WHAT IS THE SAMSUNG GALAXY S7 EDGE?

Think phones have become boring? Think again. The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge takes on the HTC 10 and upcoming iPhone 7 head on, with a stunning curved display and pretty much every high-end spec under the sun.

Aside from the top-end internals, the curvier sibling to the Galaxy S7 is water-resistant and has the best camera on any phone I have used. No question.

Do we already have 2016’s best phone? That accolade will probably go to the regular S7, but the Edge is certainly a great option if you’ve the money to spend.

Video: Check out our review of the Galaxy S7 Edge

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Related: Samsung Galaxy S8

SAMSUNG GALAXY S7 EDGE – DESIGN

Metal and glass build, curved display, IP68 water resistant, available in black or gold

Design hasn't always been Samsung's strong suit. Just two years ago, Samsung released the Galaxy S5. The handset was the most powerful phone available at the time, but it wasn’t a looker. Last year’s Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge signalled a much needed change for Samsung, and the change is only more obvious with the S7 Edge.

Related: Best smartphones 2016

The Galaxy S7 Edge is downright gorgeous. In my eyes, it’s the best looking phone ever and makes the iPhone 6S Plus look blocky, boring and dated.

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On the surface, the S7 Edge looks just like its predecessor. A metal rim is sandwiched between two slabs of Gorilla Glass 4, with a lock switch on one side and separated volume keys on the other. The back is almost completely clean, with a now flush camera sensor, heart rate monitor and a Samsung logo.

Along the top is the repositioned sim-tray, which now pops in a microSD slot too, plus a microphone. The bottom houses the headphone jack (this should always be on the bottom, can other manufacturers please take note), another microphone, a tiny and frankly disappointing speaker, plus a microUSB port for charging.

Related: Everything you need to know about the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3

Rumours suggested Samsung was going to make the switch to the new, reversible USB–C connector that’s already being used on the Nexus 6P, OnePlus 2 and LG G5, but it hasn’t panned out that way. This isn’t really a bad thing, in fact USB–C is more of a hindrance than a help at the minute. Especially as it means getting rid of all those microUSB cables you’ve accumulated over the years.

The front is almost as clean as the back, and features an elongated home button set under the display, plus another Samsung logo – does it really need two?. Unlike the HTC One A9, the front control is a physical button, not a capacitive pad. The front button houses the Galaxy S7 Edge's fingerprint sensor, which is just as fast as all the others on the market now.

Samsung has once again decided not to use on-screen buttons, so glowing ‘back’ and ‘multitasking’ keys light up when needed. Ditching virtual buttons gives you more screen space, but this phone could be even more compact if Samsung went down that route.

Samsung's also redesigned the Galaxy S7 Edge's camera module. Unlike the S6's, the S7 Edge's module sits flat on the phone's back. This might sound like a small change, but it makes a big difference. I can now tap out a text with the phone flat on my desk without it jumping and rocking from side to side.

Related: Best Android smartphones 2016

But, the biggest change between the S6 Edge from last year and the Galaxy S7 Edge is the size. Instead of simply keeping both the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge the same, with just the Edge sides to differentiate them, Samsung has positioned the Edge as the ‘higher-end’ device, pushing up the screen size from 5.1-inches to 5.5-inches.

When I first heard Samsung made this changed, I was a little annoyed. There was something unique about having a fully-powered phone with a screen that was on the small and compact side. It’s a rarity these days. Pick up the S7 Edge though, and you might have to double to check the spec-sheet, surely this phone doesn’t have the same size screen as the iPhone 6S Plus?

Yet it does. Somehow Samsung has managed to cram a large screen into the body of a much smaller phone. Next to the iPhone 6S Plus, the S7 Edge is narrower, shorter and much lighter. I can even use it comfortably in one hand, stretching my thumb from one corner to the other without too much trouble.

There’s something else the size increase helps too: those gorgeous, sloping curved edges. The Galaxy S7 Edge is the fourth Samsung phone to use this design trait, but it’s the best implementation I've seen yet.

