Samsung S7 rumors, speculation, and suggestions

[Raduque]

I'm done with Samsung. The s6 and all of the variants and the Note 5 took way too many things out. I ordered an LGV10 yesterday and it should be here today. Bye bye sammy!

I went back to a Note 4. Unless Note 6 brings back at least uSD card support, I won't even consider it. It doesn't make sense to not have it. Heck, they could even offer a discount coupon on a Samsung branded uSD card in the box. I'm using a Samsung 64gb uSD in my Note 4 right now!

what's so bad about battery life on the S6? It's excellent imo.

Mine was terrible. It would barely go 12 hours with 4 hours of screen-off music playing (local music, not even streaming). I can play streaming music with 4 hours of screen-ON time and go almost 16 hours with my Note 4.

 

[Oyeve]

I was looking at that, but thought it was too big with the added 2nd display. I'll be interested in hearing what you think of it though.

Just came in. Its about an 8th of an inch taller then my note 4. Installing a bunch of apps but so far I am liking the music app built in. Will report when I have played with it more!

 

[crankytinkle]

I can't wait to see it.. Note 5 is incredible.. I hope it won't disappoint..literally hoping..

 

[ibex333]

Samsung is dead.

1)Starting from Galaxy S4 there was no real innovation. All those gimmick features they added are garbage. What matters is they didn't add anything truly essential.

2)Touchwiz is horrendous.

3)The in-call sound on the Samsung phones is abysmal. It was the same on S3, S4, S5 and S6. Same on Note 2, 3, 4, and probably 5. It's very difficult to hear the other end during a call, and the other side cannot hear me very well too. The speaker was horrible too. Way too quiet and quality is very bad. Switching to Lg G4 was like a breath of fresh air in that regard.

5)All that curved screen crap looks nice, but its not something really, truly essential. Samsung design and build quality may be great, but their components and their performance are garbage. (except the camera which is great)

6)GPS barely ever worked on S4 or Note 4. Probably true for the rest of them as well.

7)When Samsung realized it simply cannot win, it blatantly copied iPhone design, and business model removing the sd card and battery access.

8)Note 5 is basically Note 4 in a prettier wrapper.

Honestly, every time I see a Samsung phone, it nauseates me. I guarantee, the next Samsung phone will be again, all flash, no substance. They will do something crazy like edgeless screen, or whatever, but inside, it will still be the same crappy Samsung phone we all come to know.

 

[openwheel]

Apple keeps the doctors away

1. Samsung has slightly better camera than Apple as of today. I would say Apple adds as much garbage features these days as Samsung. Force touch? Siri? LOL
2. Touchwiz is absolutely garbage.
3. I've never been happier with voice calls, and I am on a Samsung S6 with HD voice enabled. Very good speaker and I even use it for teleconference.
4. You forgot #4.
5. Curved screen crap. Enough said.
6. GPS has been perfect for me using S4, Note 3 and S6 I was able to drive all over Europe.
7. If you can't beat them, join them. Right?
8. Note 5 is surely wrapped purrrty.

Honestly, everytime I see an iPhone user wearing iWatch, it cracks me up.

 

[Oyeve]

I abandoned samsung and apple. I defected to LG. LGv10. Its awesome.

 

[dawheat]

Samsung is dead.

1)Starting from Galaxy S4 there was no real innovation. All those gimmick features they added are garbage. What matters is they didn't add anything truly essential.

2)Touchwiz is horrendous.

3)The in-call sound on the Samsung phones is abysmal. It was the same on S3, S4, S5 and S6. Same on Note 2, 3, 4, and probably 5. It's very difficult to hear the other end during a call, and the other side cannot hear me very well too. The speaker was horrible too. Way too quiet and quality is very bad. Switching to Lg G4 was like a breath of fresh air in that regard.

5)All that curved screen crap looks nice, but its not something really, truly essential. Samsung design and build quality may be great, but their components and their performance are garbage. (except the camera which is great)

6)GPS barely ever worked on S4 or Note 4. Probably true for the rest of them as well.

