Samsung Galaxy S7 release date, specs and features: Flagship to come in two variants?

Samsung is apparently working on two versions of its upcoming flagship, the Samsung Galaxy S7. Just like with the current Galaxy S6, the South Korea-based company is preparing a unit with a standard display and one with a dual-edge curved touchscreen.

The flagships are reportedly being readied for a January 2016 release, according to an analyst from SK Securities who spoke to EToday (via BGR). The website was also told that the early release (Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge were launched March this year) was made to allow Samsung to steal some thunder from the iPhone 6.

The two versions of the Samsung Galaxy S7 will also have different chipsets inside. One will have Samsung's very own Exynos 8890 processor, while the second model will be driven by the new Snapdragon 820 unit. There's word that Qualcomm already shipped a new prototype of the unit for Samsung to test.

Earlier rumors pointed out that Samsung will manufacture only a limited number of Samsung Galaxy S7 units with the latest Qualcomm chipset. This is because the company plans to have the majority of the units to be put on sale to be powered by their in-house processor.

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Meanwhile, users who loved Samsung devices for having microSD cards weren't happy when the company took away the feature in their latest round of releases. But Sam Mobile received word that Samsung is already working on bringing expandable storage back in the flagship.

As far as cameras go, the South Korean tech firm is still cherry-picking the best unit to use, even trying out a 20-MP ISOCELL camera sensor as well as a dual camera setup. It remains to be seen what Samsung will end up going for.

Not too long ago, there were speculations that the Samsung Galaxy S7 will be dressed in magnesium alloy, which will make it look good and more durable while still keeping its weight light. Samsung is also reportedly working on its own screen glass cover for the flagship.