Samsung Galaxy S6 hype thread

[Achtung!]

Samsung wouldn't be trying to triple Galaxy S6 Edge production if it doesn't sense a huge demand for the Galaxy S6 Edge.

Preliminary numbers in early March indicated 5 million for the Galaxy S6 Edge and 15 million for the Galaxy S6 shipment orders.

Samsung is tripling Galaxy S6 Edge production which means it will make 15 million Galaxy S6 Edges. That's a 1:1 ratio, a ratio higher than the iPhone 6:iPhone 6+.

So the demand for the Galaxy S6 Edge is actually 300% higher than expected. This has been 100% confirmed by the GSM article. I read earlier that a significant proportion of the Galaxy S6 Edge demand is coming from Japan. Apparently most of the pre-orders in Japan for the Galaxy S6 are for the Galaxy S6 Edge.

So I think we should stop arguing whether there is demand for the Galaxy S6 Edge. Because the answer is yes and it's huge because it's a 1:1 ratio to the Galaxy S6.

 

[lopri]

Rofl AT&T.. Thank you for making my decision easy.

http://www.att.com/cellphones/samsung/galaxy-s6.html

P.S. From the same page,

 

[Achtung!]

Rofl AT&T.. Thank you for making my decision easy.

http://www.att.com/cellphones/samsung/galaxy-s6.html

P.S. From the same page,

Those apps can be uninstalled.

Also I'm pretty sure iPhones come with the same apps.

Nevertheless shouldn't be a big deal.

 

[lopri]

You wish. They are system apps and cannot be removed without root access. And being system apps, removing them will cause a lot of hassle down the road.

Edit: Even more! Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, Lookout, and Uber! So exciting.

So the situation looks the same as the Note 4 for me. Unless there is a carrier-agnostic version selling on Amazon/eBay, the S6/Edge is a pass.

 

[Achtung!]

You wish. They are system apps and cannot be removed without root access. And being system apps, removing them will cause a lot of hassles down the road.

Knowing AT&T's apps, that doesn't really count as bloatware. And pretty much every smartphone on AT&T gets those apps, no?

If not, which US carriers don't have pre-installed carrier bloatware?

Edit: Even more!

Those are standard apps though... pretty much everyone uses them.

 

[lopri]

I don't and thus it won't get my money. I cannot speak for others.

 

[Ravynmagi]

I can't speak for the Galaxy S6, but I was able to remove a lot of the carrier and third party apps from my Note 4 on Verizon. And the few I could not uninstall, I was able to "Turn off". So I don't think this should be a deterrent to buying a phone.

Though, regarding the comment that iPhones have this too, they don't. Apple's iOS is closed source and Apple doesn't let carriers add anything to them that I'm aware of (all my AT&T and Verizon iPhones look completely Apple stock).

 

[Artdeco]

I'm too lazy to search how did you remove them?

 

[lopri]

Why can't Samsung open a shop in the U.S. like they do in some other countries? If fighting the carriers is too much, they can at least do things on their own on the side without relying on the U.S. carriers, I think? Sony, Apple, HTC, Motorola and even Microsoft do it. I don't see why Samsung can't.

 

[lopri]

BTW, the AT&T specs page revealed that the S6/Edge's modem is "Shannon 333." Does anyone know what it is?

 

[Gooberlx2]

Can one use the Tmo version on Straight Talk/ATT? ATT has better signal than Tmo at both my house and work. It seems like the bands are all there, but not sure if one blocks the other's phones or whatnot.

 

[Ravynmagi]

Why can't Samsung open a shop in the U.S. like they do in some other countries? If fighting the carriers is too much, they can at least do things on their own on the side without relying on the U.S. carriers, I think? Sony, Apple, HTC, Motorola and even Microsoft do it. I don't see why Samsung can't.

There were Google Play Editions of some Samsung and other phones. These all seem to have disappeared though and I'm guessing they just were not big enough sellers to keep them going.

And a couple reasons why it might be hard for Samsung or others to sell flagship $650+ phones directly to the customers...

Carriers sell the same phones for only $200 or less usually with a contract. And carriers have gotten more competitive (a big thanks to T-Mobile in my opinion), so those contracts aren't quite as soul sucking as they used to be.

Also the mid range phones are getting pretty good. Xiaomi, Huawei, ASUS, and even Microsoft are selling some pretty respectable phones for about a third the price. The second generation ASUS Zenfone is coming to the US and looks amazing for a starting price of only $200.

I think Samsung has to sell their phones through carriers because that's the only way they can charge what they do for their phones.

 

[lopri]

That is the point, though. Since not many consumers are going to pay the full price, Samsung can do it without offending the carriers. They don't even have to have a physical store - a web shop would suffice for those who are willing to buy the phones outright. In other words, it should not cost too big of an investment for Samsung.

Edit: They can also offer unlocked GSM versions of the S6/Edge for the full prices at their "Samsung Experience Center" in every other Bestbuy. Most people will still opt for subsidized versions, but a few like me might go for the unsubsidized ones. It seems like an easy thing to do for Samsung if they are willing.

