The reviews are so good - particularly for the camera - I sort of want one now.
The phone looks great, and i'm sure that i'd love it.
Still, some of those reviews go a bit overboard in their gushing praise. It's the same when Apple brings out a new product. One problem is that these things have become so sophisticated that most of the improvements in the new models are incremental, but the reviews often make it seem like there has been a massive and game-changing transformation from one model to the next. The fact is that, for about 99 percent of the population, and for about 99 percent of their needs, the S6 probably does the job pretty much as well as the S7. If there's a truly transformative phone coming, it might be LG's new modular effort, with interchangeable functions.
Funnily enough, some of the biggest improvements (at least, in my opinion) seem to be things that were ditched for the S6 but make a return for the S7, like water resistance and microSD support. My S5 has both of those things.
I admit that part of my annoyance at all the gushing over new cellphones might be, at least in part, a function of my attitude to the camera. I like photography, and when i want to take pictures that have any real significance for me, i pull out my DSLR. The improvements in camera quality on cellphones really doesn't tick an important box for me. Sure, i use the camera on my phone, and it's taken some perfectly decent pictures for me, but it's not really what i want the phone for.
The appearance stuff is also over-rated, for me at least. I think the S7 Edge looks great; it's a lovely piece of design. But you know what just about every smartphone user i know - whether Apple or Android or even Windows - has in common? They put their phone inside a clunky protective case. I do the same thing. I have an Otterbox Commuter case for my S5; sometimes i just use the rubber sheath, but for longer trips or if i'm more concerned about drops, i'll put the hard cover over the top. And it makes my phone look like everyone else's.
