iPhone 6 plus

The iPhone 6 certainly addresses a number of the problems Apple had developed, coming with a much larger screen (although not dramatically increasing the size of the phone) a boosted processor, better camera, improved battery and, crucially, overhauled design. Much of the ground work that went into the iPhone 6S was done here, with the iPhone 6.

This is the sixth iPhone I've reviewed, and there's a distinct sense that this one is really rather different.

I wrote in 2013 that Apple was becoming more aware that the time when it could define what consumers would buy in the smartphone was ending – and with the 4.7-inch screen, it clearly had to admit defeat in the smaller screen market.

There will be some who will miss that 4-inch screen size, maintaining that they don't want a bigger display on their phone – but nearly all of those people won't have spent any appreciable time with a larger device, and I believe that a good portion of you thinking you need a smaller phone will quickly come to appreciate the power a bigger handset brings, without compromising quality.

Apple's now appeased those longing for a new 4-inch handheld though, with the launch of the iPhone SE. It sports the specs of the iPhone 6S, uses the body of the now-discontinued iPhone 5S and sports a lower price tag than the iPhone 6, giving the latter some tough new competition.

But while the iPhone 6 has answered a lot of the problems I've had with previous iterations of Apple's handsets, there are some issues that still swirled when I handled the phone for the first time – and many of them persist even now that the iPhone 6 has been superseded.

Why did Apple decide to not join the masses with a really high-res screen? Why is the iPhone 6 still one of the most expensive phones on the market? Has Apple done enough to improve the quite dire battery life of previous models, especially at a time when many high-end Android phones are easily chugging through a day's hard use without thirsting for a charger's caress?

Let's take a quick look at the price – and it's not pretty.

At launch you were looking at £539 for the 16GB version, £619 for the 64GB option and £699 for the 128GB model.

That's since dropped to US$549 (£459, AU$929) for the 16GB version and US$649 (£539, AU$1,079) for the 64GB option, with the 128GB handset having been discontinued with the arrival of the iPhone 6S.

That's about as much as you'd pay for a brand new Android flagship just a few months after launch, yet the iPhone 6 is no longer the top model in its range.

Then you've got the iPhone SE which has the same features as the newer iPhone 6S for $150 (£100, AU$250) less than the iPhone 6. You'll have to compromise on screen size, but you could get a better phone for less.

Design

Let's take a look at the first thing most people will wonder about before picking up the iPhone 6: how will it actually feel in the hand?

This is a big departure for Apple, marking a time when it's admitted that the industrial, sharp design of the last four iPhone models is a little outdated and needs to up the ergonomics to really compete.

Well, with the Apple iPhone 6 we're looking at one of the thinnest and sleekest handsets in the market – still. It's got a strong combination of metal back (which feels exceptionally premium, borrowing bucketloads of design language from the iPad Air) and the way the screen curves into the chassis gives it a slight lozenge feel.

The iPhone 6 looks the business, and at 6.9mm thin it's very nice to hold, though the Samsung Galaxy S6 has since edged it out at 6.8mm thick. I do still feel that phones that push harder on ergonomics are a better choice though – the HTC One M9 bows out at the back and fits in the palm a little better – but that's quibbling. This iPhone just feels really well made.

Apple has always favoured a flatter phone than the rest of the market though, and placed on a desk it looks great. It does feel great in the hand too, but as said others impress more if I'm being hyper-critical.

There's also the issue of the large plastic strips that flow through the top and bottom of the device. Given metal is a nightmare material to try and get radio signal to penetrate, these are clearly there to offset that.

While the plastic does seem to give good signal performance for the most part, it's nothing amazing, and to my eyes they're a little unsightly and ruin the sleek back of the iPhone 6; their presence seems at odds with Apple's design ethos.

The other big design change is to the power button, which has now been moved to the right-hand side of the phone. This makes a lot of sense and, given the phone is now a larger device at 138.1 x 67 x 6.9mm, hitting the top of the handset is a much harder task, so moving the button is the right thing to do.

Like the rest of the exterior buttons, the power key is raised and easy to hit in both left and right hand modes. It's metallic, and crucially doesn't have the same rattle that I criticised on the iPhone 5S.

However, that doesn't mean the metallic keys don't have a little wiggle to them. Running your hand up and down the sides idly will result in you noticing a very slight looseness to the power and volume buttons... I'm in danger of being too critical here, but for the price it's not the sort of thing I expect to see.

