Samsung Galaxy S7 Could Challenge the iPhone 6s

Samsung received a lot of great reviews after they released the Galaxy S6 and — especially — the Galaxy S6 Edge earlier this year. Engadget described both phones as Samsung’s best in years.

“As if to silence the doubters, Samsung has not one, but two flagships on offer — the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge — and they’re surrounded by questions. Can they restore Samsung to its former glory? Has the company figured out how to build a truly interesting smartphone again?”

USA Today gave the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge an almost perfect review.

“Let’s cut to the chase: Samsung nailed it with the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge,” writes author Edward C. Baig.

Baig praised the design of both phones, especially the Galaxy S6 Edge. He says the display on the S6 Edge is eye-popping and notes that there are a lot of functions you can use on the “Edge” screen. Like other critics, Baig liked how the new Galaxy S6 phones weren’t full of gimmicks, but real and genuine surprises.

Unfortunately, both phones didn’t restore Samsung to the brand’s former glory. Within a month of their release, reports of poor sales went viral. Exact sales figures haven’t been released, but they are a far cry from Samsung’s Galaxy S3 and even the Galaxy S4. Even the release of the much-loved Galaxy Note 5 hasn’t done the trick. But that doesn’t mean that Samsung has given up, especially since they are currently preparing the Galaxy S7. Today, SamMobile revealed that the S7 will have a highly-requested feature.

“It might not come as a surprise to some, but our sources have confirmed that the Galaxy S7 will come with a USB Type-C port instead of a standard microUSB port.”

SamMobile notes that USB Type-C has been publicized a lot this year and uses a reversible cable so it can be plugged into a device in different ways, can charge a device a lot faster, and offers an even faster data transfer than USB 3. According to Tech Times, the Galaxy S7 will have a feature similar to Force Touch on the iPhone 6s.

“Unsurprisingly, the Samsung Galaxy S7 will embody some of the iPhone’s recent technologies, including 3D Touch…Samsung has tapped Synaptics to use its ClearForce technology to achieve the future Samsung screen.”

Tech Times also adds that the Samsung Galaxy S7 will come with an edge screen design. They also predict the new smartphone could be waterproof. Slash Gear adds that the Galaxy S7 screen could add variable speed scroll, function preview and selection, right click behavior, and built-in image editing.

Samsung will have a difficult time taking the market back from Apple, given that the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus are garnering all the attention, even if sales aren’t as brisk as the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Many people believe that Samsung is shooting itself in the foot by trying to be too much like Apple. Samsung used to be unique in that it offered not only a removable battery, but a microSD card slot as well. There is no word yet on whether those two features will return on the Galaxy S7.

It is believed that Samsung’s Galaxy S7 will arrive earlier than expected — perhaps late February or March. Are you excited about the Galaxy S7 or do you think Samsung has really lost the plot? Let us know in the comments section.

[Feature photo by Bloomberg for Getty Images]