Here’s what the Samsung Galaxy S7 should have

Visit the Android Subreddit these days and you’ll inevitably find a post or two linking to a story that purports to have leaked info on the Samsung Galaxy S7.

Most leaks turn out to be wrong. But that didn’t stop us from thinking about how the next version of Samsung’s flagship, likely being announced at Mobile World Congress in February, can improve upon the Galaxy S6.

Feel free to post your personal S7 wish list in the comments section below.

The return of expandable storage

Despite the low-cost availability of cloud storage, expandable storage is still a desirable feature for a lot of people. In fact, you only have to look back to the announcement of the S6 to how negatively some individuals reacted to Samsung’s decision to ditch expandable storage.

For that reason, I think I speak for a lot of people when I say I hope the S7 includes expandable storage. It’s also looking like there’s a good possibility the phone will include a microSD slot.

When the S6 launched, the phone’s use of Samsung then new solid-state storage standard, Universal Flash Storage 2.0, was pegged as one of the reasons the South Korean company opted not to include expandable storage on the S6. The standard provides a significant uptick in SSD performance, but has difficulty interfacing with the type of memory controllers found in microSD cards. Samsung is reportedly working on addressing this specific issue, helping pave the way for expandable storage to make its return to Samsung’s flagship lineup with the S7.

Likewise, it’s safe to say the S7 will be one of the first Samsung phones to come pre-installed with Marshmallow, a fact that further helps the phone’s chances of including a SD card slot. Although Google just released two phones that do not feature microSD card slots, the company did a lot of work to make Android more friendly to expandable storage with Marshmallow. With the new version of Android, apps and games that are installed on an SD card perform much better than they did on previous versions of the operating system.

A removable battery

A lot of people will probably list a removable battery as one of the features they most want to see make a return to Samsung’s mainline flagship smartphone. Unfortunately, I don’t think this is in the cards.

From an industrial design standpoint, Samsung wants its flagship smartphones to be put on the same level as the iPhone. And in the eyes a lot of people, the S6 was Android’s answer to the iPhone. In part, Samsung was able to achieve this feat by taking several cues from Apple’s smartphone — it ditched the S5’s removable battery, for example — so I don’t think the company would be willing to go back after the success of the S6.

Moreover, with most OEMs moving to unibody designs, we’re also seeing the industry as a whole move away from the one popular design paradigm.

Still, a man can dream.

An even better camera

Here’s an easy one: I hope the S7 features an even better camera than its predecessor. Thankfully, this is one of the areas Samsung is almost certain to follow through. In a recent investor call, company executives talked about the new Britecell sensor it’s planning to integrate into its upcoming phones. Samsung claims the new sensor features improved performance in less-than-ideal lighting conditions.

Given the fact that Samsung is likely keen on creating a phone that reclaims the smartphone photography crown for it, there’s a good chance the company has other photography-related improvements in store for consumers.

A phone that runs stock Android

Alright, this one is really reaching for it, but it would be great if Samsung ditched TouchWiz, Samsung’s Android skin. I don’t see it happening, and there’s been nothing to suggest the company has a plan to abandon its Android skin, but a Samsung phone running an unaltered version of Google’s mobile operating system would be a thing of beauty.