Samsung Galaxy S6 hype thread

[Chocu1a]

So they built an iPhone? How disappointing.

 

[dawheat]

Hmm the edge interface is different - is 5 'shortcuts' enough to be useful? The glowing based on who's contacting you out of the favorites is kind of interesting.

 

[dawheat]

Far better than the HTC unveiling:

- new design is attractive and though I'm not a huge fan of glass backs, everyone holding it seems to like it quite a bit.
- 2K display - should be best in the market, taking the crown from the Note 4
- Camera improvements look stunning. Assuming no gimmicks were played vs the iPhone 6 Plus - both the front and rear cameras look to be industry best. The 0.7 seconds to launch by double clicking home button sounds great, auto tracking (finally), and OIS. Awesome.
- Confirmation of the Exynos 7420 with 14nm Finfet
- 3GB memory and 32GB storage base - FINALLY!
- UFS 2.0 storage - guess it's going to be pretty fast
- supporting multiple wireless standards - great
- Touch biometric scanner - I've already seen a couple hands-on that say it works as fast as Touch ID which would be great
- Samsung Pay - need to look more into this - how exactly does it work with magstripe readers. Otherwise tokenization via MasterCard and Visa are the same as Apple Pay.

Downsides:
- no mSD - the 64 and 128GB storage options better be buyable and not at exorbitant prices
- battery life - better outperform the S5 in real life tests. Looking forward to this hugely

Need to try:
- Edge variant. Looks great however - the most distinctive phone you can buy today besides the normal rectangular slab

All in all - was finally impressed in a Samsung presentation. The S4 and S5 were meh and the Note 3/4 were better, but this IMO was the best so far.

 

[cmdrdredd]

There's a few things I'm thinking about when looking this over and the info revealed.

1) Knox is still there and will be a thorn in the side of those who do not want Samsung's crap software on the phone and would root. It might not prevent rooting but tripping knox is one of the most asked questions about the S5 rooting methods that I've seen.
2) Samsung didn't really reveal much in terms of the UI smoothness. The S5 boasted great specs too but with the stock software always felt a bit laggy. Rooting and debloating helped greatly in my experience.
3) They are still trying to compare to the iphone and this time without any info as to the settings used in the camera software. When the device is in the wild we will see if what they tried to show is true. The Note 4 also boasted 16MP with OIS but I wasn't impressed that much. A different sensor and such can help greatly though.
4) It appears that they are removing microSD support but I didn't see any confirmation, just rumor. However, if true it is a potential deal breaker for long time customers who don't want to overpay for more storage and would use their own sd card.
5) Trying to segment the market further with mobile payments. We already have Google buying Softcard and teaming with carriers for support and Apple who has teamed up with many banks and merchants. Now it shouldn't matter what software you use(Google Wallet, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay), it should work universally at merchants who have the readers. I'm no software expert so if they have something that requires specific support for each payment method, it will slow universal adoption of mobile payments that much more.
6) Ditching removable battery. For some this is an area they won't budge on. After moving to a device that doesn't have a removable battery I've grown not to worry about it, but for some being able to swap the battery for one that is fully charged might be a selling point.

 

[cmdrdredd]

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

I think he meant that they used to be selling points for Samsung devices and some people liked the idea. Now it's no longer a selling point and the direct comparison inevitably will be Samsung vs Apple and now there is no extra bullet points there for battery and sdcard.

 

[npaladin-2000]

I think Samsung's plan to integrate with standard legacy magnetic stripe readers from the camera is unique and innovative, and almost certain to draw a jealousy lawsuit from someone.

I also think they had an excellent presentation of a good device.

 

[zerogear]

No removable battery/back and no uSD slot. Moving on...

 

[dawheat]

There's a few things I'm thinking about when looking this over and the info revealed.

1) Knox is still there and will be a thorn in the side of those who do not want Samsung's crap software on the phone and would root. It might not prevent rooting but tripping knox is one of the most asked questions about the S5 rooting methods that I've seen.

Rooting is not an issue with phones that have an unlocked bootloader. You just can't do it anymore without tripping Knox flags. Your work may care, though T-mobile does not.

Versions with locked bootloaders (AT&T, Verizon) have been screwed for a while - no root for you.

2) Samsung didn't really reveal much in terms of the UI smoothness. The S5 boasted great specs too but with the stock software always felt a bit laggy. Rooting and debloating helped greatly in my experience.

