Oppo Tech Review: The Samsung Galaxy S7, the first Android that made me want to go back to Apple.

"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
11/30/2016 at 11:01 • Filed to: smartphones

I love new and awesome phones, I find tech itself an addictive thing. It’s thus, I try to keep myself always up to date with my phones. I’ve been using only Apple as my “daily driver” for 9 years, with a companion Samsung Galaxy S III Mini that I used to play around with modifying the Android OS.

As of February of this year, I got fed up with the closed Apple ecosystem, phones that don’t work in the cold, and batteries that fail after only 6mo-1yr of use. The iPhone 6 fixed the biggest issues the 4 and the 5 had with signal reliability, but stubbornly persisted with everything else.

Anyway, my first ever daily driver Android was a Nexus 5X, a phone that ran stock Android...for about a month? Then from that point forward it wore Cyanogenmod 13. And, it was bliss. It was everything I loved about iPhones and everything I desired with Android. The biggest caveat with it was that it had an awful plastic battery door, which it seems most of them all got severe “case rub” after just only a few weeks. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, so seeing my phone “dirty” but with no actual way of cleaning it drives me absolutely insane.

Replacing the battery door did nothing, the new one became just like the old one after a month. Ugh...

Enter the Galaxy S7 my mum bought me for some reason.

I gave the Nexus 5X to Miss Tesla (who immediately put stock 7.0 on it) and decided to give Samsung a try.

...And at first it was rather lovely. There were aspects of TouchWiz I didn’t like, but overall it’s been a super phone. But oh boy, I should have known better...After this phone has gotten me across the country from the west and now to and from the South, it’s showing bad signs of either poor design, engineering, or even marketing decisions.

What I like

- The Design - I LOVE glass phones. My favourite phone designs of all time are the Honor 8 and the iPhone 4. I never drop my phones, so fragile glass has never been an issue for me. I like to look at my phones just as much as I do my cats. And there’s something about a glass brick that just revs my engine.

Unfortunately, the Nexus wasn’t pretty in any light or angle, but the Galaxy S7 hits almost all the right spots. I even like the creative metal/glass infused battery door on the back.

- Samsung Pay - Yeah, it’s totally a gimmick, but I admit it is fun paying for things with a phone instead of a card...that said, paying for things with the phone takes as long or longer than just inserting/swiping my chip card...so yeah.

- The Camera - This camera is one of the best of the best you can get on Android. Photos are crisp without much blur, noise, or artificial colouring.

Even night photos are clear!

- Waterproofing - The iPhone 4 remains my favourite overall pokédex ever because generally, the thing just cannot be killed. I dropped mine into 20ft deep salt water for about 10 years without a case, and despite the phone being soaked inside and out, the phone booted up 8 hours later, no damage whatsoever.

And that’s not even impressive as compared to what an iPhone in an Otterbox can do. lol

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The Galaxy is an awesome reminder of my old iPhone. I’ve never been able to dip a naked phone into a pool, and it’s a fun party trick the Galaxy can do...Or more practically, the ability to use it in the rain, snow, or even for music in the shower!

- The Screen - Oh gosh, it’s just beautiful, a sight to behold...I mean here are some of my wallpapers and one of the home screens I used. Imagine images with this resolution on a tiny screen. :D

- Theme Engine - TouchWiz takes some inspiration from the rooting crowd here and offers a theme engine reminiscent of Cyanogenmod. And I like it! Right out of the box customizable themes, icons, fonts, sounds, etc...just like CM!

- Ease of Use - Now, I consider myself either an expert at Android or an Advanced user...however I do have to say that I’m impressed with how much Samsung tried to make the phone as easy to use as possible. My elderly parents picked up their Galaxy phones at a lightning pace.

- Its raw power (when it works) - It loads fast, it processes faster than my home computer, and awesomely seamless transitions.

- Battery Life - The battery isn’t “impressive”, it’s just very predictable. Unlike my iPhone and also unlike the 5X, I never have gotten anxiety from the Galaxy battery. I know exactly how long a certain percentage will last me.

