The Samsung Galaxy S7 doesn’t look like a huge step forward over 2015’s model. It’s no larger and there’s no major design overhaul – only incremental performance and camera upgrades. But, overall, it makes complete sense: it’s now the 5.1in counterpoint to the 5.5in Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge; it’s the phone you want if you prefer a smaller handset; and it’s the phone you want if you don’t want to pony up for the Galaxy S7 Edge, but do want all the features and core hardware capabilities.
It’s almost as if Samsung took a look at Apple’s two-phone strategy – one big phone, one very similar-looking smaller one – and decided to deliver its own vision of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. Given that not everyone wants a giant 5.7in Galaxy Note 5 (if you can even buy one), it’s a move that makes a lot of sense.
I certainly think it’s a great plan. Increasing the S7 Edge’s screen size to 5.5in gives customers more reasons to buy it, other than just “hmm… it has a curvy screen”, and it gives them reasons to buy the plain old S7 too. Most importantly, however, Samsung has listened to its customers and brought back key features and made subtle improvements in all the right areas.