The S8 feels very similar to the S7, and is only a hair taller and thinner.
And Samsung has been able to retain the phone’s headphone jack while keeping it waterproof, which is very impressive. The phone is supposed to monitor if the USB port is wet, and won’t charge the device until it dries out. The S7 is supposed to be both dust and water-resistant and can survive being fully immersed in water. Double-tapping the home button opens the camera app, and there’s a 5-megapixel selfie camera on the front. Holding down the home button for a couple seconds brings up Google’s intelligent assistant, which can give you smart info based on the screen you’re on, but also allows you to do things like perform a voice search to open apps or ask for transit directions. The home button on the Galaxy S7 doubles as a fingerprint sensor, a feature that has been working really well for me to unlock the phone without having to enter a PIN. There are physical volume buttons on the left edge of the S7, while the power button is on the right edge. I understand some reviewers were hoping to see two speakers on the S7, because the speaker is easily muffled if you cover it with your finger but for a mobile phone, I think it’s perfectly acceptable and it’s not something the S8 expands upon. If you put the phone upside-down into your pocket, you shouldn’t need to worry too much about pocket lint getting into any of the connectors. I’m a fan of having the speaker, headphone jack, and USB port all on the bottom edge of the phone. The length is just about right for me-the phone easily fits in my pocket. Both displays can show info like calendar and email alerts, even while the devices are locked and not in use. But I understand both displays are stunning, particularly on the S8 where despite being less than a half an inch taller than the S7, you have a 5.8Inch screen as opposed to the 5.1-Inch screen on the S7. This is even more true on the Galaxy S8, where the screen extends almost from edge-to-edge.
The Galaxy S7 and S8 fit comfortably in my hand, though even on the S7 I found that it was easy to touch the screen accidentally due to the thin bezel surrounding it. Still, I’ll draw what comparisons I can between the two phones throughout this review. I’ve felt the S8-but haven’t had the opportunity to put it through its paces. While wrapping up this review, Samsung released the Galaxy S8, a newer model of phone which is just making its way into the hands of users and reviewers alike. I thought I’d delve a little deeper and share some more thoughts on my experiences using a Samsung Galaxy smartphone. Samsung has added its own accessibility features to make the phone easier and more familiar to people with a range of abilities.
It runs Android, Google’s operating system that ships on many brands of phones and tablets. I spent some time with the Samsung Galaxy S7, which we’ll be reviewing on AMI This Week.
Update 4/2017: With later Android 6.0 ROM updates, there was an issue with sound (logcat showed “W/AudioGroup: device loop timeout”) but it’s reported to be ok again with Android 7.0.Bixby Vision, automatic emergency messaging and customizable shortcuts to accessibility tools are evidence of Samsung's increased commitment to inclusion in its latest Android smartphones. Or just use my app All My that is primarily a Xposed module but it has a button dedicated to open this setting screen directly. You can do this in apps such as QuickShortcutMaker. To view this settings screen, you need to start activity “.PhoneAccountSettingsActivity” (or “” on some other phones). SIP calling works perfectly fine on the latest Samsung Galaxy S7, it only needs to be configured the same way in “hidden” settings. It runs Android 6.0.1 and the “Phone” app still has “Internet call – Calling account settings”. Yet manufacturers and operators often cripple SIP system configuration/permissions or hide settings screens from users. Jin Android by Marcel Dopita (updated 1699 days ago)Īndroid includes native SIP support since 4.x versions.