Samsung Galaxy S7 will be the BEST phone of the year, if any of these rumours are true

SAMSUNG is weeks away from unveiling its latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S7. And if the rumours are true, this could easily be the smartphone to beat in 2016.

 

Curved Labs has imagined a radical new design for the Samsung smartphone

 

Samsung is expected to unveil its next flagship smartphone at the Mobile World Congress technology tradeshow in Barcelona next month. But the South Korean firm’s latest smartphone has a hard act to follow.

The Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge are brilliant smartphones, and a major departure in terms of industrial design for the South Korean technology giant.

Samsung ditched the Galaxy S5’s dimpled plastic case – that bore an eery resemblance to an old plaster – in favour of a sleek glass case with a strong, all-metal band around the edges. And the S6 Edge took that stunning design one step further, adding a beautiful, curved Quad-HD 5.1inch display.

Both variations packed the same great 16MP camera, fast Octa-core 64-bit processor, and 3GB of RAM. 

Unsurprisingly the Samsung smartphones reaped gongs throughout the last year, picking up acclaim from the T3 Magazine Awards, EE Pocket-Lint Awards and TrustedReviews award shows.

And that brings us to the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge.

 

The concept images imagines the Galaxy S7 has multiple curves, unfortunately rumours don't back this

 

Samsung is expected to introduce pressure sensitivity to its flagship Galaxy S7 next year

 

The South Korean firm is expected to keep a similar industrial design to the S6 and S6 Edge, despite what some of the more creative or elaborate three-dimensional renders would have you believe.

Instead of completely overhauling its design for a second year running, Samsung is expected to address some of the issues levelled at its award-winning handsets. And that’s incredibly exciting.

First on the majority of Samsung owners’ wish list – the microSD card.

Samsung dropped the removable rear case, with its swappable battery pack and expandable microSD card slot, in the move from the Galaxy S5 to the Galaxy S6. Not everyone was happy with the decision, which allowed the firm to create the beautiful unibody design of the S6 Edge – but resulted in a sealed, Apple-esque handset.

 

Samsung is reportedly planning to reintroduce the microSD card slot

 

Hopefully, the return of expandable storage via microSD will go some way to reassuring buyers that Samsung hasn’t forgotten about its user-upgradeable Android roots.

Plus, those looking to shoot extensively in 4K video and not run out of phone storage will no doubt be happy with the addition of microSD, since the 128GB Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge model previously retailed for an eye-watering £779.00.

Samsung is also expected to refine and tweak the rear camera on the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. Taking a step back from the never-ending specs race Android manufacturers often find themselves caught in, Samsung is rumoured to be dropping its rear camera from 16MP to 12MP.

The South Korean firm is expected to increase the size of the pixels in its image sensor, which will improve performance in tough, low-light conditions. That’s more important to smartphone owners, who will often use their mobile devices in trying light-conditions, like a dimly-lit restaurant, gloomy pub, or night club. 

 

Plus, the Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X and Apple iPhone 6S have all proven that 12-megapixels is more than enough.

The camera is believed to have a f/1.7 aperture, and will sit flush with the body of the smartphone, unlike the slightly-unsightly protruding camera module on the back of the Galaxy S6 Edge.

Samsung is expected to keep the same five-megapixel front-facing camera as last year.

Another tweak that could really make a difference to Galaxy S7 owners is the return of a sealed, water and dust resistant design – a feature Samsung once marketed its entire Galaxy range on, back in February 2014.

Like the improvements to the camera, this is a user-facing feature that really adds to the appeal – much more so than the svelte and stylish redesign that came with the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge.

And then there were two. pic.twitter.com/sfGiOtjGXc

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) January 27, 2016

Tweaks to low-light camera performance, the return of a water resistant design and a microSD card slot are all great additions to the flagship Samsung smartphone, none of them are particularly sexy and likely won’t motivate the average S6 Edge owner to upgrade to the latest and great from Samsung.

But that’s where the final new addition comes in.

Samsung is expected to unveil a variation of the pressure-sensitive display technology Apple incorporated into its iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus.

Technology firm Synaptics is believed to be developing the cutting-edge screen that responds differently as varying levels of pressure are applied to the multitouch display.

 

Alongside a bump to Android 6.0 Marshmallow, this offers some intriguing software possibilities for Samsung. 

Aside from a brief appearance in the Huawei Mate S Force, few Android manufacturers have experimented with the possibility of pressure sensitivity - and none with the influence that Samsung currently posses.

How the South Korean firm chooses to incorporate pressure to the Android ecosystem remains to be seen - and very little has leaked about this feature.

 

Apple used 3D Touch to introduce two new system-wide features, Peek and Pop

 

Apple used its pressure sensitive display to introduce Peek and Pop, the ability to push down on a list item to see a quick preview of the content - or Peek. Pop happens when the user keeps pushing into the display - popping the item open. 

iOS apps updated for 3D Touch can also include up to four frequently-accessed menu options, which appear when pressure is applied to the app icon on the iPhome Home Screen. 

Android has widgets on its Home Screen, which can provide a similar functionality -- and much, much more.

 

Samsung is expected to unveil some exciting user-focused refinements

 

However Samsung decides to adapt Google's operating system to work under pressure, the results will surely be interesting. And will likely help Samsung stand-out from increased competition from the likes of Huawei, LG and HTC - all rumoured to have some stellar new flagship smartphones in the works. 

The effortlessly-stylish Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge were a shot in the arm for the Galaxy range - and marked a new start. 

But the user-focused refinements and generous amount of polish Samsung is expected to apply to their successors, the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Plus, could make insides of these flagship phones as interesting as their exterior.