My 3 month review of S7e

[NEXUS_HTC_PS]

So, I've had this phone(verizon branded) for about three months now. It was one of two choices, between an iPhone 6s and the edge. I'm an Android guy, c'mon. My background in smartphones, as my screen name imposes, is with HTC and Nexus products. I had a short stint with the S6e last year but couldn't pull myself to keep a phone solely for the camera. Everything else about that phone I couldn't stand, and I wasn't willing to spend my hard earned cash on a crap phone with a stellar camera. I ended up going back to the software slick M9 after a week. Comparisons with the HTC 10 because I like having relative content. So, let's dive in.

I'll start with the camera, since this is the only wow factor for me. Like I said, wow factor. A little over sharpening of details but it's fantastic. I have a DSLR so, I've never been infatuated with smartphone cameras. Nothing compares to a good quality DSLR. Not even close. I get really bad noise and fragmentation in low light though. Way more than my HTC 10. The 10 is, by far, better in lower lighting conditions. Front facing camera, nowhere even close to the 10. I have three little boys and a wife I am constantly taking pics with. I would never pick this phone up to do that.

Software still sucks. I keep trying to swipe cards away in chrome browser or google now and it doesn't register. I mean, it's Frustrating. Yes, with a capital F. I've never had this problem before. At times, even just trying to tap a link isn't registered. Being an owner of an HTC 10, this is borderline infuriating. I could go on all day about how I dislike the user facing interface but alas, no one wants to hear how much I think it's still garbage TW.

Fingerprint sensor is so inferior to what I'm used to on the 10. I've never had so many misreads before using this phone. Five fingerprints registered and two are duplicated thumbs for better accuracy. Enough said here.

Build quality is mediocre. It's no tank. It feels light and kind of fragile really. I am not a fan of using cases, but in this case, it will be in a case. Haha.

The call quality is good and the speakerphone works great. I had to side load the Nexus phone and contacts apps, as I couldn't stand the stock dialer.(Side not off topic. The thing is though, my 10 gets better service in most areas and it's on T-Mobile. Obviously this is on the carrier. I thought Verizon was supposed to have better service?)

Battery life on this phone is great. It gets me through a full day while using GPS, Bluetooth, data and calls. I'm on the phone a lot with project managers and the sales team, so it is important that the battery lasts.

In conclusion, I feel like this is a device that mimics it's predecessor. It's still not a phone that I would spend my hard earned money on. Sure, the camera. Sure the battery. Sure, that's about it. Everything else falls behind what I chose to spend my hard earned money on and it only made me that much happier that I stuck with HTC.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[cwbcpa]

Definitely not the phone for you. Glad you found one you like.

 

[Almeuit]

Glad you found the phone you like. That's the joy of Android.. We have choices versus one phone such as iPhone .

 

[thecomicbookandme]

I don't think your criticism of the fingerprint sensor is typical of the majority of S7e's. Mine has worked flawlessly since day one.

 

[shook187]

OP, no comments on how much better and brighter the S7 screen is over all its competitors?

 

[ded1945]

Hate to say it, but the screen name paves the way for how the review is going to go. A good word about the Galaxy was not about to be said.

 

[Stwutter]

Hate to say it, but the screen name paves the way for how the review is going to go. A good word about the Galaxy was not about to be said.

Yeah, but he's entitled to have favourites, and at least has used an alternative. Plenty just stick with a brand and refuse to even try something different, even if all the evidence suggests they should.

I'm 3 months in with mine, and it's been brilliant, but with one or two exceptions:

I often find that I can't swipe notifications away from the lock screen, or the home screen once unlocked. This happens 2 or 3 times a day, and they either lag halfway then disappear, or just don't respond. I've even done a factory reset, but the issue persists. The only other gripe is that often the phone hangs for 10-20 seconds after a call, still showing the details of the call I was just on.

Neither of these are deal-breakers, but it could well be the software. The processor, GPU & screen package perform admirably otherwise.

Totally disagree with the OP on the build - I think he's confusing build quality with potential fragility. This thing is solid, albeit with a lot of glass instead of metal. And I've had no issue with the fingerprint sensor either.

 

[NEXUS_HTC_PS]

OP, no comments on how much better and brighter the S7 screen is over all its competitors?

The screen......the screen.....
Oh! The thing you stare at the entire time you use the phone. Gotcha. You know, at first, I felt like it was going to be a huge difference. Then after a while I found out two things.

