Samsung Galaxy S7 review:

Fall 2016 update

It's been a dramatic year for Samsung and its Galaxy line, to say the least.

On September 2, 2016, the company recalled its Galaxy Note 7 phone after a major battery flawcaused a small number of the phones to spontaneously explode. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, along with Canada and Mexico, made the recall official, banning the sale of the phone, and certain airlines have blocked the phones from their flights. (Consult CNET's Samsung Galaxy Note 7 FAQ for more information.)

Before the Note 7 fiasco, there was the Galaxy S7 Active debacle, which now looks positively minor in comparison. After introducing the flagship Galaxy S7 to rave reviews in March -- we still love it, by the way -- Samsung trotted out the Galaxy S7 Active, a variant equipped with a beautiful display, speedy processor, microSD card slot, excellent 12-megapixel rear camera, and supersized battery. Unfortunately, it received its share of unwelcome attention for issues related to its most highly-touted feature: waterproofing -- or its lack thereof. Though Samsung has fixed the problem on its manufacturing line -- and we've verified the fix -- the Galaxy S7 Active's inconsistent performance in water sapped our enthusiasm, and we can no longer recommend the phone with complete confidence.

Meanwhile, Apple has since released its water-resistant iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, which appear to live up to their billing when forced to take a dunk. As covered in our full review, the iPhone 7 also takes great photos, provides long battery life, and delivers fast performance, though it lacks a number of the Galaxy Note 7's cutting-edge features such as iris scanner, wireless charging and wrap-around screen.

The next big comparison for the Galaxy S7 will be the Pixel Phone, rumored to be announced at Google's big October 4 event.

Editors' note: The original Samsung Galaxy S7 review, published in March and updated since then, follows.

The ultimate way to test a new phone? Travel with it. When you're seeing sights and losing yourself to the moment, there's no room to tolerate a poor camera or buggy software, slow speed or short battery life. If there's a flaw, you'll find it.

So I tested the Samsung Galaxy S7 in London and Berlin, while colleagues also took it for a spin in San Francisco and Sydney. And you know what? It did great. Better than great. In fact, the S7 was an awesome phone that never cracked under the pressure of being the only way I take pictures and navigate completely unfamiliar terrain, all while keeping battery life going during long days out.

Straight up: the Galaxy S7 is the best all-around phone out today. It's superior to the excellent Google Nexus 6P, Apple iPhone 6S, LG G5 and HTC 10. In fact, the only phone that surpasses it is its own fraternal twin, the larger, curvy-screen S7 Edge, which is technically my top pick -- but only if you're willing to splurge. Sure, there are some potentially worthy rivals out beyond the horizon -- the iPhone 7, the next Nexus model, and the Galaxy Note 6. But none of them will likely be on the market for months to come. So, for now, the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge remain the best phones money can buy.

Here's what I found (along with fellow S7-testers) while using the S7 around Europe. You can also scroll to the end for a specs comparison chart.

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