Galaxy S7 / S7 Edge

lol.. I work for one of the big 4 as well.. Firday at work when someone was complaining about the keyboard on there g4 I was like how come you dont just install another keyboard & I got a "you can do that look".. And this was an employee, not even a customer.

This means nothing really. I am not a fan of touchwiz, but the google now launcher fixed that for me already.
 
What is this? Make shit up day? The Note is/ was recognized as the best supported Android phone of all time lol!

4.1.2, 4.3 and 4.4.

Yea, shit tactic support right their :rolleyes:
 
Galaxy S7 Bootloader Explained: You Might Not Get AOSP After All

With this, Samsung has effectively locked all development on the Snapdragon 820 variants of the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. Even though most of this discussion exists in the T-Mobile S7 Edge forums, the scenario and the consequences apply to all carriers and to the S7 (SD-820) as well. What was supposed to be a developer friendly device from Samsung in a long time has become even more locked down than the Exynos variants. This is really frustrating for users who are specifically looking for a Samsung device with development, since they were more likely to roll with the Snapdragon 820 variant than the Exynos variant based on past experiences
 
Galaxy S7 Bootloader Explained: You Might Not Get AOSP After All

With this, Samsung has effectively locked all development on the Snapdragon 820 variants of the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. Even though most of this discussion exists in the T-Mobile S7 Edge forums, the scenario and the consequences apply to all carriers and to the S7 (SD-820) as well. What was supposed to be a developer friendly device from Samsung in a long time has become even more locked down than the Exynos variants. This is really frustrating for users who are specifically looking for a Samsung device with development, since they were more likely to roll with the Snapdragon 820 variant than the Exynos variant based on past experiences

See last page.

Buying a Samsung device for development is like by a 4X4 truck for the great gas mileage.
 
Yea I don't get it. Just buy something else. Return the S7 if you already bought it. Why fight a losing battle and hope it will change when it won't?

The S7 Edge seems like a nice device. I'm tempted to get one after messing around with one for a few hours. The display is so gorgeous and it feels nice too. I do wish it had USB C simply for the reveraable charging port.

I can't decide if I want to wait for the Note 6 or some other device coming this year.
 
Galaxy S7 Bootloader Explained: You Might Not Get AOSP After All

With this, Samsung has effectively locked all development on the Snapdragon 820 variants of the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. Even though most of this discussion exists in the T-Mobile S7 Edge forums, the scenario and the consequences apply to all carriers and to the S7 (SD-820) as well. What was supposed to be a developer friendly device from Samsung in a long time has become even more locked down than the Exynos variants. This is really frustrating for users who are specifically looking for a Samsung device with development, since they were more likely to roll with the Snapdragon 820 variant than the Exynos variant based on past experiences

Since when was a Samsung device developer friendly? Maybe the GPE S4? Anything Exynos blows for development. Many recent Samsung devices have never achieved root.

This is Samsung flexing their muscle in order to make the Galaxy brand the go-to phone for businesses. No more. No less.
 
Ah well -- I'd hoped for developer support to be honest, but it does look unlikely. It's going to be hard to give up CM and such after years with the GS2, GS3, G2 and G3. A new launcher will just have to be enough. Doubt I'll keep the thing more than a year anyway. My S7 Edge should be here Tuesday -- didn't really want the curve, but I couldn't handle the idea of going to a smaller display from my G3.
 
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Since when was a Samsung device developer friendly? Maybe the GPE S4? Anything Exynos blows for development. Many recent Samsung devices have never achieved root.

This is Samsung flexing their muscle in order to make the Galaxy brand the go-to phone for businesses. No more. No less.

The T-Mobile Galaxy phones have excellent ROM's. My Note 5 is rooted and running a fantastic TW ROM, which debloated the phone big time, made it even smoother and faster, and extended the battery life significantly. My Note 5 feels as smooth and lag free as a Nexus, but with the extra useful features of TW.
 
Since there is no root coming for the U.S versions with the SD820 ( Which is funny actually, as we thought the Snapdragon ones would be the best option for root + custom AOSP ROM's,, well LOL that's not gonna happen )

Bottom line, no root = no buy for me. I can only deal with Touchwiz running with root and Xposed. But for everyone else here, I wish you the best here, this does seem like a pretty kick ass piece of hardware, and hopefully you all have a great time with this sweet phone.

I just wish the GPE program was till around, an S7 Edge GPE would be a nerds wet dream :)
 
The T-Mobile Galaxy phones have excellent ROM's. My Note 5 is rooted and running a fantastic TW ROM, which debloated the phone big time, made it even smoother and faster, and extended the battery life significantly. My Note 5 feels as smooth and lag free as a Nexus, but with the extra useful features of TW.

Except no Samsung Pay, unless there's some hack that lets it work on a rooted phone still.

