Samsung: Company Debuts Galaxy S7 Active Smartphone
The phone's screen won't shatter from a drop of up to 5 feet and it can be in five feet of water for up to 30 minutes without breaking, Samsung says. The Galaxy S7 Active goes on sale June 10.
Samsung Galaxy S7 Active launches - but only for the US
By Cameron Faulkner 17 hours ago Mobile phones
It's available this week
Samsung Galaxy S7 Active
Samsung's flagship smartphone has received the rough and tough upgrade that we were all expecting. The Samsung Galaxy S7 Active is set to release exclusively through AT&T on June 10.
Much like the Samsung Galaxy S6 Active, the S7 Active is clad in a camouflage design that you'll either love or hate. It also replaces the capacitive buttons of the Samsung Galaxy S7 with physical ones, and ditches the glass build with tough plastic all around the edges to make it more drop-proof. This is a phone that puts function over form, unlike the S7, which holds them in near equal regard.
Internally, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active is a powerhouse. The 5.1-inch screen runs at 2,560 x 1,440, which is the same resolution as last year's device. Interestingly, Samsung opted for the Snapdragon 820 instead of its own Exynos SoC that it used in the non-US version of the S7.
The S7 Active is obviously made to withstand an intense beating, and its huge 4,000mAh battery only adds to the already impressive list of specs. The S7, by comparison, has 3,000mAh and the Nexus 6P packs 3,450mAh.
Will the S7 Active see the world over?
While it's unfortunate that this device won't make it outside of the United States, there isn't all that much to be jealous of. The Galaxy S7 doesn't have as big of a battery, but that's really its only downside by comparison. It has the same processor, screen quality and IP68 protection. You can essentially turn your S7 into an S7 Active by putting a case on it.
Is there any hope at all that this phone will release outside of the US? We asked AT&T, which told us that "at this time, we're not announcing any plans to launch the phone outside the U.S. market." Who knows, maybe we'll see the S7 Active floating into new waters soon enough.
Related product: Samsung Galaxy S7
Our Verdict:
Samsung has tweaked the winning design from the S6, righted the wrongs of its previous flagships, and made a phone you don't want to put down. The Samsung Galaxy S7 is iterative perfection.
FOR
Improved, waterproof design
Fantastic screen and power
Superb camera
AGAINST
High price
Only 32GB internal space
Fingerprint magnet
$600.00VIEW AT AMAZON
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The Samsung Galaxy S7 Active isn't just a Galaxy S7 in rugged clothing. Exclusive to AT&T, the S7 Active ($749.99; full retail price) does indeed have a more durable, shatter-resistant build than its predecessor. It also has a bigger battery and a customizable Active button, which makes it an even better smartphone for anyone into camping, hiking, or any other outdoor adventures. Aside from a bulkier build than the standard S7, the Active has the same beautiful display, sharp camera, and blazing performance that makes the S7 one of the best Android phones available (along with our Editors' Choice, the Galaxy S7 Edge). Fittingly, that makes the S7 Active the best rugged Android phone on the market, and worthy of Editors' Choice honors.
Design and Features
When it comes to rugged phones, you need to be prepared to make a bit of a compromise in the design department. The S7 Active is an attractive phone in its own right, but it's no Galaxy S7. Gone is the glass-and-metal build that makes the S7 so attractive, replaced by a matte green reinforced metal frame, rubberized edges, and a textured camouflage back. You can also get the phone in gold or gray color options, but at the end of the day, aesthetics come second to functionality here.
That said, the S7 Active is the rare rugged phone that's not an absolute brick. Measuring 5.86 by 2.95 by 0.39 inches (HWD) and 6.53 ounces, it's bigger and heavier than the standard S7 (5.61 by 2.74 by 0.31 inches; 5.36 ounces), but it's not bulky compared with heavy-duty options like the Kyocera Duraforce (5.39 by 2.78 by 0.55 inches; 7.06 ounces) or the Sonim XP6 (5.39 by 2.54 by 0.81 inches; 9.52 ounces). One-handed use is easy, and despite the increased weight, the S7 Active won't weigh down your pocket.
