Samsung Galaxy S 6 and S 6 Edge: Preview
by Joshua Ho on March 26, 2015 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Samsung
- Mobile
- Galaxy S6
- Galaxy S6 Edge
Initial Thoughts
With the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge Samsung claimed that they wanted to completely rethink how they designed and made smartphones. On the surface, it seems that Samsung has delivered on this promise as the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge are unlikely any other Galaxy S phone they have made previously. There is no removable battery, no microSD slot, or even a removable back cover. I would’ve liked to see a microSD slot, but I personally wouldn’t be affected by being limited to 32GB of internal storage. The removable battery issue is a bit concerning for me though, as it’s likely that disassembling this phone to replace the battery will require extensive use of a heat gun to loosen glue that may not adhere properly when reassembled. The materials are now aluminum and glass, which dramatically affect in-hand feel. I definitely like the move to the aluminum and glass design for the improved look and feel of the phone, but the use of the glass back is a bit annoying as the phones have a tendency to slide off pretty much any table. The edge variant of the phone also feels quite sharp in the hand and almost too thin to hold, but this is generally quite subjective.
Outside of design, there is a lot to talk about in the SoC and display. The Exynos 7420 SoC appears to be class-leading in performance, although there is the obvious question of power consumption that still has to be answered. Samsung’s first 14LPE SoC seems promising, although we’ve yet to validate whether big.LITTLE is more efficient than when we last tested it in the Exynos 5433. The GPU is generally quite close to the Adreno 430, with about a 10-20% advantage in performance depending upon the workload, although at the same clock speed it probably wouldn’t have any advantage. The 1440p display can also reduce performance compared to a 1080p display.
Speaking of displays, Samsung has integrated an incredible display into both versions of the Galaxy S6. I’m really blown away at how far AMOLED has come in the past few years, as the Galaxy S6 is one of the best displays we’ve tested for luminance and overall color accuracy. The only real problems I can see are color shifts with viewing angles, and white point tending to be a bit green depending upon the unit we’re looking at. There are some edge-specific issues, namely uneven luminance and odd color shifting towards green hues on white at the edge of the display. Other than this, the display of the Galaxy S6 is relatively perfect with its dark, inky blacks and amazing color.
Obviously an SoC and display aren’t the only issues to discuss in a smartphone, but given the limited time that we’ve had with the device this was all that could be tested. We hope to have our full review for both devices completed in the near future, and to be able to provide the full picture of the Galaxy S6 line at that time. Pre-orders for the US Galaxy S6 variants will begin on March 27th, and the phone will go on sale on April 10th throughout the US with 32, 64, and 128 GB SKUs in Black Sapphire, White Pearl, and Gold Platinum. The S6 edge and S6 will be available on AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, and US Cellular, but on Boost Mobile, Cricket Wireless, and MetroPCS only the S6 will be available.
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Darkito - Thursday, March 26, 2015 - link
I should say I have an almost four year old SGSII and I still get a full day's charge now that I've gotten rid of wakelocks.steven75 - Friday, March 27, 2015 - link
So all he needs to do is basically root his phone and fix it himself. That sounds like a great experience worth paying a premium for! /skhha4113 - Thursday, March 26, 2015 - link
Your wife's S4 lasts for only 3hrs? Either the battery is bad or something wrong with the phone. My wife's can go almost a day (10hrs) for the same as yours (almost 2 tears).robertkoa - Thursday, March 26, 2015 - link
I think the biggest advantages are Touchwiz will have much less lag and the Camera is on par and in some ways superior to Note 4 ( low light only and manual control) with same sensor.I have heard ( unconfirmed) that Battery is Tech Replaceable and I agree that degradation after 200 to 500 charges is a concern.
I am surprised that Benchmarks are not higher though not a big concern to me.
Samsung COULD have made these 1 millimeter thicker and had about 25% more battery capacity!
Do you really need it this thin ?
I need the Camera but hope for a Note 5 Compact with about 4.7" or 4.8" screen and about 8mm thick strictly business same features Camera and price as Note 5 for pocket power.
Still the S6 is functional stylish , speedy and fluid despite Benchmarks here- amazed that Iphone6 smokes it mostly...don't care too much but those Apple Guys know their stuff.
The Hype was S6 was going to beat eveything by a mile...what happened ?
danbi - Saturday, March 28, 2015 - link
Of course, Samsung could have installed a bigger battery. But this could have resulted in:- more heavy device;
- thicker device;
- slower charge;
- need for more durable charge/discharge circuitry (cost);
- more expensive;
Samsung competes for each of those parameters with others. We don't know their design goals, but likely these are "make a device that has comparable feel in the hand to the iPhone" -- so it can't be much more thicker and heavier.. Things like that.
Do not worry. Samsung makes a plethoria of mobile devices. They will also make a thicker and with larger battery device. It will just not be the Galaxy S6.
Perhaps a solution is an "built to order" model.. who knows.
jospoortvliet - Sunday, March 29, 2015 - link
Add one item to that list:- thicker than the iPhone 6
it is the only reason that counts. The 10 grams and 1 mm extra a larger battery would take would not bother any user...
Walkop - Sunday, March 29, 2015 - link
Don't forget that higher resolution does NOT necessarily mean worse display power consumption with AMOLED. You don't need a more powerful backlight to punch through the pixels because the pixels ARE the backlight. Much more suited to high-density panels than LCD.DaBruinz - Wednesday, April 1, 2015 - link
Displaymate measured this display at 20% better than the S5 and 23% better than the iPhone. SAMOLD is very efficient and hey seem to be improving it constantly.1805 - Wednesday, April 1, 2015 - link
I wouldn't worry about battery lifehttp://www.phonearena.com/news/Our-Samsung-Galaxy-...
SmartPhones Watch - Thursday, April 9, 2015 - link
The battery seems not to be much good in S6 Edge and using of an secondary external battery has been avoided due to the non-removable battery in S6 Edge :( Samsung will have to really put more work on their battery efficiencyhttp://smartphoneswatch.com/samsung-galaxy-s6-edge...