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Samsung's next flagship smartphone will reportedly solve 2 major headaches

As we approach the rumoured launch date of Samsung's next flagship smartphones, we're hearing increasing reports and rumours about what the phones contain.

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The latest leaks come via Evan Blass, a veteran phone leaker at VentureBeat, and they suggest Samsung is trying to solve two major problems plaguing modern smartphones.

The forthcoming Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge phones will get a big boost to battery life, Blass reports, and will also be water-resistant.

samsung s6 edge smartphone two hand
Big battery, tick. Waterproofing, tick. Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Samsung

In 2015, Samsung introduced the option of a curved screen to the Galaxy S line — this is what the "Edge" title signifies. It has proved popular — far more popular than Samsung accounted for, in fact. The company was left scrambling last year after it received more orders than it could handle for the S6 Edge, while the regular S6 went unsold. (The company is unlikely to make the same mistake again.)

The dual smartphone model is expected to make a return this year. The South Korean company is tipped to launch the device around Mobile World Congress, a huge European trade fair, in February. The S7 will be 5.1 inches in size, according to Blass, with the S7 Edge coming in larger at 5.5 inches.

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So what should you expect? Well, improvements seem to be coming in two key areas.

First up, batteries: The S6, 2015's model, featured a 2,550 mAh battery, while the S6 Edge packed 2,600 mAh. For the S7 devices, it will reportedly jump significantly, to 3,000 mAh for the S7 and 3,600 mAh with the S7 Edge. (For reference, the iPhone 6s has a 1,715 mAh battery, while the battery of the larger 6s Plus has 2,750 mAh.)

Next: water resistance. Samsung has actually implemented the tech before: The Galaxy S5 was waterproof, but this feature was dropped in the S6. With the S7 it will reportedly be making a return. The devices apparently have an IP67 rating.

This means it is "totally protected" against dust and "protected against the effect of immersion between 15 cm and 1 m." So you can't go diving with it — but it should hold up against a dip in the bath or a spin in the washing machine. (Interestingly, the iPhone 6s is also significantly more water-resistant than its predecessors, though Apple has not had it officially IP-rated.)

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Blass also reports that the phones will be able to take microSD cards with a capacity of up to 200 GB — making it easy to add extra storage to the device. If true, it's a move that will be welcomed by many: These days, lots of phones (including the Galaxy S6 and the iPhone 6s) don't have them, making it impossible for users to upgrade their storage after purchase.

It's important to remember that none of this is confirmed yet, and rumours can be wrong. But Blass has an excellent reputation as a leaker.

Other apparent details about the device have surfaced via other reports. In December, The Wall Street Journal published a rundown of what it was hearing. The paper reported the device will have a pressure-sensitive screen that can detect how hard you're pressing — very similar to the iPhone's Force Touch feature.

The Journal also thinks the phones will outwardly look very similar to the Galaxy S6, feature high-speed charging that could let users charge their device in just 30 minutes, and have retina-scanning technology for security.

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All in all, it sounds as if it's shaping up to be a solid device — with a few features that could make iPhone users jealous.

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