For that increase in size, you get the same level of durability as last year's S6 Active. That includes IP68 waterproofing, which means the phone is able to withstand submersion in up to five feet of water for 30 minutes. The standard Galaxy S7 also boasts this same level of water protection, but it doesn't meet the MIL-STD-810G rating like the S7 Active does. That allows it to handle extreme temperature, shock, vibration, pressure, altitude, and a number of other potentially hazardoud conditions.
To test durability, we washed the phone in the sink, kept it immersed in a bowl of water, put it in the freezer, and repeatedly dropped it from a five-foot height onto the (hard) rubberized floor of the PCMag test lab, as well as concrete, tile, and wood surfaces. The S7 Active remained unharmed throughout our torture tests. Try doing that with a Galaxy S7 (actually, don't).
Rugged qualities aside, the S7 Active is basically the same as the Galaxy S7 we know and love. The front of the phone has the same gorgeous 5.1-inch Quad HD AMOLED display, with great viewing angles and strong visibility in sunlight. Below the display are three physical buttons, including a smooth Home button with a built-in fingerprint sensor like the GS7. The S7 Active also includes textured Back and Options buttons, on either side of the Home button. They aren't backlit, but they're responsive and easy to distinguish under your thumb.
There's a power button on the right side of the phone, along with a combined SIM and microSD card slot that worked with a 200GB SanDisk card$79.99 at Amazon. The left side has a textured Active button, which can be programmed with several different functions (more on those later), and a volume rocker. There's a micro USB charging port and speaker on the bottom, and a 3.5mm audio jack up top.
Network Performance and Connectivity
The S7 Active supports a comprehensive set of AT&T network bands: GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900MHz), UMTS (850/900/1900/2100MHz), and LTE (1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/20/29/30/38/39/40/41). Network performance during my testing in midtown Manhattan was average. The Active also supports dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, and NFC.
Call quality is decent, but nothing to write home about. Transmissions are clear and free from garbling, but voices can sound harsh and robotic. On the plus side, earpiece volume is loud, and noise cancellation is excellent at blotting out loud background sounds.
Performance, Battery, and Software
The S7 Active has the exact same internal hardware as the S7, including a Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of RAM, a 12-megapixel rear camera, and a 5-megapixel front camera. You can see our review of the Galaxy S7 for a full performance rundown, but in short: It's fantastic. The Galaxy S7 (and, in turn, the S7 Active) is one of the most powerful Android phones you can buy, with one of the best mobile cameras we've tested.
Battery life on the S7 Active is even better than it is on the original, thanks to a larger 4,000mAh battery. The phone lasted 10 hours and 30 minutes in our rundown test, in which we stream full-screen video over LTE at maximum brightness. That's significantly longer than the standard Galaxy S7 (9 hours), as well as rugged phones like the Kyocera Duraforce (6 hours, 6 minutes). In addition to the supersized battery, the S7 Active supports fast charging, allowing it to go from zero to fully charged in 90 minutes with the included adapter.
Home/Reviews/Cell Phones/Samsung Galaxy S7 Active (AT&T)
Samsung Galaxy S7 Active (AT&T)
EDITOR RATING: EXCELLENT 3 COMMENTSJUNE 06, 2016
REVIEW
0 COMMENTS
SPECS
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Samsung Galaxy S7 Active
View All 6 Photos in Gallery
MSRP
$749.99
PROS
Rugged build. Fast performance. Long battery life. Excellent camera. Sharp, bright display. Customizable Active button.
CONS
Middling call quality.
BOTTOM LINE
With the Galaxy S7 Active, Samsung adds a shatter-resistant build and a bigger battery to the already spectacular Galaxy S7, making it the best rugged phone AT&T subscribers can get.
