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Samsung's Galaxy S7 phones may bring back microSD and water resistance

Samsung's Galaxy S7 phones may bring back microSD and water resistance

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Back to basics

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Samsung Galaxy S6
Samsung Galaxy S6
Samsung Galaxy S6

Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S7 phones (both the regular and the curved-screen variants) will include expandable storage via microSD and IP67 water resistance, according to a report at VentureBeat. The S7 phones will also reportedly have larger batteries. That's in addition to the pressure-sensitive screen we heard about a few weeks ago. Adding back in expandable storage, water resistance, and a bigger (though not replaceable) battery is a kind of return to traditional Samsung form.

The Galaxy S6, its 2015 flagship, won some well-deserved praise for its design, but power users were unhappy with its battery life and storage options. It wouldn't be fair to say Samsung is turning back the clock on its design this year, but if these specs turn out to be true it's at least a sign that the company knows what its most dedicated users want — and plans on delivering it.

VentureBeat also reports that Samsung is changing up the camera on the S7, dropping the megapixel count down to 12 (while presumably improving low-light performance). It should also be flush with the rest of the phone, eliminating the camera bump. The Wall Street Journal has previously reported some of those details, along with the possibility that the S7 is coming in two variants: a regular version and a curved-screen Edge version that both look "largely similar" to the S6. It may be that the Edge variant won't be available in the smaller, 5.1-inch size, instead only coming at a larger 5.5-inch screen size. Both variants will likely use USB Type-C for its connector as well.

Samsung expected to release the S7 later this spring, probably at Mobile World Congress in February — though it's always possible the company will try to hold its own dedicated event to give the phone a bigger splash.