Samsung Gulf confident of Galaxy S7 sales despite economic headwinds

The local unit of South Korean technology giant Samsung is confident the manufacturer’s latest smartphones the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge will sell well in the region despite low oil prices and declining economic sentiment.

Speaking at the launch of the devices in Dubai today, Samsung Gulf IT and mobile division head Tarek Sabbagh said he expected another positive year after the company grew 20 per cent in the region in 2015.

“The market was passing through difficult times but our results show that we not only maintained but also grew our share and all this goes back to how our consumer looks at what we are offering them,” he said.

“We know that we are coming with a very strong device that answers many consumers requirements and needs so that’s why we are confident that this year, despite everything, we’re going to be on the same positive trend.”

The S7 and S7 Edge will be available in the UAE from March 12 priced at Dhs 2,499 and Dhs 2,799 respectively.

Both will come with $300 of free applications including local discount app The Entertainer, which features more than 1,000 buy-one-get-one-free offers.

In terms of technical specifications, the S7 Edge has a slightly larger screen than the S6 Edge, up from 5.1 inches to 5.5 inches. It also includes expanded functionality on its curved sides compared to its predecessor including email and third-party applications.

The manufacturer has reintroduced a number of features available on previous Samsung devices including storage expandable to up to 200GB with a micro SD card and IP68 water resistance, allowing the smartphones to be submerged in depths of up to 1.5m for 30 minutes.

They also include higher capacity batteries, claimed to offer 15 hours of HD video on a single charge and retain their wireless charging capability.

The usual processor and chipset upgrades are included and the devices are capable of supporting the Vulcan application programme interface, for more efficient graphical processing during gaming.

In addition, the rear camera on both devices has been upgraded with a higher aperture for better low light shots. It features dual pixel autofocus, claimed to allow faster focus for still shots and smoother video tracking. However, the megapixel count has actually decreased from 16MP to 12MP.

When the devices were unveiled at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last month, analysts suggested sales may be impacted by their similar glass and metal design to the S6 line.

Sabbagh said the company would be training its team to introduce the devices in store but he expected the return of features like a larger battery, expandable storage and waterproofing to lure consumers.

Specifications

	Galaxy S7	Galaxy S7 edge
OS	Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)
Network	LTE Cat.9(450/50Mbps) * May differ by markets and mobile operators
Dimension	142.4 x 69.6 x 7.9mm, 152g	150.9 x 72.6 x 7.7mm, 157g
AP	Octa core (2.3GHz Quad + 1.6GHz Quad), 64 bit, 14 nm process Quad core (2.15GHz Dual + 1.6GHz Dual), 64 bit, 14 nm process * May differ by markets and mobile operators
Memory	4GB RAM (LPDDR4), 32/64GB (UFS 2.0) + microSD (up to 200GB)
Display	5.1” Quad HD Super AMOLED 2560 X 1440 (577ppi)	5.5” Quad HD Super AMOLED 2560 X 1440 (534ppi) Edge Screen
Camera	Rear: Dual Pixel 12MP (F1.7), Smart OIS Front: 5MP (F1.7)
Battery	3,000mAh	3,600mAh
	Fast Charging both on wired and wireless Wireless Charging compatible with WPC and PMA
Connectivity	WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz), MIMO, Bluetooth® v 4.2 LE, ANT+, USB 2.0, NFC, Location
Sensors	Accelerometer, Proximity, RGB Light, Geo-magnetic, Gyro, Fingerprint, Barometer, Hall, HRM
IP Code	IP68
Audio	MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA
Video	MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM