Samsung Galaxy S7 Problems: Battery Life Drops After Android 7.0 Nougat Update

Users may be happy to see a speedy Android Nougat update for the Samsung Galaxy S7, but many others already have some complaints about the new system. In particular, users have reported a drop in battery life for the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. After some investigation, Phonearena has determined the battery life issue is connected to the Android 7.0 Nougat update.

According to the tech publication, Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge batteries are underperforming by up to 10 percent. The team tested Galaxy S7 handsets under the same conditions: setting screen brightness to 200 nits and performing average users’ tasks on handsets.

Results indicated that Galaxy S7 handsets running Android Nougat would have a battery life around 360 minutes, compared to 397 minutes while running Android Marshmallow. Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge running Android Nougat would have a battery life around 395 minutes, compared to 403 minutes while running Android Marshmallow.

Phonearena noted their Galaxy S7 handsets are over a year old and could possibly have battery deterioration due to age. However, the difference in battery life was not apparent until after the Android Nougat update.

Often Android updates add new features and functions to devices that could increase power consumption. Additionally, such issues can arise when newer software is pushed to older hardware, despite backward compatibility. Android Marshmallow is the native software for the Galaxy S7 devices.

It is possible Samsung or Google could address the battery life issues in future patch updates, but neither company has commented on the matter so far. U.S. carriers have yet to update their Galaxy S7 models to Android Nougat.