Differences between US and International S7? Pro's and Con's?

captain_tinker

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Ok, so every time I go into any store where they are selling the S7, every single salesman tells me "oh, this is Octa-Core, and has Liquid Cooling" etc. I've been trying to do my homework, and make sure I know what's what before I ask stoopid questions. From what I can tell from looking at the forums, and from specs, etc, it sounds like the US version of the S7 uses a (supposedly overclocked?) Snapdragon 820, which looks like it is only quad core (2 x dual core), and the international version of the S7 uses an Exynos 8890, which is indeed an 8 core (2 x quad core). From the comparisons I've seen, both are very good, some reviews lean towards the Snapdragon, and some lean towards the Exynos, in terms of how fast certain things are, etc. As for the so called liquid cooling, I've seen in those tear down videos that it is simply a teeny tiny heat pipe, which may or may not have some sort of liquid in it, so calling that liquid cooling sounds more like marketing horse manure as usual. I'm not really worried about that. I see on Amazon, several S7's for sale, and they are the unlocked international version with the true 8 core, and via my carrier, I see the 4 core Snapdragon US version. I know that the carrier version is going to be locked, and have bloatware, etc. What I am wondering however is this, what are the pro's and con's of each version? With the carrier version, I can use the insurance I am already paying for, and have a warranty through them. I can't get any other color other than the black or the gold. With the international unlocked version, it looks like I won't have any warranty whatsoever, but I can get whatever color I like, including a white one I've seen, not get any carrier bloatware, but are there any other things I do or do not get with either version? I've seen a few people say that some payment method on the phone doesn't work with the international version. Are there any other "gotcha's" one must be aware of? I am somewhat concerned that the US phone is only quad core, despite all the salesmen claiming it to be 8 core. I am also concerned that I saw somewhere that the US quad core phone is overclocked? That doesn't make me very comfortable to hear that. That sounds like a recipe for disaster. Can anyone confirm or deny the truthfulness of that claim? I am hoping it was just a rumor and not true. I am currently using my 3 year old S4, that I really like still, but it is getting old and slow, the battery is no longer holding a charge very long, and I'm getting ready to move on. Oh, and one last thing, my S4 from the beginning seems to have always had odd issues with connecting and staying connected to my D-Link router, both of them that I've had over the last 3 years. Went from an N to an AC router, and it always has trouble staying connected to those, and even other routers and access points, it sometimes has connection issues with. I've seen one or two people saying that the S7 does something similar, anyone else can confirm or deny this also? I don't want to pay almost $700 for a new phone only to have the same old problems.

capT
 

luke31

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Ok, so every time I go into any store where they are selling the S7, every single salesman tells me "oh, this is Octa-Core, and has Liquid Cooling" etc. I've been trying to do my homework, and make sure I know what's what before I ask stoopid questions. From what I can tell from looking at the forums, and from specs, etc, it sounds like the US version of the S7 uses a (supposedly overclocked?) Snapdragon 820, which looks like it is only quad core (2 x dual core), and the international version of the S7 uses an Exynos 8890, which is indeed an 8 core (2 x quad core). From the comparisons I've seen, both are very good, some reviews lean towards the Snapdragon, and some lean towards the Exynos, in terms of how fast certain things are, etc. As for the so called liquid cooling, I've seen in those tear down videos that it is simply a teeny tiny heat pipe, which may or may not have some sort of liquid in it, so calling that liquid cooling sounds more like marketing horse manure as usual. I'm not really worried about that. I see on Amazon, several S7's for sale, and they are the unlocked international version with the true 8 core, and via my carrier, I see the 4 core Snapdragon US version. I know that the carrier version is going to be locked, and have bloatware, etc. What I am wondering however is this, what are the pro's and con's of each version? With the carrier version, I can use the insurance I am already paying for, and have a warranty through them. I can't get any other color other than the black or the gold. With the international unlocked version, it looks like I won't have any warranty whatsoever, but I can get whatever color I like, including a white one I've seen, not get any carrier bloatware, but are there any other things I do or do not get with either version? I've seen a few people say that some payment method on the phone doesn't work with the international version. Are there any other "gotcha's" one must be aware of? I am somewhat concerned that the US phone is only quad core, despite all the salesmen claiming it to be 8 core. I am also concerned that I saw somewhere that the US quad core phone is overclocked? That doesn't make me very comfortable to hear that. That sounds like a recipe for disaster. Can anyone confirm or deny the truthfulness of that claim? I am hoping it was just a rumor and not true. I am currently using my 3 year old S4, that I really like still, but it is getting old and slow, the battery is no longer holding a charge very long, and I'm getting ready to move on. Oh, and one last thing, my S4 from the beginning seems to have always had odd issues with connecting and staying connected to my D-Link router, both of them that I've had over the last 3 years. Went from an N to an AC router, and it always has trouble staying connected to those, and even other routers and access points, it sometimes has connection issues with. I've seen one or two people saying that the S7 does something similar, anyone else can confirm or deny this also? I don't want to pay almost $700 for a new phone only to have the same old problems.

capT

I went carrier only because I know for sure that all bands are supported. There's some debate whether the international version supports Band 12, and that's important for T-Mobile (not required, but good to have nonetheless).

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Toto39

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I have the Verizon model S7 and it has no problems on WiFi AC or N. As for heat, this phone runs cooler than my previous S5.
 

captain_tinker

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I went carrier only because I know for sure that all bands are supported. There's some debate whether the international version supports Band 12, and that's important for T-Mobile (not required, but good to have nonetheless).

Yeah, ok, that's the type of info I'm looking for, little gotcha's like that. Is that band required for AT&T do you think?