- Selfie Cam - I don’t care what you think about selfies in general, but the selfie cam on this phone is superb. On top of that, using the heart rate sensor to take pics is a neato trick.

And now, to the annoying stuff...

What makes me disappointed

- Signal - Alright, so my Nexus 5X would never lose signal, even if I were in a freaking bunker. But the Galaxy? Shoot, that thing will randomly drop signal in my apartment (it also only has at most 1 bar at the most in my apartment, despite the Nexus having a full 5) or when I need it most on the road. This phone has the most lousy signal of any phone I’ve ever had outside of the OG iPhone 5. And I mean, we’re talking about the same network (Verizon) here, so it’s not like it’s an unfair comparo.

- Bloatware - *Sigh*, it’s bad enough these phones come with many unnecessary apps from Samsung (I have no desire to play Mobile Strike, stop trying to make Mobile Strike happen), but then Verizon comes around and dumps their own list of shoddy, unattractive apps on top of the Sammy ones. Thankfully, you can disable (not delete, because screw you, that’s why) most of the Samsung and Verizon apps...but it’s infuriating that one would have to do such in the first place.

- Unfathomable Lag - Okay, so when the phone is new, it’s blisteringly fast...But once apps like Chrome start caching data, they slow dramatically down. Most of the time I’m using the phone, webpages are lagging worse than your average low budget Chinese tablet. Of course, you can clear out this cached data and get back to ludicrous speed, but you shouldn’t have to. I never needed to with the 5X. Likewise, I had to fully delete Facebook from the Samsung because of how much memory it ate, again, not an issue the 5X had.

- Unlock, Unlock, Unlock - The most infuriating part of the TouchWiz UI for me is the lock screen. In normal Android, you have a drop down bar that gives you basic functions that work while the phone is locked. You usually can flip on bluetooth, turn on airplane mode, turn on the mobile hotspot, etc all with a quick swipe and tap.

Well, with the S7, you have to unlock the phone first (which requires a button press to activate the fingerprint scanner, like the iPhone), then perform those same functions.

Also, unlike AOSP, Sammy doesn’t want you to read your most current messages. If Miss Tesla sends me two texts, it just says “2 New Messages” instead of giving me a preview of the latest message. It will only give me a preview if she only sends 1 text and only 1 text in between me reading them. Whyyyyyy? I even have it set to give me previews in notification settings, but Galaxy doesn’t care.

- Button Placement - So, you don’t like where the “Apps” folder is located? Don’t like that the select and back buttons are backward from every other Android phone? Too bad, you can’t change it. For the life of me I cannot understand why the Apps folder is a locked icon that can’t be changed.

- Apps Drawer - In normal Android, when you download a new App, the system automatically puts them into the drawer in alphabetical order. TouchWiz? Eh, just drops them at the end of the list. You have to manually re-sort after every install if you want alphabetical order.

- Verizon Branding...Everywhere - So, you just bought this cool $700 phone from your Verizon retailer, and despite the phone being Unlocked and even able to be used Internationally, it’s permanently branded with Verizon logos. The back panel has Verizon’s logo etched into the back. The boot animation is some low res Verizon logo that further annoys you...and if you were to use a SIM from another network, the phone will whine at you that it isn’t a Verizon SIM...yet still work anyway.

- Screen Protectors - None really fit. The S7 has curved glass right before the bezel. This means that your average screen protectors will end inside the screen spaaaaaace. There are glass screen protectors that curve around the curve, however they do somehow add some awkward girth to the phone. If you have a thick case, you probably wouldn’t notice though.

- There’s no way you can ditch TouchWiz without losing features- Like Apple, Samsung strives to lock their patrons into the ecosystem as much as possible. So rooting/installing a new ROM nukes your warranty, Sammy also tries to make their TouchWiz apps as proprietary as possible. As you can see by the absolutely tiny amounts of ROMs out there, there is pretty much no escape from TouchWiz...and if you do manage to get away from TouchWiz, for right now you’re stuck with an inspiration of AOSP.

In the end

The Galaxy S7 (at least mine) is an absurdly powerful and beautiful phone gimped by an awful Android skin...and there’s no easy way of just wiping it out for something better.

