Retake: The Samsung Galaxy S7 is still a great phone

It’s the time of the year again when new flagship devices come out, and you are tempted to grab one. With every new device, you are supposed to get new features, better battery life, better performance, and, overall, more satisfaction. I had the following choices: OnePlus 5 or the Samsung Galaxy S7?

However, not everyone can afford to shell out almost a thousand dollars every year.

  1. You could either buy a device such as the OnePlus 5 and get overall good performance, but you’d be making a bunch of sacrifices.
  2. You could buy last year’s flagship devices, which are heavily discounted right now in order to clear out stocks.

My Choice: The Samsung Galaxy S7

Why do you think I picked out the S7 over the OnePlus 5? Here are my reasons:

Display

The clear winner here. The display on the S7 is gorgeous. Samsung has mastered the art of making perfect displays. While OnePlus has definitely improved (sRGB profiles, AMOLED screens), they still have a way to go.

Connectors

OnePlus 5 wins here. While the S7 has a micro USB port, the OnePlus 5 comes with a Type-C connector. Thankfully, both the phones have a headphone jack.

 

Charging

While both phones feature some form of fast charging, OnePlus’s “Dash charge” is incomparable. However, the S7 features a slightly larger battery, at 3600 mAh, compared to the OP5’s 3300 mAh. I like big batteries and I cannot lie.

 

Camera

If you are not a big fan of portrait mode, I personally prefer the S7’s camera over the OnePlus 5’s. GSMArena has done an amazing shot per shot comparison and having a look at that, it appears that the colors are definitely more vibrant in pictures shot by an S7. Videos on the S7 also appear better, as it has OIS, while the OnePlus 5 lacks that and opts for EIS instead.

Software

While there are not many fans of Samsung’s take on Android, the OnePlus 5’s near stock Android is something that has a lot of fans, especially in the Android community. However, Grace UX is not bad at all and has definitely improved over time. Bixby still sucks, but it can be disabled. There is also the worry of GraceUX slowing things down over time, but I have hardly noticed it with this phone so far.

Waterproofing

The biggest reason for me choosing the S7 is the waterproofing that is present on the S7. Spills occur, and I have had to face the nightmare of getting a damaged screen replaced. Not having to worry about dropping water on my phone is the best. Also, I can take pool shots with no worries!

Samsung Pay: Quite Good

The MST chip on the Samsung means that you can pay using Samsung Pay almost anywhere and to live in a country where there is a huge lack of NFC based payments systems, MST is a life saver. Most people are quite surprised when I pay using Samsung Pay. It’s fun and it’s amazing.

Price

Now, this may vary depending on where you live, but the S7 is at least $100 cheaper than the OnePlus 5 in my country. That is a steal, and this is the primary reason why I bought this device.