The Samsung Galaxy S6 is still one of the best Android phones you can buy, but the next flagship smartphone (along with the Galaxy S7 edge) will be launched very soon. Based on internet rumours, here's what we know so far about the Samsung Galaxy S7 UK release date, price, specifications, features and more. See: 15 best new upcoming phones 2016.
Latest rumours: The Galaxy S7 will be unveiled at a Samsung press event on 21 February 2016, and go on sale on 11 March. It will be unveiled alongside the Galaxy S7 Edge, which has been shown in a Samsung Indonesia promo video. It will also come with a pressure sensitive screen and a feature similar to Apple's Live Photos. Waterproofing and a Micro-SD card slot with both return. Samsung may launch an upgrade program similar to Apple's. Battery life is touted at a whopping 17 hours thanks in part to bigger batteries. Recent evidence points towards a regular Micro-USB port and not Type-C.
As per the video above, Samsung has shown off the Galaxy S7 edge in the teaser which shows the phone wireless charging and being used in the rain.
Jump to:
• Galaxy S7 UK release date
• Galaxy S7 UK price
• Galaxy S7 upgrade program
• Galaxy S7 models
• Galaxy S7 design, build and leaked photos
• Galaxy S7 processor, memory and storage
• Galaxy S7 screen
• Galaxy S7 other specs
• Galaxy S7 cameras
• Galaxy S7 software
• Galaxy S7 UK price
• Galaxy S7 upgrade program
• Galaxy S7 models
• Galaxy S7 design, build and leaked photos
• Galaxy S7 processor, memory and storage
• Galaxy S7 screen
• Galaxy S7 other specs
• Galaxy S7 cameras
• Galaxy S7 software
This is our complete guide to the Galaxy S7 and will be updated regularly all the way up to its launch with news and rumours as and when they become available. We'll also add our own thoughts and expert predictions since we've been writing about the Galaxy range since the very beginning.
On this page you can read about the rumoured Galaxy S7 UK release date, how much it might cost, and what's the difference between S6 and S7 in terms of design, hardware, specifications and features. You can also see leaked images and vote in our polls to tell us what you'd most like to see from the Galaxy S7.
We've split the article up into small sections focusing on different aspects of the Galaxy S7 so you can easily find what you're looking for. Please bear in mind that what you're reading is rumours and speculation so it may be wrong – we advice a healthy pinch of salt, but we will try and point out which things are more likely and less likely as we go. Read our Samsung Galaxy S6 review and learn more about the Samsung Galaxy S6 here.
Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge UK release date: When is the Galaxy S7 coming out?
The cat is finally out of the bag, Samsung has announced its Unpacked event for 2016 will take place on 21 February - the previously rumoured launch date for the Galaxy S7.
As you can see in the video at the top, the box which is always used has become a virtual reality box. The event will take place in Barcelona the day before MWC starts not long after LG is expected to unveil the LG G5.
The short video is accompanied with the hashtag #TheNextGalaxy which has been used for the launch of previous Galaxy S flagships so it seems almost certain we'll see the Galaxy S7 at the event.
According to a source very close to Samsung, a Samsung handset will be available to pre-order between 21 February and 3 March, going on sale between 4 and 17 March (we can only assume the differing on sale dates are due to various operator exclusives).
Our source didn't tell us which Samsung handset it would be, and it is true we are still waiting for a UK launch of the Galaxy Note 5, but judging by the song and dance around it we can't imagine they were talking about anything other than the new Samsung Galaxy S7.
Update: We now know from our source that the Galaxy S7 will go on sale in the UK on 11 March, a date that evleaks also claims for the US market. Pre-orders begin on 21 February which is when Samsung is expected to announce the phone.
Sources tell Android World that customers who pre-order the Galaxy S7 or S7 edge will get a free Gear VR headset. The report also matches up with what we've heard about the phone going up for pre-order on launch day, then going on sale 11 March. Also see: 100 funny things to ask S Voice
Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge UK price: How much will the Galaxy S7 cost?
The price of the Galaxy S7 is always going to be debatable and the cost of a smartphone rarely gets leaked before its announced. Samsung, and other phone makers, tend not to announce prices for phone anyway, so we normally get the price from retailers which is how much you'll have to pay anyway.
With the Galaxy S6 hitting the market at £599 we'd be surprised if the Galaxy S7 is priced dramatically different - unless it does have curved screen technology as standard (see below) then it might be more like £649. In fact, our money is on the exact same price so we'll have to wait and see if we're right.