7)When Samsung realized it simply cannot win, it blatantly copied iPhone design, and business model removing the sd card and battery access.

8)Note 5 is basically Note 4 in a prettier wrapper.

Honestly, every time I see a Samsung phone, it nauseates me. I guarantee, the next Samsung phone will be again, all flash, no substance. They will do something crazy like edgeless screen, or whatever, but inside, it will still be the same crappy Samsung phone we all come to know.

This is an useless post not b/c it's necessarily wrong, but it's just a bitch fest that doesn't try to be useful to a discussion about the S7.

And it's always tiresome when folks conflate their one-off experience which frankly goes against the millions of users and proclaims things like "GPS barely works".

Or frankly stupid comments like Samsung is dead when recent sales and profits say the opposite. Or that the Note 5 is all flash, no substance when I think pretty unequivocally it's one of the best 2-3 phones you can buy today.

 

[Red Storm]

I think what Samsung needs to focus on is price. They've tried innovating in various ways but never with price. Their phones are just too expensive, they need to come down to Nexus 6P levels.

 

[WelshBloke]

I think what Samsung needs to focus on is price. They've tried innovating in various ways but never with price. Their phones are just too expensive, they need to come down to Nexus 6P levels.

They sell phones at pretty much all price levels don't they? I thought that that was one of the things that people didn't like about them.

 

[poofyhairguy]

They sell phones at pretty much all price levels don't they? I thought that that was one of the things that people didn't like about them.

They don't really give a ton of value though at any level.

 

[kaerflog]

The only thing that would make me consider buying a S7 is the price. $500 or less.
I bought a Moto X pure and that phone looks much prettier in person.
Same exact size as the Note 5, $400 vs $700. I think The Note 5 is the best looking phone right now but it aint worth $300 more.
I've had the Moto X for 2 weeks now and I love everything about it. I thought maybe the 808 SD might not be fast enough but everything flies so far. I was also afraid of the battery life but its decent.
Even if it was $400 Moto X vs $500 Note 5, I'd still would be leaning toward the Moto X solely for the front speakers. One word, AWESOME !!!

 

[lopri]

They don't really give a ton of value though at any level.

I disagree. From what I can see, the gap between Samsung's flagships and the rest of the field has widened in 2015, compared to that of 2013. In 2013, the S4 was not that special compared to other phones like HTC One, LG G2, or Moto X. The S4 had a little better specs here and there, but nothing was meaningfully better. On top of that the S4 was loaded with tremendous amounts of bloats.

Fast forward to year 2015, there is a clear dividing line between Samsung's flagships and the rest. If you compare the S6 and the Note 5 with Motorola, HTC, LG, Sony's offerings, the difference cannot be starker.

• S6 and the Note 5 use the latest AMOLED screen. The rest of industry is still using 2013-level LCD/AMOLED.
  
• S6 and the Note 5 have vastly improved cameras, often ranked No.1 by many, and the rest of industry hasn't moved much from their 2014-level offerings. (except for the Nexuses this year)
  
• S6 and the Note 5 avoided the disastrous S810. All S810 phones I have seen other than the Nexus 5X/6P are a mess. And Google got the S810/S808 to work by really aggressive throttling. A57s on my 5X will throttle within 5 minutes of anything intensive, and completely shut off by the minute 10. Exynos never throttles at least during single-core tests and runs cooler.
  
• S6 and the Note 5 has a build quality that is unmatched by the competitors. Whaever one thinks of their designs or material choices, build quality can be evaluated objectively. Here the competitors are at 2014-level of fit and finish. And at least in the U.S. I do not see them catching up to Samsung's build quality anytime soon unless/until Chinese OEMs enter the U.S. market.
  
• I know designs are subjectively judged, but certain aspects can still be compared. Such as ergonomics, location of buttons/sensors, as well as size and weight. Samsung is leading in this regard as well, IMO.
  
• There are other value-adds, such as fast wireless charging and fingerprint sensors. I know people have vastly different opinions on those. Nevertheless, they are useful extras for those who want them at no cost to those who do not want them.

