The Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge Review: Part 2
by Joshua Ho on July 5, 2016 8:00 AM ESTStill Image Performance
Now that we’ve covered the user experience associated with the camera, we can start to go over the output that the Galaxy S7 is capable of producing. In order to do this we continue to carry over the same sorts of benchmarks that we’ve used in 2015, which is to say that we use a combination of standardized test charts with semi-controlled lighting along with real world testing to try and see how the device actually performs outside of rather simplistic tests.
Starting with the ISO chart we can see quite clearly that the Galaxy S7 has lost noticeable ground in resolution relative to the Galaxy S6 when you look at the center of the photo, but at the edges of the photo the Galaxy S7 actually appears to have the lead against the Galaxy S6. The same sort of story plays out with the HTC 10 as it clearly has more detail than the Galaxy S7 at the center of the photo but the edges of the HTC 10’s test chart shot shows clear defocus that gets pretty terrible at the corners.
| Daytime Photography |
In our daytime landscape test we can see the sorts of effects that the smaller pixel size has had on the Galaxy S7. Relative to the Galaxy S6, there’s almost no delta in the detail resolved, but right away it’s obvious that the sharpening halos have become even more obvious than before which is concerning. These observations also apply to the Galaxy Note5, although the Note5 is a bit sharper due to some changes in image processing relative to the Galaxy S6. However I wouldn’t say that there’s an appreciable difference one way or another here.
Relative to the iPhone 6s, the Galaxy S7 is basically identical in detail as well, but the iPhone 6s tends a bit warmer and has much, much less obvious post-processing that is extremely obvious on the distant trees that contrast against the sky. This is actually kind of surprising for me given that the Galaxy S7 has a larger sensor, but I suspect the dual pixel AF, wider aperture, and slightly wider field of view are eliminating whatever advantages increased sensor size might bring.
Compared to the HTC 10, the Galaxy S7 has better edge contrast, but generally it looks like textures have better detail on the HTC 10. I haven’t been able to do extensive RAW comparisons yet but it looks like HTC is just blurring luminance noise out too aggressively here for whatever reason. I’m not sure what causes this in image processing, but given how other OEMs like LG and Apple are fully capable of mostly eliminating color noise from their photos while retaining most of the detail that their cameras are capturing HTC would do well to do the same.
The final point of comparison I want to make here is the LG G4/G5. Although the G5 seems to have started an AF run in the middle of the capture, the areas where the photo is actually focused are arguably better than what the Galaxy S7 can put out. Even next to the G4, the Galaxy S7 falls short. I’m honestly not sure why LG doesn’t get more credit here, because next to Apple they seem to have the best image processing algorithms in the industry.
| Low Light Photography |
While daytime quality is critical, I suspect most people are going to be interested in low light performance as this is usually the hardest test for any OEM to get through. It’s taken years for OEMs to start shipping acceptable image processing in low light that wasn’t just a smeary and oversharpened mess, so getting this right is pretty important to say the least.
Unfortunately, the Galaxy S7 is just a bit disappointing here. The LG G5 is just clearly better here as noise reduction is better in pretty much every way and it looks a lot more natural due to less obvious sharpening halos. I would also argue that the HTC 10 is also better here due to its better texture detail and better handling of shadow detail, even if edges are softer.
The Galaxy S7 also has this strange streaking light flare with bright sources that I just couldn’t get rid of despite wiping the lens multiple times with a clean cotton cloth, which was done for every phone in this test before taking the picture. In fairness, the Galaxy S7 is still the fastest camera out of everything in this test, but it comes at the cost of rather disappointing output for me. The Galaxy Note5 looks like it might even be slightly better than the Galaxy S7, which is a weird regression when the general idea of going to a larger pixel size is to get better low light performance. As alluded to earlier, the cost of the dual pixel AF system may be sensitivity due to the dual photodiodes and light barrier to generate a phase detection pixel. While this is just one test example I’ve spent a lot of time playing with the camera on the Galaxy S7 and in general its low light performance is fairly similar to what you see above. The only time where I really see the Galaxy S7 lead is in extreme low light conditions where everything is reaching ISO and shutter speed limits.