Update: SamMobile has pricing from the supply chain. The 32GB models of the S7 and S7 edge will be priced at Euro 699 and 799 respectively. The site expects the 64GB version to be around 70-80 more but this is an estimate. This matches up with a later leak from Tweakers.
You can pre-register your interest in the Galaxy S7 at Carphone Warehouse already.
Samsung Galaxy S7 upgrade program
There's not much detail but according to Reuters, which sources Korea's Electronic Times, Samsung is supposedly going to launch a Galaxy S7 upgrade program similar to the one Apple launched last year.
The program could begin in March when the phone is tipped to go on sale and will allow customers to upgrade every year to the new model. It might expand to other countries later, says the report.
Samsung Galaxy S7 models - S7 Edge, S7 Edge+ and S7 Plus?
Evan Blass, the notorious tipster of soon-to-launch products that goes under the Twitter handle @evleaks, on 12 January produced 'evidence' that not only would we see an S7 but also a Galaxy S7 Edge (the curved-screen model) and an S7 Edge+ (the curved-screen phablet version). We don't know where the screenshot of the phone model names used in his tweet came from, but @evleaks is known for being very reliable with product leaks.
"Honestly surprised by this (though it does explain a lot)," @evleaks wrote in the Tweet.
It's also possible that there will be a fourth model, the Galaxy S7 Plus which would presumably be a larger model but without the curved screen element. Once again, this info comes from evleaks and there are cases for all four available on Amazon. We've even got a video of a case for the Galaxy S7 Plus which shows just how big it will be -
The latest is that it looks like Samsung will just be launching the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge at MWC in February - see the tweet from Evan below. This doesn't mean the other two models will never launch, but Samsung will start with a simple choice of regular or edge versions to start with.
Samsung itself has accidentally confirmed the existence of the Galaxy S7 edge by mentioning it multiple times on its developer site explaining how the edge screen works.
Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge design, build and leaked photos
We feel like Samsung finally got the design of the Galaxy flagship right with the Galaxy S6 by moving to a combination of metal and glass resulting in a device that really feels premium and like you spent £600 on it.
As well as the press images below, we now have a couple of photos showing what looks to be the final handset.The first set comes from pisapapeles.net and shows the Galaxy S7 with a similar back to the Galaxy Note 5. The site also points out small bezels at the sides of the screen and says it will have an IP68 waterproof rating. A interesting thing is that the site claims the phone has a normal Micro-USB port, not reversible Type-C.
The next two come from ReviewDao (photo has been pulled) and shows the back of the Galaxy S7 in its 32GB form. It matches up to the below renders and you can see the camera doesn't stick out as much as the Galaxy S6's.
Below we have a good look at the front of the Galaxy S7 edge via Weibo (also pulled) which clearly shows the double edged screen. The benchmarking app shows the model number SM-G9350 which has previously been associated with the phone.
The latest image, via Venturebeat, gives the best looks at what the phones will look like yet - assuming this press render is accurate (which seems very likely).
Evan Blass (@evleaks) has also published press renders of the front and back of the Galaxy S7 sitting alongside the Galaxy S7 edge. Check them out below and ignore the scale difference between them.
He's also published this side view of the Galaxy S7 edge. The silver colour matches his leak of the two phones together above. Based on more leaks from Evan, the Galaxy S7 will be available in black and gold while the Galaxy S7 edge will also come in the silver (Platinum) colours. At least it looks like that will be the initial set of colours - Samsung often launches more after a few weeks.
We hope that Samsung sticks with this new stylish design for the Galaxy S7 - although some upgrades could be beneficial. According to Korean site Kbench, Samsung has filed a trademark request for a new type of protective glass that's stronger than Gorilla Glass - the new Galaxy S7 could come with Turtle Glass. inews24.com also says Samsung is experimenting with a lighter yet just as tough magnesium-based alloy for the Galaxy S7.
There are a few rumours around suggesting the Samsung will reintroduce waterproofing for the Galaxy S7 and if it does, we assume this would be consistent across the range. The above screenshot from evleaks displaying the model names hints towards this with the rain soaked background image and the following teaser from Samsung also appears to confirm it.
After months of rumours we finally have something visual to show you on the Galaxy S7 and it comes in the form of renders courtesy of GSMArena. The source is case maker, ITSKINS, which has plausibly been sent the info in order to get accessories ready - still have a pinch of salt with this information though.
