Samsung Galaxy S6 hype thread

[dawheat]

I think you over estimate the % of the general phone buying pop that cares about the removable battery

Agree - I honestly don't know any S5 owner (4 in my own extended family, maybe a dozen at work) who has a spare battery. Unlike the S4, everyone finds the S5 battery life quite good and easily gets through a normal person's day. Once battery life got good enough, nearly everyone stopped caring.

There's always going to be the business/travel crowd who find value in it - unfortunately for them, Samsung seems to be focusing mostly on the consumer crowd.

mSD loss I do think is going to sting for a bunch of Samsung owners - as a surprising number have them, especially as 64GB card prices have cratered ($22 is pretty easy to find). It'll be mitigated to a large extent if 32GB really is the base storage like the Note 4, but Samsung and carriers MUST sell larger variants, at least the 64GB option. It can't be paper launches like in the past (though I do think a lot of that was on carriers).

 

[Oyeve]

Come on - you should know what I was referring to. The base of every mainstream flagship has to be $199 or $33/mo in the US. Doesn't matter if it's the iPhone 6, GS6, M9, etc.

Note series has always been +100 as it the iPhone 6. The Edge series added another $100 over the Note being a niche phone.

I'll happily eat crow if the launch price of the base S6 isn't $199 on contract and $650 off (with normal carrier variation).

I'm thinking more like $249.00 on contract, at least for the first month or so. I am hoping for 199 and some VZW promo so I cab trade in an old POS blackberry for 200 bucks on my companies VZW plan. Thats how I got my Note 4 for free. Corporate accounts rock, and when you are the IT manager who controls the acount (Like me) its even better.

 

[WelshBloke]

Agree - I honestly don't know any S5 owner (4 in my own extended family, maybe a dozen at work) who has a spare battery. Unlike the S4, everyone finds the S5 battery life quite good and easily gets through a normal person's day. Once battery life got good enough, nearly everyone stopped caring.

The stock battery is not big enough for me at all, I have the 3500mAh Samsung extended battery and thats just enough.

mSD loss I do think is going to sting for a bunch of Samsung owners - as a surprising number have them, especially as 64GB card prices have cratered ($22 is pretty easy to find). It'll be mitigated to a large extent if 32GB really is the base storage like the Note 4, but Samsung and carriers MUST sell larger variants, at least the 64GB option. It can't be paper launches like in the past (though I do think a lot of that was on carriers).

I think that the microsd card loss is easier to mitigate than the battery. It sounds like the base memory is 32gb with 64 and 128 gb options. If Samsung make the larger options available (which isn't a given going on their past behaviour) then it shouldn't be a problem.

The battery problem is going to be a much bigger problem for me and it's going to count it out of the running for me no matter how good the rest of it is.

 

[dawheat]

The stock battery is not big enough for me at all, I have the 3500mAh Samsung extended battery and thats just enough.



I think that the microsd card loss is easier to mitigate than the battery. It sounds like the base memory is 32gb with 64 and 128 gb options. If Samsung make the larger options available (which isn't a given going on their past behaviour) then it shouldn't be a problem.

The battery problem is going to be a much bigger problem for me and it's going to count it out of the running for me no matter how good the rest of it is.

Just curious - even if the combination of a more power efficient AMOLED, 14nm SOC, and Volta results in Z3+ level battery life? Is it simply not having the flexibility at all due to your usage patterns, or is there a single charge level that would be acceptable? Not saying whether the S6 will really have great battery life or not, but what's the SOT/time on level you need considering how good quick charge has gotten these days (15 minutes gets you quite a bit).

 

[zaza]

Question for snapdragon users, are you able to play graphically intensive games on your phone for more than a couple of minutes under the best conditions (cold weather, no exterior case, phone rooted and debloated) before the phone processor throttles and your game drops to 2 frames per second?
Well guess what, that's what happens with the Exynos S5, after some minutes (depending on the game) the A15 cores shut down to cool the phone and the game becomes unplayable.
Does that happen with the Snapdragon too? Cause if it doesn't, it seems that in addition to Exynos's weak Mali GPU that is far inferior to the Adreno GPU, you won't be able to put your processor under load for more than a few minutes, it just runs long enough to give that pretty benchmark score that everyone on the net can flaunt.

 

[Sweepr]

Question for snapdragon users, are you able to play graphically intensive games on your phone for more than a couple of minutes under the best conditions (cold weather, no exterior case, phone rooted and debloated) before the phone processor throttles and your game drops to 2 frames per second?
Well guess what, that's what happens with the Exynos S5, after some minutes (depending on the game) the A15 cores shut down to cool the phone and the game becomes unplayable.
Does that happen with the Snapdragon too? Cause if it doesn't, it seems that in addition to Exynos's weak Mali GPU that is far inferior to the Adreno GPU, you won't be able to put your processor under load for more than a few minutes, it just runs long enough to give that pretty benchmark score that everyone on the net can flaunt.