All these merits are worth $100~200 premium over the competitors' products from my perspective. I mean, it would be strange if that weren't the case.

Whether Samsung sell more phones or not is not my concern, but if they sell fewer phones, I think that has more to do with the overall smartphone landscape, i.e. arrival of good-enough performance and market saturation, not because Samsung products lack merits.

 

[Red Storm]

I agree that the Note 5 is really the most "flagship" Android phone (excluding the Nexus 6P which I think is the best phone), but the thing is it's not just ~$100-$200 more, Samsung flagships are in the $700-$800 range. That's a LOT more expensive than the other guys. While you and I may feel it's worth it, I don't think the average Joe does.

I think Samsung needs to lower the price on their flagships, and push out fewer models.

 

[openwheel]

I really didn't want to come back to Samsung, but the S6 is so much better than its competition especially camera, now I am stuck with another Samsung. Lucky for me I got an earlier root-able version.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I disagree. From what I can see, the gap between Samsung's flagships and the rest of the field has widened in 2015, compared to that of 2013. In 2013, the S4 was not that special compared to other phones like HTC One, LG G2, or Moto X. The S4 had a little better specs here and there, but nothing was meaningfully better. On top of that the S4 was loaded with tremendous amounts of bloats.

Fast forward to year 2015, there is a clear dividing line between Samsung's flagships and the rest. If you compare the S6 and the Note 5 with Motorola, HTC, LG, Sony's offerings, the difference cannot be starker.

• S6 and the Note 5 use the latest AMOLED screen. The rest of industry is still using 2013-level LCD/AMOLED.
  
• S6 and the Note 5 have vastly improved cameras, often ranked No.1 by many, and the rest of industry hasn't moved much from their 2014-level offerings. (except for the Nexuses this year)
  
• S6 and the Note 5 avoided the disastrous S810. All S810 phones I have seen other than the Nexus 5X/6P are a mess. And Google got the S810/S808 to work by really aggressive throttling. A57s on my 5X will throttle within 5 minutes of anything intensive, and completely shut off by the minute 10. Exynos never throttles at least during single-core tests and runs cooler.
  
• S6 and the Note 5 has a build quality that is unmatched by the competitors. Whaever one thinks of their designs or material choices, build quality can be evaluated objectively. Here the competitors are at 2014-level of fit and finish. And at least in the U.S. I do not see them catching up to Samsung's build quality anytime soon unless/until Chinese OEMs enter the U.S. market.
  
• I know designs are subjectively judged, but certain aspects can still be compared. Such as ergonomics, location of buttons/sensors, as well as size and weight. Samsung is leading in this regard as well, IMO.
  
• There are other value-adds, such as fast wireless charging and fingerprint sensors. I know people have vastly different opinions on those. Nevertheless, they are useful extras for those who want them at no cost to those who do not want them.

All these merits are worth $100~200 premium over the competitors' products from my perspective. I mean, it would be strange if that weren't the case.

Whether Samsung sell more phones or not is not my concern, but if they sell fewer phones, I think that has more to do with the overall smartphone landscape, i.e. arrival of good-enough performance and market saturation, not because Samsung products lack merits.

I think you are overvaluing the S6 series a lot IMHO.

I mean, is it the clear best non-phablet phone of 2015? Yes, yes it is.

But that is only because of the SoC. If the 810 wouldn't have sucked so bad the S6 would have had real competition in a way Samsung hasn't seen since the S2 days.

The LG G4 for example completely got held back by Qualcomm's screwup. Its camera is on the S6's level, its ergonomics and build quality/materials is probably better for some people depending on taste. The G4 gets WAY better battery life than the S6, and its screen is not bad at all. It lacks the fingerprint reader and wireless charging, but it trades that for a removable battery and Micro SD slot that some people value more. And its already is on sale (through not Ebay) for cheaper than the S6:

http://www.lgrebates.com/t-mobile

So there is a gap, but it only seems so massive because the poor G4 has a midrange SoC because Qualcomm screwed up. That isn't an advantage Samsung takes into the next year.

