Samsung will unveil their new flagship devices in less than two weeks from now, so we’re hearing all kinds of rumors and even seen some leaked images of the Galaxy S7. This phone will be announced along with its curved screen counterpart, the Galaxy S7 Edge, on February 21. The design of both phones will resemble the one of the Galaxy S6 lineup, but a few aspects are said to be improved. Apparently, the back of the phone will be curved just like in the Galaxy Note 5 to improve the phone’s ergonomics and the camera hump will be less prominent. Back in January, a report from a person who allegedly knows about the company’s plans mentioned that the phone would feature a microSD card slot and that the hardware will be water-resistant.
That same report mentioned that the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 Edge would have larger batteries than the Galaxy S6 series, 3,000 mAh and 3,600 mAh, respectively. Those batteries are said to provide excellent battery life and a new feature mentioned in that report was that the screen would have an always-on functionality. A recent trademark application filing was found and it seems to confirm that the screens will indeed have that feature. Samsung wants to trademark the term ‘Always On Display’ so it can be used in smartphones and tablets, although it is uncertain if the company would be granted such a term, as it is quite generic. Also, the Galaxy S7 is not explicitly mentioned, so the feature could be used in future devices, but it shows that the company is, at least, thinking about implementing this feature and it certainly matches with the information from the previous report.
The Always On Display will show information such as the time, date, weather, news, messages, schedules, health and fitness programs. It wouldn’t use much power because the screens of these phones are made with AMOLED technology, so each pixel lights up when needed and only a small amount of them would emit their own light to display the aforementioned information. Perhaps users would have to make some gestures to activate the Always On Display, possibly waving their hand on the proximity sensor or lifting the phone so the accelerometer can recognize the movement.