Samsung gets it right the second time around. The Galaxy S7 Edge ($792 for 32GB, tested on Verizon Wireless; $799.99 unlocked) is a standout smartphone, bringing back several fan-favorite features that were lost in last year's S6 Edge. While we also like the smaller Galaxy S7, the Edge has a larger battery and Samsung's signature curved glass in a slightly larger package. When I tested the two phones together, I found that they did the same benchmark tests and the camera performance was about the same. The only major differences are in battery life and design, but that's enough to put the S7 Edge in the lead and make it our Editors' Choice for Android phones.

DesignThe S7 Edge takes ideas from a whole host of Samsung phones from last year, and brings them together in the right combination. It has the efficiency of the S6 Edge, a larger screen like the slightly bloated S6 Edge+, and the superior functionality of the Galaxy Note Edge. Sleekly curved, the S7 Edge measures just 5.9 x 2.9 x 0.3 inches (HWD) and weighs 5.5 ounces. It's much narrower and much lighter than other large competing smartphones like the Google Nexus 6P (6.3 x 3.1 x 0.3 inches; 6.3 ounces) and the iPhone 6s Plus (6. 2 x 3.0 x 0.3 inches; 6.8 ounces).

The 5.5-inch Quad HD screen on the front has the same resolution and quality as the S7 screen, even though the S7 Edge uses a flexible plastic OLED, while the S7 is on a traditional glass substrate, according to DisplayMate Labs. While that means it has a slightly lower pixel density than the S7, at resolutions like this it doesn't really matter in practice. What is more important is that this screen is brighter than the Galaxy S6 or Galaxy Note 5.

Beneath the display is a Home button/fingerprint scanner combination (the same as on the S6, which is accurate most of the time) and a standard micro USB port for charging and syncing. Samsung has opted out of the new USB-C port so S6 users can keep their chargers and accessories.

Like the S7, the S7 Edge is rated IP68, which means it's waterproof and dustproof. I had no problem submerging and rinsing it, which is a major advantage over competitors like the iPhone and Nexus.

Network, Voice Quality, and BatteryThe S7 Edge has the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset as the S7, which helps achieve the same performance. I didn't find the larger body to improve signal pick-up or performance in low-signal areas, which was better on both phones than the S6 or iPhone 6s.

I tested the Galaxy S7 Edge on Verizon Wireless. I couldn't bring it to a place where the Verizon connection is very fast, but I was able to test it in a low signal location, where it maintained a more consistent LTE signal than the iPhone 6S . Wi-Fi performance is also excellent. It's obviously dual-band 802.11ac (I mean, let's see), and it had no issues with a 150 megabit balanced connection.

The phone supports voice over local area network (VoLTE) and Wi-Fi calling. The unlocked model works for CDMA, GSM and LTE on all US carriers, even Verizon and Sprint. If you buy a carrier version, it will have all of your carrier's LTE bands, but exclude some of the bands used by other carriers. So it is better to buy the unlocked version if you want to move it from one carrier to another.

The voice quality is good. The earphone is very loud, without distortion. The bottom speaker is a bit too easy to cover with your thumb, and it's not very loud considering this is a larger phone. In my test calls, I found the sound from the earpiece to be a bit crisper and less harsh than on the S7, but I guess that was just an artifact of changing conditions on the Verizon network. Noise cancellation is excellent, but that's the norm for phones in this price class. The S7 Edge, like the S7, supports calling over Wi-Fi and voice over LTE.

Sealed 3600mAh battery life is excellent. I got 10 hours of video streaming, which matches the excellent Nexus 6P. Leaving the phone in sleep mode for eight hours only drained the battery by 7%, which is also comparable to the Nexus, and performing updates for half an hour only drained the battery than 4%, which is frankly brilliant. The phone supports fast charging and wireless charging, and fills the battery in about two hours of fast charging. You can be confident in the Edge's battery life, which is one of the reasons we prefer it over the Galaxy S7 (which still manages to last a very respectable 9 hours of video streaming) .

Software and the EdgeThe main unique feature of the S7 Edge is the Edge, of course. The Edge is Samsung's most notable, and useful, addition to Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow here.

Samsung's curved edge first appeared on the Galaxy Note Edge, and I like it because it's configurable. You could download and load various apps on the edge of the screen to check the weather or play a word game. On the Galaxy S6 Edge, the edge became just a design feature – you could pop out some frequently used contacts, but not many people did, and instead it just looked pretty.