In fact if we look at Samsung's phablets we can see a real erroding of their market position. For a long time Samsung had clearly the best phablets in the entire market. Nothing in their day touched the Note 2, Note 3 or Note 4. They were so much better than any phablets HTC or even Apple has rolled out prior to 2015 that it wasn't even a consideration- if you wanted a phablet you were buying a Samsung.

But this year there is no way I would say the Note 5 is the best phablet. Just the device itself has issues, the pen situation is a rookie mistake but on a fifth version of the phone. But even outside of the Note 5's missteps others have caught up- the 6P is a very viable phablet option on Android and Apple's 6+S beats the Note 5 in almost every way. But the Note 5 sells for close to the 6+S and more than the 6P, and that is exactly what I was thinking of when I said "they don't give a ton of value." And $800 Note 5 is not worth more than the $650 6P unless you need the pen. Hell even for the same price I would rather have the 6P.

The moat around their market position is down to a SoC and I expect Qualcomm's 820 to be an equalizer next year. The 6P shows us that the Chinese companies can give us build quality equal to Samsung without the Apple pricetags, and I expect more of that in 2016. Samsung will probably go all-in on cosmetic differences next year (aka make every Galaxy an Edge model) which cuts into their value proposition even more.

I recommended a lot of S6's to friends and family, but unless the rest of the market completely drops the ball this is the last year Samsung has a Galaxy S3-level product that towers above the rest.

 

[Dannar26]

I'm done with Samsung. The s6 and all of the variants and the Note 5 took way too many things out. I ordered an LGV10 yesterday and it should be here today. Bye bye sammy!

+ 1

It's the last and best hope for a power user phone this year.

Grab the sd card, battery, and cradle promo before the 15th!

I disagree...

I think you're right there too.

Samsung, in their galaxy S and galaxy note lines, stands out from the rest; you're right about that. Don't confuse the quality of those two lines with the myriad other absolutely garbage phones they put out, however. I've had relatives think that they got a great phone just because it was a Samsung, when it was one of their throw-away lines.

I really do have to give Samsung props this year. Their SoC, UFS storage, and charging features are all awesome, and worthy of my upgrade. But they turned their backs on power users.

I know this is probably what they need to do. Like any other aspect of society, it's all about appearances over utility. If Samsung has elevated its brand, then it escapes commoditization. Yay for them.

In the mean time I'll enjoy a V10, and hope in vain that LG will still make these types of phones when I upgrade years down the line.

 

[openwheel]

The LGV10 is mighty tempting. Excellent specs. For me the biggest question, is it root-able?

 

[dawheat]

But this year there is no way I would say the Note 5 is the best phablet. Just the device itself has issues, the pen situation is a rookie mistake but on a fifth version of the phone. But even outside of the Note 5's missteps others have caught up- the 6P is a very viable phablet option on Android and Apple's 6+S beats the Note 5 in almost every way. But the Note 5 sells for close to the 6+S and more than the 6P, and that is exactly what I was thinking of when I said "they don't give a ton of value." And $800 Note 5 is not worth more than the $650 6P unless you need the pen. Hell even for the same price I would rather have the 6P.

Several things:

1. I got my Note 5 on a promo with $200 off with the trade-in of a $10 phone. Samsung has these promos all the time for both the S and Note lines, sometimes directly, sometimes through carriers. Comparing MSRP to MSRP is only partially fair when it's easy to buy the Note 5 for less while the 6P price is fixed AFAIK.

2. Even at MSRP, I do think the Note 5 is worth more. Now whether it's worth $250 more is a very fair question, but I do think the Note 5 has a superior screen, camera, has the pen, is more compact, has fast wireless charging, and has a superior SOC.

While folks on this forum and xda really care about fast updates, I don't think it's that controversial to say the mainstream user probably doesn't care that much whether they get Android 6 now or in 5 months (though clearly all phones stuck on Lollipop seems like they'd significantly benefit from Marshmallow).

3. There are rumors that Samsung will launch the S7 with a 10% price cut to drive sales and as recognition of the changing Android landscape.