Related: IP68 – What does it mean?

The S6 Edge was difficult to hold for an extended period, while the Galaxy S6 Edge+was simply too big. The Galaxy S7 Edge, though, is just right. There’s enough space between where the curved screens stops and the back starts to grip, while the newly curved back – reminiscent of the Galaxy Note 5 – slips nicely into my palms. In short, it feels great to hold and it’s an impressive feat by the Samsung design team that these slight changes have made such a big overall difference.

Just like the microSD slot, Samsung has brought back another fan favourite from the Galaxy S5; an IP68 rating for water-resistance. While this is by no means a vital feature, it’s admirable that it has been added without any noticeable loss to the design. There are no flaps covering the ports, no added thickness and no extra space between the display and glass.

What does an IP68 rating mean? Well, you’ll be able to dunk the Galaxy S7 Edge into one meter of water for up to 30 minutes without damaging the phone. Basically, you can use it in the rain without issue and even watch some YouTube in the bath without worrying about an accidental slip. Not that I did that, honest.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S7 EDGE – SCREEN

5.5-inch quad-HD panel, dual curved edges

If the design of the S7 Edge is stunning, then the same word can be used to describe the display. Not a whole lot has changed from the outgoing flagships, but this still holds up as the best screen on a smartphone for a number of reasons.

First up is the sheer amount of detail here. Samsung didn’t try and go all-out with a 4K display, but really when quad-HD (that’s 2560 x 1440) looks this good I don’t think there’s much of a need for more pixels. Maybe it would help make VR even better with the Gear VR headset, but that’ll probably come next year.

Related: Best apps and game for the Samsung Gear VR

Everything from images to films to games look beautiful, with pixels completely invisible to the naked eye. The 534ppi (pixels per inch) density beats the iPhone 6S Plus and means the S7 Edge easily outmuscles Apple’s phablet in the display department.

Samsung has stuck with its Super AMOLED tech for the Galaxy S7 Edge and that’s not really a surprise. AMOLED screens are much more vibrant than the LCD counterparts. Oversaturation isn’t as much of a problem as it was on older Samsung phones, and personally I like a bit more ‘oomph’ to my colours. But for those that like a cooler look there are options to tone things down.

AMOLED displays are also much better at showing off blacks than LCDs. Instead of looking slightly grey, the blacks here are inky deep. You’ll easily notice this when watching media and it’s hard going back to an LCD afterwards.

Now, there are a few niggles I have with the display on the Galaxy S7 Edge. There’s a really strong blue tinge on the two edge sides, especially when viewing content with white background. In both Twitter and Gmail I can pick this out and while it won’t come across in pictures, it’s annoying.

Viewing angles also aren’t the best. But, that’s really one of the sacrifices you get when you don’t use an IPS LCD panel. Tilt the phone to an angle and the sides become bright white, but the rest of it looks like it’s masked in a grey fog.

The new ‘Always-on Display’ mode, is also cool but needs some work. The Always-on tech takes advantage of the fact AMOLED screens don't need to light up the whole display all the time and can instead select individual pixels to charge. This means the S7 Edge can still show the time, date and a couple of bits of other information on the lock-screen when the phone is off without eating through too much battery.

Samsung says having the ‘Always-on display’ switched on will only use up an extra 1% of battery per hour and those claims stand true during my testing. Samsung also says you should save battery because you don’t unlock the phone as much with Always-on activated, but I disagree with this.

Yes, the Always-on mode shows the time, but it will only alert you to notifications from Samsung’s default apps like Messages, Mail and Phone. Use WhatsApp? Or Gmail? Tough, these won’t show up.

I’d also like a bit more control over the mode. You can’t alter the brightness, which causes some problems when you’re in a darker room, and aside from choosing whether or not you want a calendar showing, there isn’t much customisation allowed.

It’s a nice start and a feature that has potential to be very useful, but it needs work.

Apple's tagline for the iPhone 6S is 'the only thing that's changed is everything', highlighting that the brand knows this is a phone that looks an awful lot like 2014's model.

