The new Samsung Galaxy S7 launched in February this year alongside the Galaxy S7 edge. Here we round up all the latest news on the Samsung Galaxy S7, including release date, price, rumours, and features.
You can also click here toread our full, in-depth review of the Samsung Galaxy S7.
Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge: at a glance
- Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge launch date 21 February
- Galaxy S7 and S7 edge on sale in the UK 11 March
- Galaxy S7 UK price from 599 inc VAT
- Galaxy S7 edge price from 639 inc VAT
Samsung Galaxy S7: latest news
15/07/2016: Samsung's smartphone shipments have overtaken the iPhone in the US, thanks to strong sales of the Galaxy S7.
According to research from Kantor World Panel, in the three months up until May this year, Samsung accounted for 37 per cent of smartphone sales and Apple 29 per cent.
However, among flagship phones, it was a closer call with the Galaxy S7/S7 Edge accounting for 16 per cent of sales and the iPhone 6s/6s Plus at 14.6 per cent.
The research also found only five per cent of Samsung purchases came from those moving from Apple, while 14 per cent of Apple purchasers moved from Samsung.
In the UK, it is a closer thing with each accounting for 36 per cent of sales in this market.
11/07/2016:Samsung's ruggedised Galaxy S7 Active model has failed a water resistance test, despite holding an IP68 water-resistance rating.
This certification supposedly guarantees a device can survive full immersion in up to five feet of water for up to 30 minutes, but the S7 Active failed to live up to these claims when subjected to trials by product testing organisation Consumer Reports.
After being placed in a tank pressurised to the equivalent of five feet of water for 30 minutes, the display became "obscured by green lines", with moisture bubbles visible within both camera lenses, the group said.
After the first device failed, technicians submitted a second unit to the same test. The second device also failed, with neither model returning to full functionality.
"The Samsung Galaxy S7 active device is one of the most rugged phones to date and is highly resistant to scratches and IP68 certified," the company said in a statement to Consumer Reports, but admitted "there may be an off-chance that a defective device is not as watertight as it should be", and said it is investigating the matter.
Waterproofing has been a major selling-point of Samsung's Galaxy S range, particularly after it was reinstated for the latest generation. It is a particularly important feature of the S7 Active, as it is designed for use in harsh, outdoor environments.
Consumer Reports noted that of all the current Galaxy S7 models, the S7 Active was the only one to fail its immersion test, with both the S7 and the S7 Edge passing.
28/06/2016:Samsung is set to release a limited edition Galaxy S7 Edge in time for the 2016 Olympics taking place in Brazil next month, Trusted Reviews reports.
An image allegedly showing the new editions was leaked by Evan Blass (@evleaks), with the phones depicted featuting the Olympic rings logoat the bottom of the rear along with gold/blue detailing around the home button, earpiece and camera module.
As the report notes, the reveal was previously predicted by SamMobile, based on Samsung's previous Olympics tie-in wiht the Galaxy S line.
08/06/2016: The Samsung Galaxy S7 has just received a new addition, in the form of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active.
For those who haven't come across Samsung's Active line, they're ruggedized versions of its flagship line, designed for to be used in all weathers and environments.
This means that in addition to the S7's regular IP68 water and dust-proofing, the S7 active also comes with a reinforced, rubber-edged shell that's drop-proof to a height of five metres. The screen is also supposedly shatter-proof, although we wouldn't necessarily want to test that out.
The biggest upgrade, however, is to the battery. The S7 Active's battery is one-third bigger than the standard S7, bringing its total capacity to 4,000mAh. This means that not only can you take it kayaking or drop it down a ravine, the S7 Active is capable of powering through at least a full day in the wilderness.
There is one slight problem, however - it's only available in America, and only through network carrier AT&T. Samsung has not revealed when or if the S7 Active will be coming to other territories, but based on the poor sales of previous Active devices, we'd be surprised if it made it to Europe.
02/06/2016: Samsung has announced a new Batman-inspired version of the Galaxy S7 Edge. Dubbed the "Injustice Edition", the phone comes in black with trimmings of gold. There is even a Batman symbol on the back.
In an unboxing video, the phone comes with headphones, a Batman armour-style protective case, and a virtual reality headset. The user interface has been changed slightly to give it more of a Batman theme. IT also appears to include a video game featuring the Gotham superhero.
The phone commemorates the third anniversary of the popular mobile game, Injustice: Gods Among Us. The game features a collectable card mechanic and engages players in 3-on-3 tag team combat that feature many of DC's most iconic characters.
The phone will be available from 13 June. No price has been set for the smartphone. It will appear exclusively in select territories, including China, Singapore, Korea, Latin America and Russia. There is currently no word on a UK launch.
17/05/2016: Samsung will offer new Galaxy S7 and S7 edge customers an exclusive Gear VR content package, meaning they can get their hands on the Samsung Gear VR headset for a discounted price, alongside a free bundle of games and experiences to make the most of the virtual reality headset.
Content included in the package is Anshar Wars 2, Darknet, Drift, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, Ocean Rift and Starchart, although neither Oculus nor Samsung have announced how much the 'discounted price' will save customers on the retail price.
"Our Galaxy S7 and S7 edge are performing extremely well, demonstrating continued strong demand for our premium flagship devices,"David Lowes, chief marketing officer at Samsung Electronics Europe, said.
"The smartphone is already so fundamental to our lives but connecting it with a product like the Gear VR opens up incredible new experiences that are often as emotional as they are immersive. With this new incentive, we're encouraging broader VR adoption so that more people can experience this amazing new technology for themselves."
Samsung has sold 300,000 Gear VR headsets in Europe so far this year, with the virtual reality market set to grow 168 per cent year-on-year in 2016 according to CCS Insight.
"At Oculus, we want people to experience anything, anywhere through the power of virtual reality and we're starting to see that happen with Gear VR," said Max Cohen, Head of Mobile at Oculus. "Together, the hardware and software provide the absolute best VR experience on mobile available today and we're looking forward to continuing to excite and engage European consumers."
13/05/2016: The Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge are set to lead the US smartphone market in the second quarter of 2016, according to new data.
Kantar Worldpanel has released data highlighting the ongoing success of Samsung's Galaxy S7, which accounted for almost 6 per cent of smartphone sales in the US during the first quarter despite only being released on March 11.
This makes the S7 and S7 Edge the fifth best-selling smartphone during this period, and Samsung's ranking is set to climb still higher in the second quarter.
Amongst those who bought the device in March, battery life, camera quality, storage capacity and processing speed were all heavily cited as incentives.
07/04/2016:Samsung hopes sales of its Galaxy 7 smartphone will fuel a 10 per cent leap in operating profit for the first quarter of 2016.
The South Korean phone manufacturer predicts its operating profit to reach 6.6 trillion Korean won (3.9 billion) between January and March this year, compared to six trillion won in the same period last year.
It comes after the Galaxy S7 launched in late February to good reviews (including our own), with the model breaking records in smartphone displays, such as highest colour accuracy highest peak brightness and highest screen resolution.
The device is widely believed to be selling well, and Samsung will release its first quarter results later this month.
04/04/2016: The Samsung Galaxy S7 has undergone a price cut of around$150 in the US. According to CNN, Walmart is holding a "Rollback" promotion on these handsets and $100 on all Apple iPhones until the end of June.
The discounts apply tothe iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6S, new four-inch SE, and the Samsung Galaxy 6 and 7.
01/04/2016:The release date for one of the Galaxy S7's main competitors - the HTC 10 (probably) - has been announced as Tuesday, 12 April.
There is a live stream taking place at 1pm London time for the device, which could be called the HTC 10 or HTC One M10, depending on which rumour you listen to.
Leaks suggest the HTC 10 will have a new chassis design, 5.1in 2K resolution screen supporting Super LCD, not AMOLED, a 12-megapixel rear camera and come in a variety of colours. Inside, it is expected to feature a Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB RAM, 32GB internal memory with microSD support, and a 3,000mAh battery.
With an anticipated May launch, following the April announcement, HTC is quite late in launching a new phone this year, with rivals LG and Samsung - and even Apple - having already released handsets in 2016.
On paper, these specs are also quite similar to the Galaxy S7, from screen size to storage to camera specs, so HTC will need to pull off something quite special in order to compete.