 

[poofyhairguy]

1. I got my Note 5 on a promo with $200 off with the trade-in of a $10 phone. Samsung has these promos all the time for both the S and Note lines, sometimes directly, sometimes through carriers. Comparing MSRP to MSRP is only partially fair when it's easy to buy the Note 5 for less while the 6P price is fixed AFAIK.

Completely fair point. I did the same thing with my wife's Note 4. Once you mess with trade-in promotions the Galaxy series has a lot of value. Hell we have seen Galaxy S6's being sold for $430 online:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/23168276516...p_id=117&ipn=icep&afepn=5335869999&rmvSB=true

That is hard to beat value.

But not everyone is savvy enough to max out a trade-in deal or find the right auction on Ebay. Joe Consumer often buys his smartphone at the carrier store at full price. I think at MSRP the Samsung devices just don't give you enough value, not when the iPhone that costs the same amount blows the Samsung device off the shelf.

$250 isn't a chump change difference in Androidland either, hell that could get you an entire other decent phone!

 

[Oyeve]

The LGV10 is mighty tempting. Excellent specs. For me the biggest question, is it root-able?

Dunno yet. I have the verizon version with my tmo sim. I doubt it will be rootable let along have an unlocked bootloader. Still, i'm loving it so far.

 

[Dannar26]

Dunno yet. I have the verizon version with my tmo sim. I doubt it will be rootable let along have an unlocked bootloader. Still, i'm loving it so far.

With 264 GB storage, I'll swallow my pride and just disable bloat apps.

My AT&T S4 hasn't been tinkered with, and I've been ok for 2.7 years now.

 

[zaza]

"The Qualcomm S820 is rumored to be used in certain markets like the US - it may not provide the all-out performance of the M1"

Are you freakin for real? Qualcomm chips have always outperformed Exynos, that's the very reason Samsung puts qualcomm in Western variants while it leaves its overheating lagging Crapsynos for India and the middle east where it can dupe idiots there to buy it. The only time they ditched qualcomm was after the 810 had overheating issues. The fact that they're putting back Qualcomm 820 chips in their phones means the 820 far outperforms anything samsung can create.

The only thing Exynos has going for it is moar cores, which is absolutely useless to performance and user experience, it's a pure marketing gimmick for morons who think "Moar cores faster, me want! Haha stupid qualcomm only have 4 core"

 

[mrochester]

I think what Samsung needs to focus on is price. They've tried innovating in various ways but never with price. Their phones are just too expensive, they need to come down to Nexus 6P levels.

I think what Samsung really need to focus on is software innovation. They've done hardware innovation, they've done price slashing. But we've seen them consistently use Android over and over in all of their flagship devices. The market would like to see some innovation in this respect.

 

[dawheat]

"The Qualcomm S820 is rumored to be used in certain markets like the US - it may not provide the all-out performance of the M1"

Are you freakin for real? Qualcomm chips have always outperformed Exynos, that's the very reason Samsung puts qualcomm in Western variants while it leaves its overheating lagging Crapsynos for India and the middle east where it can dupe idiots there to buy it. The only time they ditched qualcomm was after the 810 had overheating issues. The fact that they're putting back Qualcomm 820 chips in their phones means the 820 far outperforms anything samsung can create.

The only thing Exynos has going for it is moar cores, which is absolutely useless to performance user experience, it's a pure marketing gimmick for morons who think "Moar cores faster, me want! Haha stupid qualcomm only have 4 core"

This shows a distinct lack of historical knowledge and knowledge in general.

Do you have even the slightest info to back up your comments regarding the S820 vs the M1? While early benches aren't trustworthy, that + reports of the S820 struggling with thermals are all we have to work off of right now.

Oh I forgot...you're an engineer

 

[zaza]

I think what Samsung really need to focus on is software innovation. They've done hardware innovation, they've done price slashing. But we've seen them consistently use Android over and over in all of their flagship devices. The market would like to see some innovation in this respect.

From how Touchwiz performs I'm not sure samsung can create an OS that doesn't lag and stutter every 2 seconds.