[MWC15] New-look Galaxy S6 Best Samsung Ever?
Samsung goes all-out with the Galaxy S6 and the S6 Edge, as they aim to woo back customers with a commitment to premier quality. The new with significant changes from the prior Galaxy series. The Galaxy S5 last year was a flop, as Samsung struggled to position itself against Apple and new entrants such as Xiaomi, which between the two, dominated both the high end and budget market.
Galaxy S6 Finally Offers a Befitting Premium Experience
Taking a cue from Samsung unibody Galaxy Alpha range, the new Galaxy S6 series sports a metal frame, with glass front and back panel for a polished, professional finish. For those complaining about the plastic finish and the cheap feeling it exudes, that has now been addressed. The Galaxy S6 goes one step further with a distinctive curve to the side of it’s front and rear glass, which blends in very well to the phone design. Unlike the Note Edge, which looks weird due to the asymmetric design, the Galaxy S6 Edge actually looks pretty good. The curves on both side of the S6 Edge creates an almost bezel-less screen, with an immersive viewing experience. The S6 Edge is definitely the far better looking sibling.
Samsung spared no expense when it came to materials that they could use in the new phones. The front and rear glass panels are Gorilla Glass 4, and the metal frame is significantly nicer than the plastic used on Samsung’s prior phones. With Samsung competing in the high-end market, they needed to demonstrate that the phone itself exudes quality. Against the like of Apple, HTC, Sony, and Google Nexus line, it was important that Samsung adopted a premium material to ensure they compete on an equal footing. The plastic material can be left for the more budget-conscious folks.
Key Features:
5.1-inch 1440 x 2560 resolution screen
Octa-core Exynos 7420 chipset
2,550mAh non-removable battery
3GB RAM
Wireless charging
Samsung Pay mobile payments
Android 5.0 L with TouchWiz
16MP F1.9 Lens
Fingerprint Security
There are some key decisions made by Samsung that may not go down well with loyal fans. Samsung opted for a non-removable back. That means no microSD card support or replacing the battery, which had been key features of the Samsung Galaxy S series. For storage options, Samsung now offers 32GB, 64GB and 128GB models. Another significant change was the improvement of the finerprint technology to support touches (ala iPhone) instead of the weird swipes.
The Galaxy S6 Edge display can be use to display notifications, or also as a colour notification light when calls and messages come through. There’s also a night clock mode, but nothing really breakthrough in terms of functionality at the moment.
The S6 Edge runs on the latest version of Android 5.0 Lollipop with TouchWiz, and finally, lesser bloatware. However, TouchWiz is not famed for their looks but you can always install an alternative launcher if you want.
One significant introduction is Samsung Pay. A mobile payment service that will enable MasterCard cardholders to use their Samsung Galaxy S6 for everyday in-store purchases. The foundation is based off the MasterCard Digital Enablement Service (MDES). In building a secure payment experience, Samsung Pay leverages industry-standard cryptography based protections to ensure transactions can take full advantage of one of the most secure payments technologies in the world. In order to further protect consumers, Samsung Pay transactions also incorporate additional security features including tokenization via MDES and fingerprint or passcode payment authorization.
What is unique is that “Samsung Pay makes secure contactless mobile payments possible at most NFC or traditional magnetic POS terminals,” says Dr. Injong Rhee, Executive Vice President at Samsung Electronics.
The Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge see an improvement in both front and rear camera. The F1.9 lenses and high resolution sensors on both front (5MP) and rear (16MP) cameras provide superior image quality in a smartphone, even in the dark. In addition, Auto Real-time High Dynamic Range (HDR), Smart Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and IR Detect White Balance provide advanced light sensitivities and crisp camera solutions. Furthermore, a new “Quick Launch” feature give users fast, direct access to the camera from any screen in just 0.7 seconds* by simply double clicking the home key button.
Galaxy S6 promises super charging and cord free experience
With fully embedded WPC and PMA certified wireless charging technology, the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge are setting a new industry standard for universal wireless charging. The devices work with any wireless pad available in the market that supports WPC and PMA standards. That’s two standards out of three (the one left out cold is A4WP), but supporting of two wireless standards is significantly better than many other competitors.
They also sport incredibly fast wired charging, 1.5 times faster than the Galaxy S5, providing about 4 hours of usage after only 10 minutes of charging.
Galaxy S6 / S6 Edge Pricing and Availability
They will be available worldwide, Singapore inclusive from April 10th but the media got the first look at it at MWC15. Stand by for news on Singtel, Starhub, M1 pre-order and respective launch event details. The Galaxy S6 Edge would be more expensive and initial rumours indicate that the price difference is approximately 150 Euros, or around $200-$250. The Galaxy S6 will be available in white black, gold, and blue, while the Galaxy S6 Edge can be hand in white, black, gold, and green.