Samsung Galaxy S7 Release Date, Price, Specs & Update: 2016 Flagship Phone to Have Iris Scanner; Debut Date Unveiled? [Rumors]
The recent rumors on Samsung's Galaxy S7 state that the 2016 flagship phone will be having an iris scanner, similar to some of Microsoft's Lumia Windows phones.
According to Softpedia, all phones in the Galaxy S7 line will have iris scanners which are similar to the Lumia 950 XL and Lumia 950 phones from Microsoft. This means that the Samsung Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge, Galaxy S7 Edge+ and Galaxy S7 Plus will be more expensive than its predecessors. The website adds that the technological add-on will offer more security in addition to the fingerprint scanner.
More information will be revealed next year during the Mobile World Congress Event in Barcelona. According to Forbes, the event will be on February 22 to 25 and it is speculated that Samsung will unveil the products on Feb. 19, days before the event. The handsets are scheduled to go on sale in April, the outlet added.
For the price, the standard Galaxy S7 model may not be more than $700, Softpedia says, but if the iris scanner rumor is true, there might be a price hike. However, Christian Post reports that the Galaxy S7 might be priced at 3,000 yuan (around $460) which means it is the cheapest on Samsung's premium phones.
For the phone's hardware specifications, it is believed the S7 will come with the Samsung's own Exynos 8890, an octa-core processor and next-gen version of the Exynos 7420 which powers the Galaxy S6. Tech Times reports that other variants will have Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 which reached more than 2,400 on a single-core test and more than 5,400 on multi-core test. Samsung's own processor performed better at more than 2,200 at single-core test and almost 7,000 on multi-core performance.
The Galaxy S7 premium edition will reportedly support 4K display but will only be limited to Korea. The website adds that there will be 5.1-inch and 5.5-inch variants. The phones might come equipped with Turtle Glass, a newer and better version of tempered glass that is reportedly better than the Gorilla Glass.
The S7 will have two cameras as well, a 12 MP camera and a 5 MP front camera. It is a few pixels smaller than the S6 because according to the website, this is so it can accommodate a larger sensor which can capture more photos in low lighting. The microSD support slot might also be having a comeback after the company was flamed by fans and consumers alike by their inability to expand the storage size. This can mean that the S7 will have 32 GB and 64 GB models only.