The quick take
The Galaxy S6 finally offers the hardware that we've long desired, and it's included a wonderful camera. But not everything is perfect — the software experience and battery life just aren't up to speed.
The Good
- Beautiful new hardware design
- Industry-leading camera quality
- A great screen in any situation
The Bad
- Battery won't hold up to intense use
- Software still doesn't live up to expectations
- Inexplicable performance hiccups
Category | Spec |
---|---|
Display | 5.1-inch QHD Super AMOLED 2560x1440 resolution (577ppi) |
Processor | Octa-core Samsung Exynos processor 4x2.1GHz cores + 4x1.5GHz cores |
RAM | 3GB RAM |
Internal Storage | 32/64/128GB |
Rear Camera | 16MP, ƒ/1.9 lens Auto real-time HDR, IR detect white balance, high clear zoom |
Front Camera | 5MP ƒ/1.9 front-facing camera |
Battery | 2550mAh battery |
Charging | Samsung Adaptive fast charging, Qi wireless charging, Powermat wireless charging |
Dimensions | Galaxy S6: 5.65 x 2.76 x 0.27 inches Galaxy S6 Edge: 5.59 x 2.76 x 0.28 inches |
The best that Samsung's ever done.
Samsung Galaxy S6 Full Review
When a company is the leader in a given market, it's easy to become complacent, or at least appear so. When sales numbers are several times the second-place player in the market and revenues are off the charts, it's easy to maintain the status quo.
Watching the progression of Samsung's mobile device lineup the past couple of years, you got the feeling that the Korean manufacturer of everything from toaster ovens (opens in new tab) to Howitzers was content to maintain its course. Last year Samsung's complacency caught up with it, and while the Galaxy S5 was far from a flop — any company would be happy to sell half as many phones as Samsung did — it didn't exactly live up to the company's lofty expectations (or ours, frankly), all while competition in the high-end space continued to grow.
It became clear with the launch of the Galaxy Note 4 that Samsung was attempting to turn around its smartphone strategy — and that's a big ship to turn. The Galaxy S6 gets it one step closer to a complete rethinking of its device strategy, with a new hardware approach, top-notch camera experience and steps in the right direction on the software front. But as we all know, the competition hasn't been sitting still — do the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge have what it takes to keep Samsung in the lead?
We'll answer that question in our complete review. Read on.
About this review
We're writing this review after about a week using the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge, both 32GB models and running on T-Mobile in areas with good network coverage. Three days into our evaluation the phones received an software update to version UVU1AOCG. For the majority of our review period we had a Moto 360 connected to the phones over Bluetooth.
Throughout this review you'll notice we refer to the Galaxy S6 as a single device. Everything we say here can be attributed to both the S6 and S6 edge, aside from particular points where differences between the two models are pointed out.
For a good primer on these two phones, we also encourage you to read our in-depth hands-on preview where we cover many aspects of the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge in detail.
Say goodbye to plastic — and a couple creature comforts
Samsung Galaxy S6 Hardware
Say goodbye to cheap, flimsy plastic Samsung phones — the Galaxy S6 is here. It's no secret that the Galaxy S5 — and many earlier models — felt like a child's toy, despite costing north of $600 unlocked. Samsung has finally addressed these build quality criticisms in its 2015 flagship, and the result is something special — metal, glass, appealing colors and tight tolerances add up to a very impressive piece of technology.
Metal, glass, appealing colors and tight tolerances add up to a very impressive piece of technology.
Of course the S6 still has the general shape of most other Samsung phones — rounded corners, home button below the screen, Samsung logo below a speaker grille up top. But the shape was never the problem, it was all about the build quality and materials — and both have dramatically improved here.
While we've all seen plenty of glass-backed phones before, that doesn't make this kind of design any less impressive when it's properly executed. Samsung has used a familiar "2.5D" technique for both the front and back glass so it flows elegantly into the metal frame. Importantly, the same super-tough Gorilla Glass 4 is used on both sides, while some other manufacturers may cheap out on the back panel.
The metal frame is also masterfully done, as it flows straight through the middle of the phone in one piece, providing extra strength. Rather than opting for perfectly round and slippery edge — like another well-known metal smartphone — flattened portions along the sides give a little extra grip. That's important, because this phone is a tad slick — the "glass and metal sandwich" design certainly looks nice, but it comes at a cost in terms of both ergonomics and durability.
Human hands are not flat. They're flexible and made up of rounded fingers of varying sizes. That's not some huge revelation, but it's something to consider when you look at a phone that is perfectly flat on the back. A flat phone with barely-rounded edges just isn't the best shape to nestle into your hand comfortably, as anyone who's used a Nexus 4 or Xperia Z3 will quickly tell you. The Galaxy S6 hasn't cracked this particular problem — it's fairly large, flat and slick. And that means the phone just isn't as grippy or easy to hold onto as the mostly-flat but plastic Galaxy S5, or a curved metal phone like the HTC One M9 (to say nothing of the latter's anti-slip coating), or the Moto X with its curved, leather (or wood or plastic)-covered back.
I can't really say the Galaxy S6 is "comfortable" to use; instead it feels a cold piece of technology in the hand. There's nothing comforting or natural about trying to hold onto something flat and angular and just a little bit slippery — that's something you may or may not get used to with time. If you opt for the "edge" model you'll have thinner sides to hold onto. That actually helps a bit, but it doesn't change the fact that the entirety of the back of the phone is flat.
Of course if your brand new Galaxy S6 happens to jettison itself onto a hard surface, it now has twice the available glass to be broken as well. And no matter how tough Gorilla Glass 4 is, it's sure to crack given enough force — or sufficient bad luck.
Thankfully, the protruding camera bump on the back (which isn't a big deal, or a deal of any size, really) keeps the phone from sliding off of flat surfaces like a hockey puck on a freshly Zamboni'd ice rink — something other glass-backed phones have to deal with. But there's still plenty of glass to help it slide off of many popular Qi chargers — even Samsung's own charger doesn't hold the GS6 securely for long periods of time unless you place it just right.
Ergonomic quibbles aside, it's really hard to complain about any area of the Galaxy S6's hardware or design.
One of the most subtle changes to the design compared to previous Samsung devices is the slightly taller home button, which now houses a one-touch fingerprint sensor. No longer do you have to shift the phone awkwardly in your hand to swipe a digit across the home key. Like Apple's TouchID, just press the button to turn the screen on and leave it there a second more to unlock the device. While the software experience is still limited to phone unlocking and logging into a handful of apps and websites, it's a feature I left turned on — something I can't say about the previous swipe model.
Even with the ergonomic downside of a flat and angular phone, I find it hard to complain about any area of the Galaxy S6's hardware. It's refreshingly easy (though not entirely comfortable) to hold in the hand thanks to Samsung keeping the same 5.1-inch screen size and shaving down the bezels, uses premium materials all-round and is very well manufactured. While the Note 4 was a big step forward in hardware for Samsung, it feels like the Galaxy S6 is the final realization of that design.
A huge list of boxes to be checked
Samsung Galaxy S6 Specs
The Galaxy S6 ticks just about every box when it comes to high-end internal hardware in a 2015 smartphone. While much has be made of Samsung using its own processor rather than a Qualcomm chip, that's not something most users will (or should) care about. That high-end Exynos CPU is backed up with 3GB of very fast RAM and 32 to 128GB of storage. A brilliant 5.1-inch QHD AMOLED display is on the front as well, offering all of the features that made the Note 4's screen great — as I'll discuss in more detail later, it's every bit as bright and vivid.
The lone shortcoming here is the 2550mAh battery (or 2600 on the S6 edge), which definitely is on the small side for a flagship phone. It's about 10 percent larger than the cell on a similarly-sized Moto X (a phone not known for great battery life) and 13 percent smaller than an HTC One M9. Of course Samsung is doing its best to make up for that size by including its Adaptive Fast Charging, which works with Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0-compatible chargers, as well as both leading wireless charging standards — Qi and Powermat.
Category | Specification |
---|---|
Operating System | Android 5.0.2 Lollipop with TouchWiz |
Display | S6: 5.1-inch QHD (2560x1440) 577ppi Super AMOLED S6 edge: 5.1-inch QHD (2560x1440) 577ppi Super AMOLED with dual curved edges |
Processor | Octa-core 4x2.1GHz + 4x1.5GHz 64-bit 14nm Samsung Exynos processor |
Storage | 32GB, 64GB, 128GB (non-expandable) |
RAM | 3GB LPDDR4 |
Rear Camera | 16MP, OIS, ƒ/1.9, auto real-time HDR, low-light video, high clear zoom, IR detect white balance, virtual shot, slow motion, fast motion, pro mode, selective focus |
Front Camera | 5MP, ƒ/1.9, auto real-time HDR, low-light video |
Network | LTE Category 6 (300/50Mbps) |
Connectivity | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz), HT80 MIMO(2x2), 620Mbps, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, Mobile hotspot Bluetooth 4.1 LE, A2DP, atp-X, ANT+ GPS, GLONASS, NFC, IR remote, USB 2.0 |
Sensors | Accelerometer, ambient light, barometer, compass, fingerprint, gyroscope, hall, heart rate monitor, HRM, proximity |
Charging | USB 2.0, Powermat wireless (PMA 1.0, 4.2W output), Qi wireless (WPC 1.1, 4.6W output) |
Battery | S6: 2550mAh (non-removable) S6 edge: 2600mAh (non-removable) |
Dimensions | S6: 143.4mm x 70.5mm x 6.8mm / 5.65-inches x 2.78-inches x 0.27-inches S6 Edge: 142.1mm x 70.1mm x 7.0mm / 5.59-inches x 2.76-inches x 0.28-inches |
Weight | S6:: 138g / 4.87oz S6 edge: 132g / 4.66oz |
Video | Formats: MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM, VP9 |
Audio | Codecs: MP3, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, Vorbis, FLAC, OPUS Formats: MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA |
Samsung software features | Download Booster, OneDrive (115GB free storage for 2 years), OneNote, Private Mode, Quick Connect, S Health 4.0, S Finder, S Voice, Samsung Pay, Smart Manager, Sound Alive+, Themes |
Samsung security | One-touch fingerprint scanner, KNOX management software |
Google Mobile Services | Chrome, Drive, Gmail, Google Settings, Google+, Hangouts, Maps, Photos, Play Books, Play Games, Play Movies and TV, Play Newsstand, Play Store, Voice Search, YouTube |
Colors | S6: white, black, gold, blue S6 edge: white, black, gold, dark green |
Samsung still tops the market in displays; the same can't be said for the speaker
Samsung Galaxy S6 Display and Speakers
At this point I'm still waiting for any manufacturer to catch up with Samsung in smartphone display quality. I couldn't find a single flaw with the 5.7-inch QHD panel on the Note 4, and my feelings carry over point-for-point now that a very similar screen has landed on the GS6, albeit in a smaller physical size.
It goes without saying that pixel density isn't a problem here at 577 pixels packed in every square inch. But the fact that the display still excels in all other areas, even at that insane resolution, is seriously impressive. Viewing angles are great, while colors and extremely vibrant without blowing out whites. Being an AMOLED panel of course blacks are nice and inky, adding to the super-high contrast experience.
Brightness is also very impressive, and the automatic brightness control was perfectly suited for my use 99 percent of the time. And of course when outside, the GS6 can kick on a direct sunlight mode to hit 600 nits of brightness — at the expense of a little contrast — so you can clearly see the screen. The only downside to point out here is that the polarization on the screen isn't completely compatible with all sunglasses. That's not a huge ding — and it's not out of the ordinary for any smartphone, really. It's just something to know going in.
The Galaxy S6's speaker is as bad as its display is great.
Unfortunately for the audiophiles among us, the speaker is as bad as the display is great. Ten small holes drilled into the bottom of the phone provide the small speaker with little room to breathe. And while Samsung is correct in stating that it's much louder than the Galaxy S5, that doesn't mean the quality has made the same jump forward.
Playing music at about 70 percent volume invoked the response of "it sounds like it's under a blanket" from my girlfriend, and I have to agree. Turning up to anything above 50 percent volume the speaker starts to blow out and get considerably tinny, which isn't ideal if you're listening to music. Thankfully at least the speaker is on the bottom, which means it isn't easily muffled when the phone is on a table. You will, however, need to mind where your fingers are. If you cover the speaker even just a little, you'll immediately know it.
Of course I couldn't expect much out of such a small speaker, but seeing what Motorola and HTC have done with front-facing speakers in relatively small packages, I have to say this is an area where Samsung is lagging behind. Expect this speaker to be good for ringtones and podcasts, but never more than a short YouTube video or single song.
A lot of good, weighed down by a long history of bad
Samsung Galaxy S6 Software and Performance
At its global launch event for the Galaxy S6, Samsung executives stood on stage in Barcelona and told a story about how they realized that their software wasn't up to speed and how the Galaxy S6 was headed on a new path. Huge slides of side-by-side screenshots with new and old software showed a big visual change, and the claim of 40 percent fewer features was an appealing one.
Then you get the Galaxy S6 in your hand, and you realize that even with all of that being true, things are still very familiar if you've used a Samsung phone in the past couple of years. Particularly if you have a Galaxy S5 or Note 4 that's been updated to the latest Lollipop software, what you find on the Galaxy S6 won't seem like a radical departure.
For all the changes and improvements, a lot of the new TouchWiz still feels familiar.
In terms of aesthetics, Samsung has toned back the colors a bit, gotten rid of a few more drop shadows and further streamlined to remove useless animations. But you're still faced with lots of unnecessary ... stuff ... everywhere, including bright colors, weird shadows and both under- and over-designed interface elements.
Apps that have received the most attention, like Messages and S Health, look really good, but they don't fit in well with some of the other portions of the interface that haven't yet been updated — like many icons, widgets and older apps. Thankfully the "sounds of nature" are for the most part gone, but many old vestiges of yesteryear's TouchWiz still linger here.
If you're coming from an earlier Samsung phone to the Galaxy S6 then that familiarity may be beneficial — and sure, Samsung can only move so fast while keeping its current user base happy. But the interface still feels like it's lacking a bit of sophistication and cohesiveness. Personally, I would rather see Samsung chase after the more modern interfaces that HTC and Motorola have on their phones in an effort to attract new customers, but doesn't look like the goal here.
And of course that point could be completely moot if Samsung decides to leverage its built-in theme engine to let users choose the design of their software. Currently the theme engine on the Galaxy S6 is limited to about a dozen Samsung-approved themes that are generally awful, but simply opening up the store to third-party submissions would be a real game-changer — Samsung would get its default look, and restless users could pick something new altogether.
Beyond just the interface design, I can thankfully say the sheer number of features on the Galaxy S6 has been reduced significantly, and many of the features that remain are turned off by default or unable to be tweaked past their default state. That keeps new users from being overwhelmed by a flood of bells, whistles and toggles when they first start up the phone, and removes plenty of cruft that nobody wanted anyway. One major addition is Pop-up (windowed) apps capability brought over from the Note 4, but beyond that the feature set is pleasantly simplified.
So how does the slimmed-down interface translate into performance? Well, it's a bit of a mixed bag.
So how does the slimmed-down interface translate into performance? Well, it's a bit of a mixed bag. Samsung seems to have addressed long-standing issues with performance around the interface, including speeding up the multitasking view and dramatically reducing the time it takes to launch and switch apps. Animations are also smooth for transitions and hopping between different parts of the interface, and the processor seems more than capable of handling multitasking, 3D games and high-resolution media playback. Unfortunately the speed isn't ubiquitous on the Galaxy S6 — there are some slowdowns still.
Samsung's new processor is designed to intelligently hand tasks between four high-powered and four lower-powered cores for the right balance of performance and efficiency. For the most part that seems to work just fine, but I still found the phone to inexplicably slow down on occasion with mundane tasks like typing a message or scrolling through my Twitter app. That's frustrating, but it's even more frustrating when the experience is usually fast and smooth throughout the phone.
I couldn't narrow down any root cause to the slowdowns, even through factory resets and troubleshooting — but I do have to say these are things that just shouldn't be happening at this point on a flagship phone that'll cost you $650 to $1,100 outright. Samsung may have smoothed out its interface and trimmed back on years of feature creep, but after spending time with the GS6 I can tell there's still some work to do.
