Over the course of the past month and a half, I've tried a total of 8 Samsung Galaxy S7's. I didn't set out to exchange so many phones and I really didn't need the inconvenience of all the swapping involved, much less of all the inspecting, testing and comparing I've done. I'm not a reviewer or a device tester. I'm only someone who wants (and expects) good and consistent quality among relatively expensive products if and when I purchase them.
Having stated the above, I've found that certain variants of the S7 do not perform equally in some ways (such as involving certain SoC functionality). On one model, the API necessary to activate and utilize a certain hardware capability (that's indeed supported by said device's circuitry) is not supported by its factory-flashed firmware. Moreover, there's an absence of information available addressing this issue on the Internet or even from Samsung itself. So it can be quite difficult to gain direction on the possibility of a resolution.
Here's my case in point concerning the above mentioned missing API. While the unlocked US variant of the S7 (i.e., the SM-G930U) genuinely comes with a built-in, fully functional FM broadcast receiver chip, phone buyers are not able to easily access the chip's functionality. I suppose I should clarify by adding that the FM chip would be fully functional if Samsung chose to enable it within the firmware that comes on this model. But they have chosen not to do so and it's not entirely clear why.
I have personally confirmed that the FM chip on the 930U can be activated, and that it will thus receive local FM broadcast signals. One merely need flash a major carrier variant of the S7 firmware onto their 930U. Or at least I can confirm that the SM-G930P (SPR) firmware will achieve this end. That's all it took to get my last 930U up and running on the local FM broadcast band. Once the flash had completed my 930U began receiving local FM radio stations via its headphone jack antenna input and the NextRadio application. Note: I had trouble with the first flash attempt because the stock 930U partition was too small to accept the 930P firmware image and thus required an adjustment.
I personally find it discouraging that Samsung doesn't give owners of the 930U a convenient way to activate the device's built-in FM receiver function. Since it appears there have been no instructions published yet on this topic, 930U owners who want access to the device's FM receiver will have to rely upon the trial and error approach and attempt to resolve the matter with a firmware flash (as I did). I believe it's currently the only option. I'm guessing the reason the receiver is not enabled by default in the factory supplied firmware is because the cellular carriers have no real incentive to request that Samsung incorporate the necessary API component. And Samsung itself obviously doesn't care enough to simply include it. And I suppose Google may fit in there somewhere as well. The result is of course that the average S7 owner is neither supplied with the knowledge nor the choice to enable FM reception on the 930U. Granted, most phone users aren't terribly interested in gaining FM broadcast reception capability. But it can be a big deal for those of us who are.
Yet another difference between the 930U variant and the cellular carrier variants, and even the 930U variant and the international unlocked variant, is that the 930U seems to have a persistent wifi sensitivity issue. That is, the device can't see wifi signals that are below a moderate signal level. This conclusion is based upon my comparative testing of three 930U devices to several 930P devices (Sprint variant), and one 930F device (international unlocked variant). This wifi concern, by the way, is the main reason the 930U has been ruled out as an option for my personal situation. I like the absence of bloatware (well mostly - I want to retain Sprint Zone functionality) and I like the potential for interchangeability between major US cellular carriers, be they GSM or CDMA based. But I can't handle the crippled wifi reception! Any device I use needs to be able to see and establish connections with wifi nodes that produce signals below a moderate level ( i.e., less than -85 dBm) at locations where I may need such capability.
Still further concerns for me are various inconsistencies between new S7's within a single variant group. Some of these inconsistencies include the following: 1. Obvious display color differences (e.g., some S7's produce vivid and bright colors, while others seem to display colors that are noticeably washed out). 2. Some S7 camera's seems to see better in extremely low lighting environments (clearer, brighter detail and less graininess) than do others at the same ambient light levels. 3. Most of the S7's that I've possessed have poorly aligned overlay ports around the front and back camera lenses. In most cases, this is purely an aesthetic annoyance. But for a phone that costs $650 to $700, I personally expect better quality control. 4. On some S7's the very same cellular network signal levels will produce more signal bars than on other S7's.
