switch to Basic mode for accurate color reproduction from the settings.
Samsung Galaxy S7 - Always On Mode
The Always On display mode is a new feature that shows information like the calendar, clock, and notification icons even when the device is in sleep mode. It is quite handy – Samsung claims that the feature consumes just 1 percent of battery each hour, but I’ve noticed that it takes up a little more than that. You can even change “wallpapers” in the Always On mode, but the effect is very subtle.

Camera

Samsung Galaxy S7 - Camera Sensor
On paper, the Galaxy S7′s camera seems like a downgrade in terms of resolution with just 12 megapixels instead of 16 megapixels on the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy Note 5. However, Samsung has focused on improving low-light imaging capability rather than going after more megapixels. The Galaxy S7 uses the widest aperture ever in the smartphone industry: ƒ/1.7. Combine that with larger 1.4µm pixels and dual-pixel phase-detection autofocus mechanism, and what you get is a camera that can shoot brilliant images in low-light.
Samsung ships some units of the Galaxy S7 with the Sony IMX260 camera sensor while other units come with its own ISOCELL S5K2L1 sensor. Our Galaxy S7 review unit came with a Sony sensor, while one of our Galaxy S7 edge units came equipped with an ISOCELL sensor. Both have exactly the same specifications, and there’s negligible difference in real-life performance. No matter which sensor your unit has, the end result will be impressive.
Samsung Galaxy S7 - Camera Sample
Thanks to dual-pixel phase-detection autofocus, which is usually found only in DSLR cameras, the focusing is lightning quick. It never missed focusing on the subject. Samsung claims that all the 12 million pixels in the camera sensor are equipped with phase-detection elements. The Galaxy S7 (and S7 edge) has the fastest autofocus mechanism in any smartphone that we’ve used till now. You can click an image within 2-3 seconds, which includes waking up the phone from sleep, launching the camera app using the home button shortcut, pointing the device at the subject, and clicking the shutter button.
Samsung Galaxy S7 - Camera Sample
Images clicked in good lighting conditions come out great. They contain almost as much detail as the images clicked using the Galaxy S6 or the Galaxy Note 5, despite the lower megapixel count. White balance is spot on most of the time, but I did see some images with blown highlights, but they were the exceptions rather than a rule. Color rendition is accurate and the dynamic range is good. There’s a bit of noise if you pixel peep, but the kind that doesn’t spoil an image. Images clicked in low-light conditions have a yellow cast, but they exhibit more details when compared to any other smartphone from the company. Unlike the Galaxy S6, there are no halos around light sources.
Samsung Galaxy S7 - Camera Samples - Low Light
It can record 4K videos at 30 fps, 1080p videos at 60 fps and 30 fps, and hyperlapse videos at 1080p. Unlike the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy Note 5, the Galaxy S7 can shoot videos in manual mode where you can adjust focus, shutter speed, and exposure. There are plenty of details in videos and the color reproduction is similar to still images. The stereo audio in videos is clean, thanks to a high bitrate. You can either choose the speed (4x – 32x) of hyperlapse videos or let the device set it for you. If you choose the latter, the device will try to match the action in the scene to choose the appropriate speed.
The Motion Photo mode is like Live Photos on the iPhone or Live Images on recent high-end Lumia smartphones. The device records high-resolution videos of a few seconds before an image is clicked. Though the playback of the short video is supported only on the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, there’s a third-party app that lets you extract that video as an mp4 file. The only thing that we didn’t like about the Galaxy S7′s camera is its aspect ratio of 4:3 instead of the 16:9 ratio that was used in the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy Note 5. It feels odd when you view images clicked with the Galaxy S7 on either the smartphone’s display or any other TV with black bars on the sides.

Software & UI

Samsung Galaxy S7 - Android Marshmallow Software
The Galaxy S7 became the first smartphone from Samsung to come preinstalled with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. It comes with a newer version of TouchWiz (the company doesn’t call the user interface TouchWiz anymore), which appears a lot cleaner. We will not focus on what has been there already in terms of software, but on what’s new. The notifications bar comes with a new color combination with a lighter shade, making the UI look elegant and clean. Lock screen shortcuts can be edited, and this feature has also been made available to other Galaxy devices that have received the Android Marshmallow update.
Avid mobile gamers can enjoy the Game Launcher and Game Tools features. The former, when activated, places a folder on the home screen which contains all the games installed on the device. Not only that, gamers can also save battery power while playing games. The Save Power option caps the maximum frame rate at 30 fps. The Save Maximum Power not only caps the frame rate at 30 fps but also lowers the game resolution. The Game Tools feature is actually a small floating icon that pops up whenever a game is being played. It allows taking a screenshot while playing a game, recording your game moves and saving it as a video file, activating do not disturb mode, and disabling the multitasking and back keys to prevent accidental presses.
The new software allows you to unlock the device using a pin code if the device fails to recognize your fingerprints for some reason. If you use your fingerprints to unlock the Galaxy S7, you’ll need to enter the pin code each time you restart the device. Since Samsung has moved to using Android 6.0′s default fingerprint recognition APIs (Nexus Imprint), you can use the fingerprint authentication to purchase paid games, apps, and other media. This also makes the device compatible with a lot of third-party apps that use Android APIs, and one of them that we regularly used was 1Password. The other new feature on the device lets you take scrolling screenshots, so that you can share a listing of anything (maybe a list of restaurants or a shopping list) with others as a screenshot (this feature was seen before on the Note lineup).
Support for third-party themes has been there since the Galaxy S6, and Samsung has included an option in the theming engine where developers can show different designs when the device is in sleep mode with an active Always On display mode. You can find themes with custom Always On display widgets/designs in the Theme Store. The Galaxy Labs is a new feature that lets users try out new software features. Right now, there are two features that are listed in Galaxy Labs. One lets you switch off the dedicated app launcher. The second Galaxy Labs feature lets you dial a number by long pressing the home button followed by saying the name of the person aloud. Users can even report back to Samsung whether they liked a particular Galaxy Labs feature or not.
Samsung has stopped shipping its legendary music player and the video player with its flagship smartphones starting this year, but you can download them on the Galaxy S7 through the Galaxy Apps store (the music app is also available on the Play Store). The company, as usual, is preinstalling Microsoft apps including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, OneNote, OneDrive, and Skype. Users who activate the automatic camera upload feature in the OneDrive app are entitled to receive 100GB of cloud storage for free. Some users might see this as bloatware, but they come in quite handy. If you absolutely hate those apps, you can disable them, but they can’t be uninstalled completely.