The other important design change here is the camera now protrudes slightly on the rear of the phone. It's good to see that happening, as it shows that Apple isn't willing to compromise on camera quality in order to just whack in a thinner phone.

The protrusion is a little worrying in that laying the Apple iPhone 6 down flat on a table could see scratches appearing, but the sapphire glass that covers the lens should ensure that's pretty safe.

The rest of the iPhone 6 is very similar to the iPhone 5S, with the speakers at the bottom flanking the Lightning port. Well, I say speakers: it's just the one speaker, but thanks to the slightly elongated bottom of the phone you won't cover it when holding the phone in landscape orientation.

This was irritating when trying to game or watch a movie without headphones on older iPhones – but this upgrade, combined with the lightness of the iPhone 6, means you won't have a similar problem for the most part, as the hands sit lower and free of the speaker generally.

Sadly the headphone port still resides at the bottom of the iPhone 6, meaning you'll still probably get your phone out of your pocket the wrong way around when listening to music.

Going back to the iPhone 6 after a prolonged spell using the iPhone 6S as a daily driver, it's remarkable how much lighter the older phone feels in the hand. You can feel every one of those extra 14 grams, and it's the one area in which the newer iPhone suffers by comparison.

Let me make one thing very clear though: the Apple iPhone 6 is another iconic handset in terms of design for Apple. It's not the best looking on the market (I'm still giving that title to the HTC One M9), but it's definitely right up there, and for the price I'd expect nothing less.

You can pick up the iPhone 6 in Space Gray (the colour I've had on test here), or the more standard Silver. There's no longer a Gold model available, and nor do you get access to the snazzy Rose Gold colour option that debuted with the iPhone 6S.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review

The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is a phone I'd hate to have had to make. Its predecessor was a multi-award-winning phone, simply because it packed all the power of the 'normal' Galaxy S6 and yet... that curved edge. I wasn't alone in loving it, whipping it out proudly whenever possible.

But that was last year, and the world is bored of the curved design. We've seen it. It's been done. So what can Samsung do to make the new phone a real step forward?

Well, unlike what it's done on the Galaxy S7, which looks (initially) like last year's model, the changes on the S7 Edge are brilliant, adding a zest to a design that could have quickly become tired.

The screen is larger, yet somehow the phone doesn't feel too much bigger in the hand. The rear of the phone is now curved too, making it sit nicely in the hand. It's waterproof. There's a microSD card slot. There's so much power in there I'm pretty sure I could strap it on the back of a speedboat and make my way across the Atlantic.

And that's even more possible because the battery – such a disappointment on last year's S6 phones – is boosted massively too, giving us a handset that's able to last over 24 hours between charges.

All this comes at a cost obviously, and a pretty hefty one. In the UK that cost is £640, while in the US you're looking at a huge $299 on contract. In Australia, the Galaxy S7 Edge attracts the highest price for a Galaxy yet: AU$1,249 for the 32GB version.

• Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge price: how much will it cost me?

That's quite a jump from last year's AU$1,149 starting price, showing this is one of the most expensive phones around.

But, in my view, it's worth every penny.

Design

The Galaxy S7 Edge is a phone that lives and dies by its looks. If you're only interested in the power then just go for the standard Galaxy S7. The smaller, 'normal', model has got all the same smarts, but a slightly sharper screen thanks to packing the same amount of pixels into a smaller area.

What it misses is the clever elements that Samsung's used on the Edge. The display curves further away into the sides of the phone than ever before, which means that even though you've got a phablet-sized display, the phone is as compact as possible.

Place it side by side with the iPhone 6S Plus and you'll see what I mean. The amount of bezel used above and below the display on Apple's phone is almost laughable, especially when you compare it to how tightly packed everything is on the S7 Edge – and the Samsung has a much, much larger battery.

The S7 Edge is shorter and narrower (150.9 x 72.6mm) than the 6S Plus (158.2 x 77.9mm), even though both devices have the same 5.5-inch screen size. The iPhone is however, a hair thinner at 7.3mm versus the Samsung's 7.7mm girth.

It's also very similar in size to the LG G5 (149.4 x 73.9 x 7.7 mm), which again sports a 5.5-inch display - with the Android manufacturers really sticking it to Apple.

One of my favorite parts of the design upgrade on the S7 Edge comes on the rear. A process called 3D Thermo Forming – which sounds like it's been named by a sentient marketing machine – enables the brand to curve the rear of the phone into a single metal rim that runs all around the edge.

It's a feature that was used last year on the Note 5 (and is also used by brands like Xiaomi) to really help the phone slip into your palm and remove any sharp metallic edges.

