Samsung Galaxy S7 Active vs Galaxy S7 edge vs Galaxy S7: battle royale

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The arrival of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active could have easily skipped your attention. It's okay, we will fill you in! Announced yesterday as an AT&T-exclusive, the S7 Active is the latest rugged phone to join the ranks. 

With a durable body and shatter-proof Gorilla Glass 4 screen, the new device can certainly take a beating before succumbing its soul to the Happy hunting grounds. It's also IP68-certified, meaning it can survive for up to 30 minutes in a couple of feet of water and live to tell the tale. Oh, and it also has a new, customizable hardware button on the right side - useful for launching a certain app while you're in a hurry or an emergency. 

It's also improving the specs sheet. Apart from boasting a Snapdragon 820, 4GB RAM, and 12MP f/1.7 camera, the S7 Active also has a 4,000mAh in its belly - that sounds really promising and suggests that it will certainly lap the regular S7 and S7 edge in any battery life test.

But how do these three stack up? Here's how:

Samsung Galaxy S7 Active Samsung Galaxy S7 edge Samsung Galaxy S7

Design

Dimensions
5.86 x 2.95 x 0.39 inches
148.8 x 75.0 x 9.9 mm
5.94 x 2.86 x 0.30 inches
150.9 x 72.6 x 7.7 mm
5.61 x 2.74 x 0.31 inches
142.4 x 69.6 x 7.9 mm
Weight
6.53 oz (185.0 g) 5.54 oz (157.0 g) 5.36 oz (152.0 g)
Materials
Back: Plastic Back: Glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 4)
Frame: Aluminum
Back: Glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 4)
Frame: Aluminum
Resistance
Water, Dust, Shock, Temperature; IP68; MIL-STD-810 certified Water, Dust; IP68 Water, Dust; IP68
Biometrics
Fingerprint (touch) Fingerprint (touch) Fingerprint (touch)
Features
Touch sensitive control keys Touch sensitive control keys
Keys
Left: Volume control; Right: Lock/Unlock key Left: Volume control; Right: Lock/Unlock key Left: Volume control; Right: Lock/Unlock key
Colors
Camo green, Titanium gray, Sandy gold Black, Gold, Silver, White, Pink gold, Black pearl, Coral blue Black, Gold, Silver, Pink, White, Pink gold

Display

Size
5.1-inch 5.5-inch 5.1-inch
Resolution
2560x1440px, 576 PPI 2560x1440px, 534 PPI 2560x1440px, 16:9 ratio, 576 PPI
Technology
Super AMOLED Super AMOLED Super AMOLED
Refresh rate
60Hz
Screen-to-body
64.29 % 76.09 % 72.30 %
Peak brightness
500 cd/m2 (nit) 855 cd/m2 (nit)
Features
Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 4), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 4), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 4), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor

Hardware

System chip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 MSM8996 (14 nm) Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 MSM8996 (14 nm) Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 MSM8996 (14 nm)
Processor
Quad-core
2150 MHz
Kryo
Quad-core
2200 MHz
Kryo
Quad-core
2200 MHz
Kryo
GPU
Adreno 530 Adreno 530 Adreno 530
RAM
4GB (LPDDR4) 4GB (LPDDR4) 4GB (LPDDR4)
Internal storage
32GB, available to use: 23 GB 32GB, available to use: 24.4 GB 32GB (UFS), available to use: 24.5 GB
Storage expansion
microSDXC up to 200 GB microSDXC up to 200 GB microSDXC up to 200 GB
OS
Android (8.0 Oreo, 7.0 Nougat, 6.0 Marshmallow), Samsung TouchWiz UI Android (8.0 Oreo, 7.0 Nougat, 6.0 Marshmallow), Samsung TouchWiz UI Android (8.0 Oreo, 7.0 Nougat, 6.0 Marshmallow), Samsung TouchWiz UI

