Thought I'd give you guys my first initial impressions of my Onyx Black Galaxy S7 T-Mobile version vs. my Frost White Nexus 6P 128GB.
So I received my S7 today around 11AM this morning and been playing with it non stop for about 13 hours. Setup was a breeze, popped in my 128GB Sandisk MicroSD then had to update/install a bunch of apps while sitting on the charger and it only got "slightly" warm. Every other Android phone I've had doing the same thing and charging would get pretty toasty hot so this is a good first impression.
These are my initial thoughts comparing it to my Nexus 6P, which has been my all time favorite phone of all time. These are areas that are important to me.
Screen quality:
S7 screen gets much brighter, white looks a bit better and also more uniform. Looks to be a top quality AMOLED panel. The Nexus 6P (I've had 5) all had some sort of pinkish areas if you look hard for them, not completely uniform but still a good sharp panel. Doesn't quite match the S7 or even my Note 5 though. The S7 also doesn't seem to experience much AMOLED color shift when you tilt it at different angles, the Nexus 6P definitely shifts much more and sometimes goes from greenish to bluish to pinkish depending on your angle. Colors are also more saturated on the 6P, the factory setting on the S7 is a nice compromise between and is quite pleasing to my eyes.
Performance:
The Nexus 6P is an absolute beast when it comes to general UI interactions and navigating, it just flies and is the fastest Android experience I've ever had. Everything is pretty much butter and still is, seems to always run at 60fps. No other Android phone I've owned matches the Nexus 6P in overall smoothness, well..... except now the S7.
Yep, the S7 matches the Nexus 6P in everything from navigating web pages, flipping through home screens, scrolling speed, and a big one...typing on the built in keyboard. NO LAG. I've always had some kind of lag with the factory Samsung keyboards, also present on my Note 5 and Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. Not on the S7, it will register as fast as you can type. I haven't tested many games or CPU intensive apps yet but all common social media apps open slightly quicker on the S7, I'm sure games will fly with the S7. Apps also install much quicker on the S7 but I think it's the encryption on the 6P to be blamed. Finger Print Scanner:
Nexus 6P seems to be more accurate and quicker, the scanner on the S7 seems to be similar to the S6 in function but now responds much quicker. Kinda like the speed difference between the iPhone 6 and 6S. It's definitely faster during setup also but obviously not as quick as the 6P which only requires you to tap your finger 4 or 5 times to finish registering. Definitely prefer the location on the 6P, much more convenient than on the home button of the S7 which sometimes require you to move your thumb akwardly to unlock it.
Battery Life:
Initial battery life on the S7 doesn't seem too impressive, I'll give it a couple days to pass judgment but it's definitely not as good as the 6P so far. Seems to be draining 5 percent in only an hour of doing nothing but resting, always on is off and it's connected to WiFi. Maybe it's still doing some background updates...who knows. The Nexus 6P definitely has great battery life and has never disappointed me. I'm thinking the extra 600mAh on the Edge would have really came in handy at this point.
Speaker:
Sound on the S7 definitely only comes out from the bottom speaker contrary to some rumors saying it also plays through the ear piece (which got me super excited btw). Sound is pretty good, above average for a single bottom firing speaker. It can also get pretty loud, on par with my Note 5 and S6, has more depth and sounds fuller than the front dual speakers of the 6P. Nexus 6P definitely gets louder but also sounds a bit tinny, always had though. Overall the speaker on the S7 does a good job, some cupping might still be necessary to get louder volume out of it. It's a great feat that Samsung kept the speaker quality decent while making this baby IP68 certified.
Build Quality and Feel:
My jaw dropped when I first took the S7 out of the box, although it looks like the S6 in the pictures, the pictures do not do this baby justice.. you guys need to handle it yourself. It has a real quality heft to it, it just feels fantastic in the hand. The S6 was also built beautifully but felt a bit toyish to me, the S7 in hand feels just so much more expensive. What a difference an extra few grams make huh? The in hand feel definitely matches the looks now. The Nexus 6P also has that expensive feel in the hand, it's a close call but the S7 just feels a lot more comfortable without the sharp edges of the 6P. I stuck my S7 into a Spigen case at the end of the night but tempted to run it naked because it just feels so nice. Samsung also up their game in box presentation, the box feels much more premium now compared to the cheap crap they used to be packed in. Reminds me of the box from my Huawei watch, oh and bonus, they also threw in an OTG USB adapter.
Camera:
Went out and snapped a few pictures outdoor and indoor, trying out various lighting scenes. Conclusion? S7 Camera is a beast, focus is instant and quality is razor sharp. In low light it pulls in more light than the 6P but the 6P picture looks better. It looks like the S7 uses too much post processing and everything becomes muddy, like an oil painting when zoomed in, although the pictures are brighter. Nexus 6P is still the king when it comes to low light photos without flash, they just look more natural and clear with minimal noise. It also seems like the 6P doesn't have a crazy amount of post processing to achieve a fine picture. Bright light is a draw in quality but the S7 really shines in speed and focus accuracy. I can confidently say you will get more usable pictures with the S7 in most conditions, but in low light with no flash the 6P is still the champ. Haven't taken any selfies yet so I can't comment on the front camera.
Subjective areas:
I find the button placement on the 6P to be near perfect with the power and volume buttons easily distinguishable with my thumb, I always find it a bit awkward with my Samsung phones. Sometimes I hold the phone to change the volume and my squeezing action will press the power button and turn it off. Also still no longer a fan of the physical home button, I guess I'm so used to onscreen buttons now. I'm in love with fingerprint scanner placement on the 6P, it just works and makes sense, still trying to get used to the home button finger print scanner on the S7. Touchwiz is definitely toning down with every iteration but still a bit childish looking to me, although I still prefer it over stock Android for the added functionality. Wished it worked like Touchwiz but looked like Stock Android or HTC Sense, make sense?
Conclusion:
I've heard people say the S7 should really be called an S6-S, and it's not worth the upgrade, I would have to disagree. When an iPhone comes out with the S designation, it's mostly just a faster CPU/GPU and camera updates. Everything else is pretty much the same down to the physical shape of the body. The S7 to me looks similar in pictures but in the hand, it feels like a completely new premium device. It had everything upgraded, completely overhauled inside and out making it better in every way. It just feels so much more quality in the hand and is 100 percent deserving of the new S7 model name. After using it the whole day today, it doesn't leave me wanting like my S6 or Note 5 did. It's really that good.
Don't get me wrong, I love my Nexus 6P, I was one of the first to get one and I jumped ship many times to try other different models/brands but ultimately I always go back to it. It pretty much checks everything I could want in a phone but now this new S7 does also with some extra perks on top to sway me away.. Expandable memory and waterproofing? Oh yeaaahhh.. It's too early to tell which one will stay and which one will end up on Swappa...So far this sexy new S7 is really, REALLY impressing me.:good:
