Samsung Galaxy S7 vs Galaxy S7 Edge comparison

Samsung Galaxy S7 vs Galaxy S7 Edge comparison: Design

Both Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge are constructed from metal, with Gorilla Glass 4 protection on either side. They also have the same sensors and buttons, both are water resistant and both support microSD card slots, but there are two significant differences: the size and the display.

The Galaxy S7 Edge has a 5.5-inch curved display, while the Galaxy S7 display comes in at 5.1-inches, and is flat. Despite the Galaxy S7 Edge being the larger device, they don’t feel so different to hold.

The Galaxy S7 Edge should appeal to those who prefer larger displays, but the design differences between these phones aren’t just there for aesthetics. The Galaxy S7 Edge’s bigger body and curved display have other functions too (such as housing a larger battery).

The Galaxy S7 (left), Galaxy S7 Edge (middle) and Galaxy S6. / © ANDROIDPITSamsung Galaxy S7 vs Galaxy S7 Edge comparison: Display

Both the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge have a QHD (2,560 x 1,960 pixels) Super AMOLED display, and the differences in saturation and brightness are minimal. The major difference is in function.

The Galaxy S7 display acts like a normal touchscreen display and is very rich, bright and responsive. The Galaxy S7 Edge screen is too, but its curved nature affords additional functionality.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge’s sloping sides can be used to open shortcuts to favorite apps and contacts, or display news, weather information and more. This time around, the Edge screen display can also be expanded to two columns, to house even more information.

The S7 and S7 Edge displays are comparable but for the size and curves. / © ANDROIDPIT

When looking critically at the displays, the S7 Edge may be the superior given that it's larger (and generally better for viewing media and typing) and has more functionality. However, the curved edges of the display tend to reflect more light in your direction, which dissuades us somewhat.

Samsung Galaxy S7 vs Galaxy S7 Edge comparison: Software

Both the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge arrive withAndroid 6.0.1 Marshmallow and Samsung’s TouchWiz UI on top. The general interface doesn’t differ much from the previous Lollipop-based TouchWiz build, though the S7 Edge’s edge display functions have been improved (read more about those in the hands on Galaxy S7 Edge review).

This version of TouchWiz still comes with a number of pre-installed apps (around 25 or so), but aside from the extra edge display functions, the S7 software is the same on both devices.

Samsung Galaxy S7 vs Galaxy S7 Edge comparison: Battery

The battery may be the next largest difference between these devices. The Galaxy S7 houses a 3,000 mAh battery, while the Galaxy S7 Edge is powered by a 3,600 mAh battery.

This extra 20 percent battery capacity may not directly translate to 20 percent extra battery life, but given that the Galaxy S7 Edge houses only a marginally larger display, it should still provide the better standby times overall.

We will have to wait to get these phones in house before testing this further.

The Galaxy S7 houses a curved battery for optimum usage of the device body. / © ANDROIDPITSamsung Galaxy S7 vs Galaxy S7 Edge comparison: Camera

The camera tech on the S7 and the S7 Edge is the same. It has been upgraded since the Galaxy S6, and should now be even more capable in low-light, and even more accurate, thanks to dual-pixel technology similar to what is found on reflex cameras.

Both smartphones have a 12 MP rear camera and 5 MP front-facing camera, each with an f / 1.7 aperture lens. The Galaxy S6 Edge+ has one of the best cameras on Android and early signs indicate the S7 series is even better.

S7 (left) and S6. / © ANDROIDPITSamsung Galaxy S7 vs Galaxy S7 Edge comparison: performance

This pair of devices has the exact same internals, with either an Exynos 8890 or Snapdragon 820 chipset and 4 GB of RAM. This guarantees excellent performance, and the slightly larger screen size on the Edge is unlikely to have an appreciable negative impact on performance. The differences between the two in this department are, for all intents and purposes, non-existent.

Samsung Galaxy S7 vs Galaxy S7 Edge comparison: Specs SAMSUNG GALAXY S7SAMSUNG GALAXY S7 EDGEMODEL:Sorry, not yet available!Sorry, not yet available!MANUFACTURER:SamsungSamsungDIMENSIONS:142.4 x 69.6 x 7.9 mm150.9 x 72.6 x 7.7 mmWEIGHT:152 g157 gBATTERY SIZE:3000 mAh3600 mAhSCREEN SIZE:5.1 in5.5 inDISPLAY TECHNOLOGY:AMOLEDAMOLEDSCREEN:2560 x 1440 pixels (577 ppi)2560 x 1440 pixels (534 ppi)FRONT CAMERA:5 megapixels5 megapixelsREAR CAMERA:12 megapixels12 megapixelsFLASHLIGHT:Dual-LEDLEDANDROID VERSION:6.0.1 - Marshmallow6.0 - MarshmallowUSER INTERFACE:TouchWizTouchWizRAM:4 GB4 GBINTERNAL STORAGE:32 GB
64 GB32 GB
64 GBREMOVABLE STORAGE:microSDmicroSDCHIPSET:Samsung Exynos 8890
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820Samsung Exynos 8890NUMBER OF CORES:8
48MAX. CLOCK SPEED:2.6 GHz
2.15 GHz2.3 GHzCONNECTIVITY:HSPA, LTE, NFC, Bluetooth 4.2HSPA, LTE, NFC, Bluetooth 4.2Samsung Galaxy S7 vs Galaxy S7 Edge comparison: Price and conclusion

The Galaxy S7 Edge will no doubt be more expensive than the Galaxy S7. We expect it to cost US$50-100 more, which is an important consideration. The S7 Edge has more features, but those will come at a price.

Will the extra S7 Edge features add something vital to the mix? We don't know yet. What we do know is that Samsung has really delivered on both phones in terms of hardware, and we expect consumers would be very happy with either device.