Samsung is a global force in the smartphone world. When we look at the past decade, though, it wasn't only producing hits; the first few generations of Galaxy S phones had compromises, problems, and areas where it wasn't the de facto market leader. That all changed starting with the Galaxy S7, and that's why it's my pick for the product of the decade. The GS7 marked the point where Samsung truly figured it out, and locked in on a formula that was a hit with consumers and could be replicated for years to come with incredible results. Remembering the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge

The "Galaxy S7" is actually two distinct models: the standard Galaxy S7, and the larger Galaxy S7 edge. In a slight tweak from the Galaxy S6 before, Samsung differentiated between the two models by making the S7 compact and with a flat screen, while the S7 edge was notably larger and had its now-standard dual-curved display. Verizon is offering the Pixel 4a for just $10/mo on new Unlimited lines Though Samsung has since expanded its phone lineup further to offer even more flagship choices, the S7 and S7 edge were a great one-two punch for the time. You could get the exact same phone in terms of features and capabilities, but in two different sizes, with the choice of whether you preferred a flat or curved screen. Samsung brought incredible hardware with every feature imaginable — and no compromises. And it was one heck of a desirable set of features. Samsung brought top-end specs, strong battery life (particularly in the S7 edge), great cameras on the front and back, waterproofing, SD card expansion, and excellent AMOLED screens that set the standard for everyone else. The hardware, too, set a high bar. While we take for granted every phone today being a metal-and-glass sandwich, that wasn't the case back in 2015, and the Galaxy S7 series was a fantastic execution of this combination. There was really only one knock on the phones at the time, and that was the software. The S7 was still considerably ahead of the S5 and S6 in terms of software design, but this was very much still in the era where Samsung was universally panned for how rudderless and overbearing its software was. There were so many duplicative features, unnecessary bells and whistles, and piles of bloatware to contend with. The competition was frankly still dealing with a lot of the same issues in 2016, but software was the one caveat that came with every recommendation of a Galaxy S7. Placing the Galaxy S7 in history