Combine that with the same curve on the front of the device and you can see why it feels so smooth in the hand, almost pebble-esque in the way you can roll it around in your palm.

Intriguingly, this has left some people with the impression that it's not quite got the same premium feel as previous Samsung phones. By having less metal to grasp on to you're touching the Gorilla Glass 4 covering, which can feel a little like plastic due to its lightweight (but still very strong) construction.

Tap the back of the phone and it lacks the sheen of metal, but in fairness that lack of metal allows for the wireless charging that's a key feature of the S7 Edge.

That back does have one issue though: it's a fingerprint fairground, a veritable carnival for any crime scene investigators looking to nab you for some dirty villainy.

So many phones have that criticism thrown at them, but it's particularly true for Samsung's new curved phone. It's easy enough to wipe the sticky offenders off, but it's annoying to have to do it time and again.

The camera protrusion on the rear has been reduced to just 0.42mm, which means it's barely noticeable when you're placing the phone down, while still being strong enough to help protect the lens.

And then you remember something else: this phone, with its elegant rim and clean lines, and complete with exposed ports, is waterproof.

No, sorry, water-RESISTANT, as it's IP68 rated. That means it's still able to work after being dunked in fresh water for 30 minutes up to a depth of 1.5 metres, so you'll be able to use it happily in the bath, or beside the shallow end of the swimming pool, and not worry about dropping it.

It's less of a 'let's take our phone scuba diving to get some amazing pictures' feature, and more of a safety feature – and the phone will even refuse to charge if the port is too wet, such is its ability to manage moisture.

Sadly, you're still left with a single speaker firing out the bottom of the Galaxy S7 Edge, which doesn't really have the most premium of sound; however, it's serviceable, and noticeably louder than other mono speakers I've used.

Overall, I can't speak highly enough of the S7 Edge's design. It feels amazing in the hand, and Samsung has managed to bring enough upgrades to make this look and feel like a completely different phone; and most people trying it for the first time will – even if they're not a fan – be able to appreciate something different in a world filled with black, rectangular slabs.

It's amazing to think that, two years after LG brought out the first mainstream QHD phone, we still don't have any dedicated content that can be viewed at this resolution. Despite that, however, I don't feel like the Galaxy S7 Edge really suffers, as that display makes viewing web pages and photos a really great experience.

The S7 Edge uses Super AMOLED technology, which Samsung's been chucking out for close to a decade now, and it really works well to make the phone look premium and the colors really pop.

The contrast ratio – the difference between the whitest whites and the blackest blacks – is still pretty sensational, which is because when they're not in use, the pixels are turned off; with something like the iPhone 6S or the LG G5 you've got a display that just blocks out the backlight when the pixel is showing a black image, so there can be a small amount of light bleed-through.

The Galaxy S7 Edge screen also has the added benefit of the side display, which is accessed by swiping your thumb along from the right- or left-hand side of the phone's screen (you can specify which in the settings).

Where this was a nonsense, useless feature in years gone by, the side display has a much more defined role on the Galaxy S7 Edge. You can easily get access to news, regular contacts, tools (the ruler, for digi-measuring is back – GET IN) and other elements that are currently in development.

Check out the Specs and Performance section of this review to hear a little bit more about this feature – or skip it entirely if you're bored of hearing me witter on about a piece of the display you can swipe.

كل ما تود معرفته عن هاتفي سامسونج Galaxy S7 و S7 Edge

كشفت شركة سامسونج اليوم عن أحدث الإضافات التابعة لسلسلة هواتف جالكسي، سامسونج جالكسي إس 7 Galaxy S7 وجالكسي إس 7 إيدج Galaxy S7 edge، وتأتي الهواتف بتصميم أنيق وأداء قوي إلى جانب ميزات الكاميرا المتقدمة وخاصية مقاومة الماء والذاكرة الخارجية.

وقال دي جي كوه، رئيس أعمال الاتصالات المتنقلة لدى شركة سامسونج للإلكترونيات: “نحن نؤمن بعالم أكثر إشراقاً وأكثر وضوحاً وأكثر ملاءمة وأكثر متعة، ونسعى جاهدين لتقديم رؤية جديدة عبر هاتفي Galaxy S7 و S7 Edge وذلك عبر التصميم الأنيق مع الوظائف والميزات المتعددة بالإضافة لتوفير تجربة محمول سلسة”. وأضاف: “نقدم للمستهلكين تقنيات تساعدهم في الحصول على المزيد من المنافع والمزايا، وسوف نستمر في دفع هذه الحدود إلى أبعد ما يمكن”.

