Whether you like a particular phone’s design is obviously a subjective matter, but having had the time to tweak its curved design through the S6 Edge and S6 Edge Plus, Samsung’s done a lot of ostensibly good work with the S7 Edge. It feels comfortable in the hand without being too slippery, while the curved design gives it the kind of premium look you’d expect at this price point.
When Samsung first started developing phones with curved sides, it didn’t really have a good concept of what you’d use such a thing for besides looking cool. The new two icon deep app, task and people edges work a little better than previous implementations and the fact that Samsung is more open about app development in this space via an open SDK gives hope for even more refinement from third parties. It’s still not a killer application, though, and Samsung hasn’t made the curved side software of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge a must-have feature. It only really mimics things you can already do with app icons. It’s improved, but we’re yet to see a real reason to opt for it given it’s just a different access method right now.
Samsung’s approach to Android software used to be a near complete redesign of the Android experience, which was a rather painful matter unless you absolutely adored what it did. The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge doesn’t go down that road much, save for the Always on Display feature, which sips at the power in return for a permanent clock or calendar display. It’s not a vital feature, but if you’re not a fan of wearing a wristwatch, it’s a neat way to quickly check the time without having to fully power up your phone.
While we're grateful for the return of expandable storage with the Galaxy S7 Edge, it's a little frustrating that it comes at the expense of a second SIM card slot. Samsung does produce a dual SIM model of the Galaxy S7 Edge, but not officially in Australia, where it's single SIM only with microSD expansion. If you want dual SIM you'll have to import one in from overseas, but if you do, this involves a compromise. If you add microSD card storage you can only use one SIM card slot. If you want dual SIMs, you can’t expand the memory.
Like the S7, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge uses an internal water cooling pipe to keep the device cooler under heavy loads. Neat, although in no way unique technology, but it needs more water internally if our tests are any gauge, because after a heavy load the Galaxy S7 Edge gets noticeably hot in your hand. It is IP68 rated, so you could always splash cold fresh water over it to cool it down, but you shouldn’t have to.