Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge: Olympic Games Limited Edition overview

Samsung has released a few limited edition smartphones over the years, like the Batman edition of the Galaxy S7 Edge and the Iron Man version of its predecessor, all the way back to a pre-Galaxy era Matrix edition feature phone. While these releases have generally coincided with a major movie release, this year, Samsung also decided to commemorate Rio 2016 with a Limited Edition Galaxy S7 Edge.

• Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review

This certainly makes sense, given the fact that Samsung has been a sponsor of the Olympics for quite a while now. The summer games may already be well behind us, but we still thought it would be a cool idea to check out this special edition smartphone. Here is a quick look at the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge: Olympic Games Limited Edition!

The first thing you will notice is that the packaging this phone arrives in is quite different from the regular box. The black box is much bigger than the standard retail version, and comes with “Rio 2016” printed on the front. Inside the box is a nice black carrying case with an Olympic Games Edition logo, in which the phone can be found.

While I am not entirely sure of the materials used, it does feel like a high quality carrying case, that includes a couple of pockets inside that will allow you to store smaller items like charging cables or microSD cards and adapters.

Underneath the carrying case is a black pouch that also feels like it has been made using high quality materials, and holds everything that is typically available with the Galaxy S7 Edge. This includes the user manual and other documentation that nobody reads, a pair of earphones, wall charging adapter, and a microUSB cable.

We aren’t going to focus on the specifications, features, and performance of this device, since it is essentially identical to the regular Galaxy S7 Edge, save for a few aesthetic changes in the design and software package. This special edition iteration comes with the same display, processing package, battery, and cameras, and as such, we can expect this device to perform exactly as its regular sibling does.

There are a few differences between the two however, starting with the design. To maintain the theme of the Olympic Games, you will notice colored accents for the buttons and ports, that include all the colors of the Olympic rings. You will see red around the power button, yellow for the earpiece and home button, green for the volume rocker, and blue around the camera unit and heart rate monitor on the back.

There is also the Olympics logo printed on the back, along with “Rio 2016 Olympic Games Limited Edition” written right below the FCC logo. The color version is similar to the Black Onyx version available with the regular Galaxy S7 Edge, but instead of a silver frame, the metal has been treated with a dark chrome finish, which I find looks a lot nicer, and gives the device a stealthier look.

Like previous special edition Samsung smartphones, this Olympic Games version comes with a custom theme on the software side of things. You will notice that the icons, notification drop down, Settings menu, and certain apps have all been themed to incorporate the colors of the Olympic rings. Apart from that however, the software experience is exactly the same as what you would get with the Galaxy S7 Edge. In fact, if you aren’t a fan of the custom theme, you also have the option to switch it to the default Samsung one.

So there you have it for this quick overview of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge: Olympic Games Limited Edition! While this is a limited edition smartphone, it is actually pretty easy to get your hands on one on Amazon or eBay, and even at a Best Buy, and the price point is similar to the unlocked version of the regular Galaxy S7 Edge as well. There isn’t a whole lot of extras here, but it is always pretty cool to have one of Samsung’s special edition phones, and its unique look may be worth it.