The Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 EDGE are now official and this is our first look at the two devices. But were they worth the wait?
After many long months of speculation, Samsung took to the stage at MWC 2015 to officially announce both rumoured Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge flagships. Anyone who was worried about a repeat of last year's Galaxy S5 (and that was pretty much all tech journos and Samsung fans) and its disappointing failure to live up to the hype/rumour can breathe a long sigh of relief - this is a very different animal to 2014's offering.
We were lucky enough to be able to see Samsung's new handsets first-hand, and we can say with certainty that this is a complete 180-degree turn on what came before. The materials, the build, and the aesthetic design are all massively improved, this is Samsung hearing its critics loud and clear. This is no-holds barred; the gloves are off! The Galaxy S6 phones are a complete departure from Samsung's old plasticky, uninspiring approach, instead using sleek metallic exteriors. Project Zero appears to have achieved its goal of a 100% ground-up, back-to-the-drawing-board rebuild.
The company still has a lot to prove in 2015, however. Apple’s iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are selling at an unprecedented rate, 70+ million thus far, and then there’s the arrival of the HTC One M9 and LG G4, the latter is launching a bit later though, inside Q2. The Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 EDGE are Samsung’s “come back” products, the handsets that it hopes will re-establish it as the premier Android phone maker in the world.
To say the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 EDGE were well received at MWC 2015 would be a gross understatement. Initial reactions to the handsets were extremely positive, with praise pretty much across the board –– and that’s new for Samsung. But this is exactly what Samsung was aiming for and the company’s design team appears to have hit the nail squarely on the head this time around after a couple of dodgy years ambling around in the bad-design-wilderness.
One thing that is VERY controversial about these two new handsets, however, is Samsung’s decision to ditch removable batteries and SD-support –– two things Galaxy S handsets have had since day one. The reason for this decision is to do with design; Samsung wanted a more premium unibody setup and the only way it could do this was by forgoing SD and a slip-off back panel. It’s a bitter sweet pill to swallow, really, and one that seems to have irked quite a lot of Samsung’s old faithful.
BUT –– there might be another way, a way to get removable battery and SD-support, not to mention water and dust resistance. This third way is tipped to land later on this year and it goes by the name of the Samsung Galaxy S6 Active. Nothing is confirmed as yet, obviously, but Samsung has done Active versions of its Sx flagships plenty of times. Hopefully we’ll know more regarding this device and its capabilities in the coming weeks and months.
Initial orders for the handsets are very much off the charts, as noted by The Korea Times: “Samsung received some 20 million pre-orders for the S6 and S6 Edge — 15 million of S6 and five million of the S6 Edge from mobile carrier , worldwide. This is the record.” And if that wasn't enough to create some traction, Samsung has a HUGE deal in place with T-Mobile in the US. Here’s what T-Mobile says on their Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge pre-registration page:
“When you buy the powerful new Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge from T-Mobile you get 1 year of Netflix on us with access to their entire streaming library – a $100+ value! Want the Galaxy S6 from T-Mobile, but trapped by your current carrier Now T-Mobile will pay off your phone payments. Stuck in a contract? We’ll pay that too. So you can switch to T-Mobile and trade-up to the Galaxy S6 as soon as it’s available. Register today and we’ll let you know when you can buy your Galaxy S6 and get a year of Netflix on us!”
It’s worth noting, however, that Samsung and Apple count “orders” differently. Samsung countsnetwork orders –– carriers interested in purchasing the handset –– while Apple prefers to use consumer figures, meaning people like you and me pre-ordering the handset. Still, 20 million is very impressive all the same. Expect a HUGE push by the networks when these bad boys get official in April.
Samsung Galaxy S6 and Samsung Galaxy S6 EDGE Release Date and Price
The Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 EDGE will be available to pre-order from all high street retailers and networks including Vodafone, Carphone Warehouse, Three, EE and O2.
“The response to the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge devices has been overwhelming, the entirely redefined smartphones offer consumers what’s next in mobility,” said Conor Pierce, Vice President IT & Mobile at Samsung Electronics UK and Ireland. “At Samsung, we don’t talk about what might be possible tomorrow, we make it happen today and that’s why we’re bringing people new technology faster than anybody else.”
Samsung Galaxy 6 Specs
- Screen: 1440 x 2560 Quad-HD Super AMOLED display 577ppi
- Dimensions: 143.4 x 70.5 x 6.8mm
- Weight: 138g
- Processor: 64-bit 14nm Samsung Exynos 7 Octa processor. Four cores run at 1.5GHz and four run at 2.1GHz.
