Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge: Samsung at MWC 2016

Samsung Lens case hands-on

The Lens case is an official Samsung external lens accessory for the Galaxy S7 and the S7 edge.

The new Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge have been official for a few hours now and one rather prevailing opinion that we have been hearing about the pair is that for some they lack dramatic upgrade or significant innovation over the Galaxy S6 line. This, of course, is not to say that the S7 is bad, but some people appear to be finding it a bit predictable, which we can somewhat understand.

But, we feel obliged to give credit where credit is due. Despite the lack of any flashy, out-there new concepts, like, let's say, a sliding battery and hardware expansion modules, the Galaxy S7 is still big on technical innovation an improvement, but you do have to dig a little deeper to properly appreciate them. One area that has seen major improvement is the camera. Samsung has put a lot of effort into it and especially the Dual Pixel auto focus technology so that it can claim a top spot in the mobile imaging food chain. Shots are now brighter, and the whole module is significantly smaller, reducing the dreaded camera bump.

Samsung Lens case

We won't dive any further into Samsung's revolutionary camera tech, as we already did so in this dedicated article, which we encourage you to check out. What we will be showing you, however, is an interesting accessory that the Korean giant has designed as a metaphoric cherry to go on top of the cake that is the S7 camera.

We are talking about the Samsung Lens case. It is designed specifically for the Galaxy S7 and does exactly what you would imagine - adds a lens on top of the aforementioned camera. The idea of an accessory lens is not new but unlike other after-market solutions, the Samsung Lens case has the benefit of being tailor-made for the handsets, which is the only way to ensure a proper experience and quality results. Optics are not to be tinkered with lightly, as most photographers and engineers will attest.

Samsung Lens case

Speaking of lenses, the case will initially be available with two interchangeable options. One is a telephoto for long-distance shots, and the other is a wide-angle model for a wider field of view. The key thing to note is that they are interchangeable and feature a screw-in design, which, of course, means that more variants might come in the future. The lenses themselves, just like the aforementioned screw mechanism, look extremely well built and finely crafted. The same goes for the case part of the device, which snaps in place on the back on the phone and has a pleasant leather-like texture.

As for actual results when using the Lens case, conditions on the show floor were far from ideal for a demonstration, but we did manage to snap a couple of stills. The fist is a wide-angle one and the second - the telephoto. We'll let you judge for yourself.

Samsung Lens case samples