Introduction
Do we have a good one for you today – the Motorola Droid Turbo 2 takes on the new Samsung Galaxy S7. How does this Droid powerhouse with the killer 3760mAh battery stand up to the second generation, if you will, of Samsung’s redesigned Galaxy S6 with its sculptured metal frame and glass back? Did Samsung make enough changes in the new Galaxy S7 and is it worth the extra money over the Verizon exclusive, Droid Turbo 2? Both devices have a great build quality and a good feel in the hand. Looks is certainly subjective and some will like the looks of the Galaxy S7 better while others will like the Motorola design, but when it comes to a premium look, the nod has to go to the Galaxy S7. These two devices have several things in common and we will first look at those features before we look at each individual device in greater detail.
The Droid Turbo 2 and new Galaxy S7 and are very close in physical size with the Droid Turbo coming in slightly taller and wider, mostly due to the 5.4-inch display versus the 5.1-inch display on the Galaxy S7. The Galaxy S7 is thinner – 9.2mm x 7.9mm) and lighter by 18 grams. Both devices use the AMOLED technology for brilliant colors and contrasts and both are QHD resolutions of 2560 x 1440 pixels. Both devices use a 64-bit octa-core processor, but different models and both offer 32GB or 64GB of expandable internal storage. Although main cameras differ greatly, they both use a 5MP for their front-facing cameras (FFC). Both devices offer some sort of water resistance – the Droid Turbo 2 uses a nano-coating and the Galaxy S7 is IP68 certified. The Droid Turbo 2 and Galaxy S7 have the usual suspects – WiFi, Bluetooth (v4.1 on the Turbo 2 and v4.2 on the S7), GPS, NFC, a microUSB v2.0 port for charging and data transfer. They both include a non-removable battery and offer both fast charging and wireless charging.
Please take a deliberate look at the detailed Specifications Comparison chart below and here you will see just how these two great devices stack up against one another – click on the “View Full Comparison” link at the end of the chart to expand the details. After that, we will look at each individual device in greater detail and point out some of its pros and cons. From all of this information we will try to determine the winner based on specs and execution of design and functions.
Specifications
Motorola Droid Turbo 2
The Motorola Droid Turbo 2 is part of an exclusive set of Droid devices found only on the Verizon network. The original Turbo model joined the Droid collection in 2014, while the Droid Turbo 2 was launched in the Fall last year. Physical similarities aside, there were several improvements making the Droid Turbo 2 better than the original. Moto added an all-new 21MP sensor for better pictures, made charging even faster and added the new ShatterShield display. The Droid Turbo 2 continues Motorola’s solid build and by using Moto Maker, you can customize the colors and the type of backing – from padded vinyl to wood.
The Droid Turbo 2 sports a 5.4-inch QHD AMOLED display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels and 540 PPI and Motorola’s exclusive shatterproof display that they are calling ShatterShield. This compares to the 5.1-inch QHD Super AMOLED display on the Galaxy S7 with 577 PPI. The Droid Turbo 2 sports a 64-bit Snapdragon 810 octa-core processor with four cores clocked at 1.5 GHz and four cores clocked at 2.0 GHz and an Adreno 430 GPU. The Galaxy S7 uses either a 64-bit Exynos 8890 octa-core processor or the new Snapdragon 820 quad-core processor. The Droid Turbo 2 has 3GB of DDR4 RAM and 32GB or 64GB of internal memory – the Galaxy S7 packs 4GB of DDR4 RAM and faster UFS 2.0 flash memory with 32GB or 64GB of internal storage. The Droid Turbo 2 and the Galaxy S7 offer memory expansion via a microSD card.
Motorola started taking cameras more seriously ever since their Nexus 6 model and really improved the 21MP camera in the Droid Turbo 2 by using a new sensor, added a larger f/2.0 aperture, phase detection autofocus and a dual-tone LED flash with a 5MP FFC for selfies and video chatting. This goes up against Samsung’s new Dual Pixel 12MP main camera and a 5MP FFC in the Galaxy S7. The Turbo 2 has a huge 3760mAh battery that offers up to two days of usage, and if you should need to charge the device, it comes with a Turbo Charger for quick charges and offers wireless charging as well. The Galaxy S7 has a smaller 3000mAh battery with a quick charge feature and quick wireless charging. The batteries in both devices are non-removable.
