Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge owners are probably wondering if they should consider upgrading to the Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+. That’s going to be a tough decision to make, since those phones should still be holding up well after only a year. To hopefully help you with that decision, we’ve put together a specs comparison chart of the four phones to show you on paper how they all differ.
On a basic level, you have upgrades in many of the key areas. For example, you’ve got Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 835 processor in the S8 line vs. last year’s Snapdragon 820 in the S7. The displays are an upgrade as well, at least in terms of size without adding much extra bulk. The new Galaxy S8 phones also include a USB Type-C port, on-screen or virtual navigation buttons, a Bixby button, Iris Scanners, Bluetooth 5.0, and more internal storage out of the box. On the other hand, you have the same rear camera as is in the S7s, same or smaller batteries (S8+ battery is smaller than S7 Edge), and the same IP68 water resistance.
So overall, the Galaxy S8 line shows solid upgrades that you expect from one year to the next, but the really big one is likely the wild new display setup. Is that enough to get you to upgrade? You tell us.
| Galaxy S8 | Galaxy S7 | Galaxy S8+ | Galaxy S7 Edge | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software | Android 7.0 Nougat | Android 7.0 Nougat | Android 7.0 Nougat | Android 7.0 Nougat |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, Octa-core, 64-bit 10nm | Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, Quad-core, 64-bit, 14nm | Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, Octa-core, 64-bit 10nm | Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, Quad-core, 64-bit, 14nm |
| Display | 5.8" Infinity Super AMOLED Quad HD+ (2960x1440, 571ppi) | 5.1" Super AMOLED Quad HD (2560x1440, 577ppi) | 6.2" Infinity Super AMOLED Quad HD+ (2960x1440, 529ppi) | 5.5" Super AMOLED Quad HD (2560x1440, 534ppi, Edge Screen) |
| Battery | 3000mAh Fast Charge (wired and wireless) | 3000mAh Fast Charge (wired and wireless) | 3500mAh Fast Charge (wired and wireless) | 3600mAh Fast Charge (wired and wireless) |
| Memory | 64GB (UFS 2.1), microSD support up to 256GB 4GB RAM | 32GB (UFS 2.0), microSD support up to 256GB 4GB | 64GB (UFS 2.1), microSD support up to 256GB 4GB RAM | 32GB (UFS 2.0), microSD support up to 256GB 4GB |
| Camera | Rear: 12MP f/1.7 Front: 8MP f/1.7 | Rear: 12MP f/1.7 Front: 5MP f/1.7 | Rear: 12MP f/1.7 Front: 8MP f/1.7 | Rear: 12MP f/1.7 Front: 5MP f/1.7 |
| Size | 148.9 x 68.1 x 8mm 152g | 142.4 x 69.6 x 7.9mm 152g | 159.5 x 73.4 x 8.1mm 173g | 150.9 x 72.6 x 7.7mm 157g |
| Water Resistance | IP68 | IP68 | IP68 | IP68 |
| Ports | USB Type-C 3.5mm headphone | MicroUSB 3.5mm headphone | USB Type-C 3.5mm headphone | MicroUSB 3.5mm headphone |
| Connectivity | WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Bluetooth 5.0 4G LTE GPS NFC MST | WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Bluetooth 4.2 4G LTE GPS NFC MST | WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Bluetooth 5.0 4G LTE GPS NFC MST | WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Bluetooth 4.2 4G LTE GPS NFC MST |
| Other | Fingerprint reader Iris Scanner | Fingerprint reader | Fingerprint reader Iris Scanner | Fingerprint reader |
| Colors | Midnight Black, Orchid Gray, Arctic Silver, Coral Blue, Maple Gold | Black, Blue, Gold, Silver | Midnight Black, Orchid Gray, Arctic Silver, Coral Blue, Maple Gold | Black, Blue, Gold, Silver |
Notes: Those images are not at all a true or 100% correct size comparison. Also, we gave each phone Nougat since Samsung has updated most S7 models to Nougat at this time.