I understand that issues like the ones I've observed on the S7's I've assessed may be present on mobile devices produced by other manufacturers as well. I have to say, though, that I tend to expect a bit more from a rather expensive device that's touted so highly by so many :mad:
Having stated the above, I've found that certain variants of the S7 do not perform equally in some ways (such as involving certain SoC functionality). On one model, the API necessary to activate and utilize a certain hardware capability (that's indeed supported by said device's circuitry) is not supported by its factory-flashed firmware. Moreover, there's an absence of information available addressing this issue on the Internet or even from Samsung itself. So it can be quite difficult to gain direction on the possibility of a resolution.
Here's my case in point concerning the above mentioned missing API. While the unlocked US variant of the S7 (i.e., the SM-G930U) genuinely comes with a built-in, fully functional FM broadcast receiver chip, phone buyers are not able to easily access the chip's functionality. I suppose I should clarify by adding that the FM chip would be fully functional if Samsung chose to enable it within the firmware that comes on this model. But they have chosen not to do so and it's not entirely clear why.
I have personally confirmed that the FM chip on the 930U can be activated, and that it will thus receive local FM broadcast signals. One merely need flash a major carrier variant of the S7 firmware onto their 930U. Or at least I can confirm that the SM-G930P (SPR) firmware will achieve this end. That's all it took to get my last 930U up and running on the local FM broadcast band. Once the flash had completed my 930U began receiving local FM radio stations via its headphone jack antenna input and the NextRadio application. Note: I had trouble with the first flash attempt because the stock 930U partition was too small to accept the 930P firmware image and thus required an adjustment.
I personally find it discouraging that Samsung doesn't give owners of the 930U a convenient way to activate the device's built-in FM receiver function. Since it appears there have been no instructions published yet on this topic, 930U owners who want access to the device's FM receiver will have to rely upon the trial and error approach and attempt to resolve the matter with a firmware flash (as I did). I believe it's currently the only option. I'm guessing the reason the receiver is not enabled by default in the factory supplied firmware is because the cellular carriers have no real incentive to request that Samsung incorporate the necessary API component. And Samsung itself obviously doesn't care enough to simply include it. And I suppose Google may fit in there somewhere as well. The result is of course that the average S7 owner is neither supplied with the knowledge nor the choice to enable FM reception on the 930U. Granted, most phone users aren't terribly interested in gaining FM broadcast reception capability. But it can be a big deal for those of us who are.
Yet another difference between the 930U variant and the cellular carrier variants, and even the 930U variant and the international unlocked variant, is that the 930U seems to have a persistent wifi sensitivity issue. That is, the device can't see wifi signals that are below a moderate signal level. This conclusion is based upon my comparative testing of three 930U devices to several 930P devices (Sprint variant), and one 930F device (international unlocked variant). This wifi concern, by the way, is the main reason the 930U has been ruled out as an option for my personal situation. I like the absence of bloatware (well mostly - I want to retain Sprint Zone functionality) and I like the potential for interchangeability between major US cellular carriers, be they GSM or CDMA based. But I can't handle the crippled wifi reception! Any device I use needs to be able to see and establish connections with wifi nodes that produce signals below a moderate level ( i.e., less than -85 dBm) at locations where I may need such capability.
Still further concerns for me are various inconsistencies between new S7's within a single variant group. Some of these inconsistencies include the following: 1. Obvious display color differences (e.g., some S7's produce vivid and bright colors, while others seem to display colors that are noticeably washed out). 2. Some S7 camera's seems to see better in extremely low lighting environments (clearer, brighter detail and less graininess) than do others at the same ambient light levels. 3. Most of the S7's that I've possessed have poorly aligned overlay ports around the front and back camera lenses. In most cases, this is purely an aesthetic annoyance. But for a phone that costs $650 to $700, I personally expect better quality control. 4. On some S7's the very same cellular network signal levels will produce more signal bars than on other S7's.
I understand that issues like the ones I've observed on the S7's I've assessed may be present on mobile devices produced by other manufacturers as well. I have to say, though, that I tend to expect a bit more from a rather expensive device that's touted so highly by so many :mad:
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