- RAM: 3GB of LPDDR4 RAM
- Storage: 32GB, 64GB or 128GB of UFS 2.0 flash memory
- Wireless: LTE category 6 modem (300mbps download), 802.11ac MIMO 620mbps, and Bluetooth 4.1, NFC.
- Front camera: 5MP, f/1.9 lens with real-time HDR and wide-angle selfie
- Rear camera: 16MP, f/1.9 lens
- Battery: Built-in 2550mAh lasting WiFi 12 hours, LTE 11h, video 13h, music 49h. Wireless charging.
Samsung Galaxy 6 EDGE Specs
- Screen: 1440 x 2660 Quad-HD Super AMOLED display 577ppi
- Dimensions: 142 x 70.1 x 70mm
- Weight: 132g
- Processor: 64-bit 14nm Samsung Exynos 7 Octa processor. Four cores run at 1.5GHz and four run at 2.1GHz.
- RAM: 3GB of LPDDR4 RAM
- Storage: 32GB, 64GB or 128GB of UFS 2.0 flash memory
- Wireless: LTE category 6 modem (300mbps download), 802.11ac MIMO 620mbps, and Bluetooth 4.1, NFC.
- Front camera: 5MP, f/1.9 lens with real-time HDR and wide-angle selfie
- Rear camera: 16MP, f/1.9 lens
- Battery: Built-in 2600mAh lasting WiFi 12 hours, LTE 11h, video 13h, music 49h. Wireless charging.
Samsung Galaxy S6 & S6 Edge Will Be First Samsung Handsets To Get Android Lollipop 5.1
According to new information from Youmobile, Samsung has plans to push the Android 5.1 Lollipop update to its handsets inside the second half of 2015, starting with the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. Both the new flagship models launched on Android 5.0.2 Lollipop but with a new custom Touchwiz UI layer. However, the report explicitly states Samsung has not yet begun work on the new update, it is merely an on-paper plan.
Such updates will traditionally include bugfixes, tweaks, and stabilisation improvements, but Lollipop 5.1 is known to have a few feature upgrades on top of these:
- Support for dual-SIM
- Device Protection –– your phone or slate remains locked until you enter a passcode. Handy if it’s ever stolen or lost.
- "Crystal-Clear" HD Voice calling between phones running Android 5.1 on T-Mobile and Verizon
- Improvements to Quick Settings
Samsung Galaxy S6 & Galaxy S6 Edge Memory Woes - 32GB Model Only Has 23GB Usable Space!
Several publications have now got their mitts on spanking new Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge handsets to review and this means more information previously not divulged by Samsung's press team is starting to emerge from the woodwork.
Samsung fans may recall a bit of a saga from last year where it emerged that the Galaxy S5 shipped with a specified amount of onboard space, but the actual user-accessible storage was significantly lower.This seems to have occurred once again with both the S6 and S6 Edge, as according to a report from Android Central the base 32GB variants of each handset have only 23.5GB of available space for the user to fill.
This becomes more significant when you consider the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge DO NOT have microSD card support as their predecessors did, so you're down to quite a paltry amount here. The 64GB and 128GB models come out much better with 55GB and 119GB respectively, then of course you could wait for the Galaxy S6 Active and its microSD slot.
Samsung Galaxy S6 AND Galaxy S6 EDGE Review: Design
Before we get to the good stuff note that there are going to be a few things Galaxy S5 owners may not like about these new phones. First, there is no longer a microsSD card slot. The new Galaxy S6 and S6 EDGE are also no longer waterproof. Finally, Samsung has ditched the removable battery in favor of a built-in one.
These are two big omissions from Samsung’s usual modus operandi and it might be something of a bittersweet pill to swallow for many of its more loyal, tradition user base. Expandable storage, despite what the Apple and Googles of the world say, is very useful in a variety of settings. It’s also great for users that simply cannot afford to buy the biggest storage version of a new handset. Samsung has long championed the technology in its S-line devices, so its departure this time around will be sorely missed. Even more so when you consider the top of the line S6 and S6 EDGE will retail for around the $800 to $1000 mark.
STOP THE PRESS! GALAXY S6 BATTERY IS REMOVABLE!