But to say that the small performance hiccups make the Galaxy S6 much less desirable would be an overstatement. The improvements in Samsung's software interface and experience on the GS6 far outweigh the small shortcomings in performance, and this isn't the only Android phone out there today that stutters from time to time.
A battery meant for average days, with quick charging for the not-so-average ones
Samsung Galaxy S6 Battery life
Unfortunately for those of us who like thin-and-light phones that also last a long time, battery technology hasn't quite caught up with the power requirements of high-end smartphones. Creating a powerful device that can handle all the hard work you throw at it while also staying alive the entire day is a tough nut to crack, and it's an equation that's often solved by scaling back processor performance, toning down screen demands or simply throwing a huge cell into the phone.
With a 2550mAh battery in the Galaxy S6 Samsung certainly isn't brute-forcing it with a huge cell, and with some high-end internals and a brilliant screen it definitely isn't easing up on hardware. Samsung's solution to battery life is to make the phone easy to charge, while also including a couple software tweaks that can help you make the most out of that limited battery when you're away from precious power outlets.
Of course most of us are away from outlets, wireless charging pads and USB cables for a large portion of the day, and that's why actual battery longevity is important. I can say that the Galaxy S6 is far from a battery champion — a title often tagged on the Note 4 — but it will be serviceable for most people with average smartphone habits.
Grabbing the phone off of its charger at 8 a.m. and having it dead as a doornail at 10 p.m. — and that's on an easy day.
In my typical daily use, which includes hefty amounts of time on Wifi, lots of notifications coming in from multiple email accounts, updates from social networks, some podcast and music listening, all with automatic screen brightness turned on, I could get about 14 hours out of a charge.
So for me that's grabbing the phone off of its charger at 8 a.m. and having it dead as a doornail at 10 p.m. — enough for an average day, but of course not every day is average. If I needed to flip on a hotspot when out of the house or spend a little time watching some YouTube videos, I could easily drain the battery in 11 hours instead. That has my phone dying at 7 p.m., and that's not good.
There are a few tools at your disposal for keeping the battery topped up throughout the day. Of course Samsung's built-in Adaptive Fast Charging — compatible with Quick Charge 2.0 chargers — will help, adding power at the rate of about one and a half percent per minute.
The other is either Qi or Powermat wireless charging, which is dramatically more convenient if you've invested in the up-front cost of some charging pads, but it isn't really an option when you're out of the house.
If you don't have a charger of any kind available, a quick toggle to Power Saving Mode will boost battery life about 10 percent by turning down your screen brightness, turning off vibration and scaling back processor performance. The "nuclear option" of Ultra Power Saving Mode is also available, which turns off everything but the absolute basics of the phone, including going to a greyscale display and disabling your mobile networks when not in use.
While most self-described "power users" will say that charging throughout the day is not an acceptable way to use your phone, the same isn't necessarily true of most smartphone owners. I'd say my usage is a bit heavier than the average person, and most days I could easily go to bed with battery left to spare. The other days I'd toss it on the wireless charger on my desk here and there, or if I need to know the phone is juiced up for a full night I'd plug it in for 30 minutes.
Should you have to do that on a regular basis? Probably not. Is it a big enough deal to keep you from using this otherwise good phone? That'll be up to you — everyone has a different tolerance for the annoyance caused by regular charging, and we all have different battery needs to begin with.
Your mileage may vary.
The very best all-round Android camera
Samsung Galaxy S6 Cameras
On the whole, last year's Galaxy S5 did not have a good camera. In order to make daytime photos look exceptional, Samsung threw out any hope of decent low-light photography on that device. Things got back on track with the Note 4 — a new sensor, optical image stabilization and some software processing that made that phone one of the leading mobile cameras of that year.
And in the Galaxy S6, we're looking at the same camera sensor as the Note 4 nestled behind an even faster f/1.9 lens with an overall improved camera interface — a seemingly perfect combination. The results are befitting of the hype — this is a really great camera experience.
The results are befitting of the hype — this is a really great camera experience.
The 16MP camera shoots pictures in 16:9 natively but can easily be turned "down" to a 12MP 4:3 crop (which I've done here) with no loss in quality. It can also handle video up to UHD (4K) resolution at 30 frames per second or 1080p with 60 fps, or you can go for slow-motion capture options.
For photos, the standard "Auto" mode handles everything for you nicely, including choosing HDR if the scene requires it. For more advanced users, a new "Pro" mode lets you take control with manual exposure, ISO, white balance, focal length and metering options, giving you every tweak you'd want aside from shutter speed. You can even create and save up to three custom shooting modes with the manual settings you choose.
Samsung's camera interface is a lot easier to look at and use than previous iterations
The camera interface is a lot easier to look at and use than previous iterations, and very fast as well. Deeper settings for all of the modes are found in a single camera settings screen rather than in multi-layer menus in the viewfinder, and all of the most-used toggles are surfaced in appropriate locations.
While I like the bevy of options in the Pro mode, I actually shot most of my pictures in auto and got some really great photos. In good lighting the Galaxy S6 takes exceptional photos — they're crisp without being over-processed, natural with just the right amount of punch in colors, and usually close to reality with white balancing.
When the lights dim down, the GS6 takes advantage of its f/1.9 lens and OIS to let in more light than any other smartphone camera out there, which means lower ISOs being used and less software processing needed to smooth out shots. In particularly tough situations, like indoors at night with low amounts of light available, the GS6 can take a crisp picture quickly without any blur or long shutter speeds, which is really important for a smartphone camera. When outdoors in the evening, pictures showed a little bit of grain — as you would expect with such a small sensor. But low-light photos looked really good when viewed up-close on anything below a 25-inch screen.
I got all this way through loving the camera without even mentioning an extremely important part of the experience: the new action for launching the camera with a double press of the home button. In any app, at any time, even when the phone is locked, you can double press the home button to launch directly into the camera and start taking photos. Samsung quotes launch times of about 0.7 seconds, and I found average launch times in the one second range personally — which is not only acceptable, it's much faster than any other phone out there today.
Samsung's camera experience offers the complete package, and one that I can't really find a flaw with. The Galaxy S6 can take brilliant pictures in most lighting conditions, and does so quickly and reliably. The ceiling of the photos it can take when you spend some time with it is astronomical, and the minimum photo quality you get from random snapshots is surprisingly high as well.
Get curvy
About the S6 edge
While the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge are almost identical, it's worth pointing out the additional hardware and software that sets S6 edge apart.
With its display sharply curved along the long edges of the phone, there's no mistaking a Galaxy S6 edge for its flatter sibling. But unlike the Galaxy Note Edge, this is the same screen size and resolution as the regular S6, simply curved on both sides. That means the phone is actually a tad narrower, even though the materials are the same.
There's a dramatic reduction in the amount of metal around the sides, and as a result is a device that's ultimately more awkward to hold.
Samsung managed to keep the power and volume buttons put on the sides, which is no small feat, but there's a dramatic reduction in the amount of metal available to wrap your hands around. The end result is a device that's ultimately more awkward to hold, and it just doesn't feel natural in your hand — even compared to the already angular Galaxy S6.
Samsung showed restraint in the software on this latest curved display, paring things back to just a few neat extras on the S6 edge.
When on the home screen, you can swipe in from the top-right (or top-left, if you choose) edge to reveal a "People edge" experience. You can define up to five favorite contacts, each coordinating to a color, who show up after you swipe with quick options to call, SMS or email those people. You can define which app to use for the actions — like Hangouts for SMS or Gmail for email — which is nice, but you can't choose to add third-party apps like WhatsApp or Skype, for example.
Once you've defined your favorite contacts you'll also receive notifications on the edge when you have a missed call, SMS or email from that person, so long as you use the stock SMS and Email apps. Notifications show up when you swipe in lower on the edge — again, left or right side. When your phone is locked and upside down on the table (which also mutes the phone, if you choose) the edge will light up in the color of your favorite contact when they call you as well. Thankfully, these edge swipe gestures actually work no matter what launcher you choose, so you won't be tied down to Samsung's if you prefer something else.
The final bit of edge-only software actually works when the screen is off, and harkens back to the Note Edge. When turned on, the "Information stream" lets you swipe between information panels on the edge to get quick updates on notifications, weather, news and tweets without turning on the full screen. It's no more useful than it was on the Note Edge, but it's definitely a cool way to show off the curved screen. Slightly more useful is the night clock mode, which will softly illuminate the edge with date, time and alarm information for up to 12 hours at a time, even when the phone isn't charging.
Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 edge: The Bottom Line
With the Galaxy S6, Samsung is for the first time in years making smartphone hardware that is on par with — or better than — what the rest of the industry is putting out. With a finely-crafted metal and glass body, the GS6 certainly looks worthy of the price tag Samsung has put on it, and that's before you get to the high-end internals and industry-leading display.
As much as Samsung nailed the hardware this year, it still feels like TouchWiz is a huge, rudderless ship.
Of course that new design means you can no longer remove the battery or expand the storage — two pain points that may turn away at least a few potential buyers. But with new fast and convenient charging options and 128GB storage capacity available, the losses aren't as large — or applicable to as many people — as they might seem.
As much as Samsung nailed the hardware this year, it still feels like TouchWiz is a huge, rudderless ship. Even with dramatic toning down of the interface, removal of superfluous features and Material-esque app redesigns, software on the GS6 still doesn't feel complete or modern. That's conveyed in the way the software looks and how it performs. And now that the hardware is up to speed it makes the software look even more lackluster by comparison.
Having both a standard Galaxy S6 and a head-turning S6 edge available at the same time with the same features is a neat idea (and gets Samsung additional floor space in stores), but most people should be defaulting to the flat version. While the S6 edge offers a few novel software experiences, it comes at the cost of usability for normal smartphone actions, to say nothing of the price premium put on the model.
Even with small shortcomings in software and battery life, the Galaxy S6 is still one hell of a smartphone. It checks most or all of the boxes for those who want a high-end phone today, and then checks a few more boxes they didn't think they had. Great hardware, a fantastic camera and improved software still add up to an awesome phone.
It's safe to say Samsung has outdone itself this year. And it's hard to argue it hasn't outdone its competition as well.
Andrew was an Executive Editor, U.S. at Android Central between 2012 and 2020.
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Waiting for the note 5. Love the new design and hopefully they push it onto the note 5. Posted via the Android Central App
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As a Note 4 owner, I emphatically say NO! Instead keep the Note 4's metal edges with a more premium soft touch rubbery back while keeping the user-replaceable battery and SD card! I don't want form over function! Keep the Note series about functionality, in particular for us hardcore power users! :)
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I have a feeling the battery for the Note 5 will be non-removable but with the larger device real estate they may have room for a microSD slot...
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Maybe, but I just have a feeling that's the direction they're going...
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You're right, that is the way they are going. I feel like companies do this because phones with removable batteries are used longer, thus people aren't buying new ones as often.
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Samsung Galaxy S6 is definitely good. However there are some phone that can compete with it. /Teddy from http://www.consumerrunner.com/top-10-best-phones/
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Disagree, SD card for me, for flashing and Nandroid backups. Battery's can be charge pretty quickly nowadays. And the note is capable of lasting the day,l. Posted via the Android Central App
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I don't know if you really need swappable battery for note 4. I have no idea what the heck someone may be doing that they need another battery for it. I abuse my phone and I still have 30% left at the end of the day. I have absolutely no need for replaceable batttery. I would rather take a little nicer form factor over swappable batter. I have never run out of battery on the note 4.
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You don't need a swappable battery, that doesn't mean no one does. As someone above said, I prefer function over form. I don't want options taken away so the phone "looks nicer".
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The s6 loses 30% in 8 hours of standby over night. So i need atleast 2 swaps of battery on s6 if i want to last it 24 hours. Its insane. The battery sucks balls on the s6
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My phone is on a case. Form factor is not number 1 to me. Removable battery and sd card or a big thumbs up for me. My next phone will be a Note 4 when the not 5 comes out. I'm always a generation behind because I always but and cell my phones on craigslist. Posted via Android Central App from Samsung Note 3 or Surface Pro 3
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I have a Note 4 and it never lasts me through the day. I do use it quote a bit though. The Note Screen and spen functions ask for it to be used a lot. I usually need about 150% of what the phone gives me so I charge it throughout the day. Posted via the Android Central App
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I barely use my note 4 somedaus and the battery is dead. Maybe I just need a new battery Posted via the Android Central App
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"According to a Samsung spokesperson in touch with the company's support team, the Galaxy S6 battery has a one-year warranty. If its maximum capacity drops below 80 percent of its initial level during that year, your replacement is free (although you still have to pay for shipping.) At any other time, the replacement costs $45, plus shipping... That's less than the $79 Apple charges." I'm all for it with one condition. Non-removable potentially gives more space for a bigger battery. Grow thicker, not thinner. Give us thicker battery too making it even bigger capacity for us power users. Nobody wants thinner and thinner phones.
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I have a note 4 as well and I really do like the design but i guess I should have emphasized making the build more premium without losing what makes a Samsung phone, a Samsung phone: removable battery and SD card. Posted via the Android Central App
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I can live without the SD card and would gladly pay for 128 gbs. Of UFS 2.0. But instill completely agree with you and would certainly like to still have expandable storage !! I really hope they don't ditch the removable battery though. It's so useful to be able to swap out whenever you want. Bit here's an early prediction, the S6 is gonna be so successful that the note 5 will be very similar. That includes the glass back Posted via the Note 4 or Tab S 10.5
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I've been reading comments for a while and you've been flip-flopping on your opinions trying to play both sides of the fence Posted via the Android Central App
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Oh really? Okay. Care to elaborate? Because it sounds to me like your opinion is distorted. Posted via the Note 4 or Tab S 10.5
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Whole reason I chose android was its modability and now the king has gone away from upgradable memory that made handed songs or paperwork off to ur buddies simple plus now incant just plop in another battery on along trips and that was handy. I so love the sgs6curve but I won't be getting the newest best thing this year
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+1^ Posted via the Android Central App
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The Note 4 should last for years to come, anyone with a Note 4 most likely will wait for the Note 6. Posted via the Android Central App
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Very true Posted via the Note 4 or Tab S 10.5
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Yup, that's what I'm thinking. I'm an even numbers kind of guy anyway (ex. started with a Note 2, now Note 4). ;)
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Thought I was the only one... Posted via the Android Central App
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Dude the note4 rocks, closest thing 2 a perfect phone so far Posted via the Android Central App
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Honestly, all this talk about the note4 being the ultimate phone is completely crap. I actually have purchased one 2 weeks ago and it's far from being the ultimate phone. Its more then a decent phone but it has plenty of minuses.
Honestly gents, it's not like Samsung cares about yr affection. This silly fan boyism needs to stop. -
Not fanboyism, the note 4 is awesome, there's no competitor in the phablet line. I am Definently not a samsung fanboy, if I didn't want the size and pen I wouldn't be with Samsung...but credit where credit is due. Posted via the Android Central App
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Unfortunately we can't avoid them! There are a handful of those extremely unpleasant Note people in these forums who have issues that infest articles about every handset that isn't a Note.
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I am definitely not a fan boy of Samsung but I do like my note 4, is it perfect? No phone is but it is a great phone. I also want to pick up an HTC m9, sense 7 looks amazing with its new theme engine software wise I love HTC but hardware wise I love the note 4, great display, battery and camera with SD card slot. I don't get why some people stick with just one oem it seems like it would get really boring I have owned Sony, Motorola, Opo, LG, HTC, and Samsung each has their strong points and weaknesses I'm just happy I have so many choices these days all flagship phones are great. Posted via the Android Central App
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Just try to ignore jimbo's remarks. He's one of the most unpleasant people on AC. He's also a straight up troll. Lol Posted via the Note 4 or Tab S 10.5
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You misspelled idiot. Or were you going for jackass? Posted by my soon to be retired Note 3
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Apparently you guys are still butthurt. Why don't you pull that S-Pen out of your ass and cheer up.
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Cheer up?? Lmao you typically sound like you swim around in ghostbuster slime daily. You know, the evil pink slime from the sequel ? Lol. Posted via the Note 4 or Tab S 10.5
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I have the best phone on the market, what is there to be hurt about? Posted by my soon to be retired Note 3
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Where's Yarrell and his monkey balls?