1)While, yes, it is brighter. It is never being looked at side by side. So when interchanging between the two, I've never noticed a difference. I'm looking at one to do personal things and the other for business things. Never both at the same time. So to close this bullet point, both phones are crisp with nice colors. Maybe better on technicality, but I've honestly never noticed it and they both are in the same league as far as clarity.

2)Both perform fantastically well in direct sunlight.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[NEXUS_HTC_PS]

Yeah, but he's entitled to have favourites, and at least has used an alternative. Plenty just stick with a brand and refuse to even try something different, even if all the evidence suggests they should.

I'm 3 months in with mine, and it's been brilliant, but with one or two exceptions:

I often find that I can't swipe notifications away from the lock screen, or the home screen once unlocked. This happens 2 or 3 times a day, and they either lag halfway then disappear, or just don't respond. I've even done a factory reset, but the issue persists. The only other gripe is that often the phone hangs for 10-20 seconds after a call, still showing the details of the call I was just on.

Neither of these are deal-breakers, but it could well be the software. The processor, GPU & screen package perform admirably otherwise.

Totally disagree with the OP on the build - I think he's confusing build quality with potential fragility. This thing is solid, albeit with a lot of glass instead of metal. And I've had no issue with the fingerprint sensor either.

Definitely build quality buddy.

https://youtu.be/tS3NLCPK4NI

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Almeuit]

Yeah, but he's entitled to have favourites, and at least has used an alternative. Plenty just stick with a brand and refuse to even try something different, even if all the evidence suggests they should.

I'm 3 months in with mine, and it's been brilliant, but with one or two exceptions:

I often find that I can't swipe notifications away from the lock screen, or the home screen once unlocked. This happens 2 or 3 times a day, and they either lag halfway then disappear, or just don't respond. I've even done a factory reset, but the issue persists. The only other gripe is that often the phone hangs for 10-20 seconds after a call, still showing the details of the call I was just on.

Neither of these are deal-breakers, but it could well be the software. The processor, GPU & screen package perform admirably otherwise.

Totally disagree with the OP on the build - I think he's confusing build quality with potential fragility. This thing is solid, albeit with a lot of glass instead of metal. And I've had no issue with the fingerprint sensor either.

Agreed. Everyone should get what they like . I agree on the FP sensor. I haven't had an issue on any of my phones with a FP sensor except the S6. Man the S6 was just .. awful. I went to the Nexus after that. I didn't have an issue with the 6P reading my finger but more so it being on the back. I mean I got used to it but it did suck when sitting on a desk and wanting to unlock since I would have to pick it up or enter pass-code.

 

[shook187]

OP, how about battery life? No comparison there? Seems like you avoided mentioning what the S7 Edge offers over the HTC 10

 

[Stwutter]

Definitely build quality buddy.

https://youtu.be/tS3NLCPK4NI

Posted via the Android Central App

Well, 'Buddy', I think I said "I think he's confusing build quality with potential fragility". The video has nothing to do with build quality. The S7E is very well built, but if your wanted to prove that glass is likely to fail faster than metal if you drop it onto a breeze-block, then rest assured we're all better informed.

 

[ThrottleJohnny]

I really wanted to like the HTC 10, but found it pretty boring.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[erasat]

I really wanted to like the HTC 10, but found it pretty boring.

Posted via the Android Central App

Mine is going back soon, I pre-ordered the Axon 7 and once I get it after August 15th. (I want the Quartz grey one) the Note 7 should have been announced and possibly ready to buy so the HTC 10 will be given up as my Jump On Demand for the Note 7.

Only compelling thing on the HTC 10 is the sound via headphones because the speakers are meh, and if you are into the metal build then it's good but both of those things I can get with the Axon 7 and a great sound via speakers at almost half the price than the HTC, and for my S7 edge this is my Work's phone so it maybe one of those occasions where I have 3 phones to switch to, or if I really like the Axon then I can just return the HTC for the cheaper JumpOnDemand phone I can get and give it to my mom.

 

[anon(1733)]

I had the htc 10 as well. The fingerprint sensor is definitely better on the 10 for sure. Although the OP3 beats that one. All devices have their strengths and weaknesses. I'm glad you found the device for you. I ended up going from the s7edge to the htc 10 to the moto x pure to the OP3 and back to the s7 edge. I just really enjoy what samsung has done and I truly like the device as a whole.

