Samsung Galaxy S6 hype thread

[Achtung!]

It's been settled, the Galaxy S6 camera shootout results are out:

http://www.gsmarena.com/shootout_galaxy_s6_note_4_galaxy_s5_iphone_6-review-1229.php

Galaxy S6 camera > Galaxy Note 4 > iPhone 6 = Galaxy S5.

 

[Commodus]

It's been settled, the Galaxy S6 camera shootout results are out:

http://www.gsmarena.com/shootout_galaxy_s6_note_4_galaxy_s5_iphone_6-review-1229.php

Galaxy S6 camera > Galaxy Note 4 > iPhone 6 = Galaxy S5.

The iPhone 6's camera is better than that on the GS5... yes, I've used both, and this review shows as much.

I'd give the edge to the GS6 if this testing holds up in real life (the still photos don't look handheld, which is a problem). Having said this, the GS6 is also showing up 7 months after the iPhone -- I'd hope that it would take photos that are at least as good, and carry a faster processor. The iPhone 6s will come out in September and likely embarrass the GS6 in some respects, and the GS7 will likely do the same several months after that.

 

[Radeon962]

To me the biggest difference is how quick and simple it is to get a good picture on my IPhone 6 Plus. I have owned most flagship Android phones since the S2. Some have had very good cameras (Note 4 and Nexus 6) while others have been OK.

The one quality has always been speed and ease of use. In 95% of the situations when I want to take a picture with my phone, I just want to open up the camera app, press the button and get a good picture.

This seems to be how the IPhone is setup.

My Note 4 and Nexus 6 both took better pictures overall but both were slower to open, slower to take consecutive shots and required more manipulation to get a good shot.

The S6 looks like it addresses most if not all of these issues and if it takes better pictures than the Note 4 and speed is as fast as they are stating, it will indeed be a better camera than even the 6 Plus.

I can't wait to try one out.

 

[Kelvrick]

To me the biggest difference is how quick and simple it is to get a good picture on my IPhone 6 Plus. I have owned most flagship Android phones since the S2. Some have had very good cameras (Note 4 and Nexus 6) while others have been OK.

The one quality has always been speed and ease of use. In 95% of the situations when I want to take a picture with my phone, I just want to open up the camera app, press the button and get a good picture.

This seems to be how the IPhone is setup.

My Note 4 and Nexus 6 both took better pictures overall but both were slower to open, slower to take consecutive shots and required more manipulation to get a good shot.

The S6 looks like it addresses most if not all of these issues and if it takes better pictures than the Note 4 and speed is as fast as they are stating, it will indeed be a better camera than even the 6 Plus.

I can't wait to try one out.

Cameras are a big deal on phones now. I wish more went the route Sony did and have a dedicated camera button. I don't need to do anything aside from point my phone at something and click the button and the camera app will open and take pictures.

 

[Oyeve]

It's been settled, the Galaxy S6 camera shootout results are out:

http://www.gsmarena.com/shootout_galaxy_s6_note_4_galaxy_s5_iphone_6-review-1229.php

Galaxy S6 camera > Galaxy Note 4 > iPhone 6 = Galaxy S5.

I find the Note 4 slightly better than the S6, thats just me tho. Its very close between them. The ip6 and s5 just plain blow.

 

[Achtung!]

The iPhone 6's camera is better than that on the GS5... yes, I've used both, and this review shows as much.

I'd give the edge to the GS6 if this testing holds up in real life (the still photos don't look handheld, which is a problem). Having said this, the GS6 is also showing up 7 months after the iPhone -- I'd hope that it would take photos that are at least as good, and carry a faster processor. The iPhone 6s will come out in September and likely embarrass the GS6 in some respects, and the GS7 will likely do the same several months after that.

The iPhone 6s wont have a curved screen though. Nor will it have a quad HD screen. Nor a 16MP camera.