It is thus, I’m going back to Google. The Galaxy is being sold to someone who adores TouchWiz and I’m either getting a Nexus 6P or a Pixel. I would have gotten an Honor 8 or a OnePlus 3T, but neither phone works on VZW (and the Honor 8 uses an older battery chemistry).

And honestly, if it weren’t for the existence of the Nexus/Pixel phones, I would have gotten me an iPhone 6S Plus and called it a day.

Have a Subie XP wallpaper for your time. :)

DISCUSSION (45)

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Mercedes Streeter
11/30/2016 at 11:09

Just gonna leave this here.

I never drop my phones

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The iPhone 4 remains my favourite overall smartphone ever because generally, the thing just cannot be killed. I dropped mine

#pedantlyfe

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Mercedes Streeter
11/30/2016 at 11:12

I really like my S6 Edge except for the battery life and night camera. I don’t find an issue with the buttons being backwards but maybe because I’m left handed.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Mercedes Streeter
11/30/2016 at 11:18

It sounds like a Pixel would be a perfect phone for you. It has the cleanest and fastest Android installation I have ever used (seriously, it hasn’t lagged once), the camera is killer, battery life has been great for me (I have the 5" and I typically have 40-50% at the end of the day), and while not dunkable like the galaxy it can be used in the rain or light use in the shower. I really couldn’t be happier with mine.

Stapleface > Mercedes Streeter
11/30/2016 at 11:19

I haven’t had any time with a Samsung phone, but are you essentially saying that you can’t put Cyanogenmod 13 on it? That’s pretty lame that you can’t.

I’d like to test drive a Pixel, but I hate the fact that Google made it a VZW exclusive, and since I’m on ATT’s network, it’s a no go for me.

One phone you might want to consider for a replacement besides the two Google phones is the Huawei Honor. I bought one to replace my Nexus 5X after I broke the screen and it has been great. Well, great once I put Cyanogenmod 13 on it. The stock software sucks.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Stapleface
11/30/2016 at 11:21

The Pixel is not locked to verizon. While verizon is the only carrier who has a locked version you can order one from the Google store and use it on any network.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Mercedes Streeter
11/30/2016 at 11:24

Interesting insights, though I am judging you so hard for that font choice :P I just switched from Android (been using it since the HTC g1) to an iPhone 5s and it’s... Pretty garbage. If I could get a well built sub5" phone with stock nougat on it I would be in heaven but no android manufacturers seem interested in making high quality phone small enough for my baby hands.

Textured Soy Protein > Mercedes Streeter
11/30/2016 at 11:28

Get rid of the unreadable script font and install Nova Launcher.

Mach-inator > TheTurbochargedSquirrel
11/30/2016 at 11:33

I second this, my Pixel is pretty great. I’m not ballsy enough to use it in the shower though. My old phone was a 2nd gen Moto X and the camera is a vast improvement over it.

Side note: I got the Daydream headset with it and when you use it the phone gets extremely hot and I have noticed a hit in battery longevity since using it (probably from all the heat), so I don’t recommend using Daydream until some old phone you have is supported.

Stapleface > TheTurbochargedSquirrel
11/30/2016 at 11:34

Really? I thought I could only get it through Verizon, although admittedly I haven’t checked. Damn effective marketing by them if it is the case.

CobraJoe > Textured Soy Protein
11/30/2016 at 11:37

I was going to suggest Nova too.

It will get rid of the annoying touchwiz home screens and add in a lot of customization that you couldn’t do before, plus it lets you customize your app drawer some and is a bit quicker than the stock home screen.

You can do similar things with a lock screen, but I havent found one that I like better than the simple stock one.

There still is a lot of customization you can do without rooting the phone.

haveacarortwoorthree2 > Mercedes Streeter
11/30/2016 at 11:41

I view Samsung Galaxy __7 phones like Chipotle or Blue Bell — I know I’m probably not going to die as a result from them, but why take the chance? :)

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Stapleface
11/30/2016 at 11:42

Verizon is savage about marketing. The ones sold from Google will work on any network.

