With the Galaxy S7 set to be announced next month in Barcelona – and reports suggesting an early March release date – the rumor mill for the Galaxy S7 has been churning pretty quick. We’ve got another rumor coming out this morning that is a bit interesting. When Samsung went to the unibody design last year, eliminating the removable back the company also eliminated the removable battery and microSD card slot. Two features that had been staples for the company in recent years. Many long-time Samsung users weren’t too happy with that decision, but it appears that at least one of those features is making its way back to the Galaxy S7.
It appears that the Galaxy S7 will be utilizing a hybrid dual-SIM tray here. This is something we’ve seen in Asia quite a bit. In fact, the last few smartphones from Meizu have had a hybrid Dual-SIM tray. Where one slot is for the SIM and the other can support another SIM card or be a microSD card slot. Allowing for companies to stick with the unibody design, but also give users the ability to expand their storage. Samsung is rumored to be doing the same thing this time around. This wouldn’t be the first smartphone that Samsung has done this with either. The recently announced Galaxy A9 (2016) also uses a hybrid Dual-SIM card slot.
This hybrid dual-SIM slot actually kills two birds with one stone. As it gives customers the ability to use a microSD card while still keeping that unibody design. But it also means that everyone can have a dual-SIM smartphone. Instead of leaving that model in Asia and other parts of the world where dual-SIM smartphones are pretty popular. This could mean one model for everywhere but the US. Unfortunately the US is still going to require several models due to the carriers here.
It’s important that we treat this as a rumor. As it’s currently not confirmed, and likely won’t be until Samsung’s Unpacked event at Mobile World Congress which will likely be February 21st, 2016. Although they have not made an announcement just yet. However, this is also not the first time we’ve heard rumors and seen leaks of the Galaxy S7 sporting a microSD card slot.