14 DAY TRIAL // A few days ago, we told you that laptop touchpad specialist Synaptics had unveiled what it calls the ClearPad 3700 force-sensing touchscreen controller, a solution it hopes to incorporate in many Android flagships next year.
The company is calling the underlying technology ClearForce, and according to a leak coming out of Weibo (via Phone Arena), it has listed Samsung as one of its main partners for 2016. So you know what that means, the Galaxy S7 will probably take advantage of this new technology.
Which makes a lot of sense given that Sammy’s Arch rival Apple unveiled the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, both taking advantage of Cupertino’s own 3D Touch. Well, Clear Force is expected to behave in pretty much the same way, due to its ability to distinguish between light and hard presses.
As you probably know, Huawei was the first to announce an Android smartphone taking advantage of Force Touch (as the Chinese device maker calls it). It’s dubbed the Mate S and bundles Synaptics’ 3700 series solution.
Which explains why the phone hasn’t made an appearance in retail yet. As the company notes in its press release, the first smartphones bundling this technology are expected to make a debut in early 2016.
Samsung is a little late to the pressure-sensitive display party
So the Galaxy S7 will probably turn out to be one of the first phones to bundle this system, which is not hard to believe given the Q1 release timeframe. According to the rumor mill, the handset is expected to be announced ahead of schedule, before the MWC 2016 event. Sources familiar with the matter have claimed that the device will be ready for retail release in February 2016.
Recent rumors indicate that the phone will come in three variants. This is a first for Samsung, who so far used to release up to two versions of its Galaxy S flagships. It appears that this time Sammy will be releasing a special model for India running the Exynos 7422 platform, the one that was supposed to power the Galaxy Note5.
For Korea, Japan and Europe, Samsung will push another variant, this time fueled by its next-gen Exynnos M1 (or 8990) chipset. Last but not least, China and US are going to get the Snapdragon 820-powered variant.
So far, the Galaxy S7 is shaping up to be quite interesting, but will the upgrade over the Galaxy S6 be worth it?