Editors' Choice BY AJAY KUMAR
The Samsung Galaxy S7 Active isn't just a Galaxy S7 in rugged clothing. Exclusive to AT&T, the S7 Active ($749.99; full retail price) does indeed have a more durable, shatter-resistant build than its predecessor. It also has a bigger battery and a customizable Active button, which makes it an even better smartphone for anyone into camping, hiking, or any other outdoor adventures. Aside from a bulkier build than the standard S7, the Active has the same beautiful display, sharp camera, and blazing performance that makes the S7 one of the best Android phones available (along with our Editors' Choice, the Galaxy S7 Edge). Fittingly, that makes the S7 Active the best rugged Android phone on the market, and worthy of Editors' Choice honors.
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Design and Features
When it comes to rugged phones, you need to be prepared to make a bit of a compromise in the design department. The S7 Active is an attractive phone in its own right, but it's no Galaxy S7. Gone is the glass-and-metal build that makes the S7 so attractive, replaced by a matte green reinforced metal frame, rubberized edges, and a textured camouflage back. You can also get the phone in gold or gray color options, but at the end of the day, aesthetics come second to functionality here.
View All 6 Photos in Gallery
That said, the S7 Active is the rare rugged phone that's not an absolute brick. Measuring 5.86 by 2.95 by 0.39 inches (HWD) and 6.53 ounces, it's bigger and heavier than the standard S7 (5.61 by 2.74 by 0.31 inches; 5.36 ounces), but it's not bulky compared with heavy-duty options like the Kyocera Duraforce (5.39 by 2.78 by 0.55 inches; 7.06 ounces) or the Sonim XP6 (5.39 by 2.54 by 0.81 inches; 9.52 ounces). One-handed use is easy, and despite the increased weight, the S7 Active won't weigh down your pocket.
S7 Active back
For that increase in size, you get the same level of durability as last year's S6 Active. That includes IP68 waterproofing, which means the phone is able to withstand submersion in up to five feet of water for 30 minutes. The standard Galaxy S7 also boasts this same level of water protection, but it doesn't meet the MIL-STD-810G rating like the S7 Active does. That allows it to handle extreme temperature, shock, vibration, pressure, altitude, and a number of other potentially hazardoud conditions.
To test durability, we washed the phone in the sink, kept it immersed in a bowl of water, put it in the freezer, and repeatedly dropped it from a five-foot height onto the (hard) rubberized floor of the PCMag test lab, as well as concrete, tile, and wood surfaces. The S7 Active remained unharmed throughout our torture tests. Try doing that with a Galaxy S7 (actually, don't).
Rugged qualities aside, the S7 Active is basically the same as the Galaxy S7 we know and love. The front of the phone has the same gorgeous 5.1-inch Quad HD AMOLED display, with great viewing angles and strong visibility in sunlight. Below the display are three physical buttons, including a smooth Home button with a built-in fingerprint sensor like the GS7. The S7 Active also includes textured Back and Options buttons, on either side of the Home button. They aren't backlit, but they're responsive and easy to distinguish under your thumb.
There's a power button on the right side of the phone, along with a combined SIM and microSD card slot that worked with a 200GB SanDisk card$79.99 at Amazon. The left side has a textured Active button, which can be programmed with several different functions (more on those later), and a volume rocker. There's a micro USB charging port and speaker on the bottom, and a 3.5mm audio jack up top.
GS7 Active Comparison
Left to right: Galaxy S7 Active, Galaxy S7
Network Performance and Connectivity
The S7 Active supports a comprehensive set of AT&T network bands: GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900MHz), UMTS (850/900/1900/2100MHz), and LTE (1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/20/29/30/38/39/40/41). Network performance during my testing in midtown Manhattan was average. The Active also supports dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, and NFC.
Call quality is decent, but nothing to write home about. Transmissions are clear and free from garbling, but voices can sound harsh and robotic. On the plus side, earpiece volume is loud, and noise cancellation is excellent at blotting out loud background sounds.