The iPhone 6 will probably be embarrassed by the Galaxy S6 more than the iPhone 6 embarrasses the Galaxy S6.

I highly doubt the iPhone 7 will have a curved screen either, no matter how much Apple pays Samsung. I don't think Samsung wants to sell their curved display tech to Apple any time soon. The technology is so advanced that it will be hard to Apple to obtain curved screens from any other company.

 

[Commodus]

The iPhone 6s wont have a curved screen though. Nor will it have a quad HD screen. Nor a 16MP camera.

The iPhone 6 will probably be embarrassed by the Galaxy S6 more than the iPhone 6 embarrasses the Galaxy S6.

I highly doubt the iPhone 7 will have a curved screen either, no matter how much Apple pays Samsung. I don't think Samsung wants to sell their curved display tech to Apple any time soon. The technology is so advanced that it will be hard to Apple to obtain curved screens from any other company.

The real question is whether or not a curved screen will really matter. I got to try the GS6 edge myself today... it's neat, but I wouldn't drop everything for it.

As for the iPhone 6s? We don't know everything it'll have yet -- the only thing that's vaguely tangible so far is force touch, and the rest is just logical follow-throughs like a better camera and an A9 processor. I don't think Apple needs to match or exceed Samsung on resolution, just improve image quality... and hopefully, a resolution high enough to do 4K video.

 

[Achtung!]

The real question is whether or not a curved screen will really matter. I got to try the GS6 edge myself today... it's neat, but I wouldn't drop everything for it.

As for the iPhone 6s? We don't know everything it'll have yet -- the only thing that's vaguely tangible so far is force touch, and the rest is just logical follow-throughs like a better camera and an A9 processor. I don't think Apple needs to match or exceed Samsung on resolution, just improve image quality... and hopefully, a resolution high enough to do 4K video.

Yes the iPhone 6s will be a huge stride forwards from the iPhone 6. The iPhone 6 is really the iPhone 5s with a form factor difference. The iPhone 6s will be a huge upgrade over the iPhone 6 in terms of actual hardware specs. The iPhone 6s will probably come with Samsung's ultra fast UFS memory, LPDDR4 RAM and 14nm processor. This will be a HUGE upgrade over the iPhone 5s/6.

But the iPhone 6s still wont be enough to beat the Galaxy S6 Edge both in terms of specs and design.

 

[Achtung!]

http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s6_and_s6_edge_preorders_are_open_in_the_uk-news-11621.php

Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 edge pre-orders now open in the UK

 

[touchstone]

Yes the iPhone 6s will be a huge stride forwards from the iPhone 6. The iPhone 6 is really the iPhone 5s with a form factor difference. The iPhone 6s will be a huge upgrade over the iPhone 6 in terms of actual hardware specs. The iPhone 6s will probably come with Samsung's ultra fast UFS memory, LPDDR4 RAM and 14nm processor. This will be a HUGE upgrade over the iPhone 5s/6.

But the iPhone 6s still wont be enough to beat the Galaxy S6 Edge both in terms of specs and design.

it really depends on what specs you are focusing on. in single thread performance, A8 is already on par with the Exynos 7420. in multithread it is leagues behind. in gpu it is also about on par, but in storage it is again far, far behind. my guess is that apple will again be ahead substantially in single thread, but probably at best match the multithread and storage performance of the 7420. there are also apple-specific hardware features like touchid and force touch that count in a similar way as the curved screen.


i think you are spot on with the iphone 6 being just a form factor change to the 5s, but they really needed a form factor change bad. personally, i am never one to discount apple hardware. the only iphone release that i wasnt impressed with was the iphone 5 and i would hope that apple will come up with something impressive again. that isnt to say that i will ever buy an iphone, because i dont appreciate having my phone locked down and opressed by iOS

 

[Dari]

So, what will become of Samsung's ISOCELLs? SONY sensors are used in the GS6 and Note 4.