My experience with the Exynos Note 4 has been the opposite, performance in the most demanding titles like GTA San Andreas and Modern Combat 5 doesn't change much after 30 minutes (and it's summer here). Also according to some online comparisons it heats less than the Snapdragon counterpart.

About Mali, the one in Note 4 is just a hair slower in synthetic benchmarks like GFXBench but delivers better performance in actual games. Galaxy S6 GPU has 33% more shader units and likely runs at higher clocks, so you can do the math how it compares to S810.

Now I can't predict Exynos 7420 scores but I'm pretty sure Samsung wouldn't dump Qualcomm if they weren't 100% sure it was the best choice when they made this decision a few months ago.

 

[zaza]

My experience with the Exynos Note 4 has been the opposite, performance in the most demanding titles like GTA San Andreas and Modern Combat 5 doesn't change much after 30 minutes (and it's summer here). Also according to some online comparisons it heats less than the Snapdragon counterpart.

About Mali, the one in Note 4 is just a hair slower in synthetic benchmarks like GFXBench but delivers better performance in actual games. Galaxy S6 GPU has 33% more shader units and likely runs at higher clocks, so you can do the math how it compares to S810.

Now I can't predict Exynos 7420 scores but I'm pretty sure Samsung wouldn't dump Qualcomm if they weren't 100% sure it was the best choice when they made this decision a few months ago.

You need to try some really graphic intensive games, ones that stay below 60 fps all the time, i.e. they keep your phone under constant heavy load rather than games with passing/fleeting heavy loads in between periods of low load.
One example you is NOVA 3, it's free so you can download it now and try it.

 

[WelshBloke]

Just curious - even if the combination of a more power efficient AMOLED, 14nm SOC, and Volta results in Z3+ level battery life? Is it simply not having the flexibility at all due to your usage patterns, or is there a single charge level that would be acceptable? Not saying whether the S6 will really have great battery life or not, but what's the SOT/time on level you need considering how good quick charge has gotten these days (15 minutes gets you quite a bit).

I think that I get something like 20 hours time and a bit over 5 hours of screen on time. That's with the 3500mAh battery.
Getting more efficient phones is great but I doubt that we are going to get the equivalent of 1000mAh in efficiency savings and that's what I'd need if it's a fixed 2500ish mAh battery.

So, yeah, I don't have to have a swappable battery (I want to be able to replace it when it wears out though) but there's no way Samsung are going to put a big enough one in for my needs.

 

[Sweepr]

You need to try some really graphic intensive games, ones that stay below 60 fps all the time, i.e. they keep your phone under constant heavy load rather than games with passing/fleeting heavy loads in between periods of low load.
One example you is NOVA 3, it's free so you can download it now and try it.

No particular problem with NOVA 3 here. Based on the link I provided Mali T760MP6 (20nm Exynos 5433/7410) is even outperforming Adreno 420 (28nm Snapdragon 805) in this game - 28 vs 24 FPS. Don't forget Samsung has a process advantage now which they didn't before, same will happen with Exynos 7420 (14nm) vs S810 (20nm). I've never been a big fan of previous Exynos models, honestly Cortex A15 wasn't a good fit for phones compared to Krait, but Samsung got a lot of things right with the Note 4 variant so I'm fairly confident about what they are doing. If someone has to prove something it is Qualcomm after the reports of severe throttling from LG G Flex 2 reviews.

 

[dawheat]

You need to try some really graphic intensive games, ones that stay below 60 fps all the time, i.e. they keep your phone under constant heavy load rather than games with passing/fleeting heavy loads in between periods of low load.
One example you is NOVA 3, it's free so you can download it now and try it.

Alternately you need to try it on a Exynos Note 4. It is a measurably better SOC than the one in the S5 and the 7420 looks to be a substantial improvement over even the 5433.

S5 5422 - 28nm process with 4 A15 + 4A7 cores with Mali T628 MP6 @ 533 MHz
Note 4 5433 - 20nm process with 4 A57 + 4 A53 cores with Mali T760 MP6 @ 700 MHz
S6 7420 - 14nm process with 4 A57 + 4 A53 cores with Mali T760 MP8

If anything, the tables seem turned with the S810 in that it throttles very aggressively.

 

[lopri]

There are demographics who require removable battery. I know of a person who carries multiple batteries for his Note 3 and actually uses them frequently. For them a sealed battery at 2600 mah is probably a non-starter even if the S6 lasts as long as the S5 per charge.

For myself, it is more of a psychological thing. My phones rarely run out of juice, but I reckon a part of it is because I keep a constant eye on it. And from what I see around, this is a rather common experience: People watch what they do on their smartphones for fear of being disconnected.

Removable battery is one answer to that and it is why I envy my friend because he uses his phone as if there were no battery indicator on the status bar (!). In a sense, there are a certain freedom and a peace of mind that removable battery can provide.

Still it does not mean that I can't get by with sealed batteries and indeed all my phones in recent years have had sealed batteries. I see many others are likewise trained to do the same. It will all depend on how the S6/Edge perform.

 

[Dari]

Just curious - even if the combination of a more power efficient AMOLED, 14nm SOC, and Volta results in Z3+ level battery life? Is it simply not having the flexibility at all due to your usage patterns, or is there a single charge level that would be acceptable? Not saying whether the S6 will really have great battery life or not, but what's the SOT/time on level you need considering how good quick charge has gotten these days (15 minutes gets you quite a bit).

Battery life does not stay the same over the lifetime of the phone. You know that...

 

[lopri]

Sixy :biggrin:

http://www.sammobile.com/2015/02/27/some-dubious-samsung-galaxy-s6-edge-press-shots-leak/

 

[dawheat]

Battery life does not stay the same over the lifetime of the phone. You know that...

Oh I agree - but degradation isn't very high in the first two years and at least to date, consumers have tended to upgrade after every two years.

You can dislike the industry trend, but if you're going to compare it to its competitors (iPhone 6, M9, Z4, G4) they should be compared with new battery life. While it's no longer a pro for the S-series, it certainly not a con compared to the other flagships.

 

[WelshBloke]

Sixy :biggrin:

http://www.sammobile.com/2015/02/27/some-dubious-samsung-galaxy-s6-edge-press-shots-leak/

Back looks weird. Needs to be rounder (could fit a bigger battery then as well! )

 

[blankslate]

There are demographics who require removable battery. I know of a person who carries multiple batteries for his Note 3 and actually uses them frequently. For them a sealed battery at 2600 mah is probably a non-starter even if the S6 lasts as long as the S5 per charge.

For myself, it is more of a psychological thing. My phones rarely run out of juice, but I reckon a part of it is because I keep a constant eye on it. And from what I see around, this is a rather common experience: People watch what they do on their smartphones for fear of being disconnected.

Removable battery is one answer to that and it is why I envy my friend because he uses his phone as if there were no battery indicator on the status bar (!). In a sense, there are a certain freedom and a peace of mind that removable battery can provide.

This is why I will only consider a phone without a user removable battery if it is absolutely necessary... because being able to swap out a drained battery to one with a fresh charge does allow more freedom and an extra battery or two is not much to carry especially if you wear pants with large pockets or in the colder months with a jacket.

I used my smartphone for almost a year before getting a couple of spare batteries for and it is very useful to be able to swap batteries in a matter of a few minutes.

Also, according to websites I've read that are battery oriented; Lithium batteries can last longer (in terms of number of complete discharge / recharge cycles) if you discharge them less (for example to 50% instead of down to 30% or 20%). Being able to swap out a battery with 50% or 40% remaining capacity allows that.


....

 

[touchstone]

i think i will definitely go with the s6 this time. i currently use an htc one m8 but if samsung really has that much better chip in it i will probably switch. i dont mind the loss of an sd card if it has 64gb

 

[lopri]

Back looks weird. Needs to be rounder (could fit a bigger battery then as well! )

Depending on its shape and girth.. eh. This forum is a family-oriented place and so the phone should have a clean and round back with tight build quality, etc.

 

[Dari]

Oh I agree - but degradation isn't very high in the first two years and at least to date, consumers have tended to upgrade after every two years.

You can dislike the industry trend, but if you're going to compare it to its competitors (iPhone 6, M9, Z4, G4) they should be compared with new battery life. While it's no longer a pro for the S-series, it certainly not a con compared to the other flagships.

It does degrade tremendously within the first year. At least it did with the OGP I have. But I use my phone a lot. Anyway, that forced me to buy a brick-like battery replacement to get a couple of days out of a single charge. However, there may be some special juju in phones with built-in batteries cause they hold their charge better.

 

[lxskllr]

I don't like anything I've been hearing/seeing about the S6. Looks like my S5 will be my first and last Samsung. I won't have to worry about it for a few years, so hopefully someone will be making good machines by the time I'm ready.

 

[rcpratt]

So are the Edges actually functional? I'm so confused.

 

[npaladin-2000]

So are the Edges actually functional? I'm so confused.

They will be from a display perspective. Not so sure about from a touch perspective, but I can't think of why they wouldn't be.

 

[blairharrington]

I'm a proponent of SD cards with Android phones, but this doesn't surprise me one bit. I believe there will come a time in the not so distant future where no mobile phones will have SD slots.

The lack of a removable battery is probably due to their decision to ditch plastic entirely. Just like the SD slot I see removable batteries becoming a relic in the near future.

The other hardware choices are the right ones IMO. Rounded metal edges (that look a lot like the iPhone 6's), a fingerprint scanner that doesn't need to be swiped, speaker on the bottom. I'm not a fan of glass backed phones but it's better than most plastics.

 

[touchstone]

yeah i don't get the whole 'edge' thing at all either what exactly does that do to improve anything? it seems like a novelty

 

[KentState]

How do you use a case with the screen on the edge? Seems like just another thing that no one asked for that takes away from the positives of the design.