When we originally went live with this article we, like the rest of the tech press, believed, based on information available at the time, that the Galaxy S6 battery was non-removable. Technically, as far as Samsung is concerned, that's still true; compared to previous handsets which were designed to allow you to quickly and easily pop the back off with a fingernail and remove the battery cell, the Galaxy S6 is a closed off bodyshell with no battery access. HOWEVER, what's now emerged is that it is in fact removable, but you do need some tools and a bit of effort.
PhoneArena discovered some instructions in the back of the Galaxy S6 manual, which includes directions to replace the battery on the handset. However, it's important to note that these are for a "service provider or authorised repair agent", they're not intended for anyone to just crack it open and start rooting around inside. Taking the rear cover off involves undoing a set of screws, but it gets more complex after that as you have to remove a circuit board and then unplug a battery connector.
Needless to say, we wouldn't advise anyone buying a Galaxy S6 to go replacing their own battery in the event of a fault (given that Samsung considers it a sealed unit and describes the cell as "non-removable" we doubt official replacements will even be commercially available as per previous models), but at least this is evidence that should you experience a problem it's a relatively quick and easy fix for a repair agent.
With all that bad stuff out of the way, I’m ready to say Samsung looks to have two potential very big hits on its hands here. Gone is the plastic flimsiness found in the S5 line. The Galaxy S6 and S6 EDGE both feature sturdy metal frames with Gorilla Glass 4 on both the front and back. This gives both phones a feeling of stability I’ve not seen in a mobile handset since the iPhone 6 launched last year.
While both the Galaxy S6 and S6 EDGE are beautiful in their own right, after holding both in my hand its clear the fan favorite is going to be the S6 EDGE. Its dual sided curved display is breathtaking to behold. The way the glass wraps on either side just gives it a stunning look simply not encountered elsewhere, and one that makes you feel like the display itself melds seamlessly into the metal frame.
Apple usually gets all the praise for its focus on design and the painstaking attention it pays to every aspect of its hardware. But these new devices from Samsung really are stunningly beautiful, more so than both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Nothing else has looked this exciting since, well, probably the iPhone 4 or HTC’s first One handset. The Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 EDGE really are that good. Samsung should be very proud of its design team this time around.
Of course I’m still not sold on the usefulness of the “EDGE” part of the display besides aesthetics. The only useful feature Samsung showed off was that it’s now easy to see who is calling you when your phone is face-down: you can pre-program up to five colors representing five different people in your contacts. The screen’s EDGEs will glow their color when they call.
As for color options, both the Galaxy S6 and S6 EDGE come in shimmering black, white, and gold. I say shimmering, because the S6 series features a finish where their colors reflect the light that hits the devices. Both the Galaxy S6 and S6 EDGE also come in a fourth color option, with the Galaxy S6 coming in bright blue and the Galaxy S6 EDGE coming in a deep green.
Reports have now emerged that the Samsung Galaxy S6 will be made available in a new colour option. Acting from a tip-off from its readers, PhoneArena reports that the Samsung UK website lists an additional colour from the officially announced selection, this colour option cannot be clicked and can dissapear as you navigate Samsung's page. At time of writing it is still there and visible at the source link. And the colour option in question...wait for it....brown! Yes that's right folks, if you want a brown Samsung handset it is winging its way to the UK at some point soon! Hurrah!
Samsung Galaxy S6 AND Galaxy S6 EDGE Review: Display
Samsung may have pulled out all the stops with the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 EDGE’s design and internal specs, but it also seriously upped its game with respect to display technology as well. One of our favourite tech sites on the web is Display Mate –– at least for screen insights, anyway –– and it has been busy testing out the new OLED panels inside the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 EDGE.
“With the Galaxy S6 there are many significant improvements over the Galaxy S5 that we tested a year ago,” said the report, “but also over the Galaxy Note 4 that we tested 6 months ago. The most impressive improvements for the Galaxy S6 are in the pixels per inch and resolution, the Absolute Colour Accuracy, Peak Brightness, Contrast and screen readability in High Ambient Light, and in display Power Efficiency, which we discuss in turn below.”
These are the BEST smartphone displays on market. Bar none, according to these tests –– and they’re pretty thorough. They even run rings around Samsung’s last big launch, the Galaxy Note 4: “The display on the Galaxy S6 matches and even exceeds the performance of Galaxy Note 4 that we measured in 2014 and rated it as the Best Performing Smartphone Display that we had ever tested (see the Comparison section below that includes the iPhone 6). This is a particularly significant enhancement because the Galaxy S6 display is considerably smaller so the display components needed to be scaled down by 20 percent in area from the larger 5.7 inch Galaxy Note 4.”