Performance, Battery, and Software
The S7 Active has the exact same internal hardware as the S7, including a Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of RAM, a 12-megapixel rear camera, and a 5-megapixel front camera. You can see our review of the Galaxy S7 for a full performance rundown, but in short: It's fantastic. The Galaxy S7 (and, in turn, the S7 Active) is one of the most powerful Android phones you can buy, with one of the best mobile cameras we've tested.
Battery life on the S7 Active is even better than it is on the original, thanks to a larger 4,000mAh battery. The phone lasted 10 hours and 30 minutes in our rundown test, in which we stream full-screen video over LTE at maximum brightness. That's significantly longer than the standard Galaxy S7 (9 hours), as well as rugged phones like the Kyocera Duraforce (6 hours, 6 minutes). In addition to the supersized battery, the S7 Active supports fast charging, allowing it to go from zero to fully charged in 90 minutes with the included adapter.
Related Story See How We Test Cell Phones
The phone runs Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow with Samsung's TouchWiz skin over it. You get the same home screen, apps, and general look as the regular S7, with one major addition: Activity Zone. Pressing the Active button launches the Activity Zone app, which shows a grid of tiles contating widgets for Weather, Barometer, S Health, Compass, Flashlight, and Stopwatch. A longer press of the Active button launches DirectTV, while a double press launches Emergency Zone, which allows you to quickly call 911 or emergency contacts. The Active key can also be programmed to launch any three apps of your choice, which is handy if you're not interested in the default setup. I changed it to launch Gmail (one press), Calculator (long press), and S Health (double press), instead.
Galaxy S7 Active inline
Comparisons and Conclusions
At $750, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active costs $55 more than the standard Galaxy S7. If you're the type of person who regularly needs to replace broken phones, that's a small price to pay compared with extended warranties or getting a whole new device. Compared with other rugged AT&T devices like the Kyocera Duraforce and the Sonim XP6, the S7 Active is significantly more expensive. But those phones feature seriously dated hardware and software, which is a big compromise to make in the name of durability.
Ultimately, the choice between the S7 and the S7 Active comes down to whether you're willing to sacrifice the S7's sleek design for the S7 Active's rugged build and bigger battery. At the end of the day, the Galaxy S7 Active is every bit as good a phone as the standard S7, and in some respects, it's even better. No matter which you choose, you can rest assured that it offers a top-notch experience.
Another year, another Samsung Galaxy S7 Active. You might be tempted to overthink this phone. Don't. It's a Galaxy S7 through and through. Mostly the same internal specs. Mostly the same software — with a few additions. All in all, you mostly get the same experience.
Where things really differ is in the body. This Galaxy S7 is protected by a much more durable shell, and has a screen that should keep from shattering from most casual falls. Plus it's got a few built-in software features that the "active set" — whomever that is, we suppose — will find in handy, but nothing you couldn't really add to your own phone.
The real question you'll have to ask yourself here is whether you'd want to switch to AT&T to have this phone. Or if you're already on that operator, whether you'd rather have it than just strap a regular GS7 into a protective case.
Oh, and whether you want to put up with AT&T's inexcusable bloatware.
5.85 in148.8mm
2.95 in
75.0mm 0.38 in
9.9mm
6.52 oz
185 grams
Display:
5.1-inch Super AMOLED
Quad-HD
2560x1440 resolution (575ppi)
Cameras:
Rear 12MP, ƒ/1.7 lens
5MP front camera
Battery:
4000mAh capacity
Non-removable
Chips:
Snapdragon 820
Quad-core 2.15GHz
4GB RAM
32GB internal storage
microSD slot
About this review
We're publishing this review after spending about four days with the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active. That's inside our seven-day window for even considering calling something a "review," but much about this phone is a known quantity. It is, through and through, a Galaxy S7 — a phone with which we already are intimately familiar. Same processor. Same camera. Same software experience.
Our Galaxy S7 Active review unit (it's the SM-G891A) provided by AT&T is running Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow (Build MMB29M.G891AUCU1APE7), with the May 1, 2016, security patch.