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Mach-inator
11/30/2016 at 11:44

I haven’t actually used it in the shower yet either other than out of the way as a music player. I have used it in the rain a bunch though. Every phone is going to get toasty and use a lot of power in VR because of the massive load placed on it.

Stapleface > TheTurbochargedSquirrel
11/30/2016 at 11:46

You are indeed correct. Just speced out what I would want. $849. Ouch. That’s only a few hundred less than my mortgage payment! lol

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Stapleface
11/30/2016 at 11:49

They are a bit pricy but so worth it. I wanted a 128gb model but it would have left me with $4 in available credit for the rest of the month (stupid limits on my first and only credit card. Does keep me out of trouble though) so I went with the 32gb.

Phatboyphil > Mercedes Streeter
11/30/2016 at 11:52

Since they’re on the S7 now. How much hipster cred do I get for using a S3 that’s never had a case?

Textured Soy Protein > CobraJoe
11/30/2016 at 11:52

I generally prefer phones with as close to stock Android as possible. Over the years I’ve had the OG Moto Droid Razr, a Samsung Galaxy Nexus, an LG G2, and a Moto X Pure.

The only one I rooted was the G2, which I bought because it was the first phone with the Snapdragon 800 and there wouldn’t be anything else like it for several more months. Even though I knew it had more bloat than I like. There were several particularly stupid LG customizations that kept irritating me and could only be removed with root access.

Generally speaking, as long as a device is close to stock Android, I’m good with Nova Launcher and my keyboard of choice (which has been Google Keyboard for a while but this post is making me give SwiftKey another look).

Mattbob > Mercedes Streeter
11/30/2016 at 11:55

As I have gone trough phones, I have realized a phone is a tool. The best tools are ones that do their jobs and don’t need to be fucked with or make you feel the need to. This is why my favorite phone was my work iPhone 5s. Now I have the 6, and it is good, but not quite as good. Android just makes it about the phone and software, and not the job the phone is designed to do. I do really miss torque pro on my android though.

for Michigan > Mercedes Streeter
11/30/2016 at 12:18

I’ve been quite happy with my 6P and I think you would be, too. It has pretty much all of the things you like about the S7 and 5X without any of the problems you’ve had with either. Though I wish I had known the Pixel was coming when I bought mine, because I’d really prefer a 5" phone to the 6" monster I have now.

Nibby > Mercedes Streeter
11/30/2016 at 12:22

I love my Galaxy S7. I use nova launcher cause I hate touch jizz too. Disabled animations and tweaked the DPI and it’s very fast and battery life is decent. Great phone after you use s different launcher

6cyl > Mercedes Streeter
11/30/2016 at 12:22

Screw Verizon and ATT and Touchwiz. Nexus 5x/6p on Google Fi is the way to go if you like freedom. Bounces between Wi-fi, T-mobile and Sprint networks. Free international roaming. You can receive calls and texts over wi-fi if you don’t have cell coverage. Auto enables data encryption over open wifi networks. And a low monthly bill. I love my 6p.

I tried a galaxy note and loved the same aspects you mentioned and the pen but hated the touch wiz and bloatware.

CobraJoe > Textured Soy Protein
11/30/2016 at 12:26

There are occasionally good reasons to have the factory modded android. I have the Note 4, and there are plenty of nifty things added to work with the SPen. That’s the single biggest reason I’m not wanting to root and flash a new OS. Well, that and the last time I played with alternate OS versions, I was annoyed with the lack of polish and the little things they couldn’t do.

I do really hate the bloat though. I don’t need an NFL app, Flipboard, or go90. Why can’t I delete them?

facw > Mercedes Streeter
11/30/2016 at 12:34

I have the S7 (non-edge), and it seems ok, but not great. In a lot of ways I prefer my old HTC, but that was dying and I didn’t really like the HTC 10 (and my plan is pretty good deal, but only if a buy a subsidised phone, which ruled out the Pixel).

My impressions are pretty similar to yours (though I have Sprint crapware rather than Verizon crapware, and it’s especially sad because the phone ships without it and then load it up in an over the air update that also removes any customization you made prior to the update). The big cons in my opinion are:

Lit buttons that flicker on and off all the time (massively annoying, though at least there is a third party app to disable them)

Too much heat heat when calling, makes that back piece feel much more plasticy, and makes the phone feel a lot worse in the hand.

