Proof that the Samsung Galaxy S7 is water-resistant
WARNING: Excessive use of the phrase “little rubber thingy” ahead.
My first water-resistant smartphone was the Samsung Galaxy S5. I loved the fact that I didn’t have to worry about my phone getting wet. I hated that in order to make the phone water-resistant, you had to seal the charging port with a little rubber thingy. I hated it because the little rubber thingy always got in the way when I was trying to charge my phone. Worse yet, eventually the little rubber thingy broke off, rendering my Galaxy S5 no longer water-resistant.
When the Galaxy S6 came along, I was hoping that Samsung would do a better job on making it water-resistant. Instead, Samsung reversed course and dropped the whole water-resistant idea altogether. Well, I guess Samsung has perfected reversing course because they did it again with the Galaxy S7. It’s back to being water-resistant again. Woot woot!
Better yet, the Galaxy S7 is water-resistant without the need of any little rubber thingies. That’s right, you need to do absolutely nothing to it to make it water-resistant. The ports are internally sealed from water.
Sir, can I get you a bottle of Galaxy S7?
If you think that internal seals won’t work, think again. Recently, I attended a promotional event at a Verizon Store where I stood and watched as a Verizon employee take his own personal phone out of his pocket and drop it into a water bottle (full of water obviously). He then proceeded to talk to us about the benefits of the Galaxy S7 while his personal phone soaked in the water bottle for nearly 10 minutes.
Here’s a shot I took of his Galaxy S7 in the water bottle:
Even more remarkable is that the phone actually works while submerged in water. Look for yourself. See how you can still see the time displayed on his phone? Even if a call came in while the Verizon employee’s phone was in the water bottle, you would hear it ring (and technically you could answer the call!)
Now, before anyone gets any crazy ideas of deep-sea fishing with their Galaxy S7, please know that there are some limitations. First I believe that the Galaxy S7 can only be submerged up to about 5 feet of water. Second, it’s only water-resistant for up to 30 minutes.
Other things I love about the new Galaxy S7
Besides being water-resistant, there are a few other things I love about the Samsung Galaxy S7. For starters, expandable memory is back. This is another thing Samsung took away with the Galaxy S6. So if the base memory of your Galaxy S7 isn’t enough, just swap out the internal memory card for a bigger one.
Samsung also improved the camera with the Galaxy S7, allowing it to take much better photos in low light situations. The Verizon employee showed me side-by-side pictures of the same subject with the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 was noticeably better. I wish I could share those photos with you but I forgot to ask for copies of them.
Connect to external USB drives
The last feature that caught my eye on the Galaxy S7 actually caused me confusion at first. When I unboxed my demo Galaxy S7, I noticed an extra piece which appeared to be a USB adapter. I couldn’t figure out what this was for as the USB cable included with the phone was all I needed to connect the phone to my computer (if I wanted to).
During the same Galaxy S7 demonstration at the Verizon store I mentioned above, I asked the Verizon employee to explain the purpose of the USB adapter. He explained to me that it gives your smartphone a female USB port which allows external USB drives to be connected to it. This is a photo enthusiast’s dream come true because this feature allows you to easily connect a USB stick or USB hard drive to your Galaxy S7 and download content, like the hundreds of photos on your phone, to the connected drive. In other words, it makes it super easy to back up your photos to an external USB drive.
Recommendation
It goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) that the Galaxy S7 is by far the best phone in Samsung’s arsenal. In fact, I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to choose the Galaxy S7 or the Galaxy S7 Edge over any other smartphone on the market.
Note: The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge in this review was provided to me by Verizon Wireless and can be purchased at your local Verizon Wireless store or at www.verizonwireless.com.