It makes sense that Apple would try its hardest to show that, despite the handset looking identical to the iPhone 6, there have been loads of changes under the hood that make this an attractive phone in its own right.

The chassis is stronger, the camera sharper – with a new Harry Potter-esque way of capturing your snaps – and there's even a completely new way of interacting with the screen. On paper, it's an impressive upgrade.

See the iPhone 6S in action in our video review:

But when it looks identical to the iPhone 6, people will be desperate to know if the iPhone 6S is enough of an upgrade to justify the price. While the upgrades seem great, is it worth going all the way up to the iPhone 6S, or would the 6 do?

In terms of raw price, we're in a weird situation now. Samsung and the rest of the Android crew have been slowly ratcheting up the price of their high-end phones to the point where they're actually eclipsing the iPhone 6S at launch.

While Apple put its phone into a market where the Galaxy S6 was significantly cheaper there are new boys on the block in the for of the Galaxy S7, LG G5 andHTC 10. Either way, the iPhone 6S has a lot to live up to.

In the UK you'll likely have to part with between £50 and £100 upfront to get the phone for £36-£38 per month (if you want a decent slug of data and minutes) with the 6S starting at £539 (US$649, AU$1,079) for the 16GB model, £619 (US$749, AU$1,229) for the 64GB model and £699 (US$849, AU$1,379) for 128GB.

It starts at $649 if you're looking to pick it up off contract in the US, with the new $32.45 monthly cost if you're thinking of getting locked into Apple's yearly upgrade plan.

In reality though, the question of who this phone is aimed at isn't that hard to answer: for most people stuck on the iPhone 5S it's clearly the upgrade they're considering, although the recent arrival of the iPhone SE will surely tempt some of those users who want to stick with the smaller form factor.

Beyond that there's the disgruntled Android owner who's tired of looking at the slicker app experience Apple offers and seeing their own handset looking sketchy in comparison.

(Of course, there are a few people that tried Windows Phones as experiments, but they'd probably be happy with just about any other phone if they're still using a Nokia Lumia 930).

The difference between the iPhone 6 (left) and iPhone 6S (right) is nearly impossible to see

The issue Apple is trying to solve with the iPhone 6S (and the 6S Plus) is how it can convince users, especially in a market saturated with really rather brilliant smartphones, that the 'S' variant of the impressive iPhone 6 is a worthy phone to upgrade to in its own right.

When something is so visually similar, the onus is on the brand to show that the upgrades are really worth the extra cash.

Even if Apple keeps users within its own ecosystem there's every chance they'll look at the iPhone 6, which is now much cheaper – so it needs to make sure things like a stronger chassis, animated photos and a new pressable screen are worth the extra outlay when both phones will still work perfectly well in a couple of years' time.

Design

You've probably already heard, but the iPhone 6S is almost identical to the 6 in every way when it comes to the chassis. There are some very subtle differences, such as a slightly thicker frame and a little more heft, but it's so slight that I kept getting the two mixed up when doing side by side comparisons.

All cases fit both phones just fine too so, apart from a small S logo on the back of the phone, nobody is going to notice you've got the latest iPhone.

But there will be lots of you upgrading from the iPhone 5S, and in that case you'll need to be ready for a really big design change. The metallic chassis feels really nice in the hand, with a ceramic-like feeling on the outside (although if it's anything like the 6 then this can scuff over time if you keep it in a pocket with keys, so you'll need to think about the kind of case you'll want to keep it safe).

If you're not ready to take the leap to the new, bigger form factor, Apple has the new iPhone SE to satisfy your 4-inch cravings.

One of the things that Apple is touting is the fact the iPhone 6S is made of 7000 series aluminum, which is the strongest thing it's ever used in iPhone construction. The obvious connection people will make is with 'Bendgate', when some users claimed their new phone had developed a slight curve in their pocket without much pressure.

The common belief was that these phones began to twist when placed in a rear pocket and sat upon. While it was proven that other metal phones actually were worse when it came to bending Apple didn't come out of the controversy well.