The Galaxy S7 Active in "sandy gold," "titanium gray" and "green camo."BIGGER, BEEFIER, MORE ACTIVE
Galaxy S7 Active Hardware
In some ways the Galaxy S7 Active is sort of the anti-GS7, if you think about it. Samsung's flagship phone is all about sleek sex appeal. From the marriage of curves and sharp lines, to the execution of its commercials. This is space-age stuff.
The GS7 Active almost should be called something other than GS7. The look and feel of the two phones couldn't be much more different. Metal and glass gives way to something that's much more plastic. A soft-touch sort of plastic — not quite rubber feeling — and much more bulbous than the GS7 or GS7 edge. It's available in three colors — "sandy gold," "titanium gray" and "green camo." Figure the first color is great for getting lost at the beach, and the latter in the woods. (Gray? You're on your own.)
This is a larger, more robust Galaxy S7. But it is in no way awkward.
It's also a good bit bigger in all respects. Taller, wider, thicker. It weighs more. But Samsung's done all this in a way that doesn't make the phone feel ungainly or huge. "More robust" is the term that keeps popping into my head. Not quite rugged. Certainly not as huge as some of the cases you'd get from, say, Otterbox, or from a dedicated "rugged" phone by someone like CAT.
We still have physical buttons — done in the usual Samsung layout of recent apps-home-back. But new this year is the inclusion of a fingerprint reader in the home button. That's always a good option to have, even if it's not the most practical when it comes to this sort of phone, which sort of assumes you might be using it with wet or dirty hands.
Stick the GS7 Active up against the previous model (the GS6 Active, of course), and you'll see that Samsung's actually toned down that rugged look a bit. Gone are the exposed screws. The SIM tray drawer no longer is opened by a fingernail, but instead uses a paper clip-style SIM tray tool. And the tray itself has moved from the top of the phone to the side, beneath the power button.
There's nothing about this phone that's uncomfortable to hold. It's not too big. It's not too bulky. Some of the sharper edges are more rounded.
And the buttons are all in their usual places. That includes the "Active Key" that's above the volume rocker. A single press opens the Activity Zone. A double-press opens up the emergency options — to quickly call 911, or message an emergency contact.
And a long press — well, we'll get to that in a second.
You can remap any of those Active Key actions to any of your installed apps, though. That's handy as hell, even if it takes a little extra work.
The AMOLED display is still excellent indoors, and especially important in this case, outdoors. The always-on display introduced by Samsung earlier this year is on by default here. I've never found it particularly useful, though.
Water-resistant? Sure, but ...
You'll see a lot of footage of the Galaxy S7 Active spending time under water. (We for sure did our fair share of that, too.) But while the phone certainly has been hardened against the elements, it's not actually any better at swimming than the original Galaxy S7.
The Galaxy S7 Active has the exact same water resistance rating as the regular Galaxy S7.
All three phones in the GS7 class are rated IP68 for dust ingress and water immersion. That means it can spend up to a half hour in 5 feet of water, without suffering any ill effects.
As some folks have learned the hard way, that means a bath. A quick soak. Not a prolonged shower. That doesn't mean the phone can't survive a little more abuse — and we've definitely put it to that test a few times — but that's not what Samsung intends or warrants here. We're still talking about your leaving it in your pocket at the beach, or dropping it into your coffee/water/toilet/bath. That sort of thing.
Try not to get it wet. But if it does, there's a good chance it'll survive.
That MIL STD-810G rating …
The other rating you'll hear AT&T and Samsung promoting is MIL STD-810G. That's a military standard that puts devices of all types up against — well, pretty much up against everything. Pressure. Temperature. Shock. (That's physics, not electric.) Rain. Radiation. Fungus.
We didn't actively test that last one.
But we did abuse our Galaxy S7 Active more than we normally would a "regular" phone in the course of the review process.
We dropped it on concrete from pocket level. We tossed it around a bit. It went swimming. It played in the sand. It spent a little time with a 5-year-old.