 

[Ravynmagi]

That is the point, though. Since not many consumers are going to pay the full price, Samsung can do it without offending the carriers. They don't even have to have a physical store - a web shop would suffice for those who are willing to buy the phones outright. In other words, it should not cost too big of an investment for Samsung.

But why would Samsung compete against the carriers? I don't see any incentive to sell directly to the customers when they can just sell in bulk to the carriers and let them deal with selling to the customers and most of the support issues related to it.

 

[lopri]

Umm.. Wouldn't a customer like me be an incentive? Customers who would like to have Samsung's latest and greatest without the carriers' meddling. Maybe too small a group for Samsung to bother, but an incentive nonetheless.

Depending on how Samsung does it, it need not be a competition between them and the carriers. I would view that as rather a supplement for a broader market than a direct competition with the carriers.

 

[touchstone]

Rofl AT&T.. Thank you for making my decision easy.

http://www.att.com/cellphones/samsung/galaxy-s6.html

P.S. From the same page,

I always wonder if anybody ever uses all those stupid carrier apps. It seems like such a waste of time to even bother to code them. How do they make ATT any money?

 

[StrangerGuy]

But why would Samsung compete against the carriers? I don't see any incentive to sell directly to the customers when they can just sell in bulk to the carriers and let them deal with selling to the customers and most of the support issues related to it.

It's a vicious cycle for Samsung. I'm sure they don't want carriers to ruin the end user experience with bloat and terrible carrier support or make unnecessary variants just for the U.S market, yet at the same time they have to bend over because they are too reliant on the carriers to sell their phones. They simply don't have the bargaining power like Apple do.

 

[shabby]

You wish. They are system apps and cannot be removed without root access. And being system apps, removing them will cause a lot of hassle down the road.

Edit: Even more! Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, Lookout, and Uber! So exciting.

So the situation looks the same as the Note 4 for me. Unless there is a carrier-agnostic version selling on Amazon/eBay, the S6/Edge is a pass.

You could disable the apps, they won't auto start/eat up battery so its almost like they're uninstalled. But in case you need them you can restore them later.

 

[Achtung!]

I haven't had a chance to check the S6 & S6 Edge out yet but I'm pretty certain I'm going to pre-order the Galaxy S6 Edge in black sapphire.

The people over at Hardforum are pre-ordering like crazy.

 

[Commodus]

Those apps can be uninstalled.

Also I'm pretty sure iPhones come with the same apps.

Nevertheless shouldn't be a big deal.

Apple doesn't allow carriers to install any apps. You get a tiny carrier profile file for the connection and that's about it.

That's the price you pay for the flexibility of Android, unfortunately: the same laissez-faire attitude that lets you modify the OS also lets the carrier muck things up.

 

[StrangerGuy]

Apple doesn't allow carriers to install any apps. You get a tiny carrier profile file for the connection and that's about it.

That's the price you pay for the flexibility of Android, unfortunately: the same laissez-faire attitude that lets you modify the OS also lets the carrier muck things up.

What incentive is there to stop US carriers from ruining Samsung phones? Nothing. Consumers are more or less going to simply buy iPhones with the same carrier if they object to their treatment to high end Samsungs.

 

[Achtung!]

Apple doesn't allow carriers to install any apps. You get a tiny carrier profile file for the connection and that's about it.

That's the price you pay for the flexibility of Android, unfortunately: the same laissez-faire attitude that lets you modify the OS also lets the carrier muck things up.

I'm pretty sure it differs from carrier to carrier.

My friend who has the iPhone 4S has a ton of Verizon bloatware.

 

[Artdeco]

I'm pretty sure it differs from carrier to carrier.

My friend who has the iPhone 4S has a ton of Verizon bloatware.

And that would be inaccurate.

 

[dawheat]

What incentive is there to stop US carriers from ruining Samsung phones? Nothing. Consumers are more or less going to simply buy iPhones with the same carrier if they object to their treatment to high end Samsungs.

It's a fair talking point but let's not overblow it. I don't know of anyone who decided on iOS vs. Android due to carrier apps and the success or lack of the S3, S4, and S5 had nothing to do with this. What has hurt Samsung was the performance of the OS - which shows up in practically every action. This is what they've addressed with the S6.

Users like my parents will just delete the apps from their home screens and never think about it again. Savvy users will disable them in app manager. Power users will buy the T-mobile version, root it, and completely uinstall them. None of these options impact performance outside of storage - and thankfully Samsung has pretty much mitigated it by making 32GB standard. Having 23GB "free", carrier apps and all, far trumps a 16GB base which leaves you sub-10GB available.

And a good sign - 64GB and 128GB versions are actually purchasable - higher storage versions were NEVER available for prior phones from major retailers.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/promo/samsung-galaxy-s6-edge-and-samsung-galaxy-s6

People are going to buy or not buy it once they pick it up and decide on the build quality, screen, UI smoothness/performance, camera, and maybe touch biometrics (if they're familiar with how convenient Touch ID is).

 

[Achtung!]

Why can't Samsung open a shop in the U.S. like they do in some other countries? If fighting the carriers is too much, they can at least do things on their own on the side without relying on the U.S. carriers, I think? Sony, Apple, HTC, Motorola and even Microsoft do it. I don't see why Samsung can't.

I don't think carrier bloatware ever crosses the minds of the mainstream.