Building the heat at the ongoing Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, the leading Korean smartphone maker Samsung released its flagship smartphone Galaxy S7, its curved-screen companion Galaxy S7 Edge and Gear 360 camera that will take the high-end smartphone war to a new high.
According to the tech website www.igalaxys7.com, Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge will be available in India with a reported price of Rs.53,000 and Rs.60,000, respectively. The smartphones are expected to hit the market by mid-March this year.
"We believe in a world that is brighter, sharper, more convenient, and more fun. We strive to deliver on that vision with the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge by marrying elegant design with functionality and providing a seamless mobile experience," D.J. Koh, president of mobile communications business, Samsung Electronics, said in a statement released on the first day of three-day MWC that began on Sunday.
Anshul Gupta, research director at Gartner said that Samsung is at a juncture where it needed a device which can turn around its fate of slowing smartphone sales.
"Its new Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge are much better and a refined version of its previous version. There are some really nice enhancements like camera, dual SIM/expandable memory. However, with similar look & feel and changes mostly inside it will be difficult to draw customer to retail for replacement," Gupta added.
Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg also made a surprise appearance during the launch, announcing that his company and Samsung are teaming up to push virtual reality (VR) features in smartphones and social networking experience.
The 5.1-inch Galaxy S7 and 5.5-inch Galaxy S7 Edge are constructed with 3D glass and metal and given ergonomic curves for a comfortable grip.
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The new Galaxy devices look similar to its predecessors Galaxy S6. The Galaxy S7 Edge features curves on all four sides.
The device's new Always-On Display gives users a simplified, zero touch experience to check about a missed call or SMS. Both the devices are IP68 water and dust resistant.
The new phones have advanced cameras for high-quality images.
The company has introduced the first dual pixel camera on Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge smartphones, delivering brighter and sharper images even in low light. The Dual Pixel technology gives clear photos with a brighter lens with wider aperture and bigger pixel.
The camera has a faster shutter speed and a more accurate autofocus even in low-light conditions.
Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge deliver fast wired and wireless charging technology. Additionally, the hybrid SIM card tray allows users to insert a microSD card for up to 200GB of additional storage.
Samsung also made significant hardware and software updates to optimise gaming performance on Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge.
The Samsung Galaxy S7 runs on an Octa core (2.3GHz Quad + 1.6GHz Quad), 64 bit processor and has a 4GB RAM.
It has a 2560 X 1440 (534ppi) 5.1-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED display with Dual Pixel 12-megapixel (F1.7) rear and 5-megapixel (F1.7) cameras.
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge runs on an Quadcore (2.15GHz Dual + 1.6GHz Dual), 64 bit processor and has a 4GB RAM.
It has a 2560 X 1440 (577ppi) 5.5-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED display with Dual Pixel 12-megapixel (F1.7) rear and 5-megapixel (F1.7) cameras.
Both phones runs on Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) operating system.
The powerful processer and bigger battery capacity (3,000mAh in Galaxy S7 and 3,600mAh in Galaxy S7 Edge) ensure longer playing time, and the internal cooling system keeps the device from overheating.
The smartphones have an enhanced Galaxy experience in VR apps and games. "Together, this is by far the best mobile VR experience you can offer," Zuckerberg added.
The devices are protected by Samsung KNOX, fingerprint scanning and advanced tokenization and have NFC (Near Field Communication), MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission) and Barcode technology, making mobile payments easy.
Samsung also unveiled a new spherical camera called the Gear 360 that connects to Samsung's phones to capture, view and share 360-degree video and still images. The device is designed to supplement Samsung's Gear VR headset and related software.