And for the most part the phone held up quite nicely. It still works. It looks a little worse for wear, for sure. We've got scuffs all over the body. The display is scuffed in places. But it didn't crack. It didn't shatter. The phone very much is operable.
The Galaxy S7 Active after our physical testing.
Our biggest concern has to do with where the glass meets the body. We got a good bit of sand lodged in there, and that worries us when it comes to future water resistance. There also were a few grains of sand around the physical buttons.
We also had a few instances after getting the phone wet in which the power button was misbehaving. But after thoroughly drying the phone, all is well. (That sort of thing isn't uncommon for IP68 devices, actually. And to be fair, skipping a phone across a tide pool isn't exactly intended use.)
You shouldn't actively torture the Galaxy S7 Active. That's a quick way to have something bad happen to your phone. But we have pretty good amount of confidence that this phone will stand up to anything stupid that someone might do to it. Basic falls and such. Quick dunks in water.
And that's exactly what this phone is meant to withstand.
Storage and battery life
Again, this is a 32-gigabyte Galaxy S7 Active, as has been the standard for the GS7 family this year. Of that 32GB, a little less than 20GB is actually available to you as a user, thanks to the system and preloads and such. (That's actually a little more than I had available when I reviewed the Galaxy S7.)
A microSD card can increase all that, of course. But as has been the case with Samsung's other phones, you'll be using external storage in the traditional sense. That is, no Adoptable Storage. But the upside to that is the the SD card can come and go as you please, making it easier to move files around.
A 4,000 mAh battery — and wireless charging — may make this the perfect Galaxy S7.
As for battery and charging, it's business as usual. The GS7 Active comes with Samsung's own Adaptive Fast Charging. Use it. A half-hour plugged in took us from 30 percent to 65 percent.
And new this time around is the ability to charge wirelessly. That's a good thing. And if you're going to do that, you might as well splurge for Samsung's wireless fast charger. The "regular" wireless charger (which Samsung has a habit of giving away for free sometimes) is painfully slow.
As for battery life, it's been exactly what we'd expect from a larger, 4,000 mAh cell powering an Snapdragon 820 processor and 5.1-inch 2K display. Take what we've learned from the Galaxy S7, and extend it a bit. I've had virtually no problem getting through a full day. I imagine some seriously hard use will cut into that, but 33 percent more capacity is 33 percent more capacity. Getting well into a second day's use (after laying around dormant all night) is definitely a possibility, but you'll still need to find a charger at some point after breakfast.
Your usage will vary, of course, depending on your app load and how great AT&T is where you are. But nobody's turning down a larger battery in this phone — which was always going to be physically bigger anyway. It's a good improvement.
The GS7 Active is 99 percent like the Galaxy S7, with a few software additions.
TOUCHWIZ GOES ACTIVE
Galaxy S7 Active Software
If you've at all seen Samsung's implementation of Android 6.x Marshmallow, you know what you're in store for on the Galaxy S7 Active. The setup process is that weird mix of Google and Samsung and carrier (in this case, AT&T), with some overlaps.
You'll get a couple of chances to restore your content — once from Google, another time from AT&T, for things like voicemail and accounts and services. And Samsung will prompt you to log in to its service as well, which you'll want to do since a fair amount of preloaded apps will want to update from there.
The Galaxy S7 Active is encrypted by default. Samsung gives you the option to require a PIN at boot as part of the encryption mechanism. We suggest you take advantage of this. And good on Samsung for pushing this at first boot.The home screens look like Samsung home screens. There's a mix of Google and Samsung and AT&T, for better or worse. (More on the latter half of that a second.)
The biggest change as far as the software goes comes from the Active Key, a single press of which launches the Activity Zone. There you'll find a nice 2x3 card interface for quick shortcuts to the weather, barometer, S Health, compass, flashlight and stopwatch. It's pretty standard and self-explanatory stuff, and it's the sort of thing we'd like to see in all of Samsung's software, actually. There's nothing inherent to this phone that prevents it from being on other phones. The Active Key is just a shortcut.
