The Samsung Galaxy S7 active, a rugged version of Samsung's flagship S7, has a lot of the ingredients for being one of best smartphones on the market, providing top-notch performances in many critical areas of our tests, including outstanding battery life, as well as an abundance of useful features and capabilities. In addition to such S7 features as integrated health apps and a heart-rate monitor, the S7 active includes an Activity Zone app, which puts a barometer, compass, flashlight, stop watch, and more, within easy reach. Like the Galaxy S7 siblings, the S7 active was built to survive a 30-minute dunk in up to about 5 feet of water. However, the S7 active failed in our tests. A handy Active key button on the left side can be customized to open your favorite apps with a short press (Default is the Activity Zone app), a long press (default is the DirectV app), or a double press (default is the Emergency Zone app). Battery life overall was outstanding, thanks in part to its 4000mAh battery, including measuring more than 24 hours of talk time in one of our tests. This model has fast charging capability too, which in our tests, took about 45 minutes to bring a drained battery to roughly 50 percent capacity using the included charger and cable. Like the Galaxy s7, it also supports both Qi and Powermat wireless charging pads out of the box-a convenience many mixed-family smartphone users will relish. It worked effortlessly with both the Qi and Powermat wireless charging pads we have in our labs. The main 12.2-megapixel camera produced very good image quality and 1080p video quality-among the best we've tested in a smartphone. The still images are ultra-sharp, the color is highly accurate, and it did very well under low-light conditions. The camera's optical image stabilizer also improves your chances of taking better handheld photos under low-light conditions. It can also record in Ultra HD (4K) video format, whose extra clarity can best be appreciated on an Ultra HD TV. You'll also be able to store those high-quality images and videos easier on the Galaxy S7 active thanks in part to its microSD slot which can support memory cards of more than 128GB. The Galaxy S7 active has an excellent quality 5.1-inch display that's easy to see in bright light. Its 1440x2560 (1440p Quad HD) resolution presents photos, videos, Web pages, and other objects with more than 550 pixels per inch of detail, though you may not notice the benefits of those extra pixels in everyday use.
The Galaxy S7 active also delivered top-notch performance in other key areas of our tests, including Ease of use, Web browsing, and messaging, and has plenty of other features and capabilities that include:
Always-on display. This continuously shows you the time and calendar for one or two cities, along with battery life, missed calls, and new e-mails after the display goes to sleep. You can easily customize what the screen shows.
Safety. This mode will automatically blast SOS messages to designated contacts. This is a feature designed to help if you're in a car accident or other emergency situation. To activate this feature when on, press the Galaxy S7 active's power button three times. The screen can also be changed to a black theme to reduce battery consumption via Emergency mode.
Multi window. This convenient feature has evolved for more multi-tasking options. You can choose how to access select applications with full, split or pop-up screens, and can change the size and positioning of apps. You can have up to five apps open at once, but we found it's difficult to manage more than a few on a relatively small screen. For instance, in a split-screen view, you can handily watch a video while viewing an e-mail, or you can use Google Maps and Messaging. Multi window also lets you interact with two apps on a screen simultaneously, so you can drag a photo from the gallery into a text message to attach it, for example. To activate Multi window, press and hold the recent apps key, then just drag and drop two apps onto the home screen. Or you can access this feature by sliding your finger down diagonally from the upper right corner of the screen of the open app. When minimized, they reside as icons on whichever home screen you're on, for easy access.
Flipboard Briefing. This gives you a snapshot of news, business, technology, sports, science, and more. You can customize it to your own interests, or turn it off.
Smart Stay. The front-facing camera monitors your eyes while you're reading a Web page or other document to prevent the screen from timing out.
S Health. The integrated health and fitness apps include a heart-rate monitor. The sensor is below the main camera's flash. When you put your index finger on it, you should see your heart rate on the phone's display.