Battery

Capacity
4000 mAh 3600 mAh 3000 mAh
Type
Li - Ion Li - Ion
Charging
Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0, Qi and Powermat wireless charging Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0, Qi and Powermat wireless charging Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0, Qi and Powermat wireless charging
Charge speed
Wired: 15.0W

Camera

Rear
Single camera Single camera Single camera
Main camera
12 MP (OIS, PDAF)
Aperture size: F1.7
Pixel size: 1.4 μm
12 MP (OIS, PDAF)
Aperture size: F1.7
Focal length: 26 mm
Sensor size: 1/2.5"
Pixel size: 1.4 μm
12 MP (OIS, PDAF)
Aperture size: F1.7
Focal length: 26 mm
Sensor size: 1/2.5"
Pixel size: 1.4 μm
Flash
LED LED LED
Video recording
3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (60 fps), 1280x720 (HD)
HDR, Picture-taking during video recording, Video calling, Video sharing
3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (60 fps), 1280x720 (HD) (240 fps)
HDR, Picture-taking during video recording, Video calling, Video sharing
3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (60 fps), 1280x720 (HD) (240 fps)
HDR, Picture-taking during video recording, Video calling, Video sharing
Front
5 MP (HDR) 5 MP (HDR) 5 MP (HDR)

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
4.2 4.2 4.2
WLAN
802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
Multiple antennas, MIMO
802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band,e
Multiple antennas, MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot
USB
microUSB, USB 2.0 microUSB, USB 2.0 microUSB, USB 2.0
Hearing aid compatible
M4/T3 M4/T3
Location
GPS, A-GPS, Glonass GPS, A-GPS, Glonass GPS, A-GPS, Glonass
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Barometer Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Barometer Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Barometer
Other
NFC, ANT+, UMA (Wi-Fi Calling), Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync NFC, ANT+, UMA (Wi-Fi Calling), Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync NFC, ANT+, UMA (Wi-Fi Calling), Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync

Multimedia

Headphones
3.5mm jack 3.5mm jack 3.5mm jack
Speakers
Earpiece, Loudspeaker Earpiece, Loudspeaker Earpiece, Loudspeaker
Features
Album art cover, Background playback Album art cover, Background playback aptX-HD
Screen mirroring
Wireless screen share Wireless screen share DLNA,Wireless screen share
Additional microphone(s)
Noise cancellation Noise cancellation

Cellular

4G (FDD)
Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700 a), 18(800 Lower), 19(800 Upper), 20(800 DD), 29(700 d), 30(2300 WCS) Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700 a), 18(800 Lower), 19(800 Upper), 20(800 DD), 29(700 d), 30(2300 WCS)
4G (TDD)
Bands 38(2600), 39(1900+), 40(2300), 41(2600+) Bands 38(2600), 39(1900+), 40(2300), 41(2600+)
3G
Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 4(1700/2100), 5(850) Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 4(1700/2100), 5(850)
Data Speed
HSPA LTE-A Cat 9 (450/50 Mbit/s), HSPA LTE-A Cat 9 (450/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS
SIM type
Nano SIM Nano SIM Nano SIM
HD Voice
Yes Yes
VoLTE
Yes Yes

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
Date approved: Apr 22, 2016
FCC ID value: A3LSMG891A
Date approved: Feb 12, 2016
FCC ID value: A3LSMG935F
Date approved: Feb 12, 2016
FCC ID value: A3LSMG930F
Measured SAR
Head: 0.92 W/kg
Body: 0.75 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.55 W/kg
Wireless Router: 0.92 W/kg
Head: 0.27 W/kg
Body: 0.66 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.59 W/kg
Wireless Router: 0.96 W/kg
Head: 0.43 W/kg
Body: 1.06 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.59 W/kg
Wireless Router: 1.03 W/kg

Buyers information

MSRP
$ 795 $ 799 $ 699

Availability

Officially announced
Jun 06, 2016 Feb 21, 2016 Feb 21, 2016




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