Overall, while the user experience of the Galaxy S7's camera is industry-leading, the Galaxy S7 represents a somewhat unfortunate sidegrade in camera quality at best. I would argue that Samsung has gone in the wrong direction with their camera processing as they seem to be relying on strong noise reduction and sharpening more than ever before. The Galaxy S7 also retains the oversaturated color rendering of the Galaxy S6. While I'm sure most people are happy with these results, Apple and LG tend to have more accurate color rendition with their cameras. While HTC doesn't quite nail color rendition, they are arguably closer to reality than Samsung is. Hopefully with their next device they manage to maintain their class-leading speed, but with better post-processing and overall image quality.
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invinciblegod - Tuesday, July 5, 2016 - link
Apparently by your metric nothing can ever be compared to an iphone. "You can't compare a Lexus to a Mercedes, that will be BIAS!!!" The only thing annoying about this site is the complainers who have no valid arguments screaming BIAS.retrospooty - Tuesday, July 5, 2016 - link
How about when the iPhone 5s came out. Any other flagship gets 1, maybe 2 article. That day the iPhone 5s had 14 articles on it... 14 articles. That in itself shows the bias and that continues to this day, even after Anand left to go work at Apple. Reading the article above I see it clearly. Reading their iPhone reviews I see it clearly. There is an obvious reluctance to say anything negative about Apple and an obvious reluctance to say anything glowing about a product that competes with Apple. If you dont see that at Anandtech you simply arent paying attention.michael2k - Tuesday, July 5, 2016 - link
15? I can only find 9 articles for the 5S spread across 5 days, and one appears a month later.They had a hands on, and a video of the hands on, rather than combining the two. They had their announcement article as well as an availability article; they could have combined those as well. They also had separate articles on camera, battery, and CPU that could have been combined with the review.
That said, that isn't a sign of bias, that's a sign that Apple articles pay the bills. People read them and generate the prerequisite clicks necessary to get page impressions.
retrospooty - Tuesday, July 5, 2016 - link
It is possible it was hte iPhone5 release date... But it was 14. I recall it, because I commented after 11 that they had 11 bloody articles already and then 3 more came afterward, all that same day. That includes the main articles and the pipeline articles. Not sure how they archive them and that isnt the point. The point is the site is clearly biased. I remember you as well m2k, you are an old timer at this site as well and a well known apple defender. You are the target market and you are right , that is where their money lies. The only thing you are not right on is the bias it shows. When the site is reluctant to say anything too heavily negative about Apple and too positive on competing products, its a bias and this site has it, and has had it for many years now even years before Anand wen to work for Apple (if that isnt a clue already). If you dont see it, you simply aren't looking.michael2k - Tuesday, July 5, 2016 - link
There is something wrong with you if you think of people as with you and against you (Apple defender, Apple biased, etc). Yes, this site does favor Apple, they get a lot of coverage.You think it is wrong, yet the article lays out some of the reasons why they get so much coverage. Look at the CPU performance and you see that the 820 and Exynos both struggle to hit the top of the charts. Anandtech has performed multiple reviews over multiple iPhone releases to explain why that is the case; it isn't bias, it really is that Apple made a remarkable series of CPU designs.
We also see the same thing doesn't occur in the GPU, but we did have multiple articles talk about the PowerVR because sometimes Apple did have a range topping SoC. As previously discussed, the user base reads these CPU and GPU articles.
You can look at sales figures to see why Apple gets more attention than Samsung. In three days the iPhone 6S sold 13m units. In three months after the launch of the Galaxy S7 sold 25m units. There are really many more people reading the iPhone articles; that is the bias of the world, not the site, you're working against.
retrospooty - Tuesday, July 5, 2016 - link
" if you think of people as with you and against you" Where did I say anything like that? I am simply pointing out a bias - not about taking sides. Like I said, if you are looking for unbiased reviews, Anandtech is no longer the site to check on. If you already like Apple and aren't looking to change, and you want in depth articles on Apple products, its a great site. If you want somewhat less than complete articles on say, Samsung products 4 months after launch, it's a good site too. Get the point? You and I are both pointing out that the site has become Apple-centric. You just like it because you are an Apple fan - not that there is anything wrong with that. ;) I do not like it becasue I am a fan of tech in general, so the site I "grew up on" has sold out to clickbait. Anandtech from 1997- (maybe) 2012 wasnt like that. It used to be about the tech. Now it's about the clicks and catering to one particular companies products. If you dont see that, then you are the new target audience and are happy with it. No worries dood.fanofanand - Wednesday, July 6, 2016 - link
The bias is obvious. Josh spent several months with an iPad Pro before he could give it his review, I am not aware of him spending that kind of time with any other devices being tested. I think the Apple fans are dwindling in number, maybe people are figuring out that electronics aren't their friend, nor are the corporations that make them. I can't recall seeing anything negative said about any Apple product reviewed here since......ever. There's your bias, the implication that any product from a particular corporation is flawless. Retro I have read your comments for years and have always been entertained. Seems you don't post as often anymore :(retrospooty - Wednesday, July 6, 2016 - link
Thanks... Yeah, I dont post too often because I dont come here too often anymore due to the issue being discussed. It's just not about the tech anymore its about the clicks and the money.akdj - Monday, July 11, 2016 - link
You guys are hilarious.The extent that this crew has gone to improve the objective testing and measurements, the two part, in depth and all encompassing review of the s7/s7 (both variants; SD/Exynos) and the well written and 'time spent' using the devices put a WHOLE helluva lot more 'meat' in to the review & their conclusions.