Samsung Pay. This is like most phone-based payment systems in that it will let you purchase things in stores by tapping your phone against a terminal near the register. Samsung Pay, which holds links to one or more of your credit or debit cards, communicates with the terminals via a short-range wireless technology called NFC (near-field communication). You authorize transactions touching the home button, which has a built in fingerprint scanner. Samsung says its payment system should work even on the old-style mag-stripe readers already installed in your favorite store. That's because the phone also has Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) technology, which emits a magnetic signal that mimics the magnetic strip on a payment card.
There are also numerous features and capabilities that let you wirelessly connect nearby compatible Galaxy phones or other devices to share pictures, music, documents, and more.
The Galaxy S7 active has two home screen modes: an easy experience mode for new Android users and a standard experience mode. The Easy mode has icons and widgets that are larger and simpler, and there are "+" icons users can push to easily add an app to the phone's desktop or add a contact. In the Standard mode, the Galaxy S7 active has intuitive navigation that provides easy access to all its main functions via a highly responsive touch screen that supports more than seven home screens of apps, programmable shortcuts, as well as a home button flanked by recent apps and back buttons. The recent apps button lets you see a stack of screen shots of your most recently used apps. Tap any one of them, and you can jump to that app. Pressing and holding the recent apps button launches Multi window. Also, pressing and holding the home button directly launches the search function. You can even launch the camera by pressing the Home button twice quickly. The Home button has a fingerprint scanner for unlocking the phone or authorizing purchases with a touch. The phone allows you to launch the phone or camera directly from a locked screen without the need to first unlock the screen. You do this by swiping upward on the icon that is visible on the locked screen. The Galaxy S7 active comes with Androids Marshmallow OS, which gives users more precise control over what personal information individual apps can access. Now, on an app-by-app basis, you grant or deny permission for an app to access such personal data as your location, your contacts, and other potentially sensitive information. Another notable Marshmallow feature is Google Now on Tap, which improves the relevance of Web or in-app searches by producing results based on the context of what you're doing. For instance, if a friend sends you a text message from the Mets game, Google on Tap can fetch you the current score, the team's league standing, or information about their next venue-all from within the message. To launch Google on Tap, you just long-press the home key. Google also helps you dive more directly into specific app content with fewer steps. For instance, if you launch the National Public Radio app, the app will ask you which programs you'd like to listen to. Marshmallow also adds extra controls in settings. For instance, Storage adds explore capability, Battery adds optimization controls, Location adds Wi-Fi and Bluetooth scanning options, and Backup & reset adds a network settings reset. The Galaxy S7 active lets you perform Google searches by voice command and lets you download applications, services, games, and more from the Google Play Store. Its multi-touch screen lets you zoom in and out of photos or Web pages using two fingers (for instance, your thumb and index finger). A handy on-screen drop-down status bar alerts you to and takes you to new messages, upcoming appointments, and other items that need your attention, even when your screen is locked. Its Android OS also offers better text editing tools and controls for managing data usage, and enhanced voice-activated navigation and dictation. If you find the phone a bit too wide while holding it, you can shrink the dial pad and keyboard and slide them to either side of the phone's screen to bring them closer to your thumbs in portrait mode.
The Galaxy S7 active supports both types of AT&T's "4G" network (LTE and HSPA+), allowing fast streaming, downloading, and uploading of high-definition videos and other large files. The fast network also facilitates better Web browsing experiences. The Wi-Fi connection provides another way to access the Web, e-mail, and other Internet-based content, without using your data plan allowance.
