This week Samsung released the tougher version of the Galaxy S7 as Samsung Galaxy S7 ‘Active’ which arguably makes it a better phone with following major upgrades. 

First things first, physical differences are easy to spot. So breaking down on that, we have got, Samsung Galaxy S7 in all metal aluminium beauty, stylish and sleek whereas Samsung Galaxy S7 is a brute force rubber beast.

Galaxy S7 – 142.4 x 69.6 x 7.9 mm and 152 g (5.36 oz)
Galaxy S7 Active – 148.8 x 75 x 9.9 mm and 185 g (6.53 oz)

The ‘Active’ version is thicker than Galaxy S7, hence weighing more than it. It looks like it comes with the default case cover too, giving a protective look. Both the phones are IP68 certified for dust proof and water resistant in over 1.6 meters. It’s also MIL-STD-810G certified, which means it has no problem with salt, humidity, rain, vibration, solar radiation and is thermal shock resistant.

The displays of both the mobiles might look similar, but there is a key difference:

Galaxy S7 – 5.1-inch, 2560 x 1440 (576 pixels per inch), Super AMOLED, Gorilla Glass 4
Galaxy S7 Active – 5.1-inch, 2560 x 1440 (576 pixels per inch), Super AMOLED, Gorilla Glass 4, Shatter Resistant
In addition to the Gorilla Glass, to withstand the drops, S7 Active also has shatterproof resistance, where even a crack won’t spread through the display, it will just be isolated. This feature has created a benchmark in the industry.

Performance on both the phones feel identical, because of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, which is now standard in most of the phones. Because it doesn’t have throttling issues as 810 version.

Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Active – Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 (dual-core 2.15 GHz Kryo & dual-core 1.6 GHz Kryo CPUs, Adreno 530 GPU), 4GB RAM
Unfortunately, there is no version of the phone with Samsung’s very own chipset Exynos, which consumes less power and quicker in processing.

Cameras have been the same in case of Samsung right from Samsung Galaxy S6.  Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Active comes with 12 megapixel Sony  IMX260 F1.7 sensor (Samsung ISOCELL variations also exist), OIS, LED flash, 4K video support, front facing 5MP F1.7 camera. Among the two, Galaxy S7 scores in the camera by rendering amazing low light performance and focus time being too instantaneous, thereby being the best in availability. Despite its huge girth, the Galaxy S7 Active has the same superb camera as the Galaxy S7. But again, the key takeaway is given by Active.

Battery life is of utmost importance, when buyers opt for a higher end phone. As we compare, there is a huge difference of whooping 1000 mAh capacity between two phones, which makes them a difference.

Galaxy S7 – 3000 mAh capacity battery
Galaxy S7 Active – 4000 mAh capacity battery

S7 Active being 1/3rd larger than the Galaxy S7, Samsung vouches for a battery life of massive 32 hours of talk time in a single charging and lasting for one whole day. This also has another edge, i.e., wireless charging, which also sticks to greater flexibility.

Obviously the price of S7 Active is a $100 more than Galaxy S7, which is a flip side of the latter. Seems inhibitor for those, who want to go for S7 Active even, when it offers the same amount of storage as Galaxy S7.

Galaxy S7 – $699 (32GB)
Galaxy S7 Active – $799 (32GB)

Even though S7 Active doesn’t come in cheap price, go for it if we want more durability, long lasting battery and a classy camera.