Samsung officially announced the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge phones on Sunday at the MWC event in Barcelona.
We had some hands-on time with the Galaxy S7 phones at a press event in New York City before the show, and we were impressed with its features and functions, many of which you won’t find on iPhones.
Here’s a breakdown of what the Galaxy S7 can do that the iPhone can’t:
1. The Galaxy S7 is water-resistant.
Sure, Apple added a gasket in the iPhone 6s, but it’s not confident enough to say that the iPhone can be dunked under water and survive.
Samsung, on the other hand, came right out and said the Galaxy S7 is water-resistant. To be specific, it’s rated with IP68 dust and water resistance, which means it can go more than a meter under water for around 30 minutes.
2. It can charge really quickly.
The Galaxy S7 has quick-charging via microUSB. It’ll charge it completely in just an hour and half.
To compare, the iPhone 6s Plus, on the other hand, takes around three hours to charge.
But the main benefit of quick charging is that it can give the Galaxy S7 a big jolt of juice in a short period of time. We could get up to 60% battery life in 30 minutes of charging.
3. It can charge wirelessly
In fact, it can charge wireless quickly. Samsung claims that its quick wireless charging charges faster than the regular wired charging.
Wired quick-charging is still faster, but wireless charging is a nice feature to have. You can just place your phone on a charging dock and get a boost during the day without thinking about it.
It’s a good way to make sure you’re always topped up with battery.
4. The Galaxy S7’s camera can auto-focus faster than the iPhone 6s.
5. It also takes better photos in the dark.
6. You can add more storage with a microSD card.
Samsung reintroduced microSD card slot into the Galaxy S7. The slot is incorporated into the SIM card tray and lets you add up to an additional 200 GB.
7. It has a bigger battery.
The standard Galaxy S7 has a 3,000mAh battery and the S7 Edge has a 3,600mAh battery.
To compare, the iPhone 6s has a 1,715mAh battery and the 6s Plus has a 2,750mAh battery.
We haven’t tested out the battery life on the Galaxy S7 smartphones, but they’ll probably last longer than the iPhone considering they’re much bigger than the iPhones’ batteries.
8. Samsung Pay works on regular credit card readers.
Samsung Pay works with almost any credit card reader, even really old ones.
Meanwhile, the iPhone’s Apple Pay only works on newer credit card terminals have have near-field communication (NFC) technology built into them. That means you’ll never be sure if the store you’re walking into supports Apple Pay unless you look around for a sticker saying it does. Super handy when you’re travelling.
9. It has an “always-on” screen.
The “always-on” display on the new Galaxy S7 phones lets you glance at basic information like date, time, and basic information about your notifications without having to wake the phones.
On iPhone, you have to wake the display to check the time or notifications.
10. The Galaxy S7 Edge has widgets on the curved display’s edges.
You can access your favorite apps, contacts, news, and even make shortcuts to actions like composing a text message right from the edge of the Galaxy S7 Edge’s curved screen.