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Way to not give examples.
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'Dude the note4 rocks, closest thing 2 a perfect phone so far' Actually agree with you... I've been lusting after one every year since the Note 3 came out. The Note is for people that actually care about functionality, while the S6 is more for the 'Oooo, look how pretty it is!' crowd. Just wish I could get one in non-phablet size :(
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If the Note 5 is basically a big s6, then yeah, definitely sticking with my Note 4. I refuse to get a phone with no SD card slot. I /can/ live without a swappable battery is a have no other choice, but I refuse to let the carriers and manufacturers dictate how much I have to pay for more space on my phone.
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Well i start a Note quest that I don't think I can stop now, I started from the Note 2 then Note 3 and Now Note 4, so I guess you can tell what's next lol
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Yes, I second this!!!
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I hear the Note 5 is going to have a choice of leather, removable backs..... Posted via the Android Central App
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Yes, I'm looking back on it and I should have bought something in the note series and not the Galaxy series because i have the edge and... yeah it kinda sucks compared to the note series
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Me too. The note should solve the battery issues. Which just leaves touchwiz. I've been Nexus for a long time and never used touchwiz but some things I already know will annoy me. Like the ridiculous amount of space taken up by their notification shade mods. Hopefully this herculean effort to improve their products doesn't stop with the s6... Posted via Android Central App
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And hopefully the S6 gets any further improvements to TouchWiz they plan to make for the next couple years.
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Have u gone mad?! I, for 1, would absolutely hate if Samsung implements any of these features on the note. I LOVE my note4 Posted via the Android Central App
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Pretty much this.
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Agree. They nailed the camera and pretty much everything else other than battery. Hopefully the note takes everything and improves it even further
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If Samsung was dumb enough to make the Note into this monstrosity, my 2105 smartphone dollars will be spent someplace else. This phone is meant for iPhone lovers who want to use Android.
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You're not going to spend money until 2105? Now that's what I call hardcore frugal.
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Hello android central team, I must say you guys are really doing a great job. This was really an impressive and very informative + depth review about this excellent phone. I found this really article really interesting and worth sharing :) If you don't mind I also wanted to share one amazing article called - "how to hack wifi password in 2 minutes" with your readers. You can find the complete tutorial solvemyhowdotcom site or your can also google the about it. just copy and paste the above string in google search. I'm really happy by getting free wifi yepieeeee.... Thanks,
Piyush -
May well be the best phone of 2015. Posted via the Android Central App
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If you're referring to the s6 u couldn't b more off Posted via the Android Central App
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He could be way more off. Posted via Android Central App
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What phone is better so far in 2015? Certainly not the HTC! Posted via the Android Central App
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As of this moment in time, and taking into account the g4 rumors, Samsung has the number 1 & 2 phones that have been released in the last year. Posted by my soon to be retired Note 3
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How is he/she way off? It is a great phone. The hardware is exactly where it needs to be and I personally haven't experienced the hiccups that Andrew speaks of in thus review. But I am certain I will. Also, I think touchwiz looks pretty modern now. I don't know what Andrew means when he says HTC and Moto's software is "more modern." Posted via the Android Central App
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How is he/she way off? It is a great phone. The hardware is exactly where it needs to be and I personally haven't experienced the hiccups that Andrew speaks of in thus review. But I am certain I will. Also, I think touchwiz looks pretty modern now. I don't know what Andrew means when he says HTC and Moto's software is "more modern." Posted via the Android Central App
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Great review. Hoping I can pick one up once I sort out some issues I'm having with my current phone I disagree with this part though: "Unfortunately for the audiophiles among us, the speaker is as bad as the display is great" An audiophile wouldn't listen to music over the loudspeaker on the phone
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But someone who appreciates high quality audio will be able to tell whether or not this speaker is worth using for anything.
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just my opinion, but anybody that appreciates high quality audio wouldn't listen to music via a phone speaker. chances are they've invested in a decent pair of headphones and/or Bluetooth mini speaker Posted via the Android Central App
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Exactly my stance. via the beastly note 4
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Yeah, that's what I meant in my comment. There's a difference between an audiophile avoiding the speaker because they have better headphones anyway, and someone who listens to music on the speaker regularly not liking this particular speaker
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The speaker is crap. Deal with it. You have an awesome screen instead. My God..
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The speaker is LOUD! Thats it´s main funktion. LOUD. Do you know how many calls i missed when i had the M7 because the speakers had "great sound" but were not loud? Many! I want to HEAR my phone ring when i am in an loud environment. Screw "great but silent". If you want great sound - buy a pair of cheap in-ears and keep them at you all the time. The cheapest in-ears will sound MUCH better then the best phone via it´s speakers.
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Turn by turn navigation and watching and showing others video clips. Try hearing turn by turn with a S6 in a car cup holder. Fagettaboutit
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Well maybe a problem if your car doesn't have automatic Bluetooth connectivity wich is fairly common in cars 2012+. In my dad's ford and mom's honda the sound from the phone comes through the cars stereo system. And if it doesn't have Bluetooth it's not hard to hook it through the audio jack.
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If only you could turn the phone upside-down or something so that the speaker wasn't muffled. We all know cup holders do not function that way of course. Wait, maybe someone could come up with... I don't know, a car dock that would leave the speakers uncovered. I know, crazy right? Posted by my soon to be retired Note 3
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And an iPhone. Android is notorious for crappy playback quality.
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The speaker point is valid, whether for You Tube or conferencing. I rarely listen to music on my phone, but the speaker has a large role.
HTC's, that's just people deluding themselves. ;) -
Exactly, no audiophiles will use a phone speaker to listen to music. You'll use headphones. Even HTC M8 speaker isn't good enough for audiophiles. “Be together, not the same”
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Actually, a phone won't push decent headphones. Posted via the Android Central App
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Not true. Headphones with high sensitivity (like IEMs) would be just fine being driven on your phone
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The m8 and m7 had really good headphone amps, and presumably the m9 does as well. As good (or better) than some entry level to mid range stand alone ones.
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True. The M series is favored by headphone audiophile groups. I have a few different headphones, and the M8 can push the volume past comfort levels on all of them. S/N ratio and crosstalk specs are better than some sound consoles ( I'm an audio engineer), so I can't complain at all. As far as BT speakers, I've demoed several and own about six of them (yeah, I'm a junkie), and found that the best sounding combo is with the ST-A100. This is a woofer that the phone sits on, and the speakers on the phone become the tweeters with a big boost in volume. I just picked up another BT speaker, but it's still charging for the first time and I have not tested it yet. But I will say that I do listen to music on just the phone at times, and it is enjoyable just by itself. I can't say the same for my previous LG or Sony devices. Posted via the Android Central App
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Well scratch out the iHip sound prism: the phone by itself sounds better and is louder than this BT speaker, lol. Posted via the Android Central App
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totally agree, I'd obviously prefer a front facing, high quality speaker, but anytime I listen to music, it's with my headphones or Bose SoundLink Mini speaker Posted via the Android Central App
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The loudspeaker is only used in the kitchen... not even in the car now - everyone has bluetooth.
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It only took samsung rejecting everything that differentiated them from the fruit company and launching an iphone clone to shipped their best hardware design device to date. I guess it's true afterall, when all else fails go back to your roots or in samsung case (go back to copying the competitor that helped you get to the top). Not sure it will have much of an impact, they have yet to address their biggest problem (Chinese Oem's). That's what's killing them, the mid to low end market. Those were samsung main source of market shares, not the note or galaxy s lines. If they can't solve that problem, then they market shares will continue to erode and that is the bad thing. Their business is predicated on volumes and large market shares. The exact opposite of fruit company.
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You still playing that Samsung copy Apple record. That nonsense have been played for far too long, now it has lost its power. Even some Apple diehards can't take it anymore. Can you say something we haven't heard before so that we may know that sometimes you can think for yourself. “Be together, not the same”
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Oh shut up!!! "The competitor that helped them get to the top"?? Lmao, Samsung's success the last few years had little to do with enormous marketing investments/spending or powerful logistics operations did it. /s. You're delusional. And saying that the S6 is an iPhone clone is an insult to Samsung seeing as how the S6's hardware (produced almost entirely in-house) DEMOLISHES the IPhone 6....14 nm. Exynos 7, UFS 2.0, DDR4 RAM, far superior display, superior camera.....game over!!! Now go have a good cry. Posted via the Note 4 or Tab S 10.5
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All that power under the hood and the software is still crap. Samsung needs to really focus on software. Fact.
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9nersfan. Really. Stop with the demolished comment. Go to anandtech and look at benchmarks. Iphone beats the S6 in about 50% of the tests.
And kills it in the graphics department. Posted via the Android Central App -
You actually take benchmarks seriously? I pity you. Posted via Android Central App
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and 9ers using benchmarks to say it crushes the iphone ISNT using benchmarks? whatever dude...
and you are correct, benchmarks don't mean anything because I have an iPhone 6+ and a Note 4.
The Note 4 SHOULD in theory be WAY faster than the iPhone 6+ and yet is NOT.
The camera and picture gallery on the Note 4 is about 10 x slower than the iPhone and and isn't faster than the iPhone 6+ at ANYTHING. i know, i OWN both. and I am not a IOS fanboy, I pre ordered the S6,
I'm not going to be a fanboy that says because it has MOAR SPECS that its faster or better. -
Benchmarks don't matter. Especially when it is cross platform. Software does a lot to a benchmark. The poster up there is right. The hardware in the s6 is more powerful. Posted via the Android Central App
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Only because the iPhone has a 750P screen. It doesn't have anywhere near the pixels to push. Posted via the Android Central App
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Thank you for mentioning that So I didn't have to Posted via the Note 4 or Tab S 10.5
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the iPhone 6+ is 1080p and if you think the game developers are pushing Native 2560 x 1440 on android, think again. iPhone 6+ graphics are way higher than s6
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Game developers do provide games with different resolutions, even Play Store detects phones with different types of resolutions, and even in games like Room Two, graphics can be different between phones. I have observed it and compared it between a Galaxy Nexus and a Xperia Z1. It is a bit more sharper on the Z1. A few games also allow different video quality settings. Resolutions also affects performance. The most obvious example is in playing PC games. You could experience a drop of 20FPS in heavy PC Games just by switching from Full HD to Quad HD. So if you want to compare performance, compare it with the same resolutions, because resolution do have huge impacts on benchmarks and performance. Gallery? If you haven't noticed, Note 4's picture gallery is slower because the pictures itself are stored on the SD card, and even if most of the pictures are stored on the phone, the Note 4 will still do a scan on the SD card to check every files if there are any pictures on the SD card. It's almost like opening a File Manager. The iPhone, however, opens the gallery app and shows the pictures fast because it doesn't have to scan for any files on the external storage, because it doesn't support one!
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And that´s one of the reasons it´s good that samsung slowly in axing the sd card. An SD card in a superfast phone is like a data-HDD in a SSD-PC: it slows down the whole thing.
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Way higher in what?? Onscreen graphics benchmarks that take display resolution into accout?? Lmao. Yes, most games are 1080p or less, making onscreen graphics benchmarks comparisons between the two irrelevant. FYI, the S6 smashes the IPhone 6 in GFXbench offscreen Posted via the Note 4 or Tab S 10.5
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The iPhone 6 typically scores better in certain graphics benchmarks due to its far lower resolution. Though GFXbench Manhatten and T-rex show that the mali T760 and Power VR GPU's are pretty even. But when it comes to more popular, CPU intensive benchmarks such as Basemark OS 2 , Antutu, geekbench 3, Quadrant, etc. the Exynos 7420 is far superior. How about you compare the iPhone 6' scores on these particular benchmarks to how the S6 scores here in the video below. Yes I know the iPhone 6 isn't tested in this video but fyi, the S6 destroys it. ▶ Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge vs. HTC One M9 - Benchmark (English): https://youtu.be/5i_V_tzRxkk I'm glad I was able to give you some more info about just how powerful the device I assume you're buying soon really is (based on your profile pic) Posted via the Note 4 or Tab S 10.5
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Benchmarks are only part of the story though cause obviously even with all the power the s6 has it still has hiccups and that just shouldn't be there touch wiz still needs improving in that aspect. Posted via the Android Central App
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Indeed, they are only a part of the story. There's always room for improvement in all types of software, and all have studder/lag to different extents. But dont forget, this is one review by one reviewer. There are also many reasons things like this could happen on occasion that have nothing to do with Samsung's software. I assure you, most won't be mentioning lag on the galaxy S6. Actually of the 15 or so reviews I've glanced over thus far (most of which are a joke anyway) this is the first I've seen it mentioned Anyway, below is only one speed test of many to come (I think the S6 will probably smoke the iPhone 6 much more in most of those) but still, it wins out here with these specific apps. Certainly can't call a phone laggy that easily handles the iPhone 6 with an OS highly optimized for its hardware. Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge vs iPhone 6 Speed Test 4K: https://youtu.be/zHb6IlmmV2o Posted via the Note 4 or Tab S 10.5
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I'll add this video to all the other videos I've seen of the S6 where there is no visible lag whatsoever.
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Since most games render at 720p (or lower) and upscale, the gaming performance of the s6 will be far superior to the iphone 6. This is why offscreen benchmarks are important. Until you can find a game that natively runs at 1440p, onscreen benchmarks are irrelevant.
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You should first understand how to interpret benchmarks before commenting. There is hardly any off-screen benchmark where iPhone wins against S6.
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I would just like to point out Samsung didn't do well last year. In fact, they lost money because people got tired of the plastic crap and bloatware. Posted via the Android Central App
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But then they still made more money than all of their competitors, besides Apple (& themselves).
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You must have missed the paragraph about all those cores and it till stutters? WTF!
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So - you are saying that a phone (not even released yet mind you) is not running 100 percent perfect out of the gate? STOP THE PRESS!!!
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I do see your point about Samsung loosing it's command of the low to mid spec market, but the Galaxy line up has always brought the most revenue until the S5. Not because of Chinese OEMs so much as lack of innovation. Specs and software features aren't enough to drive Android sales anymore, even most low spec smartphones can handle email, web, video, multitasking, and most games. Of course may of the low spec phones out now can out perform or match performance of flagship phones 2 years old. With buttery smooth performance a standard now, people want flashy phones, that can do unique things. The S5 wasn't flashy or hardly unique so people went to HTC, Motorola, Sony among others. As for copying iPhone, the iPhone has been the one copying Samsungs Note series, HTC design, and implementing Android software into its code since 2011. Imho Samsung definitly made a good move with the S6/E Posted via Android Central App
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That's what I've been saying. It's Apple that has been copying Android devices. iPhone copied large size, power button on the right side, protruding camera, antenna bands the list goes on.
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Next year they will finally add a restart option for the power menu and talk for ten minutes about how revolutionary this is! lol Posted via the Android Central App
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Troll
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Struggling to hold out for the Blue/Green colors to come to USA :/
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I just can't get over this rubbish battery. Like I said when this phone came out "2500mah battery in 2015 is a cruel joke" Epic fail! Google+ All Day Everyday
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agreed, and so unfortunate. just keep a few mm on the thickness and have a 3200 mAh battery and this would've been perfect (for me). the non removable/small battery combo leaves me contemplating the competition. even if they did one of the two (removable or larger battery) I'd have preordered the 64 black edge yesterday. not the first or last time a phone fell short of my expectations, but a bit more disappointed this time around cause it came so close. Posted via the Android Central App
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Basically how I felt about the moto x. Great phone terrible battery life.
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so true, I remember the sealed battery crowd saying it'll come with a larger battery. seems like the same people are using the word "efficient" now. still a solid device, and quick charge makes it somewhat tolerable, but without it being removable, the battery just doesn't belong in such a power house of a phone. again, not the end of the world, but damn, really could've knocked it out of the park. Posted via the Android Central App
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Well, to be fair, having a sealed phone either lets you have a bigger battery at the same thickness OR it allows you to reduce the thickness. Samsung unfortunately chose the reduced thickness route. The S6 Edge actually has the same battery capacity as the S4, 2600 mAh, but the S6 Edge is 12% thinner. The regular S6 is 16% thinner than the S5, but the battery capacity is only reduced by 9%. If they had only reduced the thickness by 5% to 10% instead of 16% from the S5 to S6, they probably could have fit the same size 2800 mAh battery. It's too bad.