It's sad to see such great hardware get handicapped by being locked down like this, and this is basically the reason I haven't considered a Samsung phone for the past couple years because I'm on Verizon and the Verizon/AT&T Samsung phone have been locked down especially hard compared to the Sprint/Tmo variants.

I'm amazed that Samsung hasn't just made one US variant and sold it unlocked for all carriers, just like Apple, Moto, HTC, and Google are doing. It's like the carriers still have Samsung by their balls somehow, even though it seems other OEMs are having no problems doing this and you'd think Samsung would have more power over anyone else to stand up to them. So that leads me to believe that Samsung has some sort of "agreement" (they're being paid) with the carriers to conform to their strict security guidelines. But you would think they would save that money anyways by not having to manufacture these special carrier variants if they were able to just make one phone/variant for all US carriers anyways. This would help expedite their software updates as well since they don't have to wait for the carriers to approve their OTAs as well, which is a major point of criticism for Samsung (and carrier phone variants in general). Droid Life actually did a recent article about this too.
 
Since Samsung has gone full retard with the S7, what's the next best phone coming up?
 
Since Samsung has gone full retard with the S7, what's the next best phone coming up?

Despite everyone ragging on it constantly, the HTC M10 (or whatever they call it) is the next considerable phone to come out and what I'm waiting for now. I just want a phone with front facing speakers and an IR blaster to replace my M8 (which it has both). It seems that the leaks of the M10 show that they dropped both though, so it's pretty annoying. But some commenters on a tech blog pointed out that it still has Boomsound speakers (plural) specified in the settings and it may still have an IR blaster hidden behind the top cover (like the M9 did), but I'm not holding my breath. For it to have both speakers though, one would be firing out of the earpiece and the other out of the bottom of the phone, which is odd, but could work alright I guess. After that, the next big phones are from Moto and Oneplus in the mid-late summer.

If the Moto X PE or Nexus 6P had an IR blaster on it, it would be the perfect phone for me. But I've pretty much grown to use my Anymote app exclusively at home for my entertainment system because my wife/kids constantly lose my Harmony remotes and nothing annoys me more than digging through and lifting up all of my living room furniture looking for it, lol. The Anymote app basically turns my phone into a Harmony remote, completely replicating all of its features and I don't have to worry about kids losing it. I even got it working with my fans and other misc IR devices, so it's really convenient.
 
There's also the LG G5, supposedly hitting in early April. 5.3" screen, SD 820, 16MP camera with OIS, SD slot and removable battery, metal body. Also has the weird swappable bottom section thing, to add a B&O DAC, camera grip / battery expansion, etc. Not waterproof.

Almost waited for this, but the barely working (shit repair job, thanks local shop) touchscreen on my LG G3 forced my hand. Couldn't take it anymore.
 
There's also the LG G5, supposedly hitting in early April. 5.3" screen, SD 820, 16MP camera with OIS, SD slot and removable battery, metal body. Also has the weird swappable bottom section thing, to add a B&O DAC, camera grip / battery expansion, etc. Not waterproof.

Almost waited for this, but the barely working (shit repair job, thanks local shop) touchscreen on my LG G3 forced my hand. Couldn't take it anymore.

Yeah, I assumed he already knew about the G5 since it was announced a couple weeks ago with the S7. The G5 seems like a solid phone, it's just hard to consider it at launch when you know it's going to tank in price like all the previous G phones within a few months of launch. They have pretty much went for $400 new or free (or close to it) on contract or with various carrier promotions after 2-3 months of launching. I remember back in November LG was running a $200 rebate offer on top of $100 off coupon on Verizon, which essentially gave you a free phone (on contract), that people were flipping on Swappa for a quick $300-$350 sales. So you could get them new on Swappa for well under $400 after a few months.
 
I'm in the same boat, I'm thinking to just give up and get a nexus6P. My M8 just stopped taking a charge over the weekend and I'm back on a droid RzR Maxx :( Sooooooo slow!

I have 3 upgrades available on my verizon account too, but I do not want an S7 due to being so locked down, and bloated.

I loved the speakers on the HTC M8, why they would remove that is beyond me.
 
You can't just put your finger on the scanner and have it unlock, the screen has to be "activated" by either pressing the home button or the power button. Not really an issue I've ever had, but I guess some people don't like that.

This. It's not a huge issue, but having used my wife's 6P (which doesn't require a button press to unlock) for a bit I'm not used to pressing the button and occasionally I'll find myself hovering my thumb over the button wondering why it won't unlock:LOL:
 
I'm in the same boat, I'm thinking to just give up and get a nexus6P. My M8 just stopped taking a charge over the weekend and I'm back on a droid RzR Maxx :( Sooooooo slow!

I have 3 upgrades available on my verizon account too, but I do not want an S7 due to being so locked down, and bloated.

I loved the speakers on the HTC M8, why they would remove that is beyond me.