The leaked images show a similar design to the Galaxy S6 and detailed dimensions - 143.37 x 70.8 x 6.94mm - is basically identical. However, another model looks set to eclipse all other large screen phones with dimensions of 163.32 x 82.01 x 7.82mm.
To put those numbers in context, the huge Nexus 6 with its 5.96in screen is 159.3 x 83 x 10.1mm. This points towards Samsung launching a Galaxy S7 Plus (or +) alongside the regular model.
We'd like to see the microSD card slot make a comeback, as would many users, but it's impossible to tell with the render. The SIM-card slot has been moved to the left-side and although our initial gut feeling was that Samsung wouldn't bring expandable storage back, it's looking more and more certain that it will (see the storage and memory section below).
You'll notice that the renders do not show the curved-edge screen which Samsung has offered on two Galaxy S6 models. It was thought that this would be a standard feature of the S7, but it looks like the edge screen will be part of the S7 edge premium model.
As well as a squarer home button, the render shows a Micro-USB port rather than the expected reversible USB Type-C which is appearing on various phones including the OnePlus 2, Nexus 5X and Lumia 950. Samsung may well opt not to go with the new port but the render could also simply be an early draft.
The leaked images below supposedly show the case for the Galaxy S7 and if they are the real deal, the phone won't be too different from the Galaxy S6. They were leaked onto Weibo and pulled not long after but Slashgear managed to grab them.
The chassis in the image matches up well to the leaked information and below you can see what the metal edge might look like. There's a headphone port, unlike the rumoured iPhone 7, and what looks like a USB Type-C port.
Thanks to GSMArena, we now have a photo supposedly showing the front panel of the Galaxy S7. It has the logo covered by a sticker but shows the squarer home button and a slightly square shape overall which looks like it would fit the above leaked chassis.
The following FlexiSheild case by Olixar match up with the design shown above and can be pre-ordered from MobileFun. There's also a case from Rearth showing the Galay S7 edge looking similar to its predecessor.
If the below Luvvit case, which you can buy on Amazon, is to be believed. The Galaxy S7 will come in four colours - white, gold, blue and black. The renders of the phone in the case, and others from the same brand, show a Micro-USB port not a reversible USB Type-C.
MobileFun has also posted a video showing off an Olixar case for the Galaxy S7 Plus showing how big it will be and confirming the design is very similar to the current generation with buttons and ports all in essentially the same place.
Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge processor, memory and storage
Although Samsung used an own-brand Exynos chip in the Galaxy S6 models, a u-turn to the Snapdragon range is certainly on the cards - and even more so now that news has emerged that Samsung will be manufacturing the Snapdragon 820 for Qualcomm - would it really not then put this flagship mobile processor inside its own flagship phone? Also see: What is Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0?
The 820 is said to have a 35 percent improvement over the Snapdragon 810, and the Galaxy S7 will also benefit from Adreno 530 graphics and LP-DDR4 RAM support.
“We have to use the best engines to make our products competitive, which is why we opted to use our own chips,” aid JK Shin, head of Samsung Mobile. “But we may very well end up using products from Qualcomm again in the next Galaxy phone.”
In fact, Samsung is thought to be working with Qualcomm on manufacturing the Snapdragon 820 with 3GHz Kyro CPU cores so it could be a joint effort on this one.
A new Geekbench benchmark reportedly shows the Galaxy S7 (SM-G930W8) running an Exynos 8890 processor, an octa-core chip with speeds of at least 1.59GHz. This comes viaNapiDroid and remember that there could well be two versions of the phone with a different processor for difference markets.
There are some slightly crazy rumours suggesting the Galaxy S7 will feature a whopping 6GB of RAM but we think that 4GB is far more likely - as per the above Geekbench benchmark. Storage is likely to remain at 32GB like the Galaxy S6 and the Micro-SD card slot is unknown but we can only hope Samsung has noticed the response to this change and acts on it.
The Wall Street Journal states via one source, that the regular Galaxy S7 will have expandable storage, but the Edge model will not. Since that WSJ report, a number of other sources have suggested that the Galaxy S7 will come with a Micro-SD card slot so it's looking more likely.
SamMobile, in the same report mentioned above with pricing, has confirmed that the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge WILL both have a Micro-SD card slot. This has also been confirmed via Evan Bass on VentureBeat.
The below leaked photo from Android Authority seems to confirm that the Galaxy S7 will indeed have the Micro-SD card slot.
Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge screen
The screen size of the Galaxy S5 and Galaxy S6 is 5.1in so it seem likely that Samsung will stick to this with the Galaxy S7 and it will almost certainly continue with its favoured AMOLED technology. After all, the Galaxy Note range is designed for those wanting a larger display.
As mentioned in the design section, it's quite possible that the curved display technology found on the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge will be a standard feature of the Galaxy S7. A Samsung official said the company is looking to substantially increase its monthly output of flexible displays to prepare for S7's release.
SamMobile has insider info which suggests the Galaxy S7 will indeed be 5.1in with a regular flat screen while the Galaxy S7 edge will be larger at 5.5in. The above video of a case suggests that the Galaxy S7 Plus will have a huge 6in screen.
The latest rumours from Weibo also suggest the Galaxy S7 will have an iPhone-like Force Touch display using a technology called ClearForce, which able to differentiate between a tap and a press to trigger different actions. The screen could also be always on to rival the G5 and display details like date, time and notifications constantly unless your phone is in your pocket.
We'll have a better idea of what screen technology the Galaxy S7 will offer once the Galaxy Note 5 comes out later this year. It's rumoured to be the first 4K or Ultra HD (2160 x 3840) smartphone and if it is, the Galaxy S7 is likely to follow suit.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Galaxy S7 will have a pressure-sensitive screen similar to 3D Touch on the iPhone 6S. The site also says that it will look similar to the S6 but have no 'bump' for the camera - despite the above leaked renders. A leaked diagram (see below) suggests this is partly true.
Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge extra specifications
In the past, Samsung has adding various gizmos and gadgets to its phones, especially the Galaxy S range so we expect the Galaxy S7 to continue this. We'd expect it to come with the fingerprint scanner found of the S6 models plus the usual heart rate monitor and IR blaster for controlling devices around your home.
One area Samsung hasn't really pushed compared to competitors is audio so we're wondering whether it might up the game on the Galaxy S7 here.
Many users will be pleased to hear that Samsung is supposedly increasing the size of the battery in the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge by around 20- and 40 percent respectively, no less. The S7's battery will jump from 2550- to 3000mAh while the S7 edge will go from 2600- to 3600 mAh, according to evleaks via Veturebeat.
Meanwhile, Eldar Murtazin (who has historically been well in the know) claims the Galaxy S7 will offer a crazy 17 hours or more battery life for video playback with the screen at full brightness.
Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge cameras
There is an outlandish rumour which proposes that the Galaxy S7 will sport a whopping 30Mp camera, which isn't completely out of the question but we're putting it very much in the maybe not pile.
Samsung is known to be working on a 20Mp ISOCELL sensor for its Galaxy S7. However, the latest rumour (from Phone Arena) suggests Samsung is so impressed with the IMX300 sensor in the Sony Xperia Z5 that it could use that technology in its next Galaxy S smartphone. It's possible Samsung will use both sensors, and which version you get will be dependent on region.
The Wall Street Journal report mentioned above, claims that there will be no bump for the camera on the back of the Galaxy S7.
Adding the confusion, there are also reports that the Galaxy S7 will come with a 12Mp camera which would be a drop in resolution compared with the Galaxy S6. We assume that the camera will be the same across the Galaxy S7 range, however many models there turn out to be.
Remember that resolution isn't everything and according to evleaks (Evan Blass) via Venturebeat, the camera will have an f/1.7 lens aperture (compared to f/1.9 on S6) which will be more suited for low light.
Going hand-in-hand with the rumours of a pressure sensitive screen, Samsung will supposedly offer a feature similar to Live Photos found on the iPhone 6S which records video before and after a still image is taken to form a sort of animation of the moment. Samsung's is likely to be called Timeless Photo or Vivid Photo but won't include sound like Apple's, according to Android Geeks.
We now have the below diagram from @onleaks which suggests the camera bump for the Galaxy S7 will be just 0.8mm. That's not no bump but it's a lot smaller than the 1.7mm found on the Galaxy S6 range.
Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge software
There's little to say about software at the moment apart from that it's fairly easy to predict that the Galaxy S7 will come pre-loaded with Android M. The above benchmark results quote version 6.0.1 which is the latest one running on the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P.
TouchWiz, Samsung's customer user interface, will almost certainly be on-board too and we expect it to be similarly stripped back like the current version.
That's everything we know and think about the Samsung Galaxy S7 so far but we will be updating this article regularly. Make sure you let us know what you want from the S7 in the comments below and by voting in the poll.
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