The Motorola Droid Turbo 2 most glaring omission is its lack of a fingerprint sensor, but it does have dual front-facing speakers and a built-in IR Blaster. It is running almost stock Android, although Motorola adds their Moto Voice, Moto Assist, Moto Display and Moto Actions. It also comes with a shatterproof display. The device measures 149.9 x 78 x 9.2 mm and weighs in at 169 grams. It will cost you approximately $624 and allows you to customize the device via Moto Maker.
Samsung Galaxy S7
Samsung made massive changes last year with their Galaxy S6 – gone is the plastic and now we have an aluminum unibody with Gorilla Glass 2.5D on the front and Gorilla Glass 3D on the back. This year, the Galaxy S7 looks very similar on the outside, but refinements were made on the inside. The Galaxy S7 is beautiful from every angle with a premium feel and solid build. The Droid Turbo 2 is a well-made, solid device, but just not as premium looking.
The Galaxy S7 sports a 5.1-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels and 577 PPI. This goes up against the Droid Turbo 2’s 5.4-inch QHD AMOLED display and 540 PPI. Samsung went back to using two processors in the Galaxy S7 – a 64-bit Exynos 8890 octa-core processor or the new Snapdragon 820 quad-core processor. The Droid Turbo 2 uses the 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 octa-core processor. The Galaxy S7 is packing 4GB of DDR4 (up from 3GB in the S6) with the Droid Turbo 2 using 3GB of DDR4 RAM. The Galaxy S7 memory options are 32GB or 64GB with the new and faster Samsung UFS 2.0 flash memory and the Droid Turbo 2 comes with 32GB or 64GB of internal memory – both devices allow 200GB of expansion possible via a microSD card.
The Galaxy S7 has a new main camera design with a 12MP sensor using Dual Pixels. It comes with autofocus, LED Flash, a wide f/1.7 aperture and Live HDR. Samsung uses a 5MP FFC and they wisely added the f/1.7 aperture, 120-degree wide-angle and Live HDR for excellent low-light group selfies and video chatting. The Droid Turbo 2 uses a larger 21MP sensor in its main camera and a 5MP FFC…it will take good pictures, but the Galaxy S7 should win this camera shoot-out. The Galaxy S7’s non-removable 3000mAh battery is small compared to the non-removable 3760mAh in the Droid Turbo 2, but it should get you through most of the day. If you run into trouble, the new Samsung battery can charge up to 4 hours of usage in only 10 minutes and they included built-in wireless quick charging for both Qi and PMA standards. The Droid Turbo 2 also has Motorola’s Turbo Charge feature and offers wireless charging.
The Galaxy S7 has a few features not found on the Droid Turbo 2 – it is Samsung Pay ready and comes with a fingerprint sensor that is PayPal certified and ready for Android Pay. It includes a heart rate monitor, an oxygen saturation sensor and is fully IP68 certified dust proof and water resistant. It is running the latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow and will cost you about $672. It measures 142.4 x 69.6 x 7.9mm and weighs in at 152 grams.
…And The Winner Is…
Summary
Okay, this could have been a tough pick if the Droid Turbo 2 and the Galaxy S7 were not so close in price – $624 versus $672. There is no doubt that the Galaxy S7 has the better specs – better (though smaller) display, better processor, more memory, fingerprint sensor, heart rate monitor, oxygen saturation sensor and Samsung Pay – and with less than $50 separating them, I have to pick the Samsung Galaxy S7 as the winner of this comparison.
The Motorola Droid Turbo 2 is a great smartphone, but it is showing a bit of its age…not to mention there is no fingerprint sensor for mobile payments and it is a Verizon exclusive – that could be a deterrent for some. With pricing so close to the Galaxy S7, it would be hard to justify purchasing the Droid Turbo 2 over the Galaxy S7. If you hate Samsung, want a huge battery, must have dual front-facing speakers and do not mind being on Verizon’s network, then pick yourself up a Turbo 2 and save yourself $48.
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