Will have to wait for full reviews, but pretty much every hands-on I've read says it's much improved.

3) They are still trying to compare to the iphone and this time without any info as to the settings used in the camera software. When the device is in the wild we will see if what they tried to show is true. The Note 4 also boasted 16MP with OIS but I wasn't impressed that much. A different sensor and such can help greatly though.

There was a comment that these are the stock settings - nothing changed. So in fairness and if true, it's certainly what most people would be using.

6) Ditching removable battery. For some this is an area they won't budge on. After moving to a device that doesn't have a removable battery I've grown not to worry about it, but for some being able to swap the battery for one that is fully charged might be a selling point.

Honestly as long as real life battery life is as good as the S5, I don't think the vast majority of customers will case. Super fast charging is far more useful and supporting both major wireless standard is still a niche feature - but at least done better than anyone else.

 

[Pneumothorax]

The loss of microSD and going back down to USB 2.0 is going to piss off a lot of my friends. They put much faster flash ram, but then slow down the speed on moving data on/off the phone?!

 

[WelshBloke]

So they built an iPhone? How disappointing.

No, the screen doesn't bend in THAT way.

 

[ponyo]

No removable battery/back and no uSD slot. Moving on...

This. Samsung Galaxy was great because it had removable battery, mSD slot, and S-AMOLED. Now they take away the two of the best features of the phone leaving only S-AMOLED. This is not Galaxy phone. :thumbsdown:

 

[mosco]

http://techcrunch.com/2015/03/01/samsung-galaxy-s6-s6-edge-hands-on/

I like how samsung gave Apple shit for making a bigger phone and "copying" them, and the they just release an iPhone 6 clone.

 

[dawheat]

This. Samsung Galaxy was great because it had removable battery, mSD slot, and S-AMOLED. Now they take away the two of the best features of the phone leaving only S-AMOLED. This is not Galaxy phone. :thumbsdown:

I get people griping over those losses, but I really think the average American consumer won't care at all.

- non-removable battery, but you get faster charging and open wireless charging
- no mSD but you get 32GB base

I get business and "power" users being unhappy and I'm going to be unhappy if the Note 5 loses mSD support, but I'd have no problem giving up the removable battery as long as base battery life remains as good (or better).

So in regards to battery, I think Samsung made the right product decision. However I don't like the mSD decision because other OEMs have shown you can have unibodies with mSD. So it's possible - they just didn't. The Note 4 is doing it the right way - 32GB base + mSD.

How about the positives? That camera? Touch biometrics? No lag? It may not make iOS users switch, but I can see it taking flagship sales from LG, HTC, and Sony.

 

[blairharrington]

Love the S6. What a huge leap forward for Samsung. Curious how the battery holds up, but I love the changes they made here. Touchwiz still needs a complete redesign though.

 

[tsupersonic]

I'm sure this would open the S6 to new accessories for battery cases. They're popular on the iPhone, and they do work well. Or just have a portable battery charger. It really is not a big deal as people make it out to be, otherwise get something like the Note.

Not sure how cases would work for the Edge. Your typical Otterbox case would definitely not work on a phone like this.

 

[ultimatebob]

I don't get it. If they are going to have two Samsung Galaxy S phones, should at least ONE of them have a replaceable battery and MicroSD card slot?

Have one "thin and sexy" phone to go after the iPhone crowd, and use the other phone to go after former Galaxy S users who want an upgrade.

 

[WelshBloke]

I get people griping over those losses, but I really think the average American consumer won't care at all.

Possibly but its always best to speak for yourself rather than try to speak for everyone else.

- non-removable battery, but you get faster charging and open wireless charging

Which is really handy when your battery run out 3/4 of the way through the day and you arent in a position to plug in.

- no mSD but you get 32GB base

This probably is less of an issue IF the 64gb version is readily available and not way overpriced.

I get business and "power" users being unhappy and I'm going to be unhappy if the Note 5 loses mSD support, but I'd have no problem giving up the removable battery as long as base battery life remains as good (or better).

I think the battery life is going to be 'bleh', its not going to be horrible but you'll have to plug in before the end of the day if you do more than just check your email on it.

So in regards to battery, I think Samsung made the right product decision. However I don't like the mSD decision because other OEMs have shown you can have unibodies with mSD. So it's possible - they just didn't. The Note 4 is doing it the right way - 32GB base + mSD.