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"Your entire first sentence was proven false by Samsung for at least the S4 and the S5. Those phones had BIGGER batteries in a removable form factor than the batteries in most of the sealed phones of the same model year." You can't compare Samsung phones to non-Samsung phones. Samsung has more engineers and more research and development money than every other Android manufacturer, so of course they could design phones with bigger batteries despite them still being removable compared to the competition. But if they had designed an S4 or S5 without removable batteries, I maintain that they could have made them thinner without sacrificing battery capacity. It's common engineering sense. If you seal a battery in, you can optimize the shape of it and not have to worry about adding extra plastic protective casing around it. Also, smartphone components haven't been reduced in size just within the past 2 years, so the comparison to the S4 is valid. For example, the Snapdragon 801 processor in the Galaxy S5 is actually physically LARGER (11.14 mm x 10.62 mm) than the Snapdragon 600 in the Galaxy S4 (9.92 mm x 8.88 mm).
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Idk. The HTC one m8 was a beast and out performed the g5 in antuko (wish cheetah mobile would rename it something I could spell) benchmarks, especially in the high end polygon movement s and the first person lush 3d graphics. Although with some overclocking and custom ROM . The sgs5 took top show against a similar build from the htc. Owned both. If it wasn't for the bigger screen and SD slot. I'd tell everyone to just get the htc
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Well, I think they specifically targeted those 6.8mm and 7.0mm points for obvious reasons. That's Samsung's MO. People like to claim they copy but that couldn't be more inaccurate. Samsung is all about One-upmanship. Remember the original Series 9 that, along with the Vaio Z, basically started the ultrabook movement? Those two machines made the original air look like the junk that it was. They like to rub it in their [direct] competitors' faces,"Anything you can do, I can do better." In this case, they pretty much flipped Apple off as the S6 pretty much destroys the iphone 6 point for point. When they focus on aesthetics, they are hard to beat. However, that is also consistently one of their biggest weaknesses. They tend to forgo function to achieve that form. Sony is much better at balancing the two. I have not had a samsung flagship as my daily driver for more than a month since the S3 even though I have owned literally all of them(Note 2, S4, Note 3, S5, and Note 4). This is a pretty amazing thing for me to say: I am genuinely excited for the S6 now that I have had a chance to test it out.
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30% more efficient chipset with a 9% smaller battery (and more efficient display). I know, math is hard. Wonder why so many other sites are reporting battery life is fine?
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GOAT phone
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A Galaxy Nexus 2 with this build and specs would be worth $650
Nexus 6 ? not so much -
Great review - thanks! I wonder if yours is having a cell standby issue negatively affecting the battery life? It's specific to the Tmo variant evidently. There's a XDA thread of users dealing with that... http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=59853395&postcount=69
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It's probably the small ass battery and high density screen. No idea how anyone thought the battery performance of this device would be anything other than mediocre. Posted via the Android Central App
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Oh I agree 100%, but it seems the cell standby thing is making it even worse than mediocre. It's frustrating is just about everything else about this phone seems solid.
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True.
The moment I signed in the Samsung Push Services (on Note 4) overall battery life decreased. Not to mention other stuff ruining in the back.
People do praise it for battery life, but it's idling state is indeed eating up too much. Yeah, maybe side by side, you can see that the percentage per hour drops similar (usually more) to other phones (Android) but that's inaccurate way to look at, because must of them pack less than 3000 mAh.
I would really like to know, which android gets closest to iPhone in stand by mode - not on percentage, but mAh/h - I guess we are looking at around 10. I heard that M8 and Moto X (2014) ate at the top. via AC App on VZW Moto X DE/N7 -
Probably the only devices that match or exceed iphone standby battery life are Sony's Xperia Z1 compact, Z2, Z3, and Z3 compact. The main reason is Sony has a mild power saving setting for queued background data which is what iphone's do by default. I can't think of any other manufacturers that have such a setting but I could be wrong as there very well may be. As far as screen on time, there are few android flagships that don't exceed the Iphone 6's battery life. Many of which also exceed the iphone 6+ screen on time.
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All Galaxy S Series phones have mediocre to disappointing battery life.
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Which of these Galaxy s that have midiocre battery life? If you can't back it up then don't say anything at all. “Be together, not the same”
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I've owned one of each and a captivate, the battery life compares to my ex Gf motorola razor got owned and the phone was horrible
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But to be fair, many competitors like the Moto X line and Nexus line also have mediocre to disappointing battery life. Heck, even the One M9 is said to have mediocre to disappointing battery life this year, whereas the One M8 had great battery life.
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Nice Try, the high density screen is actually more power efficient than the GS5's 1080p display. http://www.displaymate.com/Galaxy_S6_ShootOut_1.htm This is the only review that wasn't from a iBias sight that has complained about the battery life.
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Yet it is still better than the m9 which has a larger battery and less pixel dense screen...
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Sounds like a pretty weak theory, particularly when we saw a ~180MB update come to the T-Mobile phones that didn't change a thing. You'd think that they would've handled that if they saw it was something they could fix. If they happen to push out an update that boosts the battery 20+%, which is what it needs, then I'd be happy to test and talk about it. I don't think that's going to happen, though.
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Haha! Posted via my htc One M8
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Yup, I think I'll wait to see what the Note 5 brings to the table. I still love my S-Pen :) But I do hope all the things they did right on the S6 are ported over to the Note line. I can live without the SD card or removable battery, as long as battery life is on par with the current Note 4's.
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Great job on the review. I feel like you have been stalking me with those pictures since i walk those same streets everyday. lol
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Not on purpose!
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Samsung turned us into wall huggers. Seriously? I guess office workers who stay at a seat all day will be okay with this phone but people who don't work at a desk are going to have to watch there battery consumption. Google+ All Day Everyday
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Using the Google+ app all day every day may be your problem - it is a huge battery hog!
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If G+ is a problem for your battery consider syncing photos on wifi only. Posted via Android Central App
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Or while plugged in. Posted via the Android Central App
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Nice try. Google+ all day every day! Google+ All Day Everyday
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Just get a battery pack. I have a 9000ma pack and it will give me about 4 charges. Not any more difficult to carry than a wire/charger. But of course is bigger than a battery. I just keep it in my car in case I need it...which is not often.
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+1
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you can get ones that are very small, which would be the same as carrying an extra battery. Plus with quick charge it will charge very quickly. Yes, slower than swapping out the battery, but totally doable. I always had extra batteries and rarely used them, plus i seem to never have them on me and had to go get it anyway. So for me, i prefer this design and no swappable battery. I miss the SDCard but can make do with my usb flash drive to transfer stuff easily.
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I had a extra battery for my S5 and use it exactly ONCE! I HATE swapping out batteries. Power down - change - power up again - enter pin... And all data is gone. Its faster and easier just to plug the thing in a battery pack for a few minutes - and the state of the phone is the same with no rebooting needed.
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Changing batteries didn't erase us data, that is silly. Next u will claim changing WiFi routers caused you to lose everything
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Google drive is a great place to store work and omg,most browsers will return all tabs
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Did i say "erased"? No. I wrote "gone". If you change batteries, all open apps and their state/progress is GONE. Recent apps: GONE. Countdown/stopwatch in progress: GONE. Game progress between save-points: GONE. Navigation in progress: GONE. And so on... Fact is: its a pain in the butt. Akkupack: nothing gone, nothing interrupted.
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great review Andrew and nice job communicating with us since you got the phones last week. I had the S6 Edge penciled in as my next, but the combination of mediocre battery life and no removable battery leaves me second guessing myself. I need 2 phones to replace my S4 (business) and Nexus 4 (personal). I'll most likely either get the Note 5/Moto X 3rd gen or S6/Nexus 2015. If those disappoint, and they'd have to fail miserably, is consider the iPhone 6S IF the battery is exceptional and it has USB-C. Posted via the Android Central App
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You should consider the Xperia Z3 or do you upcoming Z4. The Z3 has a fantastic screen, industry leading battery life, microSD card support and it's waterproof, the only downside is the camera, but I think the Z4 is going to fix that.
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Well the S6 Edge definitely gets better battery life than the S4 and Nexus 4. Those were two of the worst. So what are you worried about?
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having a better battery than 2 phones pushing 3 years isn't saying much. with quick charge, i can either deal with a smaller battery or not having a removable one, both issues being present are a problem. i'm not in a huge rush, so i'd like to see the rest of the 2015 flagships before making a decision. also, i hope to keep my next phones for 3 years minimum, and i'd prefer not having to deal with inferior battery life that whole time.
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No, you're right, it's certainly not saying much. I was just trying to say that it will get better battery life than you're used to so it will probably seem fine / good to you as long as you aren't comparing it to huge phones like the Note 4 with huge batteries.
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I went best buy and played with both. Glad I picked the edge version.
I'm excited no matter what the review here says. I have 14 days. If it sucks I'll just get iPhone 6 and be done with it. Posted via the Android Central App -
Don't do that. I just switched back to android using a note 3 from the iPhone 6 for 3 months. The iPhone is a good phone but god, it annoyed me so much for lack of customization that i had to check myself over and over just to see if i was still male... Me and my daughter are up for up grades now and we are still debating what to get. ...either 2 S6's or 2 M9's. Not sure yet. Posted via the Android Central App
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Lol. I just went Note 4 from iPhone 6+ and it is stale and boring. But camera is stellar and it just works. Posted via the Android Central App
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The note 4 stale and boring? Naw. The note 4 is a beast!! I gave it to my step dad. ..long story. The iPhone has a great camera but i think it's on par with the note 4.....just easier to use. But if you were talking about the iPhone being stale and boring. ...I'll have to agree. :) Posted via the Android Central App
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Andrew didn't do a toilet test yet, Gator, hold your horses! ;)
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Maybe he'd been using IOS for so long that he didn't realize Android is highly customizable Posted via the Note 4 or Tab S 10.5
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I went FROM iphone 6+ ( stale and boring ) TO the Note 4 (which is Not stale and boring)
The note 4 is a beast. Killer machine. -
Ah! OK! That's what I thought you meant...just makin' sure!
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"just convert" back already.
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shut up already . I can like both ios AND android at the same time because I don't have to look cool to my friends and draw a line in the sand and hate the other OS because i use one or the other.
only dumb people hate for no reason. I can like iOS, android, Black berry, Ubuntu, and WP ALL AT THE SAME TIME because I don't hate a company or an OS for no other reason except to hate.... -
Exactly the response I figured. You must be , what? Seven?
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Lol Posted via the Note 4 or Tab S 10.5
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I hate net gear and amazon s first attempt at a phone
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I have the M9 right now...the camera is such a disappointment :( I love HTC, but they missed on this one. It is about the same as my Moto X 2nd Gen camera which was mediocre at best.
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That's just bad luck, two years to go with a shitty camera. A good phone camera has become non negotiable, as it is the camera you will use 99% of the time. Unless you're a professional photographer.
Why did you choose the M9, as the bad camera was reported widely in reviews? -
... There are only 8 days.... The phone releases on the 10th Posted via the Android Central App
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I get mine the 8th and have 13 days as if the 8th to return it. Posted via the Android Central App
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Please stop giving Samsung devices to Andrew for review. He's biased and it shows any time he discusses Samsung phones. And since I've been told not to say anything if it isn't nice I'll stop here.
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I completely agree. Andrew did a great job! Andrew: take the next 30 minutes off and give yourself a raise. Posted via the Android Central App
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Sorry Phil - but the camera part of the review is SHIT. It misses the BASIC 3 things a good camera MUST have: No full size samples
No EXIFS
No comparison shots with other devices. Phil - i love you. I do. But don´t tell us this is quality work... You want one more? I give you one more: How is the video quality of the camera? Well - we don´t know. Because Andrew did not wrote ONE SINGLE WORD about it. Great job indeed... -
it would be nice if you actually supported your theory with facts. making comments, whether valid or not, without a single solid piece of evidence, just makes you look immature ... just saying Posted via the Android Central App
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He told it like it is I think. It's a great phone with a couple minor flaws that could be improved upon. What more do you want? It's not a perfect phone.
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I don't care for the lack of a removable battery and sd card slot, but it is a shame they didn't make the phone a few millimeters thicker in order to incorporate a larger battery. Between subpar battery life on the S6 and a meh camera on the M9, I'll probably find the battery life easier to tolerate .
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If they were to make this phone thicker for a bigger battery I think they would've had to ditch the glass back. If this phone was much thicker or heavier, it would be pretty much impossible to hold. It's currently able to be held pretty well due to its thin chassis and relatively light weight, but if you added it all up I don't think it'd be usable if it were thicker.
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I didn't think about that, but you do make a good point.
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Well the Z3 is just 7.3 mm thick and has a 3100 mah battery. Samsung could have made a better job.
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The Z3 is taller and wider than the S6 by a good bit also.
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interesting!!!!! Posted via the Note 4 or Tab S 10.5
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I disagree that the new tw doesn't feel modern. Of course it's subjective but I feel the dull look of stock is just boring. I find the bright colors uses in tw pleasing. As for speakers as long is it's loud enough for taking calls on loudspeaker and the occasion youtube clip I think most will be fine. When I listen to music i use headphones like most people. If you really care about the quality of your music, you won't really be relying on a phone speaker. Battery life Yh, really Samsung should have just kept it at 8mm like the s5, added a 3000mah battery and at the same time it would have meant a less protuding camera. Posted via Android Central App using galaxy s4
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"Inexplicable performance hiccups" hahahaha... you mean TouchWiz right?
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The 3 cons basically explain why you should not buy this phone. Samsung and HTC blew it this year. LG's G4 appears to be more of a mid range option this year. It's actually kind of nice phones are sort of hitting a wall as far as performance upgrades. It will save people money I think. It doesn't surprise me they are skimping on battery and sealing them inside. That's really the only reason people are going to upgrade. Once the batteries don't last a day people will reluctantly buy a new phone.
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Good point. Why does the G4 seem midrange? Removable battery, SD card support, probably the same, if not slimmer design..... Sounds like a winner to me. Hell, I wouldn't trade my G3 for the S6 and I imagine the G4 will be an improved G3. Posted via the Android Central App
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rumored to "only" be using an 808 which isnt top of the line flagship processor like in the s6 and m9.
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The M9 and Flex2 are reportedly throttling, so the 808 might not be that far behind in peak performance. Regardless, the vast majority of consumers won't care either way because they only use their phones for email, Facebook, photos, IM, and Clash of Clans. Though the 808 may give it the best battery life among the three.
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You do realize that the majority of phone buyers are totally unaware they can swap the battery or even have an sdcard...right? They buy a new phone instead of just the battery when it does not last a day or run out of space. I've seen it many times first hand. Most people don't read about phones online. They walk into the store and say, wow that one is the one I saw on TV that is supposed to be so cool and buy it! lol
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exactly. we're a decent number, but a tiny percentage. they'll sell tens of millions of these and 95% of the people buying it will do so for 2 reasons only: aesthetics and camera ... my girlfriend, parents, sister and friends never used an SD card and certainly never carried around a removable battery. Quick charge, Samsung Pay, fingerprint scanner and wireless charging are other features that'll interest them, but if the phone looks good, takes good pictures, and they think other people will think it looks cool, they'll gladly sign a 2 year contract .... and be oblivious to the Verizon logo on the back (same people have no clue you can actually buy a phone outright without a contract). Posted via the Android Central App
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You hit the nail on the head. I've noticed alot of people on here seem to think that the opinions of those on tech forums reflect those of the general public. Lol, not even close. Posted via the Note 4 or Tab S 10.5
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Exactly, even if they are aware the battery comes out, they usually take it to their carriers store and a sales rep tells them it would be cheaper to just upgrade their phone then buy a battery from their store with a 200% markup Posted via Android Central App
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I've had to replace the battery twice on my G S2 (yes, S2). Samsung batteries only last about a year - the second time, I replaced it with an Anker and have had no issues with it in 2 years. I also upgraded my SD card, so I guess I'm not typical. I suspect, though, that's it's people like me who hang onto a phone until they see a real need to upgrade that Samsung doesn't like - so removing the replaceable battery seems like a good thing to them. If the batteries at least lasted longer, it might not be a tremendous negative, but I do NOT want to have to replace phone just b/c a battery is garbage and doesn't last long. I'm not talking about every-day battery life, I'm talking about how long a battery lasts in general - how long b/f it stops holding a charge or how long b/f the battery starts overheating when charging, etc. I'm now looking around at other alternatives - I was a Samsung fan and had planned to stay with the Galaxy line for years to come, but this is a definite deal-breaker for me.
