S7 Edge - First Impressions

[bsweetness]

I picked up my black S7 Edge from Best Buy yesterday morning. Very surprised to have gotten it several days early. Here are my initial impressions of the phone after having used it for almost a day:

Good

• It looks incredibly and feels amazing in hand. I've owned a lot of phones in my day, and this is by far the most premium looking and feeling device I've come across.
• The front and rear curves make it feel much smaller than it is. I have no problem with big phones, but there are some awesome ergonomics in play here.
• Snappy performance. No lag so far.
• Fantastic camera performance. Auto-focus is lightning quick, even in low light. I've tested out the low light capabilities versus my Nexus 6P (which does a great job in low light), and the S7 Edge is the clear winner in almost every shot. There were times when the 6P couldn't find anything to focus on and took an almost completely black shot while the S7 Edge focused on exactly what I wanted it to and took a very usable shot.
• Touch Whiz has improved significantly (I'm still sticking with Nova Prime though).
• Fast charging for the win.
• Wireless charging for the win.
• The fingerprint scanner works well. Not Nexus 6P or iPhone 6S Plus well (it's a little slower than both of those, and unlike the 6P, you have to actually push the button down to get it to work), but it's reliable.
• WiFi calling is available out of the box on Verizon (you have to enable it in the settings).
• Signal strength has been good. Better than my 6P on Verizon.
• Battery life: through my first few days, I'm getting 4.5 - 5 hours of screen on time. And that's without trying to anything to save battery. (added 03/09/16)

Bad

• As awesome as it looks and feels without a case, I feel like one drop could shatter it. I've seen the drop tests, and I know it's far more durable than it feels, but I'm still getting a case ASAP.
• The curved screen takes a little getting used to as I'm often bumping icons and links that extend to the curved edge by simply holding the phone. A case will hopefully help with that.
  
• Fingerprint magnet.
  
• No IR blaster.
• The speaker is a little on the weak side. Not a big deal to me as I typically use headphones or a bluetooth speaker.

Unsure

• Edge panels - I'm not sure how useful I'll find the edge panels. The only time I've used them so far was right after first booting up the device to try it. Haven't given it a single thought since then.

Overall, I've been extremely pleased by the phone in the short time that I've had it. By far Samsung's best device to date.

 

[bkdodger]

Awesome first impressions and thanks for sharing ...having had the S6e I felt a case was a must though I think they did better with the 7 feel in hand I wouldn't go without a case...interested to see some battery results


6s Plus

 

[markwebb]

For the most part I agree.

Am seeing some stutter and lag which surprises me.
Can't comment on battery yet but Android system is eating up a lot.
Fingerprint scanner and charging is not as fast as Nexus 6P though S7 does have a bigger battery which may add time but...
Camera is wonderful especially in low light but official benchmarks remain to be seen.
Root will probably be nonexistent for the VZW model.
Not all apps can be transferred to external SD card.
Screen is gorgeous.
Sound quality could be better and is weak.
Call quality is average and not very good: a few people said I sounded as if on speakerphone though I wasn't and quality has a slight muffle effect and not bright and crisp.
Touchwiz is improved and not as obnoxious but always had a love/hate relationship with it.

Will see if this is a keeper.


Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

[bsweetness]

For the most part I agree.

Am seeing some stutter and lag which surprises me.
Can't comment on battery yet but Android system is eating up a lot.
Fingerprint scanner and charging is not as fast as Nexus 6P though S7 does have a bigger battery which may add time but...
Camera is wonderful especially in low light but official benchmarks remain to be seen.
Root will probably be nonexistent for the VZW model.
Not all apps can be transferred to external SD card.
Screen is gorgeous.
Sound quality could be better and is weak.
Call quality is average and not very good: a few people said I sounded as if on speakerphone though I wasn't and quality has a slight muffle effect and not bright and crisp.
Touchwiz is improved and not as obnoxious but always had a love/hate relationship with it.

Will see if this is a keeper.

Call quality has been pretty good for me. Nice and clear when talking to someone with another VoLTE (Advanced Calling) device and on par with most recent Verizon phones I've owned when talking to someone who isn't VoLTE. Those I've talked to have said I sound fine in both situations.

I agree that fast charging seems to be a little slower on the S7 Edge compared to the 6P. I'm sure some of that has to do with the slightly bigger battery on the S7 Edge.

 

[Jonny Kansas]

I agree that fast charging seems to be a little slower on the S7 Edge compared to the 6P. I'm sure some of that has to do with the slightly bigger battery on the S7 Edge.

They're also using different Quick Charge standards. I believe the S7 is still using Qualcomm Quick Charger, where the 6P uses USB Type-C Quick Charging standards. Not that the difference in battery size won't play a part in the speed, but I'd say it's not the ONLY factor.

Thanks for the reviews on the device guys! Looks like a typical Samsung upgrade, which isn't a bad thing.

 

[bsweetness]

They're also using different Quick Charge standards. I believe the S7 is still using Qualcomm Quick Charger, where the 6P uses USB Type-C Quick Charging standards. Not that the difference in battery size won't play a part in the speed, but I'd say it's not the ONLY factor.

That's true, but the 6P doesn't fully implement the increased abilities of type C on a variety of fronts, including quick charging. This is due to the fact that they went with USB 2.0 for it. Type C might play a role in the difference between the charging time of the two, but if it does, it's very minimal. The charge times based on the percentage of the total battery aren't that far off from each other.

Thanks for the reviews on the device guys! Looks like a typical Samsung upgrade, which isn't a bad thing.

Having owned several Samsung devices, I'd say this one is more than a typical Samsung upgrade. A lot of the improvements might seem incremental at a glance, but there's more to it. It's a big upgrade over the S6, S6 Edge/Edge +, and even the Note 5.

 

[cr6]

Congrats @bsweetness ! Thanks for the first hand review. Nice to hear about the auto focus issue, I was a bit worried about that one. Enjoy your new toy!

S5 tap'n

 

[bsweetness]

Congrats @bsweetness ! Thanks for the first hand review. Nice to hear about the auto focus issue, I was a bit worried about that one. Enjoy your new toy!

S5 tap'n

It's ridiculous how fast the auto focus is. I watched some of the videos online that demonstrate fast it is, but you don't fully realize the speed it has until you use it.

 

[Mustang02]

150mAh shouldn't make that much of a difference in battery.

 

[bsweetness]

Added Battery life to the good section. Through my first few days, I'm getting 4.5 - 5 hours of screen on time (with the screen on automatic brightness). I've been playing with the phone a lot, not trying to do anything to improve battery life, and it's been more than solid.

As reported on several other forums, I am seeing Android System as my number 1 battery drain. It's been accounting for 30-35% of the battery each day. I know Touch Whiz tends to hog resources and battery, but it's still a little odd that the screen isn't the main battery drain. Regardless, it doesn't really seem to be adversely impacting battery life.

 

[Jonny Kansas]

Considering battery life is usually not that great with a new phone as you play with it and get it set up, I'd say that's a very promising result for sure!