I think they made a terrible decision with the battery. If youre going to make it sealed then you better put a beefy battery in there, not one the same size as the removable one you had before.

The mSD is easier to justify because they are going to offer versions with more storage, they arent going to offer versions with bigger batteries.

How about the positives? That camera? Touch biometrics? No lag? It may not make iOS users switch, but I can see it taking flagship sales from LG, HTC, and Sony.

Those are fine but the dont mean anything when I run out of battery and everything stops working.

 

[WelshBloke]

I'm sure this would open the S6 to new accessories for battery cases. They're popular on the iPhone, and they do work well. Or just have a portable battery charger. It really is not a big deal as people make it out to be, otherwise get something like the Note.

Not sure how cases would work for the Edge. Your typical Otterbox case would definitely not work on a phone like this.

Thing is this is one less option.

If I wanted a unibody phone with questionable battery life I'd buy an HTC.

 

[lxskllr]

Thing is this is one less option.

If I wanted a unibody phone with questionable battery life I'd buy an HTC.

It's also not water and dust resistant. It's a form over function phone. aka an iPhone. I don't buy Apple, and I don't buy anything that apes Apple.

I'd like to see some company come out with a "pro" phone. Single click root ootb, with everything removable/changeable.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

man, no removable battery? that was the only selling point for samsung phones imo. now their phones will blow up just like motorolas. also, a dentable, bendable aluminum backing? and no sdcard? no thanks

 

[npaladin-2000]

Sounds like what's needed is an external USB battery pack that supports Qualcomm's QuickCharge?

 

[jpeyton]

The Note 4 will be the last premium Samsung phone with their old design philosophy. Removable battery, micro SD.

But I like the look of both S6 variants, and I think they'll sell extremely well. Screens look solid, camera looks solid, battery life on their last gen was great so this will only improve on that.

Not sure if I'll sell my Note 4 for one, but I'll see what the reviews say about the battery life. My Note is getting about 4-5 hours SOT with the brightness pretty high. I rapid charge or swap batteries once a day.

 

[CakeMonster]

So it (the regular version) will release at a higher price than the predecessors, and with no SD card slot. That's the major bummer for me. I need 64 or ideally 128Gb. I imagine that will cost an insane amount.

Disappointed with 3Gb RAM. I keep my phones for a long time and 4Gb was due.

Camera looks great.

Screen looks great. They shrunk the side bezel from S5.

Battery NEEDS to give more juice than the S5. They can't go backwards this time with a non-removable battery. I never switched batteries before anyway, but I care about capacity, and they will get some abuse if the battery doesn't improve this time.

Other than that the specs look pretty kick ass.

 

[dawheat]

I think they made a terrible decision with the battery. If youre going to make it sealed then you better put a beefy battery in there, not one the same size as the removable one you had before.

Should have worded my comment better. The right decision to maximize sales in the flagship tier. A flagshp of flagships today needs to look and feel great. If they had some way to do a unibody with a removable battery that would have been great. But they couldn't.

I get that some users who actually use removable batteries will be dissapointed, but it's clear the vast majority of users don't carry around extra batteries. Good battery life and fast charging is more useful.

It sucks you and others fall outside their focus, but I understand why they chose to focus on the 90%, not the 10%.

I'm in your boat but for mSD - until storage stops having 10-20X markup, mSD is important.

 

[dawheat]

Disappointed with 3Gb RAM. I keep my phones for a long time and 4Gb was due.

Battery NEEDS to give more juice than the S5. They can't go backwards this time with a non-removable battery. I never switched batteries before anyway, but I care about capacity, and they will get some abuse if the battery doesn't improve this time.

Why on the 3GB? Beyond spec chasing, my Note 4 has never run out of memory and I think Android's philosophy is to pretty much use everything that's available. 3GB seems pretty future proof - what 2GB in iOS is today.

Battery - let's see what real world usage is. The S5 was a huge advance over the crappy S4 battery life. The 14nm SOC, more efficient screen, and Lollipop could result in similar to possibly even better battery life than the S5. But I do agree that if real world life ends up being less, that's a problem.

Lollipop on the S5 has helped standby and talk time quite a bit, though not usage time. Makes sense as I recall Volta focused on efficiency improvements like bundling update calls.
http://blog.gsmarena.com/benchmarking-android-5-0-lollipop-battery-life-samsung-galaxy-s5-lg-g3/