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sorry bud but there are certain conclusions that are easy enough to make off observation. not one of my coworkers, family members or friends know what an SD card or removable battery is. maybe a teenager, who's friends know more about iphones than chrsitopher columbus, are fully aware of what they are, but out of the 80 million or so devices Samsung will sell, only a small percentage (not to be confused with number of people) will be concerned or even inquire about removable batteries or SD cards. SD cards are huge? If you want to play detective, find out the number of cell phones purchased in 2014 and the number of SD cards then come back and share the percentage. I assume you don't have time for that, nor do I ... I guess I'll just have to go to bed knowing that wyldkytten from android central isn't satisfied by the lack of proof on one of the few things most people would actually agree with.
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Lol. He said the same thing to me not too long ago. I told him maybe he should ask around some time, lol. I think it's a shame that most people don't even know their Samsung phones have that feature. Some even bitch when their internal storage is full from photos and videos, lmao. I've seen it many times. Posted via the Note 4 or Tab S 10.5
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Story time:
Employee has a note 3. It was acting up and he didn't know what to do. I take it and pull the back off to remove the battery. He flipped $hit. "what did you do!?..... The back comes off!!??" I thought he was messing with me. He owned it for a year, absolutely loved the phone, no idea he could take the back off. Posted via the Android Central App -
I'll one up that story lol. I had an employee that broke the screen on her GS5. Asked me where to get it repaired and how much. I told her where and about $200-250. She was cursing. I said next time she should get a tempered glass screen protector. They help. She said I did get that when I bought this. The salesmen sold it to me. So i take the phone, scrape the protector off and it was only the protector cracked. She had no clue. Was bringing it to get fixed! Did not even realize what AT&T had really sold her, just bought it because the rep said to.
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We're saying that most people don't use expandable storage on their SMARTPHONES, knucklehead!! There are many different devices that support microSD, as you pointed out. No one is saying they don't like expandable storage. Holy shit man!! This is all you ever talk about on here. Get a life already, and stop being delusional ! Posted via the Note 4 or Tab S 10.5
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you do realize there are a ton of devices besides phones that use SDcards...right? cameras, computers, camcorders, photo frames, security devices, etc. But I can tell you from experience that none of my friends or relatives with an android phone have SDcards in their phones or even know they could put one.
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When I get a new phone, the first thing I do is put in a new SD card if the phone accepts them. Posted via the Android Central App
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First person to talk about performance issues. Maybe you got some doggy app you don't know about. Also the answer may be right in front of you (twitter app) and you just refuse to accept it. Instead you use it to bash touchwiz.
Sometimes it's easy to blame others than yourself. “Be together, not the same” -
Well considering I have two phones here, and did multiple factory resets to confirm suspicions, and did all of my own testing of course, I'm not entirely sure you can say that. I also don't use the official Twitter app. I use Fenix. And I'm not sure I would've seen the performance slowdowns if I had just used the phones for 2 or 3 days, only picking them up enough to look at features while i wrote the review. Instead I chose to use them for a full week (and am still using the GS6), and get a good feel for the devices, where I saw some slowdowns and performance hiccups. Got anything else bad to say?
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So out of all people who own and reviewed the S6 just ignored those performance issues. Only you is here to tell us the truth. Something doesn't add up here.
I'm not accusing you of anything, I'm just wondering why all of them are lying and you on the other hand is telling the truth. “Be together, not the same” -
Maybe TW just isn't that great. The more things change the more they stay the same.. Posted via the Android Central App
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I think you are accusing me of something, actually, and I think it's quite rude. I used my review phones just as I used every other phone I own and have owned, and the phones just aren't as smooth as some of the competition. And as I said I did factory resets, waited for updates and did all appropriate troubleshooting, I'm not an idiot. I don't read reviews of phones while I'm reviewing them, so I can't actually tell you what they're saying. I just know what I saw, and I wrote it all out here.
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Who made you out to be an idiot? If you don't like it when people disagree with you that's not my problem. I wasn't rude to you in any way so stop with that nonsense.
I asked you a simple question, why is it only you who's having these issues and the answer you came with wasn't good enough. Instead you chose to play a victim card. “Be together, not the same” -
Andrew isn't the only reviewer who has noticed an occasional performance hiccup, thus your question is invalid.
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He's one of the few that I have read report this. With that said, you can't please everyone. i don't know why people get so mad over reviews.
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@gtg465x, exactly! Google+ All Day Everyday
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Not taking sides but he did specify in the review that there was only performance issues in a few select apps. Furthermore how is he supposed to know why competing reviewers didn't dog on performance? Personally, I enjoy a critical review, this one was good, but I did get the feeling that he personally didn't like the phone, it seemed more towards battery life then performance though. Posted via Android Central App
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You were/are rude. You were accusing him of misleading people with his review.
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oh don't back down now tough guy! u made the accusation, fair enough, now back it up with specific facts ... my guess is you don't have many to support your claim. and whether or not you agree with somebody's assessment, we're all allowed to have an opinion. would u feel better if ever single review came to the same conclusion? there's nothing wrong with disagreeing, I'm sure AC doesn't want a bunch of yes men agreeing with all their comments. But have some respect and learn to present your argument in a mature fashion next time. Posted via the Android Central App
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Listen to the most recent Vergecast. Nilay and Deiter noticed a couple inexplicable performance hiccups as they were playing with the phone during the show. So it's not just Andrew.
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The hiccups could be down to lollipop I think. There's not been a single lollipop device I've had or tried that doesn't have some hiccup whether it's stock or not. There's also other considerations that maybe apps need to be optimised for the new Exynos chip. Got a question does the s6 have 1 handed mode still. I think thats a very underrated features of past samsung devices. Posted via Android Central App using galaxy s4
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Nope no one-handed use mode like the Note 4.
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Damn one of the useful features they should have kept instead they keep things like s voice and add junk like Facebook down our face. Good review Btw. Hopefully any stutters are improved by the time I get my hands on one. Posted via Android Central App using galaxy s4
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SO, just do not use Twitter and Google+ on the S6 and everything will be fine. Samsung should put a warning on the box. Maybe Samsung has just lost its way, but the diehards will never admit it. Posted via the Android Central App
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So Samsung should be blamed for f***ups that twitter and Google have done. I thought I've heard it all but this one takes it to another level. “Be together, not the same”
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I do not have a problem with the apps. By all your comments Samsung can do no wrong, it's everyone else's fault. Posted via the Android Central App
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By your comments Samsung is always wrong. Why should I take everything Andrew say as a gospel. “Be together, not the same”
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what did playtime end early today? man you're immature ... hopefully for your sake you're not older than 14 Posted via the Android Central App
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Look whose talking. I can play your game if I want to. This is the second time you disrespected me. You talked down on me the first time and I thought that was the end of it and now you're doing it again. Tell me where I'm wrong. Anybody can be wrong, we learn new things everyday, but don't clown me
I can be so rude as anyone can be, if you disrespect me. “Be together, not the same” -
@system set, no he is not the only one to have issues with the S6. Do some research please. Other reputable reviewers have also had the same issues as well. The S6 is not the hit out of the park Samsung was needed. Andrew hit the nail on the head. Google+ All Day Everyday
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If you put a different launcher on the S6 would it solve the lag issues. Posted via the Android Central App
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I've been using the Google Now Launcher since I finished the review. Of course the GNL is a bit lighter, but there wasn't ever issues with lag in the TouchWiz launcher... it's when you're switching apps or doing things inside of apps. Changing the launcher isn't going to boost app performance.
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Maybe most of those apps aren't optimized for 64bit and 3GB of ram. It shouldn't make much difference though but if the app isn't coded correctly, it can cause what you describe. Posted via the Android Central App
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The review gave me the impression that it was touchwiz/launcher that was having hiccups. I think some of the complaints are coming from the review being a little vague in terms of the performance hiccups. Battery impressions would have been better with a little more info...what was your screen on time? Is auto-brightness overly aggressive? That sort of thing. But good review...thanks for the info.
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Only lag I noticed on the devices are hitting the home button. But like any Samsung phone that's done on purpose because it hesitates to make sure you're not trying to double press it to open the camera. Or S Voice on older phones. Posted via the Android Central App
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Heck, even the iPhone lags and stutters here and there. ... Posted via the Android Central App
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Sure, every phone lags and stutters, just as I said in the review. The S6 just does it more often than others, and it's noticeable.
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I agree. That is why i gave the note 4 to my step dad. He was always complaining about the stuttering on the note 3 so i traded him. The note 4 stuttered too, just not so much. I think it might be time to check out the M9. My wife has the E8 and daughter has the M7 and they both love them. Posted via the Android Central App
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I call complete BS on this. Can't wait for your "S6 vs" videos to show us all that lag you keep spouting off about. Maybe start with a Nexus 6 vs video and then go from there. This site and all the Google and HTC fan boys such as yourself that hang out here can have it. I'm done here.
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Good review. But this guy seems like a little bit of a anti Touchwiz extremest. You make it sound like using the software requires you to sacrifice your first born. While I also prefer stock android, I have to say this version of Touchwiz feels a heck of a lot better than any previous models. I also don't notice any slow down when using models at best buy that already have retail mode on them. Posted via my soon to be retired Moto X 2014
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Not at all saying that TouchWiz is like torture, but in 2015 when you have Google, HTC and Motorola all making software decisions that are pleasant to the eye and very good performance-wise, it's tough to give Samsung slack with some of its poor decisions. Sure it's a lot better than previous versions, but I don't think that means its worthy of praise. And using a phone at Best Buy versus in your sole possession as a main phone are two completely different things. Every phone should be fast when its sitting on a show floor with no apps installed and a fresh software reset. It's a different thing when you load it up with your own stuff and use it like a real person.
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HTC sense does not qualify as "easy on the eye software" Posted via the Android Central App
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Sense is the best skin out there, by far.
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Being pleasant to the eye is subjective not a fact. Don't shove it down our throats that Google, HTC are doing it better. If you like stock or sense ui good for you.
Why don't you call Google out on their apps for using too much battery on our phones.
"And using a phone at Best Buy versus in your sole possession as a main phone are two completely different things. Every phone should be fast when its sitting on a show floor WITH NO APPS INSTALLED and a fresh software reset. IT'S A DIFFERENT THING WHEN YOU LOAD IT UP WITH YOUR OWN STUFF AND USE IT LIKE A REAL PERSON"
Bingo we got the answer to your performance issue. No matter how many times you reset the device as long as you keep installing those bad apps you will get the same results. If the phone performs very good when your apps aren't installed then the answer is just right in front of you but you choose to ignore it.
Like they say insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome. “Be together, not the same” -
He said it himself. He may not realise that but he did say it when he was replying to mlemos89. Also this is what he said replying to Csquared " there wasn't ever issues with lag in the touchwiz launcher... it's when you're switching apps or doing things inside of apps.
What has the guy have to say to know that the phone isn't the problem but apps or the user. “Be together, not the same” -
Moron.
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Not sure how you can say I'm installing "bad apps" when you have no idea what apps I have installed or how I'm using the phone. To say nothing of the fact that I install all of the same apps on every other phone I own, and those phones handle them just fine.
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It was my suggestion. I never said you're installing only bad apps. Some people say snap chat is causing problems on their S6. They didn't jump and say touchwiz is the problem because they took time to find out what was the problem than to jump into conclusion. It's easy to blame touchwiz due to its past history.
Please don't take it the wrong way and think that I'm accusing you of not doing enough diligence to find out what's causing the issue. “Be together, not the same” -
Can't agree more since in the past, the first thing a custom ROM does is gets rid of touchwiz and second thing it replaces bloatware with apps that are integrated into the system to help the phone. Not sale t shirts or some other agenda but that is older galaxie . The launcher has potential
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Andrew, can you share what apps you've installed and more importantly, if any have caused noticeable lag? I think people are looking to hard at this. A 2500 mAh battery in a beast of a phone just isn't gonna get good battery life. simple as that Posted via the Android Central App
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Andrew said he installed the same apps on other phones where he didn't have such noticeable 'lag and stutter' performance issues. Understandably, Samsung fanboys have viemently exhibited pitiful butt hurt behavior since the S4. Would they ever admit the S5 was a POS and a failure. Never! And we also have to endure that obnoxious Note group.
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That's like saying the ps3 was a failure because the ps2 sold more and had longer staying powe . I'd still take the ps3, aka sgs5 sales
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Your posts read as if you're a Samsung employee. lol. Frankly, I'll trust the guys reviews because up until now I've found them all to be pretty much spot on. Posted via the Android Central App
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GTFOH. Are we not allowed to challenge Andrew and if we do we automatically become Samsung employees. I asked him a simple question and all he could say was I'm trying to make him out to be an idiot.
A person has to know when to make a move and when to hold. If he thought that he will just write touchwiz is slow and people will just accept it without questions then he's mistaken. I hope he didn't think that we only read AC nothing else to compare this information with. “Be together, not the same” -
Not sure how you challenge an opinion. If I think chocolate ice cream is better than vanilla, you're not going to change my mind. Why don't you throw up a review? Oh wait, you don't have the phone yet so you have no idea how it performs. Posted via the Android Central App
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If a phone is slow or it lags is not an opinion it's a fact. Seriously do people here know the difference between an opinion and a fact.
If I say touchwiz is ugly that's an opinion but if I say touchwiz lag that's a fact if I can prove it. “Be together, not the same” -
I have a bone to pick with people using opinion as a "get out of jail" card. An opinion is debate, so it's made to be challenged. Stubbornness is another issues.
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Touchwiz is slow...and ugly. It's not just him.
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like nails on a chalk board ... just embarrassing yourself more and more with each comment ... that said I'm glad your voicing your opinion, and I wouldn't suggest that change. I just obviously disagree ... really disagree with you. bit hey, to each his own Posted via the Android Central App
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How am I embarrassing myself? If you disagree with what I'm saying tell me than to say I'm embarrassing myself without adding anything. “Be together, not the same”
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i love how you constantly tell others to provide facts or add something, when you provide 0 facts or supporting evidence to your opinions. you don't even offer a solid argument, just complain when things aren't to your liking .... need evidence? read your posts
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Your reading comprehension is weak. Seriously I thought you heard some good points and now I know why you use kindergarten argument style.
Facts: Most reviews never spoke about performance issues. You can read them yourself if you don't believe me.
What evidence do I have to give to support my opinion. I guess you know what an opinion is? If I say fish taste better than beef that's an opinion I don't have to produce any evidence.
Your whole reply is just nonsense.
I'm not complaining I'm just asking Andrew why his findings are different than other people so that I can make an informed decision when making my next purchase from the money I earned without the help from Samsung or AC. Andrew should be prepared to get these sort of question because he's the one who had the device. If he can't answer those simple question then why should I trust his review.
I'm a mechanical engineer so excuse me for not relying on one result. If you produce 100 phones there's bound to be some which are defective eg 5. Does does that mean all 95 are bad? “Be together, not the same” -
Design is subjective, sure, but if the majority of people think that Samsung's software design isn't as good as Apple's, Google's, or HTC's, it's pretty safe to say their design isn't as good.
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What majority? Don't make me laugh if you think people who visit these sites are majority. Majority will never determine anything when it comes to a subjective matter. “Be together, not the same”
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I'm referring to the majority of people who have an opinion of course. The majority of my co-workers who are software designers by profession, the majority of my other co-workers and friends in Silicon Valley, and the majority of my family and relatives who generally don't know as much about technology. Regardless of who I talk to, people either know nothing about design and have no opinion, or people do know something about design and think Samsung isn't great at it.
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Seriously what don't you get about the word subjective. I don't care about what your co-workers, mum and dad say about touchwiz it's still a subjective matter. By the way there are billions of people in the world so your mum and dad don't represent everyone.
