2016 was a wild year for smartphones.
There was everything from modular phones (in various guises) to exploding phones and everything in between.
The Problem With The Idea Of The ‘Best’ Phone
People often ask what the best phone is on the market. They do so without realising that the answer is far more complicated than they’d expect.
Firstly, there is no such thing as a perfect or best phone. Every phone has some drawback or disadvantage, no matter how small.
Secondly, the top rated – or best – phone on the market might not be the right phone for you.
Best Phone Of 2015 Vs. Best Phone Of 2016
Having said that, we’ve decided to take a look at the most popular phone of 2015 and see how it stacks up against the most popular phone of 2016.
According to many websites, the best phone of 2015 was Samsung’s Galaxy S6 Edge. This makes it that much easier to compare it to 2016’s best phone, namely, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.
| Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge | Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge | |
| Release date | February 2016 | March 2015 |
| Dimensions (mm) | 150.90 x 72.60 x 7.70 | 142.10 x 70.10 x 7.00 |
| Weight (g) | 157.00 | 132.00 |
| Battery capacity (mAh) | 3600 | 2600 |
| Removable battery | No | No |
| Colours | White, Gold, Silver, Black | White, Gold, Blue, Green |
| DISPLAY | ||
| Screen size (inches) | 5.5 Dual Curved | 5.1 Dual Curved |
| Touchscreen | Yes | Yes |
| Resolution | 1440×2560 pixels | 1440×2560 pixels |
| Pixels per inch (PPI) | 534 | 577 |
| HARDWARE | ||
| Processor | 1.6GHz octa-core | 1.5GHz octa-core |
| Processor make | – | Samsung Exynos 7420 |
| RAM | 4GB | 3GB |
| Internal storage | 32GB | 32GB |
| Expandable storage | Yes | No |
| Expandable storage type | microSD | – |
| Expandable storage up to (GB) | 200 | – |
| CAMERA | ||
| Rear camera | 12-megapixel | 16-megapixel |
| Flash | Yes | Yes |
| Front camera | 5-megapixel | 5-megapixel |
| SOFTWARE | ||
| Operating System | Android 6.0 | Android 5.0 |
| Skin | – | TouchWiz |
| CONNECTIVITY | ||
| Wi-Fi | Yes | Yes |
| Wi-Fi standards supported | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac |
| GPS | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth | Yes, v 4.20 | Yes, v 4.10 |
| NFC | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared | No | Yes |
| Headphone Jack | 3.5mm | 3.5mm |
| FM Radio | No | No |
| SIM Type | – | Nano-SIM |
| SENSORS | ||
| Compass/ Magnetometer | Yes | Yes |
| Proximity sensor | Yes | Yes |
| Accelerometer | Yes | Yes |
| Ambient light sensor | Yes | Yes |
| Gyroscope | Yes | Yes |
| Barometer | Yes | Yes |
| Temperature sensor | No | No |
