Galaxy S7: Samsung To U-Turn And Return To MicroSD Slot [RUMOR]

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Owing to a leak on an Italian blog, buyers of the Galaxy S7 flagship may have something to celebrate next year when Samsung reintroduces the MicroSD slot to expand storage options.

Samsung responds to criticism?

According to HDBlog.it today, Samsung will be offering support for a microSD card via a slot in the Galaxy S7 when it is debuted next year. Generally speaking, Samsung has shown off its new flagship devices each year in Barcelona when the World Mobile Conference convenes. 2016’s Mobile World Congress is slated for February 22nd to February 25th and as always Samsung will be in attendance.

While the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 are great devices that received high marks from most reviewers, many reviewers and users alike immediately complained that the microSD slot had been removed. In fact, for many that was their only complaint. The Galaxy S5 supported microSD and then all of a sudden it just disappeared, much to the chagrin of Samsung fans. Now, while the Galaxy S5 did support microSD, it also came at a cost…that horrible plastic back on the device. That was done away with when the uni-body Galaxy S6 was released. You win some you lose some I guess.

Rumors, rumors, rumors

We take most rumors when it comes to smartphones with a grain of salt, but HDBlog.it has a pretty solid track record when it comes to Samsung. Earlier this September, iDigitalTimes.com also hinted that Samsung would be offering support for microSD. They also said that the codename for the development of the Galaxy S7 was “Project Lucky.”

When Samsung debuted the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6, it did so with the introduction of a super fast UFS 2.0 storage making the inclusion of microSD support impossible. But apparently, Samsung has been working on a way to continue using UFS 2.0 storage but adding support for additional storage. Samsung tried to dance around this problem by offering 64 gigabyte and 128 gigabyte models of the Galaxy S6 but still failed to escape criticism for shedding the microSD slot.

More rumors and specs for the Galaxy S7

Most tech blogs that follow Samsung believe that the Galaxy S7 will launch with Samsung’s Exynos 8890 chip, codenamed M1 Mongoose, which could clock in as high as 2.3GHz. However, the availability of these chips may see major markets like the United States instead using a Snapdragon chip.

Samsung has made great strides with its cameras on the Galaxy Note 5 and the Galaxy S6 so a step back with the Galaxy S7 would come as a tremendous surprise. Rumors suggest that the S7 will feature a 20-megapixel ISOCELL camera or perhaps even a dual-camera array that HTC and ZTE have introduced for ease of editing before and after a shot. It is also being widely speculated that Samsung will introduce an “all lens cover” which SamMobile belives will allow owners out alternate lenses. Again, these are just rumors.

The Korean publication Asia Today has reported that the Galaxy S7 will come in two sizes with a 5.2-inch model and a larger 5.8-inch version. While Apple has done this with its iPhones this would be a change for Samsung to offer two sizes.

Lastly, most sites offering Samsung rumors expect the Galaxy S7 to feature at least 3GB of RAM.

A couple of things are a near certainty: this will not be our last article on Galaxy rumors and we will know a whole lot more in February.

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