I can find a girl to be ugly and my friends, family and associates may agree too. Then some people can find that girl beautiful and even some can go to the lengths of killing you when they see you chatting with her. So tell me whose wrong between those two groups. “Be together, not the same” -
Dude, just because the concept of subjectivity exists doesn't mean something can't be generally regarded as ugly. It just means there will always be at least a few who disagree. And I didn't poll my mom and dad you troll. I have discussed this with professionals in the field of software design who have actual degrees on the matter. I'm done responding to your bs.
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WTF if someone disagree with you they're trolls. No matter how you try to dress it subjective will never change. You can discuss it with your professionals in the field of software design it still won't mean a thing.
Thanks for letting me know that you won't be responding to me cause I don't like to have a back and forth with a simpleton who is influenced by other peoples thoughts. “Be together, not the same” -
"I don't care about what your mum and dad say" "I don't like to have a back and forth with a simpleton" "WTF if someone disagree with you they're trolls" No, someone who can't have a logical, civilized discussion without resorting to assaulting the other persons character is a troll. And guess what, many aspects of software design are in fact objective. A 100x100 pixel button is objectively better than a 1x1 pixel button because a 1x1 pixel button will be almost impossible to see and press. That's just one example. There are millions of others.
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1:"I don't care what your mum and dad say" If that's an insult, I think you're just being a drama queen. I suggest you just go and sit by the corner and suck your thumb.
2:"I don't like to have a back and forth with a simpleton" Respect is earned not demanded. If you're respectful to me I'll return the favour. You called me a troll for no apparent reason and you expect me to be happy about it.
3: "No, someone who can't have a logical, civilised discussion without resorting to assaulting (insulting) the other person's character is a troll" Now I know that for me calling you a simpleton was right on the mark. It's you who started the insulting and it's you who came with unlogical BS that a general public can change a subjective matter to a fact.
Seriously stop, functionality and beauty are two different things. How can I use 1x1 pixel button when I can't even see it. Some things can be beautiful but not usable.
Seriously is English your first language? “Be together, not the same” -
I swear to god, this guy is worse than Richard Yarrell... Is there a universe where there are no brain-dead Samsung fanboys who ONLY use Samsung phones? Can we have folks who actually spend more than a day using other OEM skins? I have to agree with Andrew. I used an S6 and TW doesn't feel different. It feels very 2012-ish. When HTC is giving Sense a facelift and stock Android is also getting more material love and LG seems to be ready to redesign its skin, Samsung missed a huge opportunity here.
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I believe that you mean it doesn't "look" any different. If you actually do mean it doesn't feel any different then I'm just curious what you mean by that because you can't possibly mean that the UI is operating the same as Touchwiz on the S3 did.
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It looks marginally different, but it feels like the same TW we've known from 2012, minus the annoying whistle and bloop sounds. If you like it and are familiar with it, more power to you. But at least it's better than the last, but I think "Project Zero" raised my expectations for TW a little too high.
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But what about it feels like it's 3 years old? The animations? The responsiveness? The icons? The what?? What feels the same?
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*This is based on my first impressions after playing with the S6 and S6 Edge for some time. May be subject to change. The overall look is pretty much the same as the first TW Nature UX, albeit with Lollipop tweaks and S5 icons as well as a flatter design. Navigation is the same (which is fine), some animations feel very similar and chances are, if you've used the UI on the S3, you'll feel at home here, whether you like it or not. The theme engine is a plus, however. I really liked how some apps adopted the Lollipop style and Material Design and how it's less "in-your-face" than previous iterations, but more needs to be done. I'm itching for the day TW looks like that leak AC posted before the S5 was revealed and is actually stripped down with pre-installed apps that users can choose to uninstall on setup. Heck, HTC Sense 7 feels very identical to Sense 6. Your mileage may vary, however. Posted via Android Central App on a HTC One M7 running Sense 7.0
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You should really read your own post here. You're biased and don't even know it. You state that Google, Motorola, and HTC all have software that is pleasant to the eye and very good performance wise as if Samsung couldn't possibly be. Anyway I'll be waiting for those "S6 vs" videos so you can show us how all of the three phones have better software performance software than the S6. The problem is I've seen a few of those vs videos already and they dont but I'll wait anyway.
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Exactly I'm waiting for that too. There's so much evidence out there to suggest otherwise. The truth will come out at the end of the day. “Be together, not the same”
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Last Moto phone which was good was Razr.
There isn't a single good thing about Moto X, not one. Stock Android means shit for 95% of population. -
Kind of like saying a 76 Ford Pinto is better than a 74. Posted via the Android Central App
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Wasn't '74 the one with the flaming gas tank?
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The camera images displayed here don't really tell the full story. No images of children taken moving/ playing inside as a parent I need this feature to work well.
Note 4 still after 4 versions hasn't got it right yet in Auto camera mode with or without flash. Consistently opting for crazy slow shutter speeds of 1/45th at 64asa inside? When 1/125th at 400asa would produce clearer shots. My Note4 went back after 2 days, overpriced, cheap build, camera tech programming hasn't moved on enough from Note2. Note4 images outside top notch sharp. But some subjects do move Samsung/Sony!! .Hope the S6 has solved this?
If the Note5 camera, build, touchwiz isn't spot on Samsung phones will be finished and I'll go other ways. -
Yep. Note 4 doesn't come close to G3 camera when it comes too less than perfect (real life) conditions. via AC App on VZW Moto X DE/N7
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First time in my life that I have not been tempted to buy the new Galaxy S device. I really hope that Sammy doesn't screw the Note line up like they just did with the S line. Worse case scenario I'll keep my note 4 until it dies on me. Form over function is so stupid. Posted via my GALAXY NOTE 4
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+1000000 Posted via the Android Central App
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First time since the Galaxy S2 that I will be buying a Samsung device. I really hope Samsung continues this trend. Form over function is so stupid. Function over form is so stupid. Form plus function is where it's at.
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I agree, it's just that 95% of people that buy into the form and don't think about function that screws it all up.
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Great review! I have been waiting patiently to read AC's review. I can say from reading this and others impressions/uses of the phone, it seems the battery really took the biggest hit on this phone. I really, really want to get this phone, but with that battery life I'm just not so sure. I still have my M8 which works perfectly fine. I think I will hold out and wait for their S7 or whatever next year and get that. Perhaps by then they will have worked out any kinks they have encountered with this first re-release of their Galaxy line, including upping that really small battery.
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First time I saw some people see performance hiccups. Posted via the Android Central App
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So I went to Best Buy yesterday to play around with both of them and I'll have to say personal preference is that I like the usual design over the Edge. It felt better in the hand and I noticed that those rounded edges sure did pick up a lot of light and glare. Actually I found it to be distracting, which is a bummer cause I was really excited for the Edge model and was leaning that way.
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I just wanted to recognize and applaud the person who provided the photographs (of the device) in this article. Wow. Stunning. Best of any review site I've seen. Great composition, lighting, color, everything. Bravo. *EDIT* - wow, i haven't logged into this account since I had the storm. Jesus.
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Thanks! All of the review pictures were taken by me :) . I take pride in my photography and think it's an important part of any device review or article.
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did u take the pics with the other phone (s6/edge)? Posted via the Android Central App
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Oh god no. My Olympus.
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Keep in mind the phone hasn't been officially released yet. T-Mobile was just sending their orders out early. From what I'm seeing on XDA, once the initial cell network wake lock issues get resolved, this phone will have some pretty great battery life.
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will it improve? hopefully. but i don't think the word "great" will describe the battery. I hope I'm wrong, but a 2500 mAh battery, no matter how efficient the phone is, is just to small for such a powerful device. good, hopefully. great, not a chance. Posted via the Android Central App
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I've been following android for about 5 years now and I have to say that this is probably the worst review I've ever seen by any major mobile tech site. It's full of the authors personal opinions and he seems to go our of his way to not give Samsung the credit they deserve.
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Samsung is perfect, the Galaxy S6 is perfect and so is touchwiz and the S6's small battery. Everything is perfect. Is that a good enough review for you?
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Damn, that really would've saved me some time... I wrote all of that for nothing.
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Hhahahah that's what some people wanna hear. No phone is perfect and there is no point in reading a review if the person isn't ready to acknowledge that. I think your review was pretty fair, and you sure know how to keep your cool with so many ignorant commenters in here.
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You forgot - the Galaxy S6 Edge is even more perfect!
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What credit? Posted via the Android Central App
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Reviews are exactly that...personal opinions. Everyone has one and they can be different ;)
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Agree. And others opinion is called a Survey.
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Not really
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Zero intrest in purchasing either of these gimmicky, anemic & fragile devices. I'm curious about the active - which sounds like it will have the battery that these should have had. Hopefully it won't be butched up & is available on more than one carrier...
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fragile??? have you seen the drop tests. One of the toughest phones out right now.
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No I haven't, but thank you for pointing out the obvious & making my point for me: Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Durability Drop Test!: http://youtu.be/QozCc2wX85U
Step away from the cool aid - glass will NEVER be tough in a drop test -
First one I've seen that it broke on first falls, Of course nothing made of glass is unbreakable. However, all phones have glass on the front and the edge did very well on most of the drop tests I've seen. Far better than the competition. But best thing is to just not drop it :)
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I think you will enjoy this one! LOL The S6 is not fragile for a phone, but weird way to show it.
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XOTE2MjIyMDky.htmlBB%BF -
Step away from the hate/bashing...this phone can be tough in a drop test(s). There are more that show it is a very durable for a mobile phone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdkPKeOVOrk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDS9T5dy7GI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8kVfBROq-E -
Exactly.. Posted via the Android Central App
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Smart Brian very good idea. And to support your comment, those apple like seams that Samsung is now using are faulty. I have the chappy G6 Edge and on my second one after waking up to a cracked screen on the lower left seem. Never dropped it or did anything to it, yeah everyone thought I surely dropped it. They are very fragile and the glassas a backing was downright stupid.
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Good honest review, I'm taken a step back and waiting to see what LG and Motorola have in store before using my hardware upgrade. Posted via the Android Central App
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My past 4 phones that I've purchased have been Sammy's so if u want to call me a troll whatev, but this s6 is NOT the next big thing Posted via the Android Central App
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good stuff..just fyi though, i don't think it's called Qualcomm Quick Charging, because it's not a Snapdragon processor. i think this is samsung's own quick charging method.
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Yup it's called Samsung Adaptive Fast Charging. But the point made in the review here is that its compatible with Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 chargers. Same specs on the chargers and the S6 charges fast whether you choose a Samsung Fast Charger or a QC 2.0 one.
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But, but ... 14nm chip, super advanced screen, XLDDR1000
Sorry,
THERE IS NO REPLACEMENT FOR DISPLACEMENT. via AC App on VZW Moto X DE/N7 -
are you saying this review was of a rice burner? /S
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Hey Andrew will you or anyone do a comparison performance wise between the S6 and the Nexus6, I'm starting to get the impression that with Samsung with of its bells and whistles still chokes and with all the tech Sammy has it shouldn't be hiccuping
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Great review. Coming from the M8, I too did the smaller battery life and audio quality. Even through bluetooth stereo the audio does not compare with the M8, and I was expecting the battery to be better but I can't go 10 hours without having to charge. But like stated here, the quick charge helps a lot with that.
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Andrew, a well written, balanced and what I think objective review . We need more of this. Much appreciated and well done.
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Hey Andrew quick question: The occasional jank and lag your noticing on the S6, is it comparable to how the S4 when it released? Thanks for the review, was really looking forward to AC's opinion of the phone. Posted via the Android Central App
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Another fantastic review, thank you! I do have a couple of questions though: 1- what kind of screen on time do you get on an average day (rough estimate)? 2- could you possibly try your hand at a cinematic video shoot, kinda like the ones that were made with the iPhone 6? I wanna see how good the video quality is... Cheers Posted via the Android Central App
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This would be the perfect phone for me except that damn battery. Way to big and bulky for my liking. Posted via the Android Central App
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The only review so far that has mentioned bad battery life and hiccups and stutters. Makes you wonder.
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Probably the only review that didn't get paid off by Sammy. lol. Honestly, if you think a 2500mah battery is going to cut it I really don't know what to tell ya. Posted via the Android Central App
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+1 Posted via the Android Central App
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Actually all reviews I've read have mentioned the the battery isn't great. Posted via the Android Central App
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Ha, you're all bitching about battery life...try living with the HTC One (M7)... I'm drooling over the S6 but waiting for the Note 5. Anything is better than the M7 when it comes to battery life and would be perfectly happy with the 10-12 hours of battery life I have been reading. /rant
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I own both, the note 4 and the S6 Edge. I get the same battery life out of the edge as I did with my S5. It last me 13 to 16 hours before needing to be charged. The note 4 would last a bit longer, but I knew that before buying the edge. I will hang on to my note 4 and use it once in a while or on a trip. But the edge will be my daily driver
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This sounds about right. As much as it would be nice to have better battery life, most of the phones cited for comparison are much physically larger phones. Samsung still has the smallest flagship for one handed use (other than the Z3 compact, which is not available on Sprint), and as long as the battery is similar to the S5 it's hard to expect much better for form factor reasons as Andrew cited above. Posted via the Android Central App
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Does it last you that long with everything turned on or with some micromanaging of location/bluetooth etc.?
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I haven't turned anything down and I run the screen at about 80% brightness. I also run blue tooth all the time as I have it tied to my watch.
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A QHD + a 2550 mAh battery = lackluster battery life. I'm not surprised. I'm looking for excellent, not lackluster. I'll be saving my money until the second half of the year.
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This screen is more power efficient than the s5.
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Can't wait tell April 10th :) Posted via the Android Central App
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Outside of the battery life performance issues this is one beast of a phone and I really think this is going to give the iphone6 more then a run for it's money even in the sales department. But only time will tell for sure.
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I've played with the speaker and i dont think its bad at all actually. Not htc or moto good, but better than everything else. Posted via the Android Central App
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I'm sick and tired of people complaining about battery life. Every damn phone that Comes out, it's the same arguments. People want better build quality, Samsung did that yet people aren't happy. They provided wireless charging, quick charge and not to mention there's plenty of accessories that will get you more battery. Is it that difficult to plug in your phone for 20 mins? Because that's all you'll need to go from 30 to 70% even battery packs can take advantage of quick charge, car chargers even. The fact of the matter is, Samsung delivered on build quality, performance, camera and options. No manufacturer is perfect, no phone is perfect. I'm hearing a lot of people say the note 4 was perfect, no it wasn't. I owned one for 3 months and it still lags, the metal sides chip easily, the speaker isn't good and it's got an awful fingerprint scanner. It's a awesome phone and one of my favorites, but it's not perfect. Posted via the Android Central App
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I am so undecided on this years new phone!! I spent about 20 minutes with both of these at BestBuy yesterday afternoon. The hardware looked and felt great to me! I like the flat version a lot more over the edge personally. I just DO NOT like TW at all. It looks like crap and is a mess. Its a real disappointment for sure. The M9 felt great too, and at least in the store I didnt see anything so bad about the camera. It seems fine to me, but I dont use my M8 camera as anything more than a backup and posting pictures online one. It may just be a good idea to see where things go here over the next few months. I have a feeling this will be an amazing year for phones.
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I'm with you on touch wiz, but actually using the avenger theme on the edge actually looks pretty good. I normally can only take stock for about a day. But I'm doing okay with it this way. J would like to be able to change a few icons though.
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Let's face it. Most of us have car chargers. QI chargers, etc. Is the non removable battery that big a deal? I honestly don't think so. And I own a Nexus 6! Cell phones change. I tend to think that the company's know more than the average consumer. The average consumer is not on these websites. They have no clue. Just my opinion. Posted via the Android Central App
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I believe this was tested fairly and comprehensively. (Leaning towards a Note 4 though.)
More charging options for the sealed battery, but the same battery structure so things won't change until graphene batteries are out (so a tv show told me!).
*8 am to 10 pm every time* would be fine for me, with medium use, but I can't see even *11 hours being consistent long - term. We've all been here before.
