Taking the smartphone world by surprise, leading South Korean smartphone maker Samsung on Tuesday launched its flagship smartphone Galaxy S7 and its curved-screen companion Galaxy S7 Edge at an irresistible price of Rs.48,900 and Rs.56,900, respectively.
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.
The smartphones come with innovations in design, imaging, software functionality and connectivity with a host of other services.
The company is also giving away free Gear virtual reality (VR) to it customers who pre-order the devices between March 8 and 17.
"I feel proud when I see the evolution of mobile devices that we have brought from our first mobile phone in 1988 to the current series of Galaxy S smartphones. Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge take a bigger leap by re-imagining what a smartphone can be," Ken Kang, managing director, mobile & IT, Samsung India Electronics, said in a statement.
The new Galaxy devices look similar to its predecessors Galaxy S6. The Galaxy S7 Edge features curves on both sides and have "Always-On Display" that 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 devices can sustain up to 30 minutes submerged in a meter and a half of water.
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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.
The phones have Dual Pixel 12-megapixel (F1.7) rear and 5-megapixel (F1.7) cameras and with brighter lens with wider aperture and bigger pixel, the cameras have a more accurate autofocus even in low-light conditions.
"Galaxy S7 and S7 edge will offer consumers the ultimate smartphone experience that set new benchmarks in the global mobile space, with cutting-edge design and extraordinary performance,a¿ Manu Sharma, director, mobile business, Samsung India Electronics added.
"Innovations such as Dual Pixel technology in Galaxy S7 & Galaxy S7 edge camera delivers brighter and sharper images, even in low light and Samsung Concierge offer more personalized experience for users,a¿ he noted.
Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge deliver fast wired and wireless charging technology and is powered by LTE Cat 9 connectivity.
Additionally, the company brought back its expandable memory feature with the hybrid SIM card that 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.
Both Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge are the first smartphones with Vulkan -- the next generation graphics API (application programme interface) built after partnership between Samsung, Google and Khronos group.
Both the phones run on an Octa core (2.3GHz Quad + 1.6GHz Quad), 64 bit processor and has a 4GB RAM.
The Galaxy S7 devices' CPU is about 44 percent more powerful than its predecessor and the a dramatically enhanced GPU -- which does the heavy lifting for graphics -- is about 60 percent more powerful than the one in Galaxy S6.
Samsung Galaxy S7 has a 2560 X 1440 (534ppi) 5.1-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED display while S7 Edge has a 2560 X 1440 (577ppi) 5.5-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED display.
Both phones run on Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) operating system.
The powerful processor 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 company has also expanded the My Galaxy platform to cater to the needs of users in India with Samsung Concierge.
The unique consumer engagement platform has been customised to offer valuable services such as My Assistant, Phone pick up and drop, Fast Track service and Live Chat.
The Samsung's Indian research and development team also developed the Motion Panorama feature that will enable consumers to capture live events in great detail by capturing every piece of dynamic motion.
Additionally, the Spotlight Selfie feature that provides consumers a studio-like environment with virtual light source, was developed in India.
The devices will be available in the open market from March 18.