So it's no surprise that, while the company won't admit the real reason, the new iPhone is strong and never going to bend with such pressure. However, I feel like that we shouldn't feel happy our phones no longer bend – this seems like one of the minimum expectations I'd have of a smartphone, not a compelling reason to buy it.

The front of the phone is now covered in a new level of strength, with a glass that's far less prone to shattering when dropped on the floor – now that's something I can get behind. We've not drop tested it - we'll leave that to some other, braver reviewer - if the screen is stronger the responsiveness hasn't dropped.

In the hand, the iPhone 6S still feels like a dream. Even with the extra 14g over the iPhone it feels lightweight, easy to manipulate and really warrants the price. Samsung's new Galaxy S6 Edge invokes the same kind of feeling, and with it you don't mind spending the extra money over a more budget phone.

In terms of design, if you've seen the iPhone 6 then you've seen the 6S. The volume buttons, the power key, the silencer switch and the speaker are all in the same place as its predecessor, with the grille at the bottom very easy to cover when you're watching videos or playing games in landscape.

If you're using the 5S, this is leagues ahead. The construction is good, the materials solid and there's no wiggle in the buttons at all. While you probably never bent your 5S, the idea that the iPhone 6S is stronger will probably please you, however unnecessary the claim is.

Apple's not done anything great with the design of the iPhone 6S, but the iPhone 6 was such a well-created phone that using the same chassis isn't going to harm its chances of success.

However, combined with the higher price and the continued presence of the iPhone 6, I wish we were at least seeing some retooling of the phone to make it seem more attractive.

Screen

The screen on the iPhone 6S seems to be identical to the iPhone 6's: we're talking a 4.7-inch affair with 750p resolution, which keeps it firmly in the 'Retina' range that the firm debuted all the way back with the iPhone 4.

It's hard to rate the display, as while it fails on resolution (quite spectacularly actually - phones a seventh the cost of the iPhone 6S offer 1080p screens, Samsung's cheaper phone has four times the resolution of the 6S and Sony has, inexplicably, launched a 4K phone) it doesn't drop too badly on performance.

The iPhone 6S display is clear, bright, laminated to the glass and insanely colorful. The first time I saw it on the iPhone 6 I thought it was a fake picture stuck on top of a dummy unit, such was the clarity on offer.

So to use the same thing on the iPhone 6S makes sense - after all, the lower pixel count means it can be thinner and the battery can last longer, thanks to having fewer pixels to drive.

But there are some things missing: for instance, the contrast ratio (the difference between the brightest and darkest parts of the screen) is still poor, with the black areas looking a little grey. Samsung's Galaxy range predominantly uses OLED technology, which offers 'true' blacks and high brightness and packs a much better visual punch, and would have suited the iPhone down to the ground.

The sharpness in side by side tests is clearly lower too - the 326 pixels per inch is very low even compared the 401ppi of the iPhone 6S Plus - and most other models are over 500ppi to bring really, really clear displays.

Given OLED technology is used in the Apple Watch - and admittedly it looks brilliant - it's a shame the same thing couldn't have been done with the iPhone 6S.

It's important not to get too hung up on screen resolution in a phone - after all, if it's not serving a purpose (hey, Sony?) then it's just wasting battery. But the industry has moved on, and the higher pixel densities on offer are starting to really bring something to the table, with apps and general use looking pin sharp.

Here's hoping the iPhone 7 makes a massive jump forward to join the rest of the pack.

Update: The iPad Pro 9.7 is about to get its first major software upgrade withiOS 10, which Apple plans to announce at WWDC 2016 this week. We'll revise this review accordingly when that happens.

The iPad Pro is ambitiously touted as Apple's new tablet that has the guts to replace your laptop, and it now comes in an ideal size that perfectly demonstrates bigger isn't always better for everyone.

Even though I was thoroughly impressed with the grunt behind the powerfuliPad Pro 12.9, I longed for that standard 9.7-inch display and form factor with the same pro-level features.

