Galaxy S7 Active photos leak, confirm the phone is headed to market

The Galaxy S7 Active is anticipated as Samsung’s next great smartphone headed to market this summer, and, if the Korean giant follows the usual announcement time, we can expect the device to be announced and launched in June. So far, though, we’ve only seen confirmation of the name of the device, with little else in the way of specs and features. We haven’t even seen the phone in the flesh, not even with the usual AT&T logo on the back of the device, but new photos have now made their way to the Web that show off the device in all its glory.
The Galaxy S7 Active photos below show a device that’s all too familiar in its design to its predecessor, the Galaxy S6 Active, though with some incremental changes. First, the Galaxy S7 Active back camera has more of a rounded, “squircular” design than the back camera of the S6 Active. The back cover is removable (which is rather shocking for a high-end handset), but perhaps this is a nod to AT&T and the needs of its customers so as to sell more copies of the device this year. As I’ve said before, having a removable back cover with water resistance is of no use; if the back cover pops off, water will fill the device and kill the battery first, among other things. And yet, Samsung may choose to make the back removable so as to give the device removable batteries. We can’t confirm that the S7 Active will have a removable battery, but if the panel gives any indication as to the device’s capability, it just might.
The front buttons on the Galaxy S7 Active, once tied together as physical buttons on the S6 Active, now have individual components (three separate buttons that aren’t tied so closely together), fueling the rumors that persist about whether or not Samsung will offer a fingerprint sensor with the Galaxy S7 Active (in what would be a first for this smartphone line). Samsung is still committed to the back button on the right-hand side, a move that some view as terrible design, though Samsung’s move is convenient for a number of individuals who are right-handed and prefer to use their right hand to press the back button, not the left.
The Galaxy S7 Active seems to have quite a bit of rubber on the device, but this is not surprising: after all, it gives the device a rubberized and firm feel in the hand. Overall, the device looks like its predecessor but may have some new software features that we can’t wait to hear about. For now, take a look at the Galaxy S7 Active photos below.