“Evolution” and “revolution” are two terms used when referring to scientific theories or the rotation of the earth on its axis, but these terms also creep up in tech discussions concerning hardware and software changes in mobile devices. On March 1, 2015 at Mobile World Congress (MWC), Samsung announced the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 edge, with the S6 edge quickly becoming the most popular smartphone Samsung had ever made.
This year, however, Samsung announced the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge in their usual, polished fashion, with Samsung’s edge trademark design in high demand, even among Chinese phone makers, but some consumers have a different feel about these two devices. Unlike their predecessors from last year, the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge don’t give these individuals the same awesome feeling as last year’s. The edge has been around for a year, so it isn’t as new or as exciting for some as it was in 2015. This “wearing off” of that new design feeling that we get when seeing a new smartphone form factor has some individuals crowning Samsung the King of Iteration while giving the Innovation Crown to someone else.
It’s easy to understand the idea: if a smartphone looks the same as last year, then it must be the same. However, this approach to smartphones and mobile tech is not only naïve, but also doesn’t take into account the whole picture. It’s the equivalent of focusing on one tree in a painting, to the exclusion of the entire forest, all while believing that because that one tree looks the same, the painter hasn’t made some important stylistic changes to his or her artwork. It’s too presumptuous and premature.
IP68 Water and Dust Resistance
The Galaxy S7 and S7 edge have some significant changes made to the Galaxy S series that will forever change the series as we know it. First among those changes would have to be the IP68 waterproofing (which is a broad way of saying “water-resistant” here, not literally invincible to water). Yes, it’s true that Samsung had IP67 water and dust resistance in the Galaxy S5, but Samsung also had to make compromises in that device that some found unbearable. The Galaxy S5 came with a USB port that had to be “capped” because of the nature of waterproofing at that time. Removable batteries and back covers only made the waterproofing that much more ineffective.
In the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, IP68 waterproofing has come so that your device, now with a sealed battery of course, can better survive the water than ever before. Now, there is a capless USB port (as opposed to the Galaxy S5’s capped port) and a waterproof sealing “from the inside,” as Samsung said in the Barcelona announcement, which eliminates the need for a capped port and maintains the beauty of the device simultaneously. You may have never thought about it this way, but Samsung solved the form/function dilemma of capless USB ports (form) and waterproofing (function). Customers who prefer both can now have both, in a way that neither consumer feels abandoned, forgotten about, or left out. What some believed to be evolutionary is, when you think about it, revolutionary.
CPU Cooling System
Next on the list of what some view as “evolutionary” changes would have to be the CPU cooling system. I don’t know how some can view this as evolutionary, since it’s the first time Samsung has ever implemented such technology into its Galaxy lineup. The CPU cooling system is designed to keep your device cool no matter the task. Cooler phones lead to healthier batteries, better battery performance, and longer endurance times – so you can do all the things you want to do with them. It’s air conditioning for your smartphone, a way of making smartphones live up to the claim that they’re “PCs in your pocket.”
No matter how great the phone design, every phone gets hot, particularly when it comes to the gaming experience. Good design alone won’t save a phone or its battery in such circumstances without a cooling system of some kind. When you start to think that the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge are evolutionary, just stop and think about how many other smartphones have a CPU cooling system.
MicroSD and UFS Combine for Functionality and Speed
Last but not least, Samsung revolutionized an old feature that many loved and made it even better. Yes, I’m sure you remember the coveted microSD card slot. The microSD card slot was removed because of possible performance dilemmas, but the Korean giant can now offer both UFS and the microSD card slot for its consumer base. MicroSD cards have been known to have all sorts of security and speed issues, with many Android smartphone makers opting to exclude them from the high-end smartphone experience because they do tend to slow down the performance of high-end devices. There’s no adoptable storage yet, but it’ll come. Just wait.
Samsung added back the microSD card slot, but did so in a way that device speeds will be minimally affected. This is an internal device implementation that can’t be seen from the outside, but this small-scale change will have a large-scale impact upon the user experience. Just wait until those with 200GB microSD cards in their devices talk about how “flying fast” their Galaxy S7 or S7 edge is.
Sometimes, we assume that small-scale changes are nothing more than “iteration” and “evolution,” but to assume this is to assume too much. Each change or tweak must be assessed for what it brings to the user experience – and that can’t be assessed merely on the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge’s resemblance to their older “siblings.” I’ve mentioned three changes here, but Samsung’s made a whole host of small-scale changes (including a wet phone charging warning) that, when brought together, make the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge more significant than a modular smartphone with attachments. You can find out more in our own Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge review.
Which “evolution” do you find revolutionary?
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