Samsung Announces The Galaxy S7 Active
by Matt Humrick on June 6, 2016 9:30 AM EST
Today Samsung is following up the launch of its Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge smartphones with the introduction of the Galaxy S7 active, a ruggedized version of the flagship S7. Like previous active series phones, it uses the same internal hardware as the rest of its lineage, including the latest Snapdragon 820 SoC with a quad-core CPU utilizing Qualcomm's custom 64-bit Kryo cores and Adreno 530 GPU. This is paired with 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 32GB of UFS 2.0 NAND. Additional internal storage options are not available for the S7 active, but it still supports microSD cards for expansion.
The S7 active also uses the same 5.1-inch QHD SAMOLED display as the regular S7, which we found provides a well-calibrated sRGB mode along with additional modes for those who prefer more saturated colors. It also managed to hit about 500 nits peak brightness when using auto brightness mode at 100% APL.
Despite using the same screen size as the S7, the S7 active is larger and heavier because of the additional protection its outer shell provides. Replacing the sleek but fragile glass and metal construction is a larger but more durable plastic and metal chassis that increases the height and width by 6.4 mm and 5.4 mm, respectively. Thickness also increases by 2 mm to 9.9 mm, which helps make room for a larger 4000mAh battery.
| Samsung Galaxy S7 Family | ||||
| Samsung Galaxy S7 active | Samsung Galaxy S7 | Samsung Galaxy S7 edge | ||
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 (MSM8996) 2x Kryo @ 2.15GHz 2x Kryo @ 1.59GHz Adreno 530 @ 624MHz |
US, China, Japan: Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 (MSM8996) 2x Kryo @ 2.15GHz 2x Kryo @ 1.59GHz Adreno 530 @ 624MHz Rest of World: Samsung Exynos 8890 4x Cortex-A53 @ 1.58GHz 4x Exynos M1 @ 2.28-2.60GHz Mali T880MP12 @ 650MHz |
||
| RAM | 4GB LPDDR4-3600 | |||
| NAND | 32GB (UFS 2.0) + microSD |
32GB / 64GB (UFS 2.0) + microSD |
||
| Display | 5.1-inch 2560x1440 SAMOLED | 5.5-inch 2560x1440 SAMOLED Dual Edge |
||
| Dimensions | 148.8 x 75.0 x 9.9 mm 185 grams |
142.4 x 69.6 x 7.9 mm 152 grams |
150.9 x 72.6 x 7.7 mm 157 grams |
|
| Modem | Qualcomm X12 (Integrated) 2G / 3G / 4G LTE (Category 12/13) |
Snapdragon 820: Qualcomm X12 (Integrated) 2G / 3G / 4G LTE (Category 12/13) Exynos 8890: Samsung Shannon 935 2G / 3G / 4G LTE (Category 12/13) |
||
| SIM Size | NanoSIM | |||
| Front Camera | 5 MP, f/1.7, auto HDR | |||
| Rear Camera | 12 MP, Sony IMX260 Exmor RS, 1.4μm, f/1.7, PDAF, OIS, auto HDR, object tracking autofocus, LED flash | |||
| Battery | 4000mAh non-replaceable |
3000mAh (11.55 WHr) non-replaceable |
3600mAh (13.86 WHr) non-replaceable |
|
| Connectivity | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac 2x2 MU-MIMO, BT 4.2, NFC, GPS/GNSS, microUSB 2.0 | |||
| Launch OS | Android 6 with TouchWiz | |||
| Battery Charging | wireless charging (WPC 1.1 & PMA 1.0), Fast Charging | |||
| Fingerprint Sensor | Yes, touch | |||
| Launch Price (No Contract) |
$795 USD | $650+ USD | $750+ USD | |
What really sets the Galaxy S7 active apart from Samsung’s other phones, however, is its improved durability. It retains the S7’s IP68 rating that makes it dust tight and allows for immersion in water up to 5 feet for up to 30 minutes. There's an additional protective polycarbonate layer on top of the screen, which eliminates the stress concentrations that result from scratches, increasing the shatter resistance of the cover glass.
Samsung also claims the S7 active passes the U.S. Military Standard (MIL-STD) 810G tests for a ruggedized phone, including those for exposure to high and low temperatures, salt fog, humidity, and shock, which entails dropping the phone in different ways onto two inches of plywood over concrete from a height of at least four feet.
While discussing the Galaxy S7 active, Samsung stressed its emphasis on enterprise customers with the phone’s security and productivity features. It still has the same touch-based fingerprint sensor as the S7 for authentication and also includes Samsung's Knox security suite that allows for the separation of work and personal content, in addition to other security-focused features.
The larger 4000mAh battery should help the S7 active last longer than the regular version. The battery is not swappable, but it still supports Samsung's fast charging technology and wireless charging to help get the phone back into action more quickly.