كاميرا متقدمة: صور عالية الجودة بغض النظر عن الوقت أو الموقع

تقدم هواتف جالكسي الجديدة أول كاميرا مع بيكسل مزودج Dual Pixel في هاتف ذكي، بحيث تقدم صور أكثر إشراقاً وأكثر وضوحاً حتى في ظروف الإضاءة المنخفضة. ويتم ذلك بفضل التكنولوجيا الثورية لتقنية البيكسل المزدوج، والعدسة الأوضح ذات الفتحة الأوسع والبيكسل الأكبر، وتمتلك الكاميرا غالق أسرع وضبط تلقائي للصورة أكثر دقة حتى في ظروف الإضاءة المنخفضة. وتقدم الكاميرا الوضعية الجديدة Motion Panorama، والتي تجلب الحركة للصور البانورامية التقليدية، مما يتيح للمستخدم تجربة بصرية شاملة تماماً.

مفاهيم جديدة للتصميم والوظائف

يتكون تصميم هواتف الجديدة من الزجاج والمعدن، إلى جانب تصميم أنيق ومتين مع انحناءات هندسية توفر قبضة مريحة. وتتيح ميزة Always-On للمستخدمين تجربة مبسطة وسهلة الاستخدام بدون لمس الشاشة للحصول على التاريخ والوقت والتنبيهات دون عناء أو قلق حول فقدان مكالمة أو ملاحظات هامة. وتقدم هواتف جالاكسي إس 7 وإس 7 ايدج ميزة مقاومة الماء دون المساومة على تصميم الهواتف مع دعم معيار IP68 لمقاومة المياه والغبار.

ويوفر هاتف جالاكسي إس 7 ايدج تجربة متقدمة ومريحة مع زيادة كفاءة الاستخدام، وذلك من خلال إنشاء الاختصارات المهمة للمستخدم بسهولة أكبر، مثل البريد الإلكتروني، ووضع صورة شخصية، ووضع البانوراما، أو تطبيقات الطرف الثالث.

تعزيز الأداء: من الشحن إلى الألعاب

تقدم الهواتف الجديدة تقنية الشحن السلكية واللاسلكية السريعة، وتسمح علبة بطاقة الشريحة الهجينة للمستخدمين بإضافة بطاقة MicroSD يصل حجمها إلى 200 جيجابايت لتوفير مساحة تخزين إضافية، كما توفر هذه العلبة في بعض البلدان إمكانية استخدام بطاقتي سيم معاً.

كما قدمت سامسونج تحديثات مهمة لتحسين أداء الألعاب على الهواتف الجديدة، بحيث يسمح المعالج القوي والبطارية الأكبر بضمان وقت لعب أطول، ويحافظ نظام التبريد الداخلي للجهاز على الحفاظ عليه من ارتفاع درجة الحرارة.

وتشكل إضافة Game Launcher ميزة إضافية للاعبين بحيث تسمح لهم بإدارة استهلاك البطارية وتقليل التنبيهات، ويمكن للمستخدم تسجيل تجربة الألعاب الخاصة بهم أو مشاركة الشاشة الخاصة بالألعاب مع الآخرين، وتعطي واجهات التطبيقات البرمجية Vulkan API للمستخدمين القدرة على تشغيل الألعاب ذات الرسوميات العالية الأداء مع التقليل من استهلاك البطارية.

تجربة جالاكسي

تواصل سامسونج دفع حدود الأجهزة والبرمجيات والخدمات لتقديم أجهزة مصممة لتحسين كيفية ربط المستهلكين والمشاركة والتنظيم في سبيل الحصول على المزيد من الحياة، وتقوم الشركة بإعادة تعريف ما هو ممكن خارج حدود التكنولوجيا اليوم من خلال تقديم تجربة محمول سلسة.

وتسمح إمكانيات الربط السلس على وصل هواتف جالكسي إس 7 وجالكسي إس 7 ايدج بساعة Gear S2 Classic الجديدة لمراقبة أنشطة اللياقة البدنية، أو التوصيل مع نظارة الواقع الافتراضي Gear VR، بحيث تقوم سامسونج بإعادة تعريف ما هو ممكن ضمن تجربة المحمول وخارجها.