 

[Achtung!]

it really depends on what specs you are focusing on. in single thread performance, A8 is already on par with the Exynos 7420. in multithread it is leagues behind. in gpu it is also about on par, but in storage it is again far, far behind. my guess is that apple will again be ahead substantially in single thread, but probably at best match the multithread and storage performance of the 7420. there are also apple-specific hardware features like touchid and force touch that count in a similar way as the curved screen.


i think you are spot on with the iphone 6 being just a form factor change to the 5s, but they really needed a form factor change bad. personally, i am never one to discount apple hardware. the only iphone release that i wasnt impressed with was the iphone 5 and i would hope that apple will come up with something impressive again. that isnt to say that i will ever buy an iphone, because i dont appreciate having my phone locked down and opressed by iOS

The iPhone 6s will probably be a hardware upgrade rather than a form factor change.

The iPhone 6 was very disappointing in terms of hardware upgrades. The A8 processor is still based on 22nm tech... that's extremely old.

The iPhone 6s will probably sell more than the iPhone 6. I predicted otherwise but iPhone 6 sales are slowing down greatly. Already a 30% decrease on-quarter is expected in Q2.

 

[Commodus]

The iPhone 6s will probably be a hardware upgrade rather than a form factor change.

The iPhone 6 was very disappointing in terms of hardware upgrades. The A8 processor is still based on 22nm tech... that's extremely old.

The iPhone 6s will probably sell more than the iPhone 6. I predicted otherwise but iPhone 6 sales are slowing down greatly. Already a 30% decrease on-quarter is expected in Q2.

22nm is old? That was cutting edge in 2014, when the iPhone shipped! (The Snapdragon 805 didn't hit in force until shortly afterward.) 14nm is better, there's no question, but it's also showing up in April.

Also, that estimated 30 percent dip in quarter-on-quarter sales is called a post-holiday sales drop... you know, the dip that happens for virtually any product from any company, unless it launches in the first quarter. This isn't a new phenomenon, nor is it something Apple should be worried about.

 

[Artdeco]

The tiered memory and non removable battery are very disappointing to me, I have a Note 4 and a Gear VR, if they do the same to the Note 5 line, I guess I'll switch to a different platform than Samsung's.

 

[touchstone]

The tiered memory and non removable battery are very disappointing to me, I have a Note 4 and a Gear VR, if they do the same to the Note 5 line, I guess I'll switch to a different platform than Samsung's.

what do you mean 'teired' memory? i though it just has fast ufs and no microsd so just one main solid state memory that all works at the same speed, along with ram.

 

[touchstone]

22nm is old? That was cutting edge in 2014, when the iPhone shipped! (The Snapdragon 805 didn't hit in force until shortly afterward.) 14nm is better, there's no question, but it's also showing up in April.

Also, that estimated 30 percent dip in quarter-on-quarter sales is called a post-holiday sales drop... you know, the dip that happens for virtually any product from any company, unless it launches in the first quarter. This isn't a new phenomenon, nor is it something Apple should be worried about.

i think the iphone 6 is on tsmc 20nm not 22nm, but yeah it was cutting edge when it came out. not anymore though intel and samsung are both on 14nm

 

[Achtung!]

The tiered memory and non removable battery are very disappointing to me, I have a Note 4 and a Gear VR, if they do the same to the Note 5 line, I guess I'll switch to a different platform than Samsung's.

That's an extreme case.

Tiered memory? I think you're referring to the lack of SD card expansion?

IMO the ultra fast UFS memory is much better than having SD card expansion.

I only use like a max of 50GB on my phone even with tons of videos and movies.

I can't imagine myself using more than that.

