The Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge Review: Part 2
by Joshua Ho on July 5, 2016 8:00 AM ESTSystem Performance Cont'd
Now that we've gone over the more general purpose system benchmarks we can focus on new benchmarks that emphasize GPU performance much more strongly. For the most part we haven't had huge issues here like we've had with good CPU and general performance benchmarks, but it's important for us to keep our benchmarks up to date in terms of workload balance and overall performance.
One of our first new benchmarks designed to better test the GPU is 3DMark's Sling Shot ES 3.1 test, which is designed to test a GPU's performance when the application is either using OpenGL ES 3.1 or Metal. As one can see, the Snapdragon 820 and Exynos 8890 have basically comparable GPU performance in this test and in the physics test as well. Once again we're seeing how core count and clock speed are basically the primary determinants of performance in the physics test when the device isn't strongly limited by thermals. I wouldn't draw any real conclusions from this as generally game CPU code can extract ILP unlike what we're seeing in this test.
In this test we start to see that the Mali GPU in the Exynos 8890 and the PowerVR GPU in the A9 are providing a noticeable advantage over the Snapdragon 820's Adreno 530 to a noticeable extent.
With GFXBench we can see that in Car Chase and Manhattan the Adreno 530 actually manages to pull away. However, because we have basically zero architecture disclosure on the Adreno 530 there's really no way for us to explain what's going on here and why. The reasons for the difference in performance could be related to drivers or architecture or architecture implementation and in the absence of information it's probably best to avoid making blind guesses. Regardless of these details, the Snapdragon 820's GPU should be more than enough for playing the latest games, but unless you use Samsung's automatic game optimizer system to set render resolution to 1080p it won't do as well as the iPhone 6s but given that most Android games target a much lower spec level it's likely that you won't have any problems given that the Adreno 530 is on the bleeding edge for Android SoCs.
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virtuastro - Wednesday, July 6, 2016 - link
Exactly. My friend bought the S7 for the camera. We tested together between the S6 16mp F/1.9 (my phone) and S7 F/1.7 12mp 1.4 µm. Autofocus is indeed faster on S7 than the S6. Still Image quality and Low-Light still better on S6 for the most part. The LG G4 and G5 both still use 16mp and great in low-light as well. I am not going to upgrade GS7 but waiting for next year. Hopefully Samsung need to back at 16mp F/1.7 to F/1.9 might add more faster autofocus. P.S. English is not my first language.lilmoe - Wednesday, July 6, 2016 - link
Provided sensor technologies are similar, the size of individual photosites don't matter really, what ultimately matters is the size of the sensor (the total amount of light captured) and the speed of the lens.Lower resolution images are better for faster and more fine-tuned post processing.
Impulses - Thursday, July 7, 2016 - link
Buying any high end phone largely on the basis of it's camera, particularly if you already have a decent 1-2 yr old flagship phone, is a huge waste of money IMO. The same kind of money gets you so much more in a dedicated camera, whether it's a P&S, DSLR, or compact mirrorless ILC.Smartphones killed low end small sensor P&S cameras, that market was essentially gutted (and with good reason as it was quite stagnant), but they're still far far behind anything else.
beginner99 - Wednesday, July 6, 2016 - link
"There are clear points of differentiation between the Galaxy S7 and OnePlus 3 or Mi5 in terms of features, but I don’t think it’s enough to be worth the $300"True but it's war from $300 if you look at real prices at which you can buy the phones especially international version. I was very interested in the Mi5 but now that it is finally available here much less so. The 64 GB variant is about $30 cheaper than the 32 gb S7 (international). The later however is water-proof, has an sd-slot and more importantly also more LTE bands, better screen and camera plus it's less risk in general and higher resale value because Samsung. (The 32 gb mi5 has a slower SOC). Even though it kind of hurts me to go Samsung which everyone else has here that doesn't have an iPhone, it's the phone that suits me best. What also concerns me, is that benches you show here don't show the whole truth. Look at below comparisons. The S7 is just way faster in real-life:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vR2zq5I3i4g
tansnhands66 - Wednesday, July 6, 2016 - link
I never had the 6 but there were a lot of little things I miss from the 5 and the Note Edge. Texting lost a lot like no delayed sending, no "send now" on scheduled texts, no editing scheduled texts,and no repeat timed notification reminder . And for the calendar, no timed snooze setting (10,15, etc. minutes) and no "go to date" option. And don't get me started on the ONLY tone for the timer. It sounds like "Bedonkadonk, Bedonkadonk". Very annoying.Meteor2 - Wednesday, July 6, 2016 - link
For some reason I decided to read the comments before the article and... are we reading the same review? Joshua, this is a well-balanced, accurate and fair review. I don't like iOS but bottom line is top-drawer Android is well behind Apple. I love my Nexus 5X for its display, UI, and value. Flagship Android phones are poor value right now.KoolAidMan1 - Sunday, July 10, 2016 - link
Anandtech always has been and remains one of the most unbiased, objective sites out there.Some people see that a GS7 gets BTFO by even the iPhone SE and their brains break. It just doesn't compute that "Crapple" continues to deliver with the best hardware so they have temper tantrums and call AT biased shills.
Its so childish. If these people would use empirical data instead of their personal emotional bias they might learn something.
darkich - Wednesday, July 6, 2016 - link
"when themes can have noticeable effects on performance and battery life".. WHAT KIND OF BS IS THIS, AT!?!?Michael Bay - Wednesday, July 6, 2016 - link
Surprised by this?Try using your head then, it helps.
darkich - Wednesday, July 6, 2016 - link
Oh really..Themes affect the performance and battery life in such minor extent that pointing it out on a supposedly the most professional tech site is utterly ridiculous.
I used themes on my phone since Symbian OS! And even then the effect on battery endurance and performance has been unnoticeable.