Like previous active phones, the Galaxy S7 active will be an AT&T exclusive. It will be offered in three different colors—Cammo Green, Titanium Gray, Sandy Gold—and will be available for purchase online or in AT&T stores on June 10. Pricing is $26.50 for 30 months with an AT&T Next plan or $33.13 a month for 24 months with an AT&T Next Every Year plan.
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ahtoh - Monday, June 6, 2016 - link
This message is for Anandtech in general, not for you personally.I hope they hear us.
Lau_Tech - Tuesday, June 7, 2016 - link
I think this is where many people would be confused regarding Anandtech's work allocation. Why shoulder a full time student who is busy with his studies the responsibility for the bulk of Anandtech's android phone reviews? Surely after your struggles with the S7 review, a sensible option would have been to give the HTC 10 review to someone else to do? Instead now you are forced to bear the brunt of criticism, unfair or otherwise.Alternatively, if you suddenly find yourself unable to do it, is there a system in place to pass the task to another reviewer?Until recently I thought all the reviewers were full-time professionals. It seems odd that a review site would allow itself to be "held hostage" by the schedule of a part-timer.
Anandtech's editors may feel they do not owe us answers regarding what is reviewed, who reviews it and when it is reviewed, but I think readers are not wrong to have certain expectations regarding punctuality from that a site as old and as respected as Anandtech is. Like it or not, the Galaxy S and Notes are always going to be one of big stories of any given year. The Iphone's even more so. And new GPUs as well. So there is a need to prioritize those products, put the manpower you need on them, and get them out within a reasonable timeframe. (i.m.o within 2 weeks for smartphones). The delays have long since passed the point of reasonable.
Murloc - Tuesday, June 7, 2016 - link
full-time professionals cost money, native advertising soon follows.Lau_Tech - Tuesday, June 7, 2016 - link
Anandtech already has a group of full-timers,no? So why not give important projects to the full-timers and less anticipated and time-sensitive products to the part-timers? Surely a phone review is not so specialized a field that only one particular part-timer can do them?None of this is meant to be a personal attack on Josh or Anandtech staff. I am simply pointing out what seem to be reasonable problems which no one appears in a hurry to address. If Anandtech's stand is: "We choose to allocate certain products to certain people, and to hell with timeliness and deadlines." I would like them to come out and say so. Long-time readers like myself have always understood (and accepted) the quality vs punctuality trade-off which Anandtech has made, but this year it has taken a turn towards the ludicrous.
Yongsta - Tuesday, June 7, 2016 - link
With the increase of ad blockers, websites suffer from declining revenues. I'm not sure how many full time staff members Anandtech has now if any. Anyways, I whitelist sites I enjoy reading (anandtech) and hope others will do the same.JoshHo - Wednesday, June 8, 2016 - link
Off-hand I believe the editorial staff currently has 3 full time editors. Everyone else is part-time.I agree that there are problems with the speed with which reviews are finished. I'm working on resolving this on the mobile side.
Lau_Tech - Wednesday, June 8, 2016 - link
Thank you for the reply Josh. Only 3 full timers/editors is certainly less than what I imagined. With this new information I will accordingly temper my expectations going forward. I appreciate your attempts to address the issue, including replying civilly to the complaints that have arisen. Thank you for your excellent reviews on the various phones over the last 3 years.Tom Womack - Wednesday, June 8, 2016 - link
I don't think there are time-sensitive products: very few people reading this with a Galaxy S7 in their hand would be able to review it as thoroughly as Andrei might. There's no need to buy products on launch; waiting nine months for a review isn't a problem.Lau_Tech - Wednesday, June 8, 2016 - link
Mobile Phones are often time-sensitive products, here are some common scenarios where they may be an urgent need to buy a product at launch or close to launch.1)A person's phone may have died and they can't afford to wait more than a few days before deciding on what to get next.
2) There is a special offer for buying a particular model, perhaps a free gift or $100 off at a trade fair, but only for one weekend or till stocks last.
3) A person going on holiday in a week's time wants to replace their ancient phone with one that has the best camera and battery, but cant quite decide between all the new models.
In all the above scenarios an early review is better than a late one. Holidays, phones getting spoilt and trade fairs happen all the time. Some in March, some in April, some in May etc. Waiting 3 or 6 or 9 months is certainly a legitimate issue for these people, and they will go to other sites to figure it out.
The longer an Anandtech article is in the public domain the more people it can inform and help.
Anandtech articles often serve two functions: 1) Inform our purchasing decisions. 2) satisfy intellectual curiosity. The longer a review takes, the more it serves function (2), rather than (1). I for example, have just purchased a HTC 10. I still look forward to a review from this site, but only to increase my understanding of this device.
Meteor2 - Thursday, June 9, 2016 - link
You're joking, right?