 

[Dari]

i think the iphone 6 is on tsmc 20nm not 22nm, but yeah it was cutting edge when it came out. not anymore though intel and samsung are both on 14nm

It'd be nice if people stopped calling something something that it isn't. Not sure what Samsung is dishing out but it isn't 14nm...

http://spectrum.ieee.org/semiconductors/devices/the-status-of-moores-law-its-complicated

 

[dawheat]

It'd be nice if people stopped calling something something that it isn't. Not sure what Samsung is dishing out but it isn't 14nm...

http://spectrum.ieee.org/semiconductors/devices/the-status-of-moores-law-its-complicated

Meh, unless you're an Intel fanboy, it's pointless to try to compare against competitor nodes. The proof is in the product and none of Intel's 14nm products are competitive in the smartphone space, even with a process advantage.

I think I saw in the CPU forum that Samsung's 14nm is similar to TSMC's 16nm+. Both are similar to Intel's 20nm with Finfet, though with some density improvements.

It'd be a nightmare to not go by what a company sells their product as. The only way to judge it is by the quality of the product. And Samsung's 14nm Exynos 7420 stands at the top right now in performance and efficiency.

It'll be interesting to see if the A9 continues with Apple's big core approach. The A8 CPU core I think is already twice as big as an A57 core.

 

[grkM3]

It'd be nice if people stopped calling something something that it isn't. Not sure what Samsung is dishing out but it isn't 14nm...

http://spectrum.ieee.org/semiconductors/devices/the-status-of-moores-law-its-complicated

How did Samsung get 35% better power draw from its 20nm exynos note 4 (big little 64 bit disabled) core to the new exynos 7 while adding 2 more gpu cores and also upping the clocks?

Are you saying Samsung 14nm is the same as Samsung 20nm in the note 4 exynos?

Not only did the get better efficiency they also added 2 gpus for a total of 8 and upped the clocks and beat the living crap out of anyone else 20nm big little setup.

Samsung has every right to call it 14nm because what they brought to the table is performing and on another level then any one elses 20nm.

 

[lopri]

The node denominations by fabs should be considered simply connotations in comparison to the respective fab's previous nodes. I do not believe there is any part of silicon that actually measures to 14/16/20nm. The last node name that had some relations to actual silicon was 130nm by AMD/Intel, iirc.

 

[Shlong]

The S6 active appears to be the S5 (waterproofing, plastic, removable battery / SD card slot) but with S6 specs. So people who wanted that can just pick up an S6 active.

Also, I've seen this commercial a dozen or so times during the NCAA Tournament games: http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7e_Z/samsung-galaxy-s6-the-next-big-thing-coming-soon

 

[npaladin-2000]

The S6 active appears to be the S5 (waterproofing, plastic, removable battery / SD card slot) but with S6 specs. So people who wanted that can just pick up an S6 active.

Don't know where you could have possibly gotten that idea. I heard about the bigger battery, but not the rest. Source?

 

[Dari]

Meh, unless you're an Intel fanboy, it's pointless to try to compare against competitor nodes. The proof is in the product and none of Intel's 14nm products are competitive in the smartphone space, even with a process advantage.

I think I saw in the CPU forum that Samsung's 14nm is similar to TSMC's 16nm+. Both are similar to Intel's 20nm with Finfet, though with some density improvements.

It'd be a nightmare to not go by what a company sells their product as. The only way to judge it is by the quality of the product. And Samsung's 14nm Exynos 7420 stands at the top right now in performance and efficiency.

It'll be interesting to see if the A9 continues with Apple's big core approach. The A8 CPU core I think is already twice as big as an A57 core.

My point is all the noise over 14nm is just marketing gimmicks. It's pointless since even the engineers cannot commit to that value. Unless compared to their earlier products or, to a lesser extent, a competitor's product (apples and oranges), it means little. No doubt what Samsung is doing is moving the bar but I'm afraid that '14nm!' is going to escape our redoubt and enter the mainstream where people will repeat it and have no clue as to what it means.

 

[lopri]

This is the most informative review I have run into so far. Even if you do not agree with the dude's opinions you can see and hear the thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVWoxVBcLNU