Samsung Galaxy S7 vs Samsung Galaxy S7 Active
A spec-by-spec comparison of the Samsung Galaxy S7 and the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active, taken from their full specification sheets. Green marks the better value in each measured row.
Head to head
| Samsung Galaxy S7 | Samsung Galaxy S7 Active |
|---|
| Price | $53 | $79 |
| Our rating | 8/10 | 8/10 |
| Battery | 3,000 mAh | 4,000 mAh |
| Wired charging | 15W | — |
| RAM (max) | 4 GB | — |
| Storage (max) | 256 GB | 256 GB |
| Screen size | 5.1 in | 5.1 in |
| Main camera | 12 MP | 12 MP |
| Weight (lower is lighter) | 152 g | 185 g |
| Released | Mar 2016 | Jun 2016 |
Summary: Samsung Galaxy S7 is ahead on weight (lower is lighter). Samsung Galaxy S7 Active is ahead on battery.
★ Which should you buy? Specs are close to an even split here, so Samsung Galaxy S7 is the better buy — the extra cost of the other one isn't matched by a clear spec advantage.
Reviewed by the infozme.com Editorial Team — see how we research & rate phones.
Display
| Samsung Galaxy S7 | Samsung Galaxy S7 Active |
|---|
| Type | Super AMOLED | Super AMOLED |
| Size | 5.1 inches, 71.1 cm2 (~70.7% screen-to-body ratio) | 5.1 inches |
| Resolution | 1440 x 2560 pixels, 16:9 ratio (~577 ppi density) | 1440 x 2560 pixels, 16:9 ratio (~577 ppi density) |
| Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 4 | Shatter-resistant (Gorilla Glass 4 underneath) |
| Features | Always-on display | — |
Platform
| Samsung Galaxy S7 | Samsung Galaxy S7 Active |
|---|
| OS | Android 6.0 Marshmallow, upgradable to Android 8.0 Oreo, TouchWiz UI (later Samsung Experience) | Android 6.0 Marshmallow, upgradable to Android 7.0 Nougat |
| Chipset | Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 820 (US/China) or Exynos 8890 Octa (EMEA) | Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 820 |
| CPU | Quad-core (2x2.15 GHz Kryo & 2x1.6 GHz Kryo) - Snapdragon 820; Octa-core (4x2.3 GHz Mongoose & 4x1.6 GHz Cortex-A53) - Exynos 8890 | Quad-core (2x 2.15 GHz Kryo & 2x 1.6 GHz Kryo) |
| GPU | Adreno 530 - Snapdragon 820; Mali-T880 MP12 - Exynos 8890 | Adreno 530 |
Memory
| Samsung Galaxy S7 | Samsung Galaxy S7 Active |
|---|
| Card slot | microSDXC (uses shared SIM slot) - dual SIM model only; microSD, up to 256 GB (dedicated slot) - single SIM model | — |
| Internal | 32GB 4GB RAM, 64GB 4GB RAM | — |
| Internal Storage | — | 32GB |
| RAM | — | 4GB |
| Card Slot | — | microSDXC (dedicated slot, up to 256GB) |
Main Camera
| Samsung Galaxy S7 | Samsung Galaxy S7 Active |
|---|
| Single | 12 MP, f/1.7, 26mm (wide), 1/2.5", 1.4µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS | 12 MP, f/1.7, 26mm (wide), 1/2.55", 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS |
| Features | LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama | LED flash, auto HDR, panorama |
| Video | 4K@30fps, 1080p@60fps, 720p@240fps, HDR, dual-video rec. | 4K@30fps, 1080p@60fps, 720p@240fps, HDR, dual-video rec. |
Selfie Camera
| Samsung Galaxy S7 | Samsung Galaxy S7 Active |
|---|
| Single | 5 MP, f/1.7, 22mm (wide), 1/3.6", 1.34µm | 5 MP, f/1.7, 22mm (wide), 1/3.2", 1.4µm |
| Features | Dual video call, Auto-HDR | Dual video call, Auto HDR |
| Video | 1440p@30fps | 1440p@30fps |
Battery
| Samsung Galaxy S7 | Samsung Galaxy S7 Active |
|---|
| Type | Li-Ion 3000 mAh, non-removable | Li-Ion, non-removable |
| Charging | 15W wired, QC2; Fast wireless charging (Qi/PMA) | Fast charging (Quick Charge 2.0), Wireless charging (Qi/PMA) |
| Capacity | — | 4000 mAh |
Body
| Samsung Galaxy S7 | Samsung Galaxy S7 Active |
|---|
| Dimensions | 142.4 x 69.6 x 7.9 mm (5.61 x 2.74 x 0.31 in) | 148.8 x 75.0 x 9.9 mm |
| Weight | 152 g (5.36 oz) | 185 g |
| Build | Glass front (Gorilla Glass 4), glass back (Gorilla Glass 4), aluminum frame | Plastic body with rubberized bumpers, shatter-resistant display |
| SIM | Single SIM (Nano-SIM) or Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by) | Nano-SIM |
| Protection | IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min) | — |
| Durability | — | IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min), MIL-STD-810G compliant (drop-to-surface protection) |
Comms
| Samsung Galaxy S7 | Samsung Galaxy S7 Active |
|---|
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot |
| Bluetooth | 4.2, A2DP, LE, aptX | 4.2, A2DP, LE, aptX |
| Positioning | GPS, GLONASS, BDS | — |
| NFC | Yes | Yes |
| Radio | No | FM radio (region dependent) |
| USB | microUSB 2.0, OTG | microUSB 2.0, USB On-The-Go |
| GPS | — | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS |
Launch
| Samsung Galaxy S7 | Samsung Galaxy S7 Active |
|---|
| Announced | February 2016 | 2016, June 04 |
| Status | Available. Released 2016, March 11 | Discontinued |
| Release Date | — | 2016, June 10 |
Frequently asked questions
Which has the better battery, Samsung Galaxy S7 or Samsung Galaxy S7 Active?
Samsung Galaxy S7 Active — 3,000 mAh for the Samsung Galaxy S7 versus 4,000 mAh for the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active.
Which is lighter, Samsung Galaxy S7 or Samsung Galaxy S7 Active?
Samsung Galaxy S7 — 152 g for the Samsung Galaxy S7 versus 185 g for the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active.
Which is newer, Samsung Galaxy S7 or Samsung Galaxy S7 Active?
Samsung Galaxy S7 Active — Mar 2016 for the Samsung Galaxy S7 versus Jun 2016 for the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active.
Is the Samsung Galaxy S7 or the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active rated higher?
We rate the Samsung Galaxy S7 8/10 and the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active 8/10.
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