Samsung has officially announced two high-end smartphones – Samsung Galaxy S6 and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge – during its Galaxy Unpacked 2015 keynote event at the ongoing MWC 2015 expo. Unlike previous generation flagship smartphones from Samsung, both these devices are made using premium materials such as metal and glass. Even the back of these devices is covered up by glass. This is a huge improvement from its previous high-end offerings as people used to complain about cheap materials.
The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is the more interesting of the two as it features a dual-curved Edge display which curves slightly around the edges of the device, resulting into minimal bezels on the sides. However, the screen isn't as curved as on the Note Edge, so you won't be able to use Edge Panels features on the Galaxy S6 Edge.
Both – the Samsung Galaxy S6 and the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge – feature 5.1-inch QHD Super AMOLED display protected under Gorilla Glass 4, 16-megapixel primary camera with OIS and 4K video recording, 5-megapixel wide-angle secondary camera, touch-based fingerprint sensor, and 4G LTE connectivity. Under the hood, these devices are equipped with 64-bit octa-core Exynos 7420 processor clocked at 2.1GHz, 3GB RAM, and a 2,550 mAh battery. They come in three storage variants – 32GB/64GB/128GB, and there's no microSD card slot, so many of you who like using expandable storage will be disappointed here. Also, the battery isn't removable, so we expect that Samsung has made sure that the device lasts a complete day even with heavy usage.
Samsung says that its 2,550 mAh battery is enough to last 12 hours of web browsing on Wi-Fi, 11 hours of web browsing on LTE, 13 hours or video playback, and 49 hours of music playback. All this due to an extremely efficient Exynos 7420 processor which is build using an industry-first 14nm manufacturing process. Samsung is also claiming that the device charges in half the time when compared to the Apple iPhone 6. Also, Samsung's own version of Quick Charge lets you use the device for 4 hours after just 10 minutes of charging.
Samsung Galaxy S6 Specifications
- 5.1-inch Super AMOLED display, QHD (2560 x 1440 pixels) resolution, 577 ppi, Gorilla Glass 4
- Android 5.0.2 Lollipop with TouchWiz UX
- Exynos 7420 processor (14nm), 64-bit octa-core CPU (4 x Cortex A57 @ 2.1GHz + 4 x Cortex A53 @ 1.5GHz), and Mali-T760MP6 GPU
- 3GB LP-DDR4 RAM, 32/64/128GB internal memory, no microSD card slot
- 16MP primary camera, autofocus, f/1.9 aperture, LED flash, OIS, 4K video recording
- 5MP secondary camera, wide-angle lens, 1080p video recording
- 4G LTE Cat. 6 (300/50Mbps), 3G HSPA+ (42/5.76Mbps), Nano SIM, FM Radio, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, Beidou
- dual-band Wi-Fi ac/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Hotspot, DLNA, Bluetooth v4.1 (A2DP, LE, and Apt-X), and IR port
- 3.5mm headphone jack and microUSB v2.0 port (with USB OTG and USB Host)
- Fingerprint sensor, Accelerometer, gyroscope, ambient-light sensor, Hall sensor, Heart-Rate Monitor, electronic compass, and proximity sensor
- 2,550 mAh battery, Qi wireless charging, PowerMat wireless charging accessory; 143.4 x 70.5 x 6.8 mm, 138 grams
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Specifications
- 5.1-inch Super AMOLED dual-edge curved display, QHD (2560 x 1440 pixels) resolution, 577 ppi, Gorilla Glass 4
- Android 5.0.2 Lollipop with TouchWiz UX
- Exynos 7420 processor (14nm), 64-bit octa-core CPU (4 x Cortex A57 @ 2.1GHz + 4 x Cortex A53 @ 1.5GHz), and Mali-T760MP6 GPU
- 3GB LP-DDR4 RAM, 32/64/128GB internal memory, no microSD card slot
- 16MP primary camera, autofocus, f/1.9 aperture, LED flash, OIS, Real-Time HDR, Object Tracking Autofocus, 4K video recording
- 5MP secondary camera, f/1.9 aperture, wide-angle lens, 1080p video recording
- 4G LTE Cat. 6 (300/50Mbps), 3G HSPA+ (42/5.76Mbps), Nano SIM, FM Radio, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, Beidou
- dual-band Wi-Fi ac/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Hotspot, DLNA, Bluetooth v4.1 (A2DP, LE, and Apt-X), and IR port
- 3.5mm headphone jack and microUSB v2.0 port (with USB OTG and USB Host)
- Fingerprint sensor, Accelerometer, gyroscope, ambient-light sensor, Hall sensor, Heart-Rate Monitor, electronic compass, and proximity sensor
- 2,600 mAh battery, Qi wireless charging, PowerMat wireless charging accessory; 143.4 x 70.5 x 7.0 mm, 138 grams
Samsung says that it has optimised the software a lot and removed around 40 percent of features to make it faster and smoother. Samsung is providing 115GB of free cloud storage through Microsoft One Drive, and is also pre-installing Microsoft One Note and Skype on the device.
On the connectivity front, they feature 4G LTE Cat. 10 compatible radios, dual-band gigabit Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth v4.0, IR port, NFC, microUSB v2.0 port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. You can use the IR port to control various electronic devices through an inbuilt app. There's fingerprint sensor, but unlike the previous smartphones from Samsung, this sensor is touch-based so you don't have to swipe your finger over it to unlock the device. The device will be available in four colours – Electric Blue, Copper Gold, Charcoal Black, and Shimmery White – in the coming few weeks.
The Samsung Galaxy S6 is priced at €699 (Rs. 48,287), €799 (Rs. 55,195), and €899 (Rs. 62,103) for 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB models respectively, while the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is priced at €849 (Rs. 58,649), €949 (Rs. 65,557), and €1049 (Rs. 72,465) respectively. However, this is European pricing of the devices, and it might be slightly different for the Indian market. Both these smartphones will be launched on April 10 in 20 countries, however Samsung hasn't mentioned the names of those countries, so we hope that India is included in the list.
Our Take on Samsung Galaxy S6 and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge
In terms of hardware specifications, both the devices are one of the best in the world right now. Even though the design at the bottom looks similar to the Apple iPhone 6, Samsung has done a great job of moving away from plastic to glass and metal, and there's no denying that Samsung has thrown in their own design elements as well. The Galaxy S6 doesn't look very attractive, but the Galaxy S6 Edge looks really great, thanks to its curved screen and bezel-less design.
To make those beautiful designs come true, Samsung had to do away with the removable battery and the microSD card slot, and many consumers might be offended after knowing the fact that they can't replace the battery or the microSD card on the fly. Samsung has tried to convince them by throwing in up to 128GB storage variant as well as wireless charging.
We think that the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge will have incredible performance and camera image quality. The Korean smartphone giant has even optimised TouchWiz a lot, making it smoother and faster than before. We think that this is one of the best releases from Samsung since the Galaxy S2. It will really be the phone to look out for when it releases in India, but they are priced exhorbitantly.
Check out these beautiful videos of the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge below, and do let us know your thoughts on the design of these devices in the comments section below.