Yeah, I saw that video, those are good links too, though I'm not interested in rooting. That second link seems to show me that the international version is just a bit better for what I would like. I'm just wondering what kinds of issues will I run into if I go with the international version vs the US version on AT&T?

capT
 

ironass

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You will have to get used to receiving bugfix/security updates direct from Samsung every 4-8 weeks approx:

You will have around another 1 GB of phone storage.

You will NOT have any of the following AT&T apps...

  • AT&T Locker: Cloud storage from AT&T.
  • AT&T Protect Plus: Cloud backups, device locator and "Pro Tech support."
  • Device Help: Essentially a wrapper for the att.com help pages
  • DirecTV: AT&T purchased satellite TV company DirecTV in 2015, and now their app is right here for you
  • Drive Mode: Sets auto-replies to texts and calls straight to voicemail when moving faster than 25 mph
  • myAT&T: Access your AT&T account
  • Plenti: A rewards program in conjunction with Exxon, Macy's Hulu, and others
  • Smart Limits: Parental controls on times, calls, data, and more
  • Usage Manager: Track data usage by app
  • Visual Voicemail: View your voicemails with your eyeballs

The Global Galaxy S7, G930F, is compatible with the AT&T network on the following bands...

 

Zendroid1

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I'm on T-Mobile and the only thing stopping me from getting the international version at this point is no VoLTE. I'd much prefer the Exynos version with no T-Mobile gunk (which isn't much but it's still there). I just wish I could somehow get VoLTE because I'm used to hearing crystal clear phone calls!
 

ironass

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What about Sprint devices?

I heard that some stuff is disabled on Sprint S7 Edge devices.

Like something called "shutter?"

And no VoLTE as well?

The Global or International model of the Samsung Galaxy S7, G930F, is a worldwide GSM phone and therefore, not compatible with Sprint/Verizon/US Cellular/China Telecom, CDMA networks.
 
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I obviously know that.

What I want to know is what features, if any, aren't available to Sprint/CDMA models?

I've heard that some features aren't enabled.
 
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ironass

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I'm on T-Mobile and the only thing stopping me from getting the international version at this point is no VoLTE. I'd much prefer the Exynos version with no T-Mobile gunk (which isn't much but it's still there). I just wish I could somehow get VoLTE because I'm used to hearing crystal clear phone calls!

The Global model is VoLTE compatible as a number of worldwide carriers, outside of the USA, use it, including EE in the U.K. and Vodafone in Germany. The problem is that like the U.S. models, they require a carrier VoLTE app. Therefore, if you are in the U.K. and have an unbranded phone on the EE network, you will need to flash the EE firmware to take advantage of their VoLTE calling.
 

captain_tinker

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You will have to get used to receiving bugfix/security updates direct from Samsung every 4-8 weeks approx:

You will have around another 1 GB of phone storage.

You will NOT have any of the following AT&T apps...

  • AT&T Locker: Cloud storage from AT&T.
  • AT&T Protect Plus: Cloud backups, device locator and "Pro Tech support."
  • Device Help: Essentially a wrapper for the att.com help pages
  • DirecTV: AT&T purchased satellite TV company DirecTV in 2015, and now their app is right here for you
  • Drive Mode: Sets auto-replies to texts and calls straight to voicemail when moving faster than 25 mph
  • myAT&T: Access your AT&T account
  • Plenti: A rewards program in conjunction with Exxon, Macy's Hulu, and others
  • Smart Limits: Parental controls on times, calls, data, and more
  • Usage Manager: Track data usage by app
  • Visual Voicemail: View your voicemails with your eyeballs

The Global Galaxy S7, G930F, is compatible with the AT&T network on the following bands...

[url]http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k590/ironass01/G930F%20on%20ATampT_zps9foxqapp.png[/URL]

Most of that doesn't bother me, but I do use Visual Voicemail. Hmmm... Can't that be downloaded from Google Play? Or some other equivalent of it? I actually sometimes use the Usage Manager too, but not often. Otherwise, I don't use any of the others.

As for VoLTE, is that really something that is even in use much right now, especially on AT&T? From what I read, it can only be used between two devices that support it, and on the same network, which reduces the possibility that you will ever be able to make any use of it...
 

ironass

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Thank you so much for the non-answer. You're basically throwing a book at my face.

This still won't answer my question.

I have shown you the way to obtain the answer to your question. It just requires a modicum of effort on your part to obtain the answers you require.

 

ironass

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I DID READ ALL PERTINENT PARTS THAT WERE RELATED TO MY QUESTIONS.

I still didn't find my answer.

So, this is your question...

I obviously know that.

What I want to know is what features, if any, aren't available to Sprint/CDMA models?

I've heard that some features aren't enabled.

Which, "features", do you mean?

Is it things like, "Galaxy Labs", on page 137 of the Global manual?
 
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captain_tinker

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Ok fellas, no need to turn a simple question into an all out war and mudfight. Let's see if we can be a little more civil to each other please? Thank you Ironass for posting the User manuals, those were really quite interesting. A fun find if you will. From what I can see so far, it sounds like despite the Exynos being just slightly better in the way of specs, the way carriers have set things up, it may just be better to settle for the US carrier version if you are in the US? My biggest concern is that I heard that the Snapdragon 820 was "overclocked", whatever that really means in this case. That word has always set up red flags to me, as running something past what it is rated to run at, and liable to fail early because of it. That's why I have never overclocked any of my own computer processors, and why I hesitate to go with the US Carrier version, along with the other minor gripes. I'm sure that no matter what it's going to be a faster phone than my current Galaxy S4, whichever one I choose. I was just trying to do a comparison to see if there were any show stoppers by getting the international version for use here in the US, if there was anything that was really going to be a problem going forward.
 

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