Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.’s new Galaxy S7 and S7 edge smartphones go on sale Friday and if you’re still on the fence about getting one, the first wave of reviews from the tech media are out to help you decide.

We’ve compared the technical specs and features to the competition (here, here, and here) and below you’ll find the highlights from a range of reviews:

Walt Mossberg (The Verge): Samsung’s new Galaxy S7 phones are beautiful

But software and carrier intrusion undermine the experience [emphasis added]. …

I’ve been testing two new smartphones…that are pretty much gorgeous. They’re metal and glass, and are premium-priced. They have very good cameras and feel great in the hand. You won’t go wrong buying them. …

They are solid and refined. They are fast and fluid. They have good battery life. …

[The] Edge model is especially impressive. Its screen’s curved edges seem to melt into the aluminum case, and the bezel is so thin as to be almost invisible. …

[The displays] are sharp and vivid without the somewhat garish quality that Samsung has offered in the past. Everything looked crisp and colors were pleasing. …

I hammered the standard S7… I got about 10.5 hours of battery life. …

Samsung’s best efforts at hardware are let down by software. … Premium devices shouldn’t be vehicles for carrier come-ons. … My iPhones running on Verizon have never had any of this carrier bloatware.

This tweet from Andrew Cunningham, senior products editor and reviewer at ArsTechnica,  sums up Mossberg’s review:

“hardware fine, software sucks” is the essence of any Samsung phone review https://t.co/q3IGBGc9nm

— Andrew Cunningham (@AndrewWrites) March 8, 2016

Lucas Matney (TechCrunch): Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and S7 edge are the phones we’ve craved

Their [Galaxy S7 and S7 edge] feature sets don’t…speak to a grandiose vision from Samsung regarding the company’s future. They don’t offer solutions to problems users weren’t aware they had. They don’t shed grams and millimeters in exchange for compromised battery life. In many ways, the S7 devices represent the anti-iPhones [emphasis added]. … Samsung took almost all of the complaints that people had regarding the Galaxy S6 line and simply fixed them. Improved battery life. Waterproofing. Speedier fingerprint sensing. Expandable memory. … The fingerprint sensors on the S6 devices were borderline useless… This too has thankfully seen improvements… It isn’t quite as speedy as the iPhone 6S but it’s actually usable… …the S7 edge…feels like a much nicer phone. Build quality is great on both devices, but the S7 edge…sits in your hand so much better. The curved backs on both of the S7 phones are major improvements to the hard-edged flat backs of the S6 line which felt a bit cold and jagged. … The Galaxy S7 and S7 edge are both strong phones with limited shortcomings. …

Cam Bunton (9to5Google): Samsung Galaxy S7 edge unboxing video

…great example of how to make a big phone feel small. Or…make a phone with a big screen feel small. … …the black is black, and the chrome trim is dark and stealthy. I like that, a lot. … …first impressions…it…seems this is the flagship phone to beat in 2016. …droolworthy spec-sheet…looks and feels incredible. …screen is big, bright, sharp and colorful…added ‘wow’ factor offered by the curved secondary displays on either side. … …probably the best phone Sammy’s ever made [empasis added]. …

Rene Ritchie (iMore): is Samsung’s best good enough?

…the best Samsung phone ever. But it may not be good enough to take on iPhone 7 [emphasis added]. … I’m sure some people will call it the Galaxy S6s…because it really is a better Galaxy S6. But…iPhone 5s introduced Touch ID. iPhone 6s introduced 3D Touch. … I don’t think it even rises to the level of an Apple S-year update. … I did dislike the finish almost immediately. … Making it look like polished metal when it feels like glassy plastic creates cognitive dissonance. … Some of the photos…looked worse to my eyes than the…iPhone 6s Plus camera. … I still can’t find out how fingerprint data is kept safe, absent a secure enclave. … No spec in the world can fix software consistency or coherence. Or…carrier bloatware. … Samsung has certainly done enough to keep the Galaxy S7 as the most popular alternative [to] an iPhone. …

Jessica Dolcourt (CNET): This is the phone to beat

Polished design. Awesome camera. Long battery life. microSD storage slot and water-resistant (again!). Annoyingly reflective. Smudge magnet. Plastic-looking selfies even with no filter. No removable battery, which isn’t surprising, but is still a compromise compared to 2014’s S5. The fast, powerful, beautiful Galaxy S7 phone is 2016’s all-around phone to beat [emphais added]. 

More Galaxy S7 and S7 edge reviews from around the Twitterverse:

Review: Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge are nice phones with spectacular cameras https://t.co/RigPFePeXT pic.twitter.com/NRzs3ksSP0 — Fast Company (@FastCompany) March 9, 2016

The Galaxy S7 is a damn good phone. Our thoughts: https://t.co/mEjpU3XIqc pic.twitter.com/wOC5t0oUiQ
— Gizmodo (@Gizmodo) March 8, 2016

Samsung’s Galaxy S7 outshines the iPhone, but without whiz-bang new features, is it worth $680? https://t.co/LR1PUH1Ubi by @GeoffreyFowler

— WSJD (@WSJD) March 9, 2016

The Galaxy S7 family could be serious challengers for being the best smartphone of today https://t.co/xAcOnqB7JU pic.twitter.com/hTKt3N1BR6 — Forbes Tech News (@ForbesTech) March 9, 2016

Image credit: Samsung