Samsung Launches The Galaxy S7 Active: AT&T Exclusive

Samsung Mobiles USA has launched the much rumored “rough and tough” version of its flagship Android Smartphone in the country with the official announcement of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active. This new device is the fourth iteration in the Active series which started off its journey first in the form of the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active. The S4 Active was followed up by the Samsung Galaxy S5 Active and the Samsung Galaxy S6 Active. Weeks after Samsung announced the Samsung Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 Edge earlier this year, people had already started talking about a prospective Active version of the phone. All “Active” branded Samsung devices have been AT&T exclusives in the past, and this is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

Let us now check out what’s new with the new Galaxy S7 Active.

To start off, the phone has received a major hardware upgrade. It now features the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chip. There is 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM making the device, at least on paper, quite fast. Internal memory is adequate – 32GB in all. However, we’re sure, there would be enough takers for a version with either 64GB, 128GB or even a 256GB version. If you feel the internal memory is way too low, you can always opt for a microSD card, using which you can expand the memory further up to 200GB. Lest we forget, the display on the device is a 5.1-inch QHD (2560×1440 pixels) Super AMOLED display.

Let us now talk about the “tough” aspects of the phone. While previous phones from the “Active” range were designed to take some amount of punishment, the new Galaxy S7 Active takes things one step further. This one features a shatter-proof display which, according to Samsung, will protect the display from shattering in case you drop the phone from a reasonable height (5 feet or less) onto a flat surface. Apart from this, the phone is IP68 water and dust resistant. This means the device can survive being underwater up to a depth of 5 feet for up to 30 minutes.

Moving on to the other hardware specifications, the phone sports a 12-megapixel main camera at the rear to satiate all your imaging needs. This is a well-spec’d autofocus camera very similar to the one you have seen on the Galaxy S7. The main camera also gets an LED flash for low light imaging. The front facing camera is a 5-megapixel unit which is capable of capturing decent selfies.

Like its siblings, the S7 Active also gets a fingerprint sensor for added security. It also comes preinstalled with Samsung’s own Knox security suite. Powering the potent hardware is a large 4,000 mAh battery that should keep the phone powered throughout the entire day. Samsung claims that the phone can deliver up to 32 hours of talk time. The large battery can also be fully charged in less than two hours.

Connectivity options are aplenty with the phone supporting Bluetooth v 4.0, 4G LTE, 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS, and GLONASS. Samsung has decided to continue with the tried and tested micro USB port for wired connections instead of opting for the newer USB Type C standard.

So, are you interested in buying the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active? If yes, head to the nearest AT&T store on Friday, June 10, when the phone officially goes on sale. You can also book one from the AT&T online store. The device would be available at $26.50 for a 30-month contract or $33.13 a month for a 24-month contract. You have three color options to choose from: Sandy Gold, Titanium Grey, and Camo Green.

[Image via Samsung | Flickr | Cropped and resized | CC BY-NC-SA 2.0]