 

[anon(52425)]

So, I've had this phone(verizon branded) for about three months now. It was one of two choices, between an iPhone 6s and the edge. I'm an Android guy, c'mon. My background in smartphones, as my screen name imposes, is with HTC and Nexus products. I had a short stint with the S6e last year but couldn't pull myself to keep a phone solely for the camera. Everything else about that phone I couldn't stand, and I wasn't willing to spend my hard earned cash on a crap phone with a stellar camera. I ended up going back to the software slick M9 after a week. Comparisons with the HTC 10 because I like having relative content. So, let's dive in.

I'll start with the camera, since this is the only wow factor for me. Like I said, wow factor. A little over sharpening of details but it's fantastic. I have a DSLR so, I've never been infatuated with smartphone cameras. Nothing compares to a good quality DSLR. Not even close. I get really bad noise and fragmentation in low light though. Way more than my HTC 10. The 10 is, by far, better in lower lighting conditions. Front facing camera, nowhere even close to the 10. I have three little boys and a wife I am constantly taking pics with. I would never pick this phone up to do that.

Software still sucks. I keep trying to swipe cards away in chrome browser or google now and it doesn't register. I mean, it's Frustrating. Yes, with a capital F. I've never had this problem before. At times, even just trying to tap a link isn't registered. Being an owner of an HTC 10, this is borderline infuriating. I could go on all day about how I dislike the user facing interface but alas, no one wants to hear how much I think it's still garbage TW.

Fingerprint sensor is so inferior to what I'm used to on the 10. I've never had so many misreads before using this phone. Five fingerprints registered and two are duplicated thumbs for better accuracy. Enough said here.

Build quality is mediocre. It's no tank. It feels light and kind of fragile really. I am not a fan of using cases, but in this case, it will be in a case. Haha.

The call quality is good and the speakerphone works great. I had to side load the Nexus phone and contacts apps, as I couldn't stand the stock dialer.(Side not off topic. The thing is though, my 10 gets better service in most areas and it's on T-Mobile. Obviously this is on the carrier. I thought Verizon was supposed to have better service?)

Battery life on this phone is great. It gets me through a full day while using GPS, Bluetooth, data and calls. I'm on the phone a lot with project managers and the sales team, so it is important that the battery lasts.

In conclusion, I feel like this is a device that mimics it's predecessor. It's still not a phone that I would spend my hard earned money on. Sure, the camera. Sure the battery. Sure, that's about it. Everything else falls behind what I chose to spend my hard earned money on and it only made me that much happier that I stuck with HTC.

Posted via the Android Central App

Review? Lol. I'll fix the title for you... "Open this thread to read about how cool HTC is while I take a dump all over the Edge." You're entitled to your opinion but this wasn't anywhere near a review. You said it, it's a comparison.

 

[Visc]

Weird, when I had the HTC 10, I could just barely see it in sunlight. No issue with that on the edge

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

Before things get a little heated, let us remind ourselves that while the OP's post may not satisfy some users, he is entitled to his own opinion. Everyone views different devices in a different manner and the least we could do is respect that. We don't have to agree with opinions, but we can at least respect them.

And let's take this opportunity to remind ourselves of one great thing about Android; Choice.

Glass, metal or plastic? TouchWiz, Sense or vanilla? Front or rear mounted finger scanners? AMOLED or IPS LCD? Great sound or water-resistance? The choice is always up to you and with Android, there's bound to be one that fits your needs.

 

[LeoRex]

Before things get a little heated, let us remind ourselves that while the OP's post may not satisfy some users, he is entitled to his own opinion. Everyone views different devices in a different manner and the least we could do is respect that. We don't have to agree with opinions, but we can at least respect them.

Pretty much... there's no need to get mad at someone for not liking what you like. Everyone's experiences are different... my wife is pretty much sick of her S7 (camera quality, touch response, battery life, and a few other complaints), so if you asked her about the phone, you would most likely get a review that wasn't nearly as kind as the one in the OP. But that's her experience... and my responsibility I guess, since I apparently head up all R&D at Samsung, Google, T-Mobile, Microsoft, etc.

 

[rong21]

I have the S7e and the 6P. Can't bring myself to get rid of either. I like both for different reasons so I swap back and forth.

never understood why people get wrapped around the axle if someone doesn't like the phone/OEM you do. If I had to pick an OEM I wasn't fond of that would be LG and Apple iPhone. Other folks love them.