Upgrade from s5?

[Ben Earl]

Has anyone upgraded from the s5? Had mine nearly 2 years now and it's doing alright but contract is due for renewal soon, I had a few issues with software (along with everyone else) on the s5, is the s7 and better? (touchwiz)

Was thinking of the Sony z5 before this was released but Sony seems to be going down the pan so a bit weary, basically just wondering if the s7 is much different from the s5?

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[Bridget Booth]

This is the exact upgrade I made. I went from my S5 to an S7. It was worth it. If you liked your S5, you'll probably like your S7 even more. TouchWiz is still very much TouchWiz, but it's a lot less intrusive. I don't feel when setting something up that TouchWiz is actively fighting me. I use Nova, though, so TouchWiz is not a big deal breaker for me. One place the new phone shines is the camera software, which is faster and more flexible than that on the S5. I'm not a big fan of the changes to the dialer from the S5, but I seem to be the only person who has noticed a difference or is bothered by it. I'm also old and cranky, so there's that. Everything else, for better or worse, is still very much the typical Samsung experience. I happen to generally like that.

One thing I cannot speak to is durability. I had a freak accident take out my brand new S7, whereas the S5 survived stuff it had no business surviving. A certain incident involving a trip into the Mississippi Sound comes to mind. So does an incident in which a boxer mistook it for a fetch toy.

 

[JS_racer]

Wife and i both went from s5 to s7, very pleased. Huge upgrade, no regrets at all.

 

[monicakm]

I just upgraded to the S7. I have both phones in front of me right now. I've been doing some speed tests. It's a draw. A couple screens open up the same speed, some the S5 opens faster and some the S7 opens faster. I enable Developer Options on my phones and reduce the animations to .5 or turn them off completely. I made sure both phones had the same settings. The S5 is almost 23 months old with 4.76GB (out of 16GB) free space. LOTS more apps! It's never been reformatted and has a SD card mounted. I expected the S7 to be much faster. I hadn't noticed it being faster and that's why I'm doing a speed test...nothing formal, just real life opening of apps.

If you liked and used Air View on the S5, you'll be disappointed to know it didn't make it over to the S7 (sigh).
(To me) the sound is sub-par to the S5 but I was able to help it a little with some tweaking of the sound mixer.

I DO like the phone. It's new and just like everything else will take some getting used to. The camera is INCREDIBLE (and that's why I bought it).

ps...like Bridget, I can't speak for the durability either. I've only had my phone for 3 days and I'm really babying it because BB didn't have a Zagg screen cover for it. My S5 is one heck of a sturdy phone...or the Zagg screen cover and the Spigen case are top notch products! The S7 "feels" like it might be not as robust as the S5.
I don't have a problem with Touch Whiz. I guess I'm the only one that doesn't.

 

[Ben Earl]

Thanks for the replies, I also use nova launcher on my s5 and it's a big improvement over touchwiz so will probably do the same if I got the s7, and I'll likely use an otterbox case for work again like the s5 which was something else putting me of the Sony

How do people find the finger print sensor? Was disappointed with the s5's stupid swipe style

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[ironass]

I just upgraded to the S7. I have both phones in front of me right now. I've been doing some speed tests. It's a draw.

(To me) the sound is sub-par to the S5 but I was able to help it a little with some tweaking of the sound mixer.

It depends on whether you are upgrading to the Global, worldwide, model or a U.S. carrier minority variant.

If you are switching to the Global, Exynos, model, you will probably notice a higher speed and better audio See, US models, poor battery, audio and slow

 

[Alanhd]

Thanks for the replies, I also use nova launcher on my s5 and it's a big improvement over touchwiz so will probably do the same if I got the s7, and I'll likely use an otterbox case for work again like the s5 which was something else putting me of the Sony

How do people find the finger print sensor? Was disappointed with the s5's stupid swipe style

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I went from the S5, I do miss air view but in all other respects the S7 edge blows it out of the water. The fingerprint sensor is super fast and accurate.

 

[JHStewart1023]

It is a pretty awesome upgrade from the s5. I have had the 5 and this phone is what the 6 should've been.

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[mojobandito]

I've had an s5 nearly 2yr

had the exynos s7 a few weeks now
haven't noticed it getting hot yet seems cool, I think the audio sounds a bit louder and better than s5 using stock audio with adaptive sound turned on in audio settings and jazz gives it a little more bass feel

I like the video game recorder works great if u choose external mic and plug your headphones in and crank the phone volume up to around 11-13 taps of the volume button from 0 the mix of your voice narration and the video music sounds ok your voice can be clearly heard over the music

I recorded many videos to get the correct audio level mix
u can choose video resolution up to 1080p and audio is around 128kbs
auto bitrate records around 5700 - 6400kbs at 720p or 1080p but u can choose lower bitrate

u can choose a photo or record a live picture of yourself using front camera talking on the video, works great

low light pictures do look brighter lightens up the dark areas
pics look similar to the s5 with hdr on in normal light

s7 12mp photo is 4.3 format to get 16.9 u need to drop to 9mp the s5 16mp is 16.9

overall I like the s7 definately work upgrading

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[systemofadown1]

I too recently upgraded from the S5 to the S7 a couple of days ago. I am really loving this phone especially the camera.


I've ordered the fast wireless charger and an OtterBox Defender plus a glass screen protector.
I really like the inherent beauty of this phone over my S5 and hate that I will soon have to cover it up because it is a bit fragile/slippery feeling in hand.

 

[Alanhd]

I too recently upgraded from the S5 to the S7 a couple of days ago. I am really loving this phone especially the camera.


I've ordered the fast wireless charger and an OtterBox Defender plus a glass screen protector.
I really like the inherent beauty of this phone over my S5 and hate that I will soon have to cover it up because it is a bit fragile/slippery feeling in hand.

I have a spigen clear hybrid case on my S7 edge and it's great, it allows the beauty of the phone to shine through and makes it more comfortable to hold in the hand.

 

[JHStewart1023]

I think clear cases are sorta what's in right now- like I said I have 2 clear cases.. love them

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[PA452]

I went from an S4 to the S7. There are definitely some things I really like about my S7, but the difference coming from the S4 isn't mind-blowing like it was when I went from a Droid X to my S4.

 

[monicakm]

Well, I didn't like the idea of only having a black and gold phone to choose from. I loved my S5's shimmery white and the matte texture of the back of the phone. I had a clear case with a light mint green bumper and NO fingerprints. But, the longer I have my gold S7 the more I'm liking the color Paired with yet another clear Spigen Ultra Hybrid case w/ a crystal rose colored bumper, it's very pretty. You can just barely make out the rose colored edges.