(* I corrected myself!) -
I have had my s6 since Monday and the battery is just as good as my s5. Most people talking bad about the battery don't have the phone lol. My on screen time is around 3 hours and the phone is around 20% at the end of the day. On Wednesday it got down to 12% before I went to bed with 3 1/2 hours on screen time. I'm super happy with the phone so far I just want to figure out a way to turn the led off while charging lol not sure why they would take that option out.
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That is pretty poor battery life if you ask me. I would have to recharge the phone twice during the day just to make it through the day. Ouch. Posted via the Android Central App
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So you want a phone to last all day with 6 hours on screen time? Good luck..
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Yeah, see any phone with a bigger battery than this.
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+1, 3.5 hours of on-screen time is turrible. That's what I get on my S4, and am forced to carry a spare battery that is fully charged to swap out mid-day, followed by another charge later on if I want it to carry me into the later hours at night. On a good day, if I barely had time to use my phone (say, 1-2hrs on-screen time), I am down to ~20% by EOD. This is on a brand new battery, too. Quick Charge 2.0 is great and all, but (and I've been saying this literally for years) there simply isn't enough focus on development in the battery realm. Adding more cells in a smaller package isn't the answer. It's been done, and done, and done. We need an emerging, sustainable battery technology that will perhaps initially hit the manufacturer of the device more than the consumer in terms of cost, but will ultimately catch on quickly and become a standard. No doubt that's how lithium batteries became one. Considering they date back 20+ years, I'd say it's time to explore and implement some of what's being developed in Europe and Asia in real-world devices. If everyone who bought the iPhone 6 and Galaxy S6 are willing to compromise on a non-removable battery with no expandable storage: those same people will be more than happy to pay more for longer battery life.
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Yea I work for a living and after work I spend time with the family. If you need more then 3.5 hours on screen time then I'm sorry but something is wrong... Say you sleep 8 hours and on your phone 3.5 that give 12.5 hours to work and live lol.. Put the phone down man....
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I guess you're unaware that a vast percentage of people (myself included) require technology and devices in order to do their job. Without mine, I can't work. So, before we go around placing judgment, let's make sure we've got our story straight. The replies you're getting aren't about the do's and don'ts of life and the principles and priorities within, they're about the battery life of a device that is hailed as being at the tippy top of the ladder. Critiquing the shortcomings of said device are to be expected, especially when you remove functionality your customer base has grown to rely on.
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I figured you would say you need your phone for work. There is not a phone on the market that was meant to be used for eight hours at work. If that is the case then a case with a battery pack built in is the only option for you with any phone.
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Now you're just reaching. Even that statement isn't true. There are a few devices that get much better battery life than the Samsung lineup, like the newer Droid line on Verizon. I'm not a Verizon subscriber, so I'm fairly limited in that regard. I see nothing wrong with mixing business and pleasure when it comes to having that freedom on my phone. On one device, I can do everything that I need to, along with everything I want to. Do I absolutely have to have more than 3.5 hours of screen-on time? No. That's not really the point, though. I'm also one of literally hundreds - if not thousands - who have mentioned the battery limitations being a dealbreaker. AC did an entire article on the topic, specific to the S6.
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If I can get 3 1/2 hours of on-screen time with any phone I'm happy. If I need more than that I guess I'm just going to have to plug it in and charge it in the car or at home. Even if a battery lasted 24 hours of on-screen time people would say they want 28. Either way the S6 is an awesome phone so far.
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I agree 3 - 3.5 hours is fine for a handheld phone, but all of 2014, and before, on the Note 3 forum we were aiming and getting 4.5 - 5.5 hours SOT (I often got 6 on a quiet weekend). That doesn't mean our eyes are focused on the screen for the whole 5 hours with 5 hours SOT.
There is a lot more you are willing to do and view on a larger screen. was hoping the Qhd screen on the S6 would negate the smaller size, in lieu of getting a Note 4. Anyone coming from a Note 3 or 5 hours SOT will be sorely disappointed atm, but it's early days yet. Posted via the Android Central App -
Uhh, yeah...3.5 hours screen on time is pretty awful haha.
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Qualcomm's quick charging??????? Really??? Maybe you wanna check the source. Posted via the Android Central App
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So.. In Short... Unless all you crave is a beautiful device that takes great pictures, it still sucks... Isn't it cheaper to just buy a decent point and shoot :)
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I appreciate the in depth review as always, and the results were pretty much what I had a feeling they were going to be. Not great battery and laggy at times. I was afraid that was going to be the case. I just think that in 2015 we shouldn't have to settle and make concessions when in comes to flagship devices. At least not as much as Samsung wants us to. I will definitely pass on the S6, maybe Samsung can redeem themselves with the upcoming Note 5. Posted via the Android Central App
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I've never used a Samsung phone but for the first time in years I'm shopping around. This is as good if not better a review I've read published in Android Central in all the years I've followed it. Well done Andrew!
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Great review, as always! This perfectly outlines my initial impressions with the S6 and the S6 Edge. I played with both not too long ago and I really liked the design (but I'm reserved on the glass back) and from my initial experience, the camera was one of the very best in the business. It takes great pictures, has a lot of modes, has a manual exposure mode for DSLR-users (take notes, LG. I prefer having control over my camera in certain situations) and has a ton of modes. Performance was also good.......mostly. It felt snappy, there was no home screen redraw after opening and switching multiple apps and the camera launch shortcut by double-pressing the home button was impressively quick. It launched in less than a second, which is a huge plus for me. However, it's not all roses. There was still some lag present, perhaps more than I'd like (my HTC One M7 felt a little quicker even though it's filled to the brim with junk) and I'm still pretty disappointed in how TouchWiz isn't what Samsung stated in the presentation. It's still pretty bloated (56 apps pre-installed? Really?!) (HTC, that system dump on the M9 is TOO DAMN BIG). Plus, I dislike the ergonomics of the Edge. It is extremely awkward to hold and TBH, there is little reason to justify the premium over the standard S6. While I love the screen's great contrast and vibrant colors, it's pretty hard to tell it's 1440p. In fact, I thought I was looking at a 1080p display before I looked at the spec sheet. Let's not forget the lack of a removable battery and microSD card expansion slot. Speakers are decent for regular consumers, but watch your finger. You can easily cover the whole thing. Overall, I'm pretty mixed on the S6. It offers many things that are great but also, stuff that is not so great. If I had a choice between the 2, I'd pick the S6. It feels better to hold and the Edge doesn't offer much extra to justify its premium.
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If they ever decide to release a Galaxy S6 GPE, I'm interested.
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I just got back from Best Buy after doing my own hands on review. Can't remove Facebook, can't remove instagram, the themes look cartoonish. Yeah it's a "pretty" phone but I and legIons of others will not be spending money on the S6. Google+ All Day Everyday
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Their statement on removable bloatware was apparently misinterpreted. You can't actually remove them. You can only disable and hide them. The 23GB of usable space could have been 25GB or a little more if you could remove the extra crap.
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What samsung apps are eating up 2gb of space?
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The 25GB was an estimation. You might get less or more if you can remove the extra apps. Some of that could be down to Lollipop, as the Nexus 6 is reported to have 25GB of usable storage. I take it you didn't hear the S6 comes with a record 56 apps pre-installed? Not to mention the unnecessarily large system dump file on the M9? Posted via Android Central App on a HTC One M7 running Sense 7.0
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Got mine and love it.... How sad you can't remove some apps lol
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Leglons? New word I suppose Posted via the Android Central App
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I can't get past the physical home button....
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It leaves extra screen real-estate by not requiring the on-screen navbar, but as a consequence, the bezel size is increased. Plus, since KitKat, the navbar can be hidden when viewing videos or playing games, as long as the app in question supports it. On-screen navbars are getting more popular. I put an S6 and an LG G3 side-by-side and thanks to the large top and bottom bezels on the S6, it was nearly as big as the G3.
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This phone is not meant for people who doesn't like physical button. It should have been clear since the time they announced it.
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The beauty of Android is that you have choices. That is, until Google starts forcing everyone to use on-screen navbars, which I hope will never happen.
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I can't buy a phone that doesn't take an SD card. I've been using the same 16gb card for years from phone to phone and I Love that no matter what(almost),I'm not gonna lose my most important files. Yeah sure,there's clouds and etc to upload things,but this is much more convenient in my opinion. I could have a phone with 1tb storage but if by some twist of fate my phone is smashed all I have to do is throw my card in the next phone or plug it in my computer. The fun of android is all about options,and I hate seeing any of them go on more phones without a REAL good reason. As far as the non removable battery,I can't say that worries me,but I do prefure the option of taking it out for a quick reset sometimes. Posted via the Android Central App
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So you store your most important files on your sd card? Or even your phone? Might not be the best place for that...
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I have waited all through the s5 to get the s6. But I will NOT buy it due to the bad things listed
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Same here. Not only no but hell no. Google+ All Day Everyday
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Keep your S5. You still have a great device.
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Really really tiresome review. It looks like the site is going the ars techina route. Alas only a few genuine sites left where you can actually read a quality reviews (hint: Anandtech).
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Ohh, BTW please leave your (as in case of any Android fansites), leave Moto X out of the equation. Hardly anybody thinks of it as a standard for other phones.. Really nobody cares about Moto X. So, no need to remind us how much you like that in reviews of every device. Just gets irritating after awhile.
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I am loving my white S6 but coming from a Nexus 5, I've have to adjust. I installed the Google Now Launcher so that's his toned down Touchwiz a bit. I miss some things like screen pinning and having. Ore control of my apps. Wtf do I need an email app for if I use Gmail, and Internet if I use Chrome or Firefox ? I Cant even disable them! Posted via the Android Central App
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This is my last post/comment on the abomination known as the S6 or any Samsung device for that matter. I just want to thank Samsung for turning your ""loyal"" followers into wall/charging pad huggers. I could deal with touchwiz because I had sd card expansion and the option to install a new battery and prolong the phones life. That's out the window now. Now the Galaxy line is just another "cartoonish" fish in the pound now. Just an all round shame. I hope whoever purchases the S6 enjoys it. So long Samsung. Signing off................ Google+ All Day Everyday
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I'm starting to feel that Samsung fanboys are as bad or worse than iSheeps. Post a negative comment about the S6 and you're likely either gonna get downvoted or flamed. Whatever happened to opinions???
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Without having a smartwatch connected all day or having "social" accounts updating 'round the clock, I'm sure this phone would last at least a reasonable bit longer. Still 14 hours is about the amount of hours I'm awake during a given day. Well, each person will have their usage variances.
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Andrew man, you're spot on with your criticisms in all areas but one, regardless the product, slow downs will always happen. Its just the way our current level of technology is. My best buds iPhone 6+ lags and so did my 5S as does my Nexus 5. Granted I can't say I've had time with one, but I'm assuming that's the type of performance hiccups you encounter. But the smaller battery, all for the sake of being thin to compete with the iPhone 6 is foolish. Those phones are too thin. I'll still wait for the new Nexus 5
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Correct. All phones will lag. No phone is lag-free. However, he pointed out that it lagged a bit more than he had liked, especially compared to other phones. A factory reset didn't help. If anything, more optimization has to be done. Posted via Android Central App on a HTC One M7 running Sense 7.0
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Still cant believe the "cheap plastic" comments in reviews like this.. it almost takes away the validity of the person writing it. Id rather have the plastic on my note4 than a glass back. Dont care if the battery is removable or not, but rapid charging is NOT the answer to a small battery. The fast charger is nice, but only if you are close to a charger. This article pretty much turned me off to the S6.
Premium material's that now break easier but at least samsung gave in to the fashion police.
Lets put a fast charger on the phone, and then shrink the battery so you will want to buy fast chargers for home and work and vehicles.
We will complain about touchwiz, because its not vanilla, and you cannot be a serious reviewer if you do not bash touchwiz for not being vanilla. Just my two cents Verizon Note4 w/ Otterbox Defender -
He's not saying that TW should be vanilla. He just thought that TW could use a significant redesign, especially since they chose different materials for the S6, at least that's what I make it out to be after reading it 2 times. Posted via Android Central App on a HTC One M7 running Sense 7.0
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My white 64GB T-Mobile S6 will be delivered today!!! Yayyy!!!!! Posted via the Android Central App
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Tell us how it's like after you play around with it. I may not like it as much as others, but I hope you'll enjoy your device. :) Posted via Android Central App on a HTC One M7 running Sense 7.0
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Thanks! I'm having it sent to my work address, my site supervisor says UPS comes between 11:30-12:00, he will text me when it comes, my work is only a 10 minute drive from where I live, I have a silver Spigen case waiting. Posted via the Android Central App
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I just don't understand why some companies make these flagship phones that need to be charged during the day if you use them for a few hours. Takes these phones out of the consideration for me without even looking at them any further. Dumb. Oh, wow...lots of options to charge it? How about just putting a bigger battery in?
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Oh wow, charging is that much of a hassle, huh? Posted via the Android Central App
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It's not the difficulty of charging. It's the need to. Frankly, all my phones last through the day and this should do the same under light-medium use. A battery bank will be handy, though. Posted via the Android Central App on an LG G3 running Lollipop.
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I've been using a white 32GB S6 for 3 days now and I haven't noticed any performance issues. My phones is remarkably fast, from opening apps, to accessing the app tray, to going back to the homescreen. There is no stutter as far as I can see on mine. I have my phone tethered to a Pebble, so maybe Android Wear is causing your issues. Nearly every review I have read so far says that Touchwiz is fast and there is no lag, and that has been my experience.Even my Nexus 5 on Kit Kit wasn't this fast. That's not to say that Touchwiz is pretty. I installed the Goggle Now Launcher to get it to look like a Nexus again. I installed hangouts for SMS but I am debating whether there is something better because Hangouts looks very dated, and it looks forest green on the S6 versus light green on my Nexus 5 which is weird. The Camera is great and fast. It's amazing coming from a Nexus. The hardware is top notch. Seems tough, but I have a Spiegen bumper case on it just in case. All in all, I am impressed. I picked this phone over the Nexus 6 and I don't regret it. Once you customize Touchwhiz to how you like it, you don't miss stock Android as much. Hopefully Samsung will allow user designed themes that will bring the look closer to stock lollipop. I do miss screen pinning and direct dial widgets for contacts on the homescreen, but I also gained other useful features.
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My largest complaint about not having a removable battery. You cannot easily extend the life of the phone if the battery starts to go. I am still using my SGS3 and it is going strong but the battery needs replaced and I can and will easily do that.
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I found that if you disable the bundled bundled Amazon app and disable the flipboard page you have zero lag at all... so far
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Predictions for Fall 2015 - The Xperia Z4 and iPhone 6S will one-up this phone at the high price end. It goes without saying that both companies watch what Samsung does right and wrong in the Spring and make sure they refine those for their own launches in the fall, Chinese smartphone makers will also hit Samsung at the low priced end, offering not as good but nearly as good phones at a lower price. My final impressions is that the S6 is a great phone but it didn't leap far enough ahead of 2014's Z3 or iPhone 6 Plus to make it better in any notable way than either of the two, It pretty much put it on par with those and it's not far ahead enough to be on par with the Z4 and iPhone 6S in 6 months. None of my comments reflect how well it will actually sell to the common masses, I'm referring purely to how things will look for smartphone tech enthusiasts. We all know by now sales to the average Joe/Jane have little to do with which phones are actually better from a techie standpoint
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I plan on upgrading in about a month from an LG G2. Still not sure what my next phone will be. Sounds mostly positive, but the batty issue is killing me. I started out on android with the HTC Evo. I really love Sense, but the battery is what killed it for me. It's also keeping me away from considering One M9....maybe I'll just go back to iOS? :-/ Posted via Android Central App
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Wait for the XPERIA Z4 or the LG G4. Still early to pull the trigger. It has only just begun. Posted via the Android Central App on an LG G3 running Lollipop.
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No way am I sticking with LG. Being a former HTC owner, there was a lot of stuff missing in the LG G2 that I took for granted with HTC Sense. The overall unity of Sense, the contact widget and the way sense synced my contacts with social media. I found it easier to clean up redundancies with sense, something I'm struggling to do with LG. I'm also having issues with my G2 dropping WiFi even though I have a strong signal. I need to upgrade soon for this reason. Posted via Android Central App
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One of the best reviews of the device I've read. Well written, well thought out, didn't seem like the use was rushed to get a review up on the website. I liked it a lot. I also like that you commented on the negative aspects of the phone. It only helps with people deciding whether to purchase the phone or not. I get tired of reading reviews where everything is all sunshine and rainbows, then when you get the device, it has issues and problems with it that other devices didn't have. So thanks for that. Very good review Andrew. Would be nice to see a post with the other AC editors' opinions of the phone.
