Innovations translated
Review of Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge
Innovations are the conversations that the consumer has with brands… but unlike verbose conversations where a lot is lost in translation, good brands make sure that desirability and feasibility walk hand-in-hand for a long distance.
Yes, distance is of value. Take a smartphone, for instance… I have observed people around me getting restless with the one that they have after having travelled with it for a rather short distance. This is what alarms me. A smartphone is not your mobile number or the service provider that you get disgusted with and wish to change after a short unproductive conversation. A smartphone, therefore, must aspire to be a lasting brand that moves with you and for you only to seamlessly merge into the next productive innovation. My observation shows that consumers tend to hop from one unproductive conversation to another even in the case of smartphones where the companies are more enamoured with the tools of engagement than focusing on building an equal, fruitful, and engaging relationship.
This is not the case every time and with every company. Take Samsung for instance. The Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge are devices that transcend all the ordinariness that surrounds a smartphone and emerge as entities that stay in the hands far longer… and even in their after-life go on to stay in the memory and discussions. This is what is meant by innovations being translated well.
‘Oh! I think some of the sharpest and most memorable pictures that I ever clicked have been with my S7.’ With such a conversation starter, some months later and with tens of devices from tens of companies launched and fighting for attention, one will be forced to understand the aesthetics of technology behind innovations.
To understand why the S7 and the S7 Edge have this edge in photography, let me begin by talking about what the DSLRs do. They depend on phase detection technology which makes the entire process of clicking a picture faster. Samsung has ensured that there is an equally fast autofocus… and the performance is somewhat like the phase detection of DSLRs, except that they choose to call it their dual pixel technology. To achieve this they have opted for 1.4 micron pixels and a focal length of 1.7mm… and there are photo diodes embedded in each pixel on the sensor. As compared to this, all other smartphones generally have this photo-diode embedding in barely 5 percent of the sensor. I would actually rename the Samsung dual pixel technology as Phase detection ver 2. Once I understood the technology, it wasn’t difficult for me to accept the brilliant performance of the camera in the S7 and S7 Edge. They have amazing low-light capability and beat others here by a wide margin. This is precisely how I define innovations…
It isn’t as if these galaxy devices don’t have any other feature worth mentioning. I mean, the glass back with aluminium-frame build and a curved glass back that makes them slide more naturally into your palm are attractive and make the devices simply more irresistible. I love the fact that the Edge is now a phablet – ‘not quite as big as Samsung’s end-of-year 5.7-inch phablets, but still standing tall with a 5.5-inch screen’ and the S7 patronises a 5.1-inch screen. I am sure everyone appreciates the water resistance and the dust resistance features that make the devices less vulnerable. The always-on displays are simply hypnotising and a consumer or buyer can afford to leave the phone on the desk and and be able to see this white on black view, showing you the time, date, battery life and number of recent messages. Again, innovations adapted to make the life of a user easier… much easier.
However, the most impressive feature as I have already mentioned, is the camera… users no longer need to lug heavy DSLRs all the time and everywhere. Users do not need to spend lakhs of rupees on expensive lenses. I’m not saying that the DSLR is dead… just that an almost similar output now exists as a device weighing around a hundred and fifty grams and fitting in your pocket snugly. Remember, the new galaxy devices do not go ‘whirr-blurr, where’s the subject?’ but just click a fabulous picture for you, even in the dark.
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This article was also published in ‘The Education Post’ dated 16 May 2016:
2016_05_16_The Education Post_Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge review
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Innovations and Samsung do go hand-in-hand
Make for India… Make in India… a Samsung thought
This galaxy device is much more than just water resistant…
…and the device is much more than just being dust resistant
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Arvind Passey
14 May 2016
