Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge go official: Similar design, a lot more weatherproof

Samsung today launched both the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 Edge here at MWC 2016. Now, on the design front there haven't been many changes but we are getting IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, which was missing from Samsung's 2015 line-up.

Apart from that, Samsung has also made improvements to the glass and metal design, which is more rounded now making for easier handling and slightly thicker as well to incorporate the larger batteries, not to mention reducing the camera hump at the back. Then there's also a microSD card slot tucked in there for good measure.

Coming to specs, the Galaxy S7 and its dual-edge brother don't differ much apart from the screen-size. The regular Galaxy S7 gets a 5.2-inch Quad-HD Super AMOLED display with Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protection while the Galaxy S7 Edge comes with a 5.5-inch Quad-HD (2560x1440 Pixels) display running on Android Marshmallow with the new TouchWiz interface.

There's 4GB LPDDR4 memory on both, 32/64 GB onboard storage which can be expanded with the hybrid microSD card slot. But more importantly all of this runs on the newly minted Snapdragon 820 quad-core processor which offers improved thermal control, better performance both in gaming and general use. Then there's better battery-life on offer as well due to Android Marshmallow's Doze mode and hardware optimization. Some regions will get the Galaxy S7 running on the equally powerful Exynos 8890 octa-core processor with the rest of the specs remaining the same.

Next up on the upgrades list is the new 12MP rear camera with f/1.7 aperture lens, the widest aperture on any camera on a smartphone, which would allow more light to enter the camera for better low-light photography. Then there's dual-pixel auto-focus with 100% sensor coverage for very fast auto-focus. There's 4K recording available as well alongwith Smart Optical Image Stabilization (OIS).

Samsung has packed a 3000 mAh battery on the Galaxy S7 while the Galaxy S7 Edge gets a 3600 mAh battery. Samsung says that they have developed a new battery technology which allows for larger battery-capacity in thinner and smaller form factors. Moreover, there's fast charging available too. both wired and wireless.

Both the Galaxy S7 devices are dual-SIM 4G LTE capable smartphones but come with a hybrid SIM card slot, so you can either use the second SIM card slot or expand storage.

Pricing and Availability

Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge will come in Black Onyx, White Pearl, Silver Titanium, Gold Platinum color options and will be available starting Marsh 11. If you pre-order the Galaxy S7/S7 Edge you will also get a GearVR headset free in some regions. We will update the post with pricing as soon as it becomes available.