Performance

Samsung Galaxy S7 - Smart Manager
The Galaxy S7 comes in two variants, one with a 64-bit octa-core Exynos 8890 processor, and the other with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 SoC. Both the variants feature 4GB of RAM and at least 32GB of internal storage space. More importantly, the company brought back the storage expansion slot to win back its long-time fans. Our review unit came equipped with the Exynos 8890 processor. The SoC has eight cores: four Mongoose CPU cores clocked at 2.1GHz and four ARM Cortex-A53 cores that are clocked at 1.6GHz.
Mongoose CPU cores have been developed by Samsung in-house, and as predicted, they offer much better performance than ARM’s stock Cortex-A57 cores. While they aren’t as fast as Apple’s Twister or Qualcomm’s Kryo CPU cores, it’s a great beginning for Samsung since they are developing custom cores for the first time while the other two companies have been doing it for a couple of years. Apart from a faster CPU, the Exynos 8890 also comes with a beefier GPU in the form of the Mali-T880 MP12. The new GPU is twice as fast as the GPU that was used in the Exynos 7420. As a result, frame rates have doubled and you can expect butter smooth gaming performance from the Galaxy S7. We’re not a fan of synthetic benchmarks so we’ll refrain from using them here.
Needless to say, the UI on the Galaxy S7 is very smooth, and it appears Samsung has definitely spent a lot of time fine tuning the software. The audio through the loudspeaker isn’t that great. The volume is lower and the sound quality isn’t satisfactory, and that’s because the loudspeaker opening is covered by a membrane that doesn’t let water seep inside. It’s a sacrifice that Samsung has made to make the Galaxy S7 a water-resistant device without adding plastic flaps. The signal reception was great throughout and the call quality was great too.

Battery Life

Samsung Galaxy S7 - Battery Life
The Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 edge were really solid devices, but they were weak in terms of battery life because of small batteries. Samsung listened to complaints about subpar battery life and made the Galaxy S7 thicker to accommodate a larger, 3,000 mAh battery. On top of that, the S7 comes with a more power-efficient Exynos 8890 processor (or the Snapdragon 820).
As a result, the device lasts a full day after a complete charge. Over the course of three weeks, the device was consistently able to last a whole day with around 4-5 hours of screen-on time. I also had the Gear S2 classic connected to the Galaxy S7 at all times. If you don’t have any wearable connected, the Galaxy S7 can last even longer. The first few days might not see you through the day, but let the battery settle and the endurance becomes pretty good.
The device charged from zero to 100 percent in a little over 90 minutes using the bundled Fast Charge-compatible wall charger. If you didn’t know already, the Galaxy S7 supports Qi and PMA wireless charging as well as fast wireless charging. This helps a lot. You can charge the device for 15 or 30 minutes, and you’ll be good to go for another six to eight hours. However, the device heated up considerably while getting charged, making it quite uncomfortable to use.
s7-review-battery

Conclusion

The Galaxy S7 is an excellent smartphone, one that focuses on every basic facet and makes it as good as it can be. There’s no major disadvantage on this device – there’s not even a minor disadvantage if we’re honest, as all the things you would need in day-to-day life are done well. The camera is amazing, performance is fast, and you get a premium body with water and dust resistance and top-notch internals. If we were to nitpick, it would be over missing features like an IR sensor or a USB Type-C port or the fact that the loudspeaker isn’t as good as it was last year.
For anyone not interested in the Galaxy S7 edge either because of the larger screen or the higher price, the Galaxy S7 is the best bet and as good as it gets in the smartphone world right now.
ProsCons
Good design with improved handlingCamera sensor has 4:3 aspect ratio
Great camera, especially in low-light conditionsNo IR blaster
MicroSD card is back!Home button gets scratched easily
Water- and dust-resistanceGets quite hot while charging
Improved UI and performance
Good battery life