As an ambidextrous user of both Android and iOS, I usually skip gens of Android and trade out annually for the latest iPhone. I still have my Xoom and the first iPad. The Nexus 7 & iPad 2 as well as a Note 4 and S6 Edge, I have the 6s+ as well and I enjoy all of them as smartphones. That said, and as an owner since day one ... I have too come to the same conclusions year in and out. iOS especially when you figure in its ecosystem of apps/& cross platform development so you're able to also enjoy the experience on your tablet ...an area Android STILL hasn't figured out compared with the iPad & Surface ...as well as Apple's understanding of SoCs and performance characteristics, updates, post purchase support and resale values ...you're truly insane (doing/buying the same thing while expecting different results) with your declarations of bias and conclusions about other sites that rushed their review out four days after it dropped. Insane!
The review clearly and objectively presents a whole lot of inarguable data and 'author time' spent with the piece they're reviewing.
If you go back and read Apple reviews, any of them, you'll find areas of the review favoring Android implementation or design. From the display and cameras to the 'off the shelf' SoCs everyone with exception of Samsung is using to power their devices.
Apple simply knows WTF they're doing and speaking from experience now nearing a decade using both - iOS and their dual/tri-core silicon designs, speedy memory(storage) and phenomenal memory management to keep battery longevity up as well as camera tech and understanding the whole 'package' - radios, security, durability, support and the largest library of software in history because developer monies ....how do you convince yourself the same bullshit year in and year out? Is that TechCrunch/Giz or CNet "review", in your opinion and published just hours or a couple days after release and minus the measurements and time spent somehow more 'valid' in your opinion? I honestly can't believe how the ignorance and blatant disregard for these amazing reviews you can read for free and than hide behind your goofy screen name and keyboard to bash the author who's soooo much more intelligent and knowledgeable than you, ALL of you will EVER be when it comes down to reality and mobile development
It also seems the masses agree. Apple sold 1/2 as many 6s & + models in 72 hours as Sammy did in three months, and it was the biggest 'down quarter' Apple's had since the iPhone dropped. Same thing on the tablet front. I also own each iPad including the two sides of Pros. Anand's reviews on both are incredibly spot on.
*I own and operate a business and have been waiting for the day iPad would replace the laptop or AIOs we use in the field. They are always connected, durable, reliable, and maintain incredible stamina when 'live'. I'm not blowing smoke as I have been extensively testing them and Air2 was the one ....even if a bit small. The 12.9" iPad Pro/256 is the best piece of gear I've ever purchased and at 1/2 the price of a MacBook Pro or Surface Pro - I'm saving money and don't have pre-event concerns about wifi access.
My take as an S6 Edge owner and reading the two reviews of the S7, I'm happy to skip that gen of Android. While I'll still purchase a Note 6/7 or S8 - it's not for pleasure but support and knowledge ...as iOS clearly and not subtly blows Android out of the water with the perfect phone -tab/lap or desktop integration and aggregation using Handoff ....there's a continuity that exists both vertically and horizontally that can't be matched. Period.
To argue and piss and moan about free and well written journalism is fruitless. Just. Go. Away. I can't understand why you would still be here, with the "Apple Bias" so prevalent. Like last year and the year before that, and the year....
Serious, those of you that still enjoy Android, this is a great phone. Just maybe not as great as Gizmodo or TchCrnch reported the day after it was released ;) --- and may NOT be the best Android choice for others.
Savanah - Tuesday, July 5, 2016 - link
I heard iphone sales are an all time low. Are you suggesting Apple is still selling more iphones than Samsung is selling their Galaxy series?