It's taken Apple a year and a half to launch a proper iPad Air 2 successor and, in that time, it fit almost everything from the giant iPad into a smaller frame. It's way more than an iPad Air 3 upgrade.

It's way more than an iPad Air 3 upgrade.

I can now listen to amped up music through its four loud stereo speakers, doodle away with the Apple Pencil and seamlessly attach a keyboard without fumbling with Bluetooth. Its Smart Connector port may be my favorite new feature inherited from the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

It's not all hand-me-downs. The iPad Pro 9.7 actually strikes out on its own with a few advancements. Its True Tone display technology adapts to my environment by subtly adjusting the white balance, and there's a much wider color gamut behind its anti-reflective coated glass.

Its camera is 12MP and shoots 4K video, taking cues from the iPhone 6S andiPhone 6S Plus camera specs. That's incredibly rare for a tablet of any size. So is the rose gold color option and debut of a 256GB configuration.

It's a tablet juggernaut - not in size, but the asking price.

What we have ended up with is a tablet juggernaut - but without looking like a juggernaut. On the other hand it also has a serious asking price to match its power, and several easy-to-spot software limitations.

The iPad Air 9.7 costs $599 (£499, AU$899), higher than the iPad Air 2 launch price of $499, (£399, $699) and even higher than the current iPad Air 2 price of $399 (£349, AU$599).

Is there enough here for Apple to retain its best tablet status? Let's explore the current iPad that wants to be your laptop-replacement of the future.

Be sure to watch our video review of the iPad Pro 9.7

Design

From across the room, I couldn't tell the difference between this iPad Pro 9.7 and my iPad Air 2 when I was charging both during my battery life tests. They're nearly identical on the outside, and that's a good thing.

The new "Pro" label doesn't mean bigger, it just means bolder.

The new iPad Pro has the same sub-pencil-thin dimensions of 240 x 168 x 6.1mm, making it a natural fit for two hands and easy to stow in a backpack. Surprisingly, its weight matches, too, despite the specs upgrade: 437g for Wi-Fi and 444g for Wi-Fi + Cellular again. The new "Pro" label doesn't mean bigger, it just means bolder.

You get the same polished aluminum frame, fast Touch ID fingerprint scanning home button and a 9.7-inch Retina display. The lightning port hasn't moved from the bottom, the headphone jack and sleep/wake button are still on the top, and the volume rocker remains on the right side.

In fact, the only surefire way to tell the difference from afar is to opt for the new finish. There are now four colors instead of three: Silver, Gold, Space Gray and the iPad 9.7-exclusive Rose Gold. This isn't the only way the tablet matches the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus, though.

There's a slight camera bump on the back that no one likes, but it's a fair trade off. It makes way for a 12MP rear-facing iSight camera, just like its smartphone counterpart, and now there's a True Tone LED flash. Yes, that's right, your tablet camera is as every bit as good as your phone camera. Still, please don't awkwardly take photos with it in public.

Yes, that's right. Your tablet camera is now every bit as good as your phone camera. But please don't take photos with it in public.

Of course, upon even closer inspection, you'll see two more changes from the iPad Air 2 by way of new speakers at the top and bottom and a Smart Connector port on the left side. They're flush with the aluminum frame and almost hidden, but make no mistake, they've have acted as game changers for the iPad Pro series design.

Four speakers, two at the top and two at the bottom, give the new iPad Pro 9.7 a proper stereo setup, and they're loud enough to drown out the bottom-firing, twin-speakers of the iPad Air 2 at full volume. Best of all, they're not blasting music and Netflix movie dialogue out just one side.

I no longer felt the need to cup my hand around the speaker to get a decent volume for myself without bothering other people around me by cranking it up all of the way. Turning the tablet in landscape mode to watch a movie, I found everything sounded natural. Part of that balance is due to the fact that the upper top speakers always handle mid and high frequencies and they'll change depending on how you hold the iPad Pro, rotating the sound as the screen orientation does.

Apple smartly refined the iPad Pro 9.7 design, and that's not the only clever way it changed up its traditional tablet look and feel in its push to the professional leagues.