Well, the functional edge is back, and it's more functional than ever. Swipe inwards from the right side of the screen to bring up an edge panel. There are about a dozen possible edge panels, as well as an open SDK, so we hope more will come in the future. By default, you have favorite apps and contacts, plus a panel for certain macros, like tossing a message to one of your favorite people. You can add information services, weather, ruler, memory status or various other applications.

I also like the always-on screen, which shows the time, date, and basic notifications when the phone is locked; it can also display a calendar or some custom images based on your phone's theme. It doesn't seem to drain the battery too much and you can always turn it off if it's not to your liking.

All of these software features just add to Samsung's bloatware load, alas. US carriers only sell a 32GB version of the Galaxy S7 Edge, and 9.23GB on our Verizon model was taken up by Google's operating system, Samsung's software, and more than a dozen preloaded Verizon and Amazon apps that you cannot move or delete.

You can add a microSD card up to 200 GB, by placing it in a tray that is part of the SIM card slot. Samsung does not support Google's Adoptable Storage feature, which treats the microSD card as part of the phone's internal storage, but you can move downloaded apps to the card one by one using the screen phone settings.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 2.15 GHz processor offers excellent performance, identical to that of the Galaxy S7. It easily outperforms the Snapdragon 810 in the Nexus 6P on both standard performance benchmarks and graphics benchmarks. It is surpassed by the iPhone 6s Plus when it comes to gaming refresh rates, but that's not a direct comparison, as the iPhone has a much lower screen resolution. High-intensity games like Asphalt 8 run perfectly smooth.

Camera and video The S7 and S7 Edge have the same camera module, which has a much more subtle exterior bump than on the S6 generation. Samsung says it switched from a 16-megapixel unit on the Galaxy S6 to a 12-megapixel unit with larger pixels here to improve low-light performance; it also added more focus pixels to improve focus in low light. We saw the focus improvements, but not the low-light improvements on this camera.

Press the Home button twice and the camera opens in 0.6 seconds, like on the Galaxy S6. The faster focus is immediately evident, and the shutter is virtually instantaneous. In one of my many low-light tests, the S7 Edge took a much brighter image than the S6. But I didn't find that in other tests, and the fact that my hand was shaky mattered way more than anything else. Both the S6 and S7 outperform the iPhone 6s, with sharper images and less noise.

The 5-megapixel front camera is also very good, but it's a minor improvement over the S6; above all, the images are a little less noisy. The biggest improvement for selfies comes with the addition of a Selfie Flash mode, which lights up the screen when you take an image in the dark.

Video now records up to 4K resolution at 30 frames per second on the main camera, and 1080p on the front camera. Video recording is excellent, and maintained 30 frames per second even in very low conditions.

In terms of audio and video playback, the Snapdragon 820 can handle any content you can throw at it. There's no more wired way to tether the S7 to a big screen, though; you must use wireless screencasting.

Comparisons and ConclusionsCompetition for larger premium smartphones is intense. The Nexus 6P, Galaxy Note 5, LG V10, and Motorola Droid Turbo 2 all have unique advantages, and I could easily recommend any of them. There is also the iPhone 6s Plus, which frankly does not highlight Apple with its relatively low resolution screen, but which has many games and social networks specific to the iPhone platform. So why did I make the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge our Editors' Choice? You get the most phone per square inch, and more importantly, the biggest battery.

The Edge gives you a big screen in a relatively small phone: 5.5in in a 2.86in wide device, as opposed to 5.7in competitors, which are typically 3in or larger. The curved glass not only makes the Edge look elegant, but also easier to hold. Add to that a cutting-edge processor, a faster modem and a 3600mAh battery, larger than any competitor, and you have a great waterproof smartphone with long battery life.

That said, you'll want to pick up the Galaxy Note 5 if you want to doodle on the screen with the S Pen, and you'll want the Nexus 6P if you prefer a simpler, more pure Android experience without bloatware. The Nexus 6P is also much cheaper. So it's a difficult decision to make.

But the Galaxy S7 Edge is state-of-the-art. It's the best-designed and most powerful smartphone on the market, with the biggest battery and the most cutting-edge components. That’s enough to make it our Editors’ Pick.

The bottom line

The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge combines state-of-the-art components with a sleek, beautiful design and a big battery, making it one killer Android smartphone. See also: OnePlus 9 Pro review: Full test and review 2021.