Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge Hands-on: Mindblowing Curved Glass and Metal Goodness

Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge Hands-on: Mindblowing Curved Glass and Metal Goodness

DSC06900

We go hands on with Samsung’s newest flagships

Samsung has a fire lit under its ass. Under fire in the high end market by Apple and the mid and low end by countless other companies both big and small, the Korean giant needed a new strategy and more importantly, a new device to win back hearts and minds. The Korean manufacturer has obliged with not just one, but two devices – the Galaxy S6 and the S6 Edge, and today we’ll be doing a deep dive into both devices.

Samsung Galaxy S6

  • Exynos 7420 octa-core processor
  • 3GB of RAM
  • 5.1-inch QHD Super AMOLED display, 2560 x 1440 resolution
  • 32/64/128GB of storage
  • 16-megapixel rear camera with OIS
  • 5-megapixel front camera
  • 3G, LTE Cat. 6
  • WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS, NFC
  • 2550mAh battery
  • Android 5.1 Lollipop, TouchWiz UI
  • 143.4 x 70.5 x 6.8mm

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge

  • Exynos 7420 octa-core processor
  • 3GB of RAM
  • 5.1-inch QHD Super AMOLED dual-edge display, 2560 x 1440 resolution
  • 32/64/128GB of storage
  • 16-megapixel rear camera with OIS
  • 5-megapixel front camera
  • 3G, LTE Cat. 6
  • WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS, NFC
  • 2600mAh battery
  • Android 5.1 Lollipop, TouchWiz UI
  • 142.1 x 70.1 x 7.0mm

As the leaks suggested, Samsung has gone with metal and glass for the two devices. The S6 and the S6 Edge uses a unibody metal construction that’s sandwiched in Gorilla Glass 4 and a special coating underneath to create an illusion of a deep sheen that’s more akin to jewelry than anything else. It’s one of the nicest looking phones that we’ve seen so far, especially when you’re staring at it from the back.

DSC06848

 

DSC06877

The edges of the device are curved and overall thickness of the device tops out at just 6.8mm (the S6 Edge is only a hair thicker, at 7mm). Both devices are lighter than the S5, and there’s certainly a trade-off when it comes to features – the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge loses the water resistance of the S5, along with the removable battery and expandable
memory. You’re stuck with 32GB, 64GB and 128GB of storage.

DSC06834

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge 07

Both devices use a 5.1-inch QHD Super AMOLED display, and obviously the biggest difference of the two devices is the edge display of the S6 Edge. The S6 Edge has an edge display that’s similar to the Note Edge, though there are distinct differences. The most glaring is that the S6 Edge has two edge displays compared to the Note Edge. The edge
display of the S6 Edge isn’t as deep as the Note Edge, and doesn’t have the same quick launch icon system that’s present.

DSC06880

DSC06894

The Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge represents a number of firsts for Samsung, including shunning Qualcomm as a chip provider. Instead, you’re getting Samsung’s octa-core Exynos 7420, paired with 3GB of RAM. As far as battery goes, the S6 has a 2550mAh battery while the S6 Edge has a 2600mAh battery, and both devices have wireless charging capabilities out of the gate, using the Qi standard.

DSC06860

The camera has been tweaked by Samsung as well, and though the company is staying with a 16-megapixel unit, the aperture has been tweaked to f/1.9 for both rear and front cameras for superior low-light performance.

DSC06884 DSC06885

The S6 and S6 Edge runs Android 5.1 Lollipop, along with their TouchWiz UI. There’s a lot of criticisms leveled at the UI of Samsung, and the company isn’t deaf to it – as a result, they’ve trimmed down the UI features to the absolute minimum, though users can still opt to download and install them if they’re interested in getting it.

Samsung Galaxy S6 01

While Samsung has not provided a firm price for the device once it lands on our soil, they have said that the device should be here mid-April. Both the S6 and the S6 Edge will be sold in the Philippines, and as a special treat, the S6 that will be sold in the country will be a dual-SIM deal. We’ve confirmed that Samsung will be bringing over the 32 and 64GB variants of the S6 and S6 Edge, though the 128GB versions are still TBD.

This MWC coverage is brought to you by:

Xperia

Share:

Facebook
Twitter

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *