The Samsung Galaxy S7, the latest flagship smartphone of the Korean tech giant, may be several notches better than its predecessor, the Galaxy S6, in terms of design and processing capability, but the latter has been proven to be tougher than the former.
According to recent tests, the case and the tempered glass of the Galaxy S7 are not as tough or as water-resistant as that of the Galaxy S6.
In fact, if any, the tests only prove that the Samsung Galaxy S7 is more delicate and should not be subjected to durability or water-resistant issues for so long or it may eventually break faster than the Galaxy S6, notes the Daily Sun of Knoxville.
There are also several drop tests that are now posted on YouTube involving the Galaxy S7 and most of them do not look good on the smartphone.
There is one test showing the Galaxy S7 being dropped with an unprotected faceplant from only a high of one meter which left the latest flagship smartphone of the Korean tech giant totally blank out and unusable too.
Based on the assessment of critics, the risk for the Galaxy S7 is higher compared to the Galaxy S6 on the drop test as its thin edges make it easy for the device to slip from the user’s grip.
However, most users of the Galaxy S7 already know how sensitive and delicate their device is so even if they use it without proper protection, they just put a little extra care in handling it.
Easier to fix
Not only is the Galaxy S7 more sensitive and delicate compared to its predecessor, the Galaxy S6 is also easier to repair especially with regards to hardware malfunctions.
This assessment was made by gizmo repair specialist iFixit when it said that the Galaxy S7 is more difficult to repair than the Galaxy S6 and has a repairability score of only 3/10.
But the Galaxy S6 is also troublesome to repair but has a repairability rating of 4/10 or slightly better than the Galaxy S7.
Apparently, the reason for it is the IP68 water resistance rating of the Galaxy S6, which means that it was built more tightly compared to the Galaxy S7 while retaining the glass panels on both sides.
The specialist noted that any attempt to repair the Galaxy S7 comes with the high risk of cracking the front and back glass panels.
The Galaxy S6 was criticized for the same problem when it was evaluated at the end of last year. But now it seems that there is more risk on the Galaxy S7 compared to its predecessor.
A drop in the price of the Galaxy S6 Edge+
The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ will mark its one year next month. The phablet actually delivered the capabilities of the Galaxy S6 Edge but with a larger display and a lot closer to the Galaxy Note 5 to enable users to enjoy the best of both worlds of having a tablet and a smartphone, notes Android Headlines.
It could be a foreboding of the eventual release of its predecessor, but the price of the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ with the 32GB variant under Sprint has been reduced to a surprising $369.99.
What’s more interesting is the fact that the Sprint offer does not come with any contract but only for the price of the unit. However, it is possible that the carrier may have a certain requirement to the device during a certain period not less than six months.
The Galaxy S6 Edge+ features a 5.7-inch quad-HD super AMOLED display and is powered by an Exynos 7420 octa-core processor paired with a Mali-T760MP8 GPU for the graphics and 4GB of RAM.
It also comes with a non-removable 3,000 mAh battery and also with a fingerprint sensor to unlock the device as well as authorize mobile payments through Samsung Pay.
The device also comes with a 16-MP rear-facing camera with OIS, autofocus, and LED flash, and a 5-MP front-facing snapper. It also supports WiFi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.2, and it comes running on Android 5.1 Lollipop with a free upgrade to Android 6.0 Marshmallow or later.