Just replace the battery on it. Despite what iFixit says, it wasn't that hard for me to do and the battery is super cheap. That top review on it is actually mine as well. Mine was dying when it said it still had 15-40% charge left. I'm sitting on 2 upgrades still waiting for a good replacement for it, but until then my M8 is plenty fast and now gets 3-4 hours SoT over the course of a day consistently, which is considerably better than my wife's GS6. But I've had the International M8's Marshmallow ROM on my (Verizon) M8 for a few months now too, so that helps. So I would honestly rather keep it than having anything that's out right now.

There were a couple vids on Youtube that walk you through it if you haven't checked it out already. It looks worse than it is to do though, I promise you.
 
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I had to return my s7 edge today due to a faulty camera. There was a black spot/smudge on the images. Brought it to a verizon store and they swapped it no questions asked. Loving the phone so far. Came from an s3 and this is worlds better. Battery life is >24 hours with heavy use and game playing while being in an area with shoddy 4g signal.

I can understand people being upset about a locked boot loader, but really the issue this phone has that people should be focusing on is the battery that can't be replaced once it starts performing like shit.

Other than that, it's a great phone.
 
Since Samsung has gone full retard with the S7, what's the next best phone coming up?

Hot upcoming phones;

- HTC One M10 in April, but we have to wait and see the full spec's is it really a killer phone ? Maybe, maybe not. I do like Sense UI over TW
- OnePlus Three in June, supposed to be very high end metal build, 5.5" QHD screen, SD820, 4GB RAM. for $400.
- Nexus-N phones this Sept / Oct. both built by HTC this year. I'd hold out for those personally.
 
I can understand people being upset about a locked boot loader, but really the issue this phone has that people should be focusing on is the battery that can't be replaced once it starts performing like shit.

Other than that, it's a great phone.

Yeah, were it not for the whole "get it on EDGE and you can swap out at the one year mark" thing there is no way in hell I would consider the phone, if only because of the sealed battery. As it stands I'll probably replace it in a year, and my phone batteries tend to last ~2 years on average before having any major drop in useful life, so I can live with that. I'll either return it and switch carriers, or get something else. Hate Verizon, but I'm an add-on line and barely use data so I'm only paying my $40/month line access, now technically $53/month with the EDGE payments and the lowered line access for being "out of contract".

- OnePlus Three in June, supposed to be very high end metal build, 5.5" QHD screen, SD820, 4GB RAM. for $400.

You know if it's supposed to have US CDMA support this time around? Doubtful, I know.
 
Oh well, had hopes on the Note 6, but it'll probably be locked down like the S7 variants.

Starting to wonder what is the point in buying non-Nexus Android phones.
 
I watched the video and it looked extremely difficult to replace the battery and required a bunch of special tools? (If that's even what the problem is, I think it might also be the charging port). Mine was dying at like 14% though. Maybe i can just pay you to fix it? :) I can also get it replaced through insurance for $150.

I might just get the M10 and see if I can live with it.
 
You know if it's supposed to have US CDMA support this time around? Doubtful, I know.

99% no. An international company wouldn't waste their resources to support one specific U.S. CDMA carrier.

Whereas the world's standard is the GSM network, supported by most countries everywhere almost.
 
I watched the video and it looked extremely difficult to replace the battery and required a bunch of special tools? (If that's even what the problem is, I think it might also be the charging port). Mine was dying at like 14% though. Maybe i can just pay you to fix it? :) I can also get it replaced through insurance for $150.

I might just get the M10 and see if I can live with it.

I just got a cheap $10 tool/pry kit on Amazon too, like I said, it's easier than it looks. At least it was for me. I also replaced my charging port as I was starting to have to hold my usb cable at weird angles to get them to connect/charge. I actually got this one that comes with a tool kit. Looks like it has been replaced/reposted since, just make sure you get one that says it's for the Verizon/AT&T/Sprint M8, as it has an extra antenna connector that you need that the international/unlocked M8 doesn't have.

Hell I'll do it for you if you want to ship it to me. It seriously wasn't that hard.
 
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Even if root is not achievable, if the US variants are sold as unlocked and Dual-sim, I would get the S7. Unfortunately, no dual sim means no go. I dunno why Samsung sells everyone else in the world the dual sim versions, but not the US!
 
Hot upcoming phones;

- HTC One M10 in April, but we have to wait and see the full spec's is it really a killer phone ? Maybe, maybe not. I do like Sense UI over TW
- OnePlus Three in June, supposed to be very high end metal build, 5.5" QHD screen, SD820, 4GB RAM. for $400.
- Nexus-N phones this Sept / Oct. both built by HTC this year. I'd hold out for those personally.

I'm not holding my breath for the OP3. I had the One as an early supporter and used it for about 7 months and my son is using it now.

