As of today, Samsung has a very elaborate mid-range portfolio, primarily consisting of the new A-series (A7, A5, A9 pro) and C-series phones. Out of these, the Galaxy C7 Pro is the one meant to directly retail online, or in other words, the one poised to be a better value for money proposition compared to the offline lot.
Of course, the primary competition in the online domain is OnePlus 3T and if you are thinking of buying this phone you might still be undecided between the OnePlus 3T and the Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro. Let’s explore Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro in detail while comparing it to other formidable alternatives in its class.
Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro Specifications:
- 5.7-inch Super AMOLED, 1,080 x 1,920 resolution (Full HD), 386 PPI, 74.1% screen to body ratio, Gorilla Glass protection
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 626 chipset; 14nm LPP fabrication process; Octa-core (4×2.2 GHz Cortex-A53 & 4x 2.2 GHz Cortex-A53); Adreno 506 GPU
- 4GB of RAM
- 64GB internal memory
- Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, TouchWiz OS on top
- 16 MP, f/1.9 aperture lens, phase detection autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash, 1080p videos
- 16MP front camera, F/1.9 aperture lens, 1080p video
- 156.5 x 77.2 x 7mm and 172 grams
- Home button with fingerprint scanner
- Dual SIM slot (Hybrid), LTE with VoLTE, 802.11 a/g/b/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, NFC
- Gyroscope, Magnetometer, accelerometer, proximity, Ambient light
- 3300mAh battery
- Colors: Gold, Navy Blue
- Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro Price in India: Rs. 27,990
Design and Display
With the 5.5-inch increasingly becoming the standard display size, the 5.7-inch Galaxy C7 Pro display shall please people looking for a tad extra screen real-estate, without forgoing the 5.5-inch phone convenience. That’s because the Samsung has competently shaved off extra bezels on the top and on sides.
Besides, the super slim design (7mm thick) makes it very manageable. The metal alloy on the rear extends to the top and the bottom and to the sides to form the edges, and then seamlessly merges into the 2.5D glass laden fascia. The design remains same as its elder sibling, the Galaxy C9 Pro.
Samsung is using an excellent quality AMOLED panel with high contrast and well-calibrated colors which make using Galaxy C7 pro a delight. Since this is an AMOLED screen, the always on display consumes very little battery and is something we preferred to keep On. There are countless times when you would want to check time or which app just made your phone buzz with a simple glance without wanting to unlock your phone.
Also Read: OnePlus 3T vs Xiaomi Mi 6 vs Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus Comparison
The bottom line is that Samsung has got the ergonomics right and the display further adds to the Galaxy C7 Pro strengths.
Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro Camera Performance
On the specifications front, the C7 pro uses top-notch camera hardware. There are 16MP sensors on the front and rear each with bright f/1.9 aperture lens. However, there is no OIS and that reflects in mediocre low light performance.
The camera can shoot vibrant images with plenty of details in outdoor and natural lighting. The HDR mode is present and works well. Thankfully, the camera software is smart enough to handle tricky exposures. The camera can low focus quite fast (in good lighting) and shutter speed is decent too.
In artificial indoor lighting, however, the colors appear a bit muted. Perhaps this is a trade-off Samsung has made by avoiding camera bump on the rear. The camera app is minimal and there aren’t many options to avail here. A pro mode is present but it’s very limited.
In comparison, the selfie camera does a fine job even in tricky lighting. You will have to hold your hands steady, though. While choosing between this and the 3T, we would say that the 3T camera has an edge in low light performance.
Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro Camera Samples
Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro Performance and software
Galaxy C7 Pro is running Android Marshmallow based TouchWiz UI integrated with Google Assistant and Gaming launcher. This is a stable and mature Android UI, loaded with a bunch of Samsung and Microsoft apps (more often than not, they don’t get in the way) and with several handy software features.
The software is fueled by Snapdragon 626 octa-core chip, which is hugely regarded as one of the most power efficient contemporary smartphone chipsets. Of course, the Snapdragon 821 is a faster chip that you can score in about the same budget, but the C7 Pro was still fast enough for whatever I needed it for. The SoC is paired with 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage.
Day-to-day stuff runs pretty smooth and we didn’t encounter any UI lag on the handset. The Galaxy C7 Pro has no heating issue. The handset runs cool even with gaming.
Speaking of which, the light games run smoothly but we did notice some frame drops while playing graphic intensive games at high settings.
The fingerprint sensor mounted on the front (clubbed with home button) is fast and accurate. The C7 Pro isn’t missing any other major sensor either. GPS navigation works fine.
There are two speakers on the phone and together they pump reasonably loud audio (even though the one on the top clubbed with the earpiece is relatively feeble).
Also Read: Xiaomi Mi 6 – 5 Things You Should Know About It
Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro Battery life and connectivity
Battery backup on the C7 Pro is pretty decent. The phone lasts for about one and a half day with moderate to heavy usage. Fast charging is supported as well. You can top it up in under 2 hours.
Reliance Jio SIM card works fine in both slots (Hybrid tray). You can choose any one SIM to run 4G LTE networks and other to latch to 2G/3G networks. Call quality was excellent in our area. We didn’t face any issue streaming content to and from the device over WiFi.
Verdict
Samsung phones have really improved over time and the Galaxy C7 pro benefits from the expertise accumulated over the years. It’s USP is fabulous design, which is further bolstered by smart software, excellent AMOLED display, decent battery backup, and reasonable performance.
It might not have the best of hardware numbers, but there is no area where it particularly disappoints. If you are looking for a sizeable phablet, and if your usage doesn’t involve pushing your phone to its extremes, we have no qualms about recommending it to you.
We do wish it also integrated Samsung Pay, which is a Samsung exclusive advantage in India as of today.
Also Read: Everything you should know about Samsung Pay in India
Pros
- Looks elegant
- Great quality display
- Decent battery life
- Stereo speakers
cons
- No Samsung pay
- Low light camera performance needs improvement
Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro Photo Gallery