A double-press of the Active Key launches "Emergency Zone." That gives you one-touch access (erm, after the double-press of the Active Key) to 911. You also can designate an emergency contact here, and the phone will fire off an SMS with your location, pictures from both the front and rear cameras, and an audio clip of what's going on. Nice touch.
Welcome back, AT&T bloatware
We've already discussed AT&T's penchant for loading up its phones with software you might or might not want a couple of times. First with the original Galaxy S7, and later with the LG G5, when things seemed to get even worse.
AT&T's pushing of DirectTV (and other bloatware) would be insulting if we weren't already numb to it.
Nothing's changed on the Galaxy S7 Active. The first time you pull down the notification menu you'll see a black DirectTV notification — a stark contrast against the off-white quick settings and other notifications. It's as if AT&T believes it's impossible for you to own one of its phones but not subscribe to DirectTV. The good news is you can hide this notification by hitting the little gear icon, thing turning "display remote" off.
Or, swipe over one home screen and you'll find a half-page widget for DirectTV content.
Hope you really like DirecTV.Open the app drawer and you'll note that there's only a single page of apps. That's almost commendable! Of course, that black DirectTV app icon right in the middle sure stands out.
Perhaps AT&T really wants folks to subscribe to DirectTV.
In the app drawer you'll also find an AT&T folder full of things, in the No. 1 spot. And these things include:
Device Help
Usage Manager
myAT&T
Smart Limits
AT&T Protect Plus
Caller Name ID
Lookout
AT&T Locker
Uber
Drive Mode
Amazon
Amazon Kindle
Setup & Transfer
Plenti
Remote (DirectTV)
YP (Yellow Pages)
At this point we can't do much more than throw up our arms and shake our head and continue to question why AT&T thinks this is good way to treat its customers in 2016. The presumption that you're either already a DirectTV subscriber or that you'll soon become one would be downright insulting if it weren't also expected at this point.
Hell, a long press of the Active Key by default launches DirectTV. It's come to that.
We don't see this changing any time soon, sadly.
WE'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE
Galaxy S7 Active Cameras
The Galaxy S7 has pretty much the best camera you can find in a smartphone today. Therefore, so does the Galaxy S7 Active.
Samsung's Galaxy S7 camera is in full effect here.
As a refresher, the rear camera is a 12-megapixel deal with an f/1.7 lens. It's got OIS. It's got a whole bunch of modes — including one for shooting underwater, using the Active Key and volume buttons instead of on-screen buttons, for obvious reasons.
It's basically still the best camera you can get in a phone. (And you can still launch it with two quick presses of the home button.)
So we're not going to spend a whole lot of time on it here. It's been covered. It's still excellent.
1 / 16
Samsung Galaxy S7 Active sample
THE BOTTOM LINE
Should you buy it? Sure
We have absolutely no reason to not recommend the Galaxy S7 Active. (By the way it runs $26.50 a month for 30 months, or $33.13 a month for 24 months — that's $795 total, $100 more than the standard GS7) so long as you're fine being on AT&T. Or switching to AT&T. Point is, this phone's only available on AT&T.
You can't see it because it's camouflaged, but there's a Galaxy S7 Active in this picture.And you have to be OK with all the AT&T crud that comes on the phone.
And you have to remember that this is an "active" phone. It's not, strictly speaking, a "rugged" phone. You'll still want to be a little careful with it. But it's still a lot of fun to use. It's as good and as easy as a Galaxy S7. Because it is a Galaxy S7. It's just got a bit of a case built in. You don't necessarily need to worry about it getting wet. (Of course you didn't have to worry about that with the regular GS7 either.) You can be reasonably sure that if you drop it, it'll probably still work. It might be a little worse for wear, but it'll still work.
Really, what we have here is a nice option for folks on AT&T. If that carrier's a non-starter for you, you'll get 90 percent of the same experience — save for the larger battery and a few software tweaks — with a Galaxy S7 and a sturdy case.
