Samsung Galaxy S7 is already out and rumors of a new OnePlus 3 are also building up. However, before this Chinese smartphone maker comes in with the successor to last year’s OnePlus 2, here is a look at how this device compares against the latest flagship from Samsung.
To start off, we take a look at what these two devices actually share. With almost a year between them, many will agree that Samsung Galaxy S7 is currently the better-equipped version of the two. Although they come with different screen sizes, both devices use a Qualcomm processor with a massive RAM of 4GB.
Despite the fact that the OnePlus 2 and Galaxy S7 have almost the same snappers on the rear and front, the latter device offers much better quality, especially when it comes to low lighting conditions. You will also come across a fingerprint scanner, non-removable batteries as well as the latest connectivity standards in both devices, although Samsung Galaxy S7 has later versions as opposed to the OnePlus 2, for instance, Bluetooth v4.2 vs. v4.1, respectively. OnePlus 2 also comes with a USB Type-C port, which the Galaxy S7b lacks; however, the former has no NFC chip, which is a huge miss for those who’d wish to use services such as Android Pay.
Samsung Galaxy S7
This year’s Samsung Galaxy S7 has a lot of design similarities with last year’s Galaxy S6, with the outside featuring the same metal and glass, but with slight curves on the sides that make it easier to handle. In essence, major changes took place under the hood where the phone carries the latest Snapdragon 820 chipset and a RAM of 4GB. There is room for expandable storage to supplement the 32GB or 64GB of onboard storage the device comes with.
The display size was carried on from last year, featuring a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED QHD display that manages a decent pixel density of 577ppi.
Samsung did a lot of changes on the camera, dropping off some megapixels and instead fixing a 12MP sensor on the rear of the Galaxy S7, but with Dual Pixel technology. This year’s version also features a larger aperture of f/1.7 and better autofocus speeds, in addition to the usual such as OIS and auto HDR. On the front is a 5MP sensor with the same aperture as the rear sensor as well as Live HDR and 22mm wide-angle views.
Just like OnePlus, Samsung also kept faith with the non-removable battery but stepped it up to 3000mAh and supports quick charge as well as wireless charging. In addition to bringing back support for expandable storage, Samsung Galaxy S7 also brought back water and dust resistant features. The phone features a rating of IP68, which means it can be used near pools or in rainwater. The device also comes with an NFC chip, thus, it can be used with Android Pay as well as the in-house Samsung Pay.
Samsung Galaxy S7 is currently available for no less than $670 for the 32GB model.
OnePlus 2
Just like many other Chinese smartphone makers, OnePlus is determined to come in with the best-featured devices costing extremely low prices. The OnePlus 2 has a firm metal frame and trim that houses a 5.5-inch LTPS LCD screen that boasts Full HD resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels, which translates to 401ppi.
OnePlus went for the Snapdragon 810 chipset that was famous for its overheating issues. However, the Chinese OEM stepped down the speed of the cores to 1.56GHz and 1.82GHz so as to cut down on the amount of heat dissipated. As mentioned earlier, the OnePlus 2 has a RAM of 4GB and is currently available with 64GB of nonexpendable onboard storage.
On photography matters, the OnePlus 2 has a 13MP sensor on the rear that boasts larger pixels, dual-tone LED flash, laser autofocus, OIS as well as an aperture of f/2.0. On the front is a 5MP sensor with an aperture of f/2.4. The phone is powered by a non-removable battery unit of 3300mAh, but there is no room for quick or wireless charging.
At the moment, the OnePlus 2 (64GB) costs just $349, but it comes with Android 5.1 Lollipop out of the box, which can still be updated to the latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow.