Samsung Galaxy S7 release date, rumours and everything you need to know

Although it seems like the Samsung Galaxy S6 flagship launched just yesterday, there are already various reports beginning to pop up about its successor: the Samsung Galaxy S7.

It'll presumably be called the Galaxy S7, considering Samsung tends to keep its phone-naming conventions pretty steady, and we're also pretty sure we know when the Galaxy S7 will release (again, based on history/Samsung's pattern of releasing flagship smartphones). There is of course still plenty we don't know.

Like, what will the Galaxy S7 feature? What does it look like? What kind of specs does it have? As we learn more about Samsung's next phone (through different rumours and leaks), we plan to update this piece. This is your go-to place for finding the latest answers to all your Galaxy S7-related questions

So, here's everything we know so far about the Galaxy S7...

SGS7: Release date and price

The Galaxy S6 launched at MWC 2015, while the Galaxy S5 launched at MWC 2014. We therefore think the Galaxy S7 will release during MWC 2016 in February 2016. If that happens, you can then expect the phone to hit store shelves about five weeks later (toward the end of March or early April).

That said, according to South Korean website Newsis, Samsung began working on the Galaxy S7 months ahead of schedule and plans to actually launch the phone in the second half of 2015. So...who knows.

Also, with the Galaxy S6 costing £599, we'd be surprised if the Galaxy S7 is priced differently or more than that.

SGS7: Two models

SamMobile said Samsung will continue to release two variants of its flagship smartphone. One has the model number SM-G930 and a flat display, while the other has the model number SM-G935 and a dual-edge curved display. Both variants are codenamed Project Lucky and are being internally referred to as the Hero and Hero2, respectively.

They'll eventually launch in Canada, China, Europe, Korea, and the US. One will arrive with an Exynos 8890 processor, while the other will have Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 SoC. They'll also feature UFS 2.0 storage and maybe even microSD slots. Samsung is also testing a dual-camera setup in some prototypes as well as a 20-megapixel ISOCELL sensor.

SGS7: Design

The Galaxy S6 brought an overhauled design to the flagship line, so we're not expecting any radical changes for the next cycle upgrade. There's been one rumour so far that claimed it'll be bigger than the Galaxy S6, with a 5.7-inch screen, and it might built from a different type of metal. A magnesium-based alloy, to be specific.

That would make the phone strong yet still light and ventilated. Either way, we think the Galaxy S7 will debut with some combination of premium metal and glass - as that's what the current flagship features. 

SGS7: Display

One report from Asia Today claimed the Galaxy S7 will come in two sizes: 5.2-inches and 5.8-inches.

But then - where would the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ fit in the range? We honestly don't expect Samsung to release a phablet S7, but a possible AnTuTu benchmark for an unknown Samsung phone (codenamed "Lucky") indicates Samsung has made a device with a 5.7-inch 1440x2560-pixel screen.

GforGames

According to SamMobile, Samsung will release two variants of its flagship smartphone. One has the model number SM-G930 and a flat display, while the other has the model number SM-G935 and a dual-edge curved display. Both variants are codenamed Project Lucky and are being internally referred to as the Hero and Hero2, respectively.

Other reports claimed Samsung's next phone will be a foldable phone or might feature a curved screen. A trademark filing further suggested Samsung is developing a strong display technology - called Turtle Glass - to replace Corning's Gorilla Glass 3. But none of that is set in stone as of now.

We should also note that the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium has 4K screen technology, meaning Samsung might want to adopt it as well for the Galaxy S7 in order to stay competitive with its rivals.

SGS7: Power

Supposed internal Samsung documents posted to Chinese social networking site Weibo appear to confirm the Galaxy S7 (though it has the codename "Jungfrau") is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 processor. That chip should launch later this year and will likely be in many of next year's flagships.

According to SamMobile, Samsung will continue to release two variants of its flagship smartphone. One will arrive with an Exynos 8890 processor, while the other will have Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 SoC.

Some benchmarks also posted to Weibo further revealed a comparison between the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 and a pair of Snapdragon 820-powered Galaxy prototypes. In the graph above, the yellow bar represents the Snapdragon 820-A variant, while the represents the 820-B, and the green is the Snapdragon 810.

A separate benchmark on Geekbench - supposedly for two variants of the Galaxy S7 - shows one Galaxy device with 3 GB of RAM and another LTE version with 4 GB of RAM. Both of these mystery devices go by the codename Lucky.

Keep in mind Samsung ditched Qualcomm's chips in favor of its own Exynos 7420 in the Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, and Galaxy Note 5. Oh, and Samsung just launched a DRAM chip that allows phones to run 6GB of RAM, and it would make sense for Samsung's flagship line to adopt that.

SGS7: Camera

An AnTuTu benchmark possibly for the Galaxy S7 shows it having a 16-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera, which are the same camera specs found on the Galaxy S6. But another AnTuTu benchmark revealed a duo-camera on the phone, so at this point it is unclear what the phone sports.

According to SamMobile, Samsung is testing a dual-camera setup in some prototypes as well as a 20-megapixel ISOCELL sensor.

SGS7: Software Alex Ruiz/Google+

We expect the Galaxy S7 to launch with Android Marshmallow, the latest version of Google's mobile OS - and supposed internal Samsung documents posted to Chinese social networking site Weibo appear to confirm that it will.

SGS7: Other specs and features

There's no word yet on the battery, but a rumor posted to Weibo claimed Samsung will add a microSD card slot to its flagship phone. That's because the phone is rumoured to have limited internal storage of 32GB or 64GB. 

SamMobile said Samsung will continue to release two variants of its flagship smartphone. They'll both feature UFS 2.0 storage and maybe microSD slots. 

Want to know more?

Check out Pocket-lint's Samsung Galaxy S7 hub for all the latest.

Source: Samsung Galaxy S7 release date, rumours and everything you need to know