Gadgetory

a few years ago buying a Galaxy S active was either a step into a sturdier device for the clumsy or a rugged device for the brave but never a device that was made to be a true flagship 2016 is a different animal it's time for our final verdict on Samsung's latest iteration I'm Jaime better with pocket now and this is a review of the galaxy s7 active we spent the last 10 days testing comparing and to a certain degree beating up the galaxy s7 active this being my first experience with the lineup at first I followed the opinion of many commenters in wanting to torture the device but the more I use this the more I'm convinced that this device serves a very different purpose to be fair the name active doesn't really stand for rugged instead of competing with the cat or Kyocera smartphone that you'll see at a construction site this device is meant to serve a niche of active users like the case of the GoPro cameras be it a runner hiker or the average fishing trip this is the flagship phone you take through the great outdoors from the soft touch plastic on the border so the metallic trim to the textured back the feel is premium all around and even warm to the touch the 5.1 inch AMOLED panel at the front follows the high-end results of its siblings even providing support for the always-on mode that we enjoy and the polycarbonate layer protecting it along with the protruding borders doesn't really determine the experience for the first time ever even the spec sheet of the active matches that of its siblings pointing to a device that was made without compromise the software experience follows the same mentality we've discussed this more in detail in our recent comparison with the galaxy s7 but in a nutshell if you've seen one you've pretty much seen them all from the launcher experience to the smooth navigation of its menus to the almost stutter free experience of everything except the Flipboard menu this is pretty much a galaxy s7 in every way whether you're pushing the limits of a favorite game doing simple tasks like email or pushing data speeds or the average phone call the active shines in every way a flagship should I would have really loved to see more active features focused specifically on the niche that it intends to serve but that's really just in the software department if anything the differences that come bundled in the active actually lead to a superior experience features like the active button it's customizable shortcuts and it's active you are extremely convenient the choice for hardware buttons instead of capacitive is more practical in day-to-day use in addition to improving the experience when trying to use the camera underwater the device continues to be ip68 water and dust resistance along with milspec 810g specifications which bring benefits like withstanding a fall from 5 feet and surviving a swim in salt water and then the larger 4000 milliamp hour battery just takes the cake and landing a solid battery life in addition to supporting fast and wireless charging even essentials like the camera on the s7 active are a true delight for the most demanding of users all galaxy s7 variants have proven to offer some of the best camera experiences of 2016 and for the second consecutive year the active variant follows the trend great color saturation and deep contrast amazing low-light a great wide-angle selfie camera and one of the best video stabilization experiences of the year this is definitely the phone you want to take outdoors for that perfect shot the only thing we really need to clarify yet again is that the active does not mean that the phone is rugged a few test drops have left a couple of dents on the corners and even the fingerprint scanner has faced some significant signs of wear along with minor scratches on the polycarbonate layer of the display but no you don't really need to strap a case around it as the soft corners do a great job at hiding the scars but that doesn't really mean that the phone will go and scathe after a fall to summarize the experience the galaxy s7 active may not be an indestructible phone as many might think but this could easily fall on the list of the best smartphones of 2016 you've got all the benefits of the galaxy s7 but killing the anorexic trend of flagships by going thin and light and instead offering a substantial bill that's far more usable than just strapping a case around the phone really if it wasn't for this device being an AT&T exclusive it is definitely the smart phone to beat in everything else for the same price tag of the galaxy s7 edge I would even be inclined to recommend that you go active instead of the edge and that applies even more of your daily schedule includes a hike a run or a trip to the beach folks we've got a ton of coverage of the galaxy s7 active already in our channel so make sure you follow us on social media and hit that subscribe button down below for more videos like this one in addition you can also catch our videos 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