The Galaxy S7 is the star of the Android world right now. It’s the best phone you can buy, and there are plenty of reasons to consider it if you’re shopping for high-end Android smartphones. But what Samsung sold as a main feature of the new Galaxy S7 might prove to be the most disappointing thing about the phone.
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Leaks preceding the Galaxy S7 announcement suggested both new S7 handsets will pack significantly bigger batteries than their predecessors, which Samsung confirmed on stage. Rumors also said the Galaxy S7 models could offer up to two days of battery life. Samsung talked about faster wireless charging and teased that you could watch a full season of Game of Thrones on a single charge, though it didn’t confirm those battery life claims when it unveiled the phones.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge are finally available in stores in some regions and Phone Arena put both devices through its usual battery life tests.
Surprisingly, neither phone would get you through a full season of Game of Thrones. Even more annoyingly, the Galaxy S7 did worse than the Galaxy S6, and came behind the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus as well.
The Galaxy S7 edge, which has a bigger battery, barely outperformed the Galaxy S6, trailing almost two hours behind the iPhone 6s Plus, the Galaxy Note 5 and more than two hours behind the Galaxy S6 edge+.
Finally, it should be pointed out that both handsets that Phone Arena got to play with packed Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processors, so it’s not clear what kind of battery life the Exynos 8890 models can offer. That chipset will only be available outside the U.S., however.