وبإمكان مستخدمي الهواتف الجديدة الحصول على خدمة دفع ممتازة بواسطة الهاتف المحمول عبر خدمة سامسونج باي Samsung Pay الآمنة والسهلة الاستخدام والتي تعمل في أي مكان تقريباً، والمحمية بواسطة KNOX وميزة قارئ بصمات الأصابع، والتي تعمل عبر تقنية الاتصال NFC وتقنية النقل المغناطيسي الآمن MST وتقنية الباركود، مما يجعل الدفع عبر الهاتف المتحرك في متناول مختلف الأشخاص.

وتتوفر الهواتف في الأسواق ابتداءً من منتصف شهر مارس القادم.

	Galaxy S7	Galaxy S7 edge
نظام التشغيل	أندرويد 6 مارشميلو	أندرويد 6 مارشميلو
الشبكات	LTE Cat.9 وWiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac وMIMO وبلوتوث 4.2 وANT+ و USB 2.0و NFC	LTE Cat.9 وWiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac وMIMO وبلوتوث 4.2 وANT+ و USB 2.0و NFC
الأبعاد	142.4x69.6x7.9 ميليمتر	150.9x72.6x7.7 ميليمتر
الوزن	152 جرام	157 جرام
المعالج	معالج ثماني النوى (٤ نوى بتردد ٢٫٣ جيجاهيرتز) + (٤ نوى بتردد ١٫٦ جيجاهيرتز)، ٦٤ بت، ١٤ نانومتر. معالج رباعي النوى (٢ نواة بتردد ٢٫١٥ جيجاهيرتز) + (٢ نواة بتردد ١٫٦ جيجاهيرتز)، ٧٦ بت، ١٤ نانومتر.	معالج ثماني النوى (٤ نوى بتردد ٢٫٣ جيجاهيرتز) + (٤ نوى بتردد ١٫٦ جيجاهيرتز)، ٦٤ بت، ١٤ نانومتر. معالج رباعي النوى (٢ نواة بتردد ٢٫١٥ جيجاهيرتز) + (٢ نواة بتردد ١٫٦ جيجاهيرتز)، ٧٦ بت، ١٤ نانومتر.
ذاكرة الوصول العشوائي	4 جيجابايت	4 جيجابايت
مساحة التخزين الداخلية	32 و64 جيجابايت مع وجود فتحة MicroSD	32 و64 جيجابايت مع وجود فتحة MicroSD
الشاشة	5.1 إنش بدقة 1440×2560 بيكسل وكثافة 577 بيكسل بالإنش من نوع Super AMOLED	5.5 إنش بدقة 1440×2560 بيكسل وكثافة 534 بيكسل بالإنش من نوع Super AMOLED
الكاميرا الخلفية	كاميرا خلفية محسنة بدقة 12 ميجابيكسل مع فتحة عدسة f/1.7 مع ميزة مثبت الصورة البصري وخاصية التركيز التلقائي للصورة وفلاش LED مزدوج	كاميرا خلفية محسنة بدقة 12 ميجابيكسل مع فتحة عدسة f/1.7 مع ميزة مثبت الصورة البصري وخاصية التركيز التلقائي للصورة وفلاش LED مزدوج
الكاميرا الأمامية	بدقة 5 ميجابيكسل	بدقة 5 ميجابيكسل
البطارية	3.000 ميلي أمبير تدعم خصائص الشحن السريع والشحن اللاسلكي والشحن اللاسلكي السريع	3.600 ميلي أمبير تدعم خصائص الشحن السريع والشحن اللاسلكي والشحن اللاسلكي السريع

Samsung Galaxy S7 review

Awards

• $739

• : £569.00

KEY FEATURES

• 5.1-inch, quad-HD display
• 3,000mAh battery
• 12MP camera
• Fast and wireless charging
• MicroSD
• Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
• 4GB RAM
• 5MP selfie camera
• Exynos 8890 processor
• Manufacturer: Samsung
• Review Price: £569.00

WHAT IS THE SAMSUNG GALAXY S7?

The Samsung Galaxy S7 is the top Android phone you can buy right now. It has a better camera than the LG G5, a design that’s as sleek as the HTC 10 and it should have the team working on the iPhone 7 very worried.

Yes, initially the upgrades over the Galaxy S6 might seem minor. But they make a huge difference. The camera is faster and sharper, the curved back easier to hold and battery vastly improved.

There are other great Android phones, like the Nexus 6P, but the Samsung Galaxy S7 is the most complete one you can buy right now.

Design

At first glance you'd be forgiven for thinking the Samsung Galaxy S7 looks almost identical to the Galaxy S6. And that's because it is.