Crappy speaker.

Back vibrates significantly with the speaker, again making it feel cheap in the hand

Bad Touchwiz lock screen

Random app slowdowns and stuttering at times

Metal around edge is painted rather than anodized, and already has few spots where it is rubbing off

The notifications on the low-power “off” screen that shows the clock while the phone is off are tied to the Samsung apps, rather than to Android’s notifications, which means you don’t get them for non-Samsung apps, and if you want to dismiss them, you can’t just dismiss the Android notification, you have to go into the app and actually look at your messages/call log/etc. to clear them, even though you already know you don’t care from the Android notification.

That said, the screen, waterproofing, wireless charging, and reception all seem to be pretty nice, and the device looks great (though I wish it were a really dark blue instead of black).

Mercedes Streeter > Stapleface
11/30/2016 at 12:40

I wanted the Honor 8, however it doesn’t really work on most of VZW’s bands (bad on Verizon for using old as heck CDMA tech) so I can’t really use it.

As for the Pixel, you can get it unlocked directly from Google, you can also get it Unlocked from Verizon (while Verizon store employees never want to admit it, 99% of all of Verizon’s phones are unlocked right out of the box.).

Tapas > Stapleface
11/30/2016 at 12:41

How about the Moto Droid from Google? (not the verizon one, god no)

Mercedes Streeter > Textured Soy Protein
11/30/2016 at 12:42

But I love the unreadable font!!! :P

I use the Nova Launcher on my Galaxy Tab III 7.0. It has an unofficial install of CM on it and the dock and home screen are well...broken. Nova picks up the slack in that case.

Textured Soy Protein > CobraJoe
11/30/2016 at 12:43

My G2, I rooted but didn’t flash. There were some G2-specific Xposed Framework modules that I used to remove some of the annoyances of the stock ROM, but I was still on the stock ROM.

One nice thing about Nova Launcher is if there are any factory apps that you can’t disable, you can at least hide them from the app drawer. Doesn’t get you the storage space back of course, but at least they’re out of sight.

Textured Soy Protein > Mercedes Streeter
11/30/2016 at 12:45

You can replace the launcher on any phone with Nova. If there are things you don’t like about the stock Samsung launcher you can probably avoid them with Nova. My wife and I each have an Android phone and tablet, none are rooted, all with Nova.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > Mercedes Streeter
11/30/2016 at 12:46

UI lag is an aspect where Android has never been able to catch up with the iPhone. Apple still makes everything butter-smooth.

For everything else, Android has the advantage of user customisation and a much larger feature set. iOS used to be much simpler too, and now it’s nearly as bloated and complicated to set stuff as Android is.

Mercedes Streeter > Textured Soy Protein
11/30/2016 at 12:51

I either like pure Android, or “balls out” custom Android. My 5X had so many changes I often changed the “factory” recovery image to whatever my last completed project was because I changed so much.

Effectively, I run my phones like I run my computers. My Mac currently has two operating systems, a “pure” Windows 7 that I use for task-heavy applications that I don’t want hindered by rando Windows processes (I disable many system processes I don’t need or want) or by other applications.

Then I have a Windows 10 that I use for like, everything else. Android SDK lives there, a gazillion different drivers and kits for rooting, modding, and pushing ROMs to Androids...then a whole section to my ludicrous iPhone projects as well. lol

Mercedes Streeter > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer
11/30/2016 at 12:53

Bloody hell, proofreading fail on my part. xD

Okay fine, I never drop my phones onto a solid surface. Usually just into lakes and oceans.

Mercedes Streeter > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
11/30/2016 at 12:58

I bet the SE might be pretty decent. The iPhone 5 is definitely the worst generation of iPhone ever. Idk why, but Apple got lazy with the 5, and it just sucked hard. At least the SE is an iPhone 5 with the guts of a 6.

Mercedes Streeter > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
11/30/2016 at 13:00

My problem with the night camera is actually with the flash. I’m not sure why Samsung hasn’t started to use better LEDs like everyone else just yet.