MESSAGING: The virtual keyboards were excellent to use. In portrait orientation, it features five rows (a rarity among phones) with dedicated keys for numbers across the top row. A useful feature is the cursor control on the Samsung virtual keyboard which makes it easier to change text. You can move the cursor by just sliding your finger across the keyboard. The virtual keyboard also supports a method that allows users to type words without lifting a finger-literally. You enter a word by dragging your finger across the screen from letter to letter. Though it's initially awkward to use, we eventually had a lot of success "typing" quickly and accurately. The virtual keyboard has an advanced voice command feature that supports text fields, allowing you to dictate e-mails, text messages, Tweets, and other normally typed forms of communication. This phone comes with common preset text messages and allows you to create your own custom preset messages for your individual special situations or frequent use. Excellent e-mail readability and attachment capabilities. This phone allows you to create and edit Word documents and Excel spreadsheets out of the box, which can come in handy when working on the go. The Galaxy S7 active also supports Microsoft Exchange and Outlook for work e-mail. When connected to Windows or Macintosh computers, this phone can appear on the computer as another drive. You can then transfer data to and from your phone as you could on a regular drive.
PHONE: We tested the Galaxy S7 active under a variety of conditions to simulate environments ranging from Talk time overall, was top-notch, including measuring more than 24 hours of talk time in one of our tests. Its Ultra Power Saving Mode can squeeze out even more battery life by adjusting the screen from color to use the more efficient grayscale and limit access to your applications, such as sending and receiving voice calls and texts. The phone has an excellent mixture of controls and features for making and taking calls. Excellent keypad readability under most lighting conditions, even bright light. Its voice command allows you to conveniently dial numbers from your phone book by speaking the name, without the usual training. You can also dial numbers by pronouncing the digits. It has Bluetooth for wireless hands-free voice communication. This model can simultaneously be on a phone call and an Internet-based connection over the cellular network. Can be used internationally.
MULTIMEDIA: The 12.2-megapixel camera has a very short shutter lag, and produced very good-quality pictures at ISO settings up to 800. The camera performed very well under low-light conditions. And the camera's optical image stabilizer improves your chances of taking better handheld photos under low-light conditions. The camera's built-in flash and ISO-setting controls help improve your chances of taking better pictures under low-light conditions. Its face detection comes in handy when you're snapping pics of children or other fussy subjects. Its touch focus feature lets you override the autofocus by tapping on any subject on the screen. You can also snap a still picture at any moment while shooting a video. Its voice control allows you to snap a picture or record a video by saying, for instance, "smile", "cheese", or "record video". The camera took very good 1080p video, on par with what you'd get with the better pocket camcorders. The Galaxy S7 active can record in Ultra HD (4K) video format, which has benefits when viewing on an Ultra HD TV, giving you more detail for extra clarity. But the file size in Ultra HD is about three times the size of HD, and you are limited to ten minutes per recording. An effect, called Virtual shot, lets you take a panoramic image or selfie (imagine how the background would change if you took an image or selfie and slowly rotated in place). Later, you can get the background to pan left or right by tilting the phone. You can also record in fast or slow motion. The cameras Live broadcast mode lets you beam your camcorder videos up to YouTube in real time. When you're done, you have an instant link to share with friends on social networks. The Motion photo setting can record a short video clip of what happens before each picture is taken. The front-facing high-resolution 5-megapixel camera allows easy self-portraits, and can support video chats. It can also take wide-selfies, and record at WQ HD (2560x1440).
The music player has the capabilities and controls of a typical stand-alone MP3 player, including an equalizer, music shuffle and repeat controls, and options for sorting music by album, artist, etc. This model also supports Bluetooth stereo headsets, and can download music over the phone network. Its Bluetooth data support enables the phone to wirelessly share pictures, contacts, and other files with compatible printers, computers, and mobile devices.
GPS navigation capability provides spoken turn-by-turn directions and automatic re-routing. The Galaxy S7 active also supports the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) standard. This lets the phone connect via Wi-Fi to share content with other compatible certified devices such as a TV, printer, and computer.
The Galaxy S7 active can act as a mobile hotspot for up to ten Wi-Fi-enabled devices. It has 32 of built-in memory and can support memory cards of more than 128GB. Its memory capacity is beneficial for storing music, videos, pictures, and other types of files. But the memory card is hard to access, and the battery is non-removable.