Samsung has reused the premium glass and metal finished it employed on the S6, which finally saw the manufacturer move away from its reliance on plastic to materials which better reflected the flagship price tag it was slapping on its top phones.

On closer inspection though, you'll begin to notice the subtle differences that make the Samsung Galaxy S7 the best looking, and feeling, Galaxy ever.

Samsung has dropped the metallic rim around its iconic physical home key, enabling it to blend a little more seamlessly into the overall aesthetic of the S7, almost masking its existence.

I'm a fan. It makes for a cleaner look, and that look is further improved with the color-coded earpiece grille, which was also metallic on the S6.

The corners are more rounded, and the aluminum frame that's sandwiched between the front and rear glass is less obtrusive, with less of an overhang than its predecessor. That means there is less metal against your skin, which initially makes the S7 feel a little less premium than the S6, but once you've got used to it you'll find it's still a stylish presence in the hand.

While the Galaxy S7 sports the same size 5.1-inch display as the S6, Samsung has managed to shave off a fraction of the bezel around the screen, reducing the handset's height and width slightly.

That gives you dimensions of 142.4 x 69.6 x 7.9mm – and it's that last number which is the most interesting. At 7.9mm thick the Galaxy S7 is fatter than the S6 by 1.1mm, but holding it in your hand you won't know.

That's because of the gently sloping edges on the rear of the handset. The finish, which is mirrored on the rear of the Galaxy S7 Edge, is borrowed from the Galaxy Note 5, and enables the phones to sit more snugly in the palm for a firmer, more comfortable hold.

The Galaxy S7 is a phone you can grip confidently – unlike the iPhone 6S and LG G5, with their flat backs resulting in a slightly awkward position in the hand. The metal and glass doesn't offer much in the way of grip, but because the phone is better positioned in the hand I felt like I was less likely to let it slip compared with the iPhone or S6.

The size, shape and general design of the Galaxy S7 means it's easier to hold and operate one-handed too. I could reach the other side of the screen with my thumb with far less strain, and it required little to no shuffling in the hand to move around the whole display.

The power/lock key on the right and volume keys on the left also fall nicely under thumb and finger, although you'll still have to juggle the S7 a bit to reach the fingerprint scanner, which is embedded under the physical home key.

Returning to the rear of the Galaxy S7, the square camera bulge is still there, but this time around it's less protruding. Samsung has managed to flatten its snapper considerably since the Galaxy S6 – it's now down to just 0.46mm, and while it's still not flush with the body of the S7, it's far less volcanic.

It's not totally flat, which is something Huawei CEO Richard Yu was more than happy to tell us about at the launch of the P9 - a phone which has, as Yu put it, "no bump, no bump!"

Alongside it you'll find the LED flash and heart rate monitor – a feature Samsung insists on putting on its top-tier handsets, even though a smartwatch or fitness tracker is much better placed for this tech. It also measures stress and O2 saturation levels, although it's unclear just how accurate these sensors are.

It's there if you want it – just head to the S Health app – but I can't see it getting much use.

What I noticed almost immediately, however, was just how much of a fingerprint magnet the Galaxy S7 is. The glass looks great, but I found myself frequently reaching for my microfiber cloth to smarten up the appearance of the S7.

It's exactly the same issue the Galaxy S6 had, and it's surprising that Samsung hasn't tried to address this with the S7.

There was hope Samsung would address the single speaker setup it placed on the Galaxy S6, but alas it hasn't. It's kept the single speaker on the base of the Galaxy S7, rather than opting for dual front-facing offerings like HTC and Sony.

It's not a huge issue, but the result is sound from your movies, games and music can end up being muffled by your hand.

Samsung has resurrected two features from the Galaxy S5 though, with a microSD slot and dust and water resistance both appearing on the Galaxy S7. The microSD port shares a tray with your nanoSIM, which can be slid out of the top of the handset.

This lets you build on the 32GB of internal storage by up to a further 200GB, giving you plenty of space.

Meanwhile, the IP68 water resistance has improved from the S5, allowing submersion of up to five feet for 30 minutes, plus there's no annoying flap covering the charging port.

The microUSB port has been waterproofed, but the S7 won't charge if it detects water in its hole. If you've taken the phone for a plunge in the bath, you'll need to dry the charging port before plugging in.

Samsung hasn't reinvented the wheel with the design of the Galaxy S7, but it didn't need to. The Galaxy S6 was an excellently styled device, and the S7 has managed to improve on that.