Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro preview: A closer look

Performance

With the drop in hardware specifications, one would assume that the C7 Pro has taken a hit in performance. However, outside of a couple of games, we really didn't see any difference in performance between this phone and the C9 Pro.

What this means is that the C7 Pro is still a perfectly good device that will get you through your everyday tasks with ease. The UI is mostly fluid and the apps open quickly. The 4GB RAM is plenty, but Samsung still uses fairly aggressive memory management to close apps in the background. This happens even if you aren't running close to the limit of system memory, causing some apps to close if you don't open them for a while.

One of the advantages of the processor downgrades is that the C7 Pro does not get as hot as the C9 Pro, staying cool during normal usage. It will still get incredibly hot while charging, though.

The C7 Pro has the same stereo speaker arrangement as the C9 Pro. The bottom-firing main loudspeaker is assisted by the earpiece, which provides the high-end. This has the same basic shortcomings as the speakers on the C9 Pro. The sound at times is unbalanced due to the different nature of the two speakers, with the bottom one being more dominant. It's not always noticeable, and definitely beats having just one speaker, but as far as having stereo speakers is concerned this isn't the best implementation. Additionally, the speakers don't even flip channels when you rotate the phone, so if you hold the phone the other way then you will have sound coming out in reverse.

We were impressed by the fingerprint sensor on the C7 Pro. While we had issues on the C9 Pro, the C7 Pro sensor was consistently reliable and quick, making it one of the better systems we have tested. It's likely that Samsung tweaked the software to improve accuracy. Unfortunately, you are still limited to just three prints.

Basemark OS 2.0

Higher is better

• OnePlus 3T
  2678
• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  2434
• Oppo F3 Plus
  1890
• Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro
  1770
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
  1417
• Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro
  1228
• vivo V5 Plus
  1107
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  1050
• Motorola Moto Z Play
  1031
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
  497

AnTuTu 6

Higher is better

• OnePlus 3T
  165097
• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  155185
• Oppo F3 Plus
  91458
• Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro
  85181
• Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro
  67540
• vivo V5 Plus
  63812
• Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
  63358
• Motorola Moto Z Play
  62217
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  61616
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
  61020
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
  60767

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• OnePlus 3T
  49
• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  44
• Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro
  17
• Oppo F3 Plus
  17
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
  15
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
  14
• Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
  9.9
• vivo V5 Plus
  9.9
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  9.9
• Motorola Moto Z Play
  9.8
• Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro
  9.8

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• OnePlus 3T
  48
• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  47
• Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro
  17
• Oppo F3 Plus
  17
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
  15
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
  15
• Motorola Moto Z Play
  10
• Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro
  9.8
• Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
  9.7
• vivo V5 Plus
  9.7
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  9.7

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• OnePlus 3T
  33
• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  30
• Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro
  11
• Oppo F3 Plus
  10
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
  9.1
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
  9.1
• Motorola Moto Z Play
  6.2
• Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
  6.2
• vivo V5 Plus
  6.2
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  6.2
• Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro
  6.1

GFX 3.1 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• OnePlus 3T
  33
• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  32
• Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro
  11
• Oppo F3 Plus
  11
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
  9
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
  9
• Motorola Moto Z Play
  6.7
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  6.2
• Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
  6.1
• vivo V5 Plus
  6.1
• Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro
  6.1

Basemark ES 3.1 / Metal

Higher is better

• OnePlus 3T
  641
• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  538
• Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro
  261
• Oppo F3 Plus
  261
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
  259
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
  229
• Motorola Moto Z Play
  138
• vivo V5 Plus
  138
• Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro
  137