I bought the OnePlus 2 and OnePlus X but they were just not the same experience as the One and the lack of updates, bug fixes, etc with their Homebrewed Oxygen OS left me with a bad taste.

My iPhone 6s Plus and Nexus 6P should hold me over very well until the Fall at least.

Played with the S7/Edge yesterday and was impressed but nothing earth shattering there either. Nice looking/feeling phones that are quick and the camera is lightning fast but in reality there is not much there over the 6S Plus and 6P.

We are at the point where new phones really are not much of an upgrade and I'm nearing the point where I did with my home PC's in that I don't need to upgrade every year as what I have does what I need very well already and I was just spending money to spend it for minimal real world improvements.
 
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We are at the point where new phones really are not much of an upgrade and I'm nearing the point where I did with my home PC's in that I don't need to upgrade every year as what I have does what I need very well already and I was just spending money to spend it for minimal real world improvements.

Yup, I've pretty much been over my phone upgrade fever since I got a Note 2 a few years back. That lasted me 18 months until I got my M8 and I could have kept using it fine, I just liked what I saw in the M8 so much I wanted to upgrade. Since then, nothing has compelled me to replace it still. I'm sitting on 2 upgrades on Verizon and I'm kinda being forced to use one in a couple months before my contract expires on one of my UDP lines. If the HTC 10 is as disappointing as the leaks show, then I might just get an iPhone or something just to renew my contract and sell it for pure profit and keep my M8 still. That's how much I don't care about any of the current flagships at the moment.
 
If the Moto X PE or Nexus 6P had an IR blaster on it, it would be the perfect phone for me. But I've pretty much grown to use my Anymote app exclusively at home for my entertainment system because my wife/kids constantly lose my Harmony remotes and nothing annoys me more than digging through and lifting up all of my living room furniture looking for it, lol. The Anymote app basically turns my phone into a Harmony remote, completely replicating all of its features and I don't have to worry about kids losing it. I even got it working with my fans and other misc IR devices, so it's really convenient.

Have you looked at the specs on the Xiaomi Mi5? It looks like it will have an IRBlaster on it. No front facing speakers though. It's cheap too - relatively.
 
So who else is getting AMAZING battery life? (edit: by amazing I mean amazingly shitty)

Verizon S7, 2.5 hours SOT

powerdrain.png
powerdrain2.png
 
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Got my Verizon variant Galaxy S S7 Edge (SM-G935V) 4pm yesterday. Craziest thing? Open the box and the thing wakes up with the greeting screen. Feels like wizardry.

Anyway, very happy with it over all, but the curves are just there for the hell of it. They're honestly worthless. I'd much rather have a traditionally flat phone with the same size screen, little to no bezel, and none of the image distortion; in short, a LG G3 with modern hardware and smaller bezels, waterproofed. Shame this just confirms what I already knew -- the G3 was my perfect form-factor.

Having the option of using the curved sections as separate screens would be great too, and someone at Samsung should be fired for not recommending this way back when the S6 Edge saw the light of day. Idiocy.

Beyond that, it's a much less intrusive TouchWiz than I remember from my old AT&T S2 and S3. I generally prefer the Google Now launcher but Samsung's terrible icon choices (couldn't find a theme I really liked on short noticed) forced me to re-download Apex Launcher Prime after years away and make use of the Stark icon pack I've owned for so long.

After a little more messing around I can live with most things save the "quick connect" option in the notification shade. Why the hell isn't this an option when they added it to all official carrier S6 Edge ROMs due to popular demand? Again, idiots. Learn from the past.
 
2.5 hours SOT with 6 hours screen off counts as "AMAZING"? I need more coffee to wake up my sarcasm detectors.

Sorry, I was being sarcastic. It's fucking terrible.

My almost 3 year old G2 has better battery life.
 
Got my Verizon variant Galaxy S S7 Edge (SM-G935V) 4pm yesterday. Craziest thing? Open the box and the thing wakes up with the greeting screen. Feels like wizardry.

You squeezed the box and tapped the power button on accident when opening it ;)
 
So who else is getting AMAZING battery life? (edit: by amazing I mean amazingly shitty)

Verizon S7, 2.5 hours SOT

<snip pix>

Toss Facebook. Disable it or Uninstall it. Use the mobile website instead. The app has been proven to eat 20+% of your battery and not report it directly. Instead it's seen as Android System or Android OS.

See what happens and move on from there.
 
Toss Facebook. Disable it or Uninstall it. Use the mobile website instead. The app has been proven to eat 20+% of your battery and not report it directly. Instead it's seen as Android System or Android OS.

See what happens and move on from there.
It's not facebook. I already removed it, installed samsung package disabler and removed everything i felt safe to. It's seeing similar results still with takign it off the charger at about 7am and having to charge it again before it dies around 6pm.
Even with all that stuff removed, Android System is still my largest battery user.
 
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