Textured Soy Protein > Mercedes Streeter
11/30/2016 at 13:01

That all sounds way too complicated. I only tweak stuff to the point of making it work how I want. I don’t want to spend a bunch of time managing my devices, I just want them to work.

Mercedes Streeter > Textured Soy Protein
11/30/2016 at 13:15

Eh, tweaking things is a hobby of mine, so I like it. I usually have two phones on me at one time. One to tweak while having downtime at work, and the other that’s the daily. My current victim toy is a VZW Droid Mini, and of course the Bootloader is perma-locked by Motorola.

Sudden realization: Oh crap, my cars are becoming like my tech. I’m going to have one stock “pure” car and a project car!

Connqr > Mercedes Streeter
11/30/2016 at 13:16

Because that’s so much better ;)

Mercedes Streeter > Tapas
11/30/2016 at 13:17

Don’t ever get a Droid of any kind from VZW, they perma-lock the bootloaders so if you hate the bloatware so much that you want a new ROM, they laugh in your face and tell you no.

Mercedes Streeter > TheTurbochargedSquirrel
11/30/2016 at 13:18

If the Pixel is anything like my old 5X, I’m going to love the crap out of either a 5X or a Pixel. And of course, I have to get a blue Pixel (wish they had pink lol).

Tapas > Mercedes Streeter
11/30/2016 at 13:23

Wow fuuuuuuck that!

I was wondering what the moto droid from moto is like - its the only phone that comes with 64 gigs and a micro sd slot

Mercedes Streeter > Connqr
11/30/2016 at 13:31

Hey, I’ve never actually had a phone die yet from such. xD

The closest was an iPhone 5, however I cracked it open and replaced the dead parts and replaced the water damage stickers.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Mercedes Streeter
11/30/2016 at 13:36

I’ve actually never used my flash.

CaptDale - is secretly British > Mercedes Streeter
11/30/2016 at 14:26

I had an iPhone 4S when they were new. I liked it at first, but got very bored with it and was afraid to jailbreak it cause that would not have fixed my issues with it. I got tired of Verizon, switched to TMobile and hot a Nokia Lumia 635. HATED that phone. I did everything I could to make the OS not terrible. I even got the Win10 in developer mode to try and make it better, but it sucked. Finally got a little extra money and bought a Samsung Galaxy Note 4. I freaking LOVE this phone. Always was great until Android. 6.0 came out and I wanted those goodies. So I ran Dr. Keeton’s rom cause I liked it more that Cyanogen. Then they finally came out with the factory update to 6.0 for the Note 4 and I unrooted, downloaded, and used the factory upgrade. So far so good. Been about a month and I think I may go back to the Dr.’s rom because it was a bit faster, but also missed some key features like wifi calling and text, so I may not since I am in areas with no signal, but wifi. I did just order an S7 edge though cause I am getting tired on my Note 4, I couldn’t get a Note 7 (duh), and the Note 8 won’t be out till mid to late next year so I signed up for Jump! so I can upgrade to it when it comes out. But I personally love the Samsung phones so far.

Vítor > CobraJoe
11/30/2016 at 14:33

Next Lock Screen from Microsoft is a Great lockscreen app, with a 2 lines app drawer and everything

Mercedes Streeter > CaptDale - is secretly British
11/30/2016 at 14:54

That’s the thing, I actually do like Samsung products, just not their software. :) I have a Galaxy S3 Mini and a Galaxy Tab 3 7.0. Both are running a flavour of CM.

My biggest problem with the S7 was the fact that there isn’t a whole lot of AOSP S7 ROMs out there. Certainly, I’ve only found a tiny handful...and most of them are technically still based on TouchWiz, but just don’t look like it. Then I realized like half the features of the phone go away with an AOSP based ROM. It is thus I realized, newer Galaxy phones are definitely not for me. lol

CaptDale - is secretly British > Mercedes Streeter
11/30/2016 at 16:35

Yeah I have played with a S7 edge, so I know I want one, I just wish you didn’t need to upgrade to get stuff to keep functioning.