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So many complaints throughout every Samsung review and yet they just adore these phones. Software experience still sucks on all Samsung phones. I'll keep my Nexus 6. Posted via the Android Central App
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Soooo: if I want the best camera and screen i have to put up with crappy touchwiz and lousy speakers on a SG6.
If I want the best user interface and speakers i have to put up with a stinky camera on the HTC M9.
Wish some manufacturer would get it all right some time. #wishfulthinking -
Heh...imagine that - A Samsung device with terrible battery life and battery longevity. Unheard of!
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I love how AC dropped this article yesterday and let it marinate. No posts since. Hit count city!
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I saw the Samsung Galaxy s6 on display at Best Buy the other day, it was BEAUTIFUL! The weightlessness of it, the glass backing, and the paper thin design... Just amazing. I did however notice one upsetting factor... The new LED light is yellow and not white... This light was MUCH less bright than my Galaxy s4 light... What is up with that?! Posted via Android Central App
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I've not thoroughly used the S6, though I've seen it and held it as well, and I can guarantee you that LED is not limited to one color.
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On mine, I've seen yellow, green, white, and red so far. Posted via the Android Central App
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Really?! We are talking about the back LED right? If so bravo for Samsung! Posted via Android Central App
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Don't understand why the reviewers are freaking out over weak battery life. With Samsung devices you just keep a backup charged and ready to instantly swap. That's one of the huge advantages that Samsung has.
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Not sure if trolling, or... Posted via the Android Central App
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Something tells me you never read the entire review... Oh, no. You don't have to do that. I'll just give you the buzzkill. You can't do that anymore.
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Maybe you should have read the damn article. The battery can't be swapped. Posted via Android Central App
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I had the opportunity to mess around with the GS6 yesterday, while impatiently waiting for mine to show up next week :). My first impressions are much different than Andrew's but agree with some points. Having the GS5 in my pocket this past year and then going to try the GS6 out, to me there is a big difference. Whether it is the transitions while opening menus, etc. , or simply overall use, it seems Samsung has created a device that we have all wanted for a long time. The build quality of the S6 and S6 edge are dreamy, and the battery life seemed good. I disable anything that requires location and keep logged out of social media most of the day so I will hope to get better here. This thing blew my mind in terms of design, and usability. I simply loved it. I cannot wait to put it to use with my business.
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I'm also pretty stoked to pair my LG G WATCH with this!!!!
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Thanks for the nice review. It baffles me about how Samsung spends so many technical resources on developing the great camera and display but then sticking in a thin battery to have a thin phone. It is such a simple low tech solution to put in a larger battery to let the phone have maximum performance all day and night. I am more interested in performance than a skinny phone. This is even more of a problem now that the S6 sealed design makes using extended batteries impossible.
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meh
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Interesting battery bug has been identified at xda relating to excessive cell standby battery, which you show in one of your review photos. It seems turning off WiFi and WiFi calling and restarting the device fixes it for some, that might explain the lacklustre battery life Posted via the Android Central App
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This is the best review I've seen from you guys. No huge pictures or laggy formatting. Bottom line is up front where it belongs. Detailed review follows. Well done. Posted via the Android Central App
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Great, thorough review.
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Personally and I know this isn't the popular opinion but while its a good effort from Samsung they put all of their work into the part I don't care about. The metal build.
I put a case on my phones so I don't care what the phone is made of my plastic lg g3 and nexus 5 are just perfect.
Speaking of the G3 I don't see a huge difference between the G3 and the S6
3gb ram check
2k display check
Good camera with OIS check For myself I don't see any need to upgrade to any of this years flagships from my G3 What they could have done to sold me Huge battery with note class battery life
More refinement of touchwiz, make it really lighter from a resource standpoint, don't just put lipstick on the pig.
Reduce bloatware , and allow user to completely remove bundled apps not just disable Posted via the Android Central App -
Thanks for the review.. Checked these phones out recently at my local Samsung store and was pleasantly impressed. The only problem was being pestered to death by the sales person within about 4 seconds of entering! The battery life will be fine.. No card slot will be fine.. Qi charging will be great and fast charge will save the day.
Most normal users couldn't give a sh** about expanding memory anyway. Personally I prefer the edge. Bravo Samsung! Alanandroid Posted via the Android Central App -
Bummer abut the battery. Are we sure that some rogue app is not draining it? After 14 hours, I'm still at 60%. Posted via the Android Central App
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Never mind; just read through the comments and different phones have had the same apps installed. Hmmm... Posted via the Android Central App
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Honestly, Android is a battery hog and manufacturers have to give us more juice until it's fixed. Maybe Samsung gambled and thought Project Volta would improve battery life in Lollipop and it didn't yet? Whatever, I'll still give the black sapphire S6 a try and if I'm disappointed I'll just return it and wait for something else.
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Cell standby. Seems to be causing serious drain on Edge users running the 5.0.2 tmobile build with WiFi and wifi calling turned on, I have the same issue with my edge. With those off, definitely better Posted via the Android Central App
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Two great handsets. Quite interesting to see people complain about lack of this or the should of done that. I made a comment previously that Samsung doesn't really care if it loses a few thousand tech users who use forums like this they will gain a whole lot more customers than they lose with these new phones. They are targeting the masses not the niche. Posted via the Android Central App
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And now we see that the S6 bends at the same pressure, and breaks at less pressure than the iPhone 6. Of course, as with the iPhone, if you don't be a dummy and sit down on your phone, there shouldn't be a problem. But, it will be interesting to see how Fandroids are going to excuse their way out of this, after jumping on the "bendgate" train, LOL.
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Absolutely Great Review –thank you folks for a comprehensive review that was so informative!
While nothing can substitute for holding and using a cell phone personally, your review got very close ;-) The quick charge battery was interesting --14 hours on a light day is a frustrating normal. ;-(
If one sits in an office for most of the day –then that can be managed. However, if one is mobile during the normal day it’s a real issue. Quick charge is a nice feature, but it is not a real or equal substitute for swappable batteries. Oh, Andrew covered the new edge feature in a very full, useful and informative way –thanks for that –especially since this is a very attractive innovation that makes me think S6 Edge is going to be my next phone. (provided the screen cracks are not systemic) -
Does the Galaxy s6 support LTE-Advanced?
Since they dropped the QUALCOMM chipset for the modem I wonder if that was also dropped.
Also is there an IR port on the s6? -
The galaxy s6 is the ugliest looking phone I have ever seen or tried using complete fail samsung......
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What about the back LED light though? The other day I went to Best Buy and took a good look at the s6 and the s6 edge and I LOVED what I saw but unfortunately I realized that the back LED light was terrible! It wasn't near as bright as my Galaxy s4 and frankly didn't even look LED (because it was yellow). Posted via Android Central App
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Same shit different day Posted via the Android Central App
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i looked at one at best buy and it had used up 15 gb on system software???? Does anyone have the phone yet, and are you getting the same.
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I know this is an "old" post but I'd love for the writer to comment. I have a Droid Turbo, a G3, a Droid Maxx and Z30, among others. I also just picked up a Note Edge. Yes, I spend a lot on phones. So sue me :) There is a stretch of road - specifically route 90 about 20 miles east of Cleveland Oh that is death to Verizon phones. Both of my Motorolas break up then drop calls every time. So does the G3. The Z30 does not, nor does the Note Edge - the Edge i fact just shrugs it off where the Z30 may sometimes break up a bit. Now, I cannot keep the Note Edge because Verizon screwed up my order and sent it on a new line rather than updating my old Maxx line, which is what I wanted. I found the Edge uncomfortable and am thinking about the Note 4. Now I am also considering the S6. Question - is the design of the antennas and radio enough the same that I should get the same performance? I have to say I was unbelievably impressed with the Note Edge. Sound, radios, speaker, screen, everything was awesome and not dropping? Beautiful.
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Nice device, though i don't think that the egde will be a good thing in our pocket, especially with a key, or when falling since the area of the screen got larger and rounded.
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I just want to say that I have a bad impression about Samsung. Many friends own one but many problems occur. Like sometimes it will crash when own it more than a year , even half a year.
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Shoo.... 0pppppssss nice app Posted via the Android Central App
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I'll pass on both and keep my NOTE EDGE because:
1- EDGE on S6Edge has been dumbed down to just a few gimmicky features.
2- Note Edge just received LOLLIPOP upgrade
3- I prefer removable battery
4- I prefer expandable storage and can get 128GB storage for a lot less
5- I have optional wireless charging cover so I can charge wireless if I choose
6- Although the design is nice on the S6 and S6Edge, the Note Edge is pretty cool too, and I get a lot more for my money. I hope Samsung brings back functionality to the Edge screen for the Note Edge 2! -
I like Note 4, it is perfect machine for me
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Shop for Samsung Galaxy S6 now! Find top sites offering best deals and discounts on Samsung Galaxy S6 and latest Android phones. Visit now >> BestAndroidPhoneDeals(DOT)com (Just replace the (DOT) with the actual . )
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Awesome design as usual ..
No more explanation because i am already Samsung user..!! -
Hardware buttons are not a drawback nor should they impact the GS6's score. Posted via Gold 64GB Galaxy S6
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one of the best Samsung mobiles is Galaxy Note II .. i just brought it the time it was released ( 3 years ago ) and till now i am having it and i didn't sent it for Samsung services .. it is still good as it is old .. it needs only one who can use it properly .. should i buy Samsung Galaxy S6 edge or no ?
because some people saying that S6 edge is good and i want to try it so i am asking about it so that i know as it is good or bad .. -
It's adorable., owing to use the superficial phone....
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At first i was unhappy with the 6 edge - first time i have ever gone to a new phone right when it comes out. I was hoping this bug thing in our day and age was over... I was mistaken... While the look and feel of the 6 edge is nice there were/are too many issues - first thing i noticed was the camera buttons. while using the camera, all buttons for settings and whatnot were upside down. so when i went to take a picture, if came in upside down... next is the battery life... this battery life is nothing like they said it would be. Before this phone I was on the s4 and the life of the battery is virtually the same. that to me is very disappointing. while there was a software update already and that fixed the camera issue, i hope they can do something about the battery technology. last thing, rather very important as to the battery life... is the wifi, out of my lsat 4 cell phones, this one drops wifi like nobodies business. I watched my phone one time while on my home wifi and saw the connection drop and come back 6 times in 2 min. ( and yes, i know all about networking and those types of connections - it's what i do for work and i have the highest internet Time Warner Cable provides. no other device in my house while connected to wifi does what this phone does with losing connection like that. ) I hope samsung can over come this and get more software updates out to fix these issues - and soon! I have no problem going to another phone all together that i know already does not have these issues..
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Samsung Galaxy S6 & S6 EDGE
Launched an Amazon
All options with price control http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=as_li_qf_sp_sr_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&... -
i already own a galaxy s6 edge and it is one of the best phones i have ever used or came through my life
although i love note series more -
I just got my Samsung s6 almost a week ago and this morning i woke up to a fully charged phone that had the green blinking light indicating i had a message. So i proceeded to check phone. NOTHING!!!! Phone does not come on. Only a week old too. Called Samsung and will be sending off today. Not sure what they will do about that. Hope i dont get a refurbished phone as mine is new. Bummed out after spending so much money on this phone. Not happy with it and would give only 3 stars.
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Sounds as if I may wanna check it out for a few days.. although i am a very high user for work, persona;l and everything else. We will have to see if it holds up.. so far i can honestly say that the galaxy S3, S4, AND WORKING WITH THE S5 NOW ARE THE ONLY PHONES THAT COULD KEEP UP WITH ME.. i have somehow made iphone 5c pink & blue go stupid within 2 months each. HTC was alright it lasted about 4mo. and the LG2 1 week. anyways im a galaxy s seriers junkie love them .. hopoe the 6 or 6 edge holds up..
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I got the s6 in October 2015 and got a replacement in the spring because the screen jumped and other glitches. I rebooted first to see if that would work. Nope. Now my phone's camera will not focus. The reverse part is fine but I am not big on selfies. I am thinking about looking at the 5 since everyone loved theirs. Or looking for another phone that works with Facebook and emails. Phone works great.
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Samsung out did themselves no doubt on this "flagship" G6 Edge phone. Tell me phone makers why do you spend endless hours creating new junk when the battery can barely hang on. I have to turn everything off in order to avoid uhm what did Samsung call it "wall hugging"? old issues carry on from phone to phone. It's really not a heck of a cell phone my G3 processes everything so much better. I will never buy another samsung phone developers are just trying to meet deadlines now and it shows.
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They tell you these G6 phones charge quickly and its true. 2nd fact, it drains the battery even quicker. And please for you Sammy geeks don't tell me to shut down all the functions for it to last what's the point in having all the features if you can use them for 20 seconds. Lol great screen and camera psh whatever it's not that great And the camera takes 1 day to focus. Ok 15 seconds lol
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Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge (Sprint 32GB) - Just to be fair, this is a follow-up to a previous, negative review I wrote about a month ago. My phone was purchased in early July 2015. It worked for about two weeks. It then went to Samsung Repair Service for about 10 days. When the phone came back, it still didn't work and it was returned to Samsung the following day. They kept it for over two weeks and replaced hardware in the phone. The phone now works well and correctly as of Sep 12, 2015 after using it for over a week. I've adjusted settings in the phone and apps so that the battery keeps a high charge for the entire day. The battery rarely drops below 50% at the end of the day. So ~ if my phone continues to work correctly, it's a great phone with a lot of useful features!
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I am 62 1/2 years old and I love my new Galaxy S6 Edge. So easy to use, elegant, and fast! Whew, blows my hair back fast! Just bought it yesterday and have all my info loaded onto it already! Thank you to its creators!
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This is one of the worst phones i have ever owed. Screen stops working randomly. In order to get it to work again i have to hit the lock button several times. there are a number of software issues. I have had this phone since September and i have wanted to switch back to i phone ever since don't buy Galaxy's
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Waiting for S7.
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Do NOT buy a Samsung Galaxy S6/S6Edge. While the phone has incredible resolution, feels good, and has new features, its battery life (internal battery) is 7% that of a Galaxy S5. I upgraded from an S5 to an S6Edge. I charged the phone to 100% by 10 pm and by 5 am, the phone was completely dead. My S5 charge lasts almost 48 hours if the battery is relatively new and about 16-20 hours on an old battery. I talked to tech support and they said a 6-hour battery life on the S6 is normal!!!!!! You have to recharge it at least twice a day depending on how often you use it. And if you sync email, your battery will drain very quickly. At some cost (I lost $$$), I returned the S6Edge and got an S5. I love Samsung phones but this latest one is absolutely pathetic in terms of convenience since you have to charge it every few hours. If you are traveling, count on a dead phone!
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Just bought on of these for £315. Had saved to get the S7 but to save a few quid I went with a 64gb S6. Have to say I am loving it, I know it's over a year old now but specs, design are simply stunning. For the price (almost mid range pricing) it's possibly best phone available in that price bracket and still up there with most high end models. Loving it (sorry McDonald's) Posted via the Android Central App
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Nice and awesome phone is Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge.it has 3840x2160 (4K) (30 fps), 1920x1080 (1080p HD) (60 fps), 1280x720 (720p HD) (120 fps). Features are [+]Optical image stabilization, High Dynamic Range mode (HDR), Continuous autofocus, Picture-taking during video recording, Video light, Video calling. But i have used the Samsung Galaxy S6 impresses from the start with a gorgeous 5.1-inch Super AMOLED display with Quad HD resolution (1,440 x 2,560 pixels) leading to a pixel density of 577 ppi. The screen has been designed to offer pristine image quality with utmost quality and richness. It is reported to have a weight of 138g and carries an extremely slim profile at just 6.8mm. Constructed from a single piece of aluminium, the Samsung Galaxy S6 features Gorilla Glass 4 at the back. If you want to compare Smartphones please visit YupplePrice.