Twice a year, when the new Galaxy S series debuts or the new Apple iPhone makes its presence known, we do a list of comparisons for bragging rights. The new Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge were just announced today at MWC in Barcelona, Spain. Most of the facts had already been leaked, but they were mostly hardware leaks and software has a lot to do with how a smartphone operates. As the day goes on at MWC, more specific areas are delved into, such as the camera, always on feature, memory expansion and we get a better feel for the device’s true potential. Let’s take a look at few things the new Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 Edge can do that the Apple iPhone 6s or 6s Plus can not handle.
For starters, the new Galaxy S7 devices are water resistant. Yes, we know that Apple added a gasket to the iPhone 6s, but they still refuse to call it water resistant. Samsung not only proclaimed it water resistant, but it has an IP68 rating to prove it. This does not mean you can drop it in the ocean and find it the next day with no damage, but it does mean that it will survive 30 minutes in less than one meter of water. The Galaxy S5 was water resistant, but they took that feature away in the Galaxy S6 – a sealed, glass and metal device and it just did not make sense.
The Galaxy S7 carries on the tradition of quick charging via its microUSB port – the Galaxy S6 had a two-hour charge time versus the three-hour charge time of the iPhone 6s with a smaller battery. With quick charge, you can get about 60-percent of a charge on about 30 minutes of charging. While we are talking about charging our batteries, the Galaxy S7 also allows for quick wireless charging as well – something the iPhone 6s is not capable of providing.
When it comes to the ever-important camera area, the Galaxy S7/S7 Edge can autofocus much faster than the iPhone 6s. This is very important when you are trying to capture a quick shot – you do not want a camera that cannot quickly focus on the subject. Without question, the Galaxy S7 can now take better photos in the dark with more detail and less noise.
By reintroducing the microSD card to the Galaxy S7, you can now add additional internal memory at a much cheaper price. It also allows you to capture memory hungry videos onto a separate card, keeping your internal memory free for apps and processing. The Galaxy S series comes with a much larger battery than the iPhone 6s or 6s Plus. The regular S7 has a 3000mAh battery versus only a 1715mAh in the iPhone 6s. The Galaxy S7 Edge comes with a 3600mAh battery compared to only 2750mAh in the iPhone 6s Plus. A larger battery means longer battery life and less charging.
Mobile payments are the next big thing and Apple is making it as difficult as possible by requiring retailers to purchase a separate reader for their Apple Pay. Samsung Pay works on almost all regular credit card readers, even very old models, meaning you can pay with your Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 Edge almost anywhere.
The “always-on” display on the Galaxy S7 models means that you can check your notifications or basic information, such as time and date, without waking up your smartphone. The iPhone 6s requires you to wake the phone in order to check for that basic information.
One last note involving the Galaxy S7 Edge – it has Apps Edge that allows you to have quick access to your ten most frequently used apps, such as Contacts, Phone, Gallery, etc. You can also have a night clock and notifications run down the edge of the curved display – nothing like that on the iPhone 6s or 6s Plus.