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* Samsung Galaxy S6 * Amazon Fire Phone
* Sony Xperia Z3 Compact D5803 * Motorola Moto G (2nd Generation)
* Samsung Galaxy A5 * Samsung Galaxy Young 2
* Samsung Galaxy S3 mini * Samsung Galaxy J1
* LG Realm * Nokia Lumia 635
* Nokia Lumia 520 * BLU Advance 4.0 A270A
* HTC Desire 510 (A11) white * HTC one M9
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The best
Android phone of 2015. The S6 is Samsung's best-looking Galaxy yet, losing some
features but adding so much more By
Marie
Brewis
The Samsung Galaxy S6 is the
company's best- looking smartphone yet, with Samsung tackling key concerns such as
build quality and software. Sure, it's lost a couple of features, but it's
gained so much more and, right now, is the best Android phone on the UK market. Read our
Samsung Galaxy S6 review
What an upgrade: a gorgeous Quad-HD
screen, vastly improved build quality, astonishing performance, more manageable
software, even better photography performance... And yet, much of the debate surroun- ding the new Galaxy S6 goes something like this: "It looks like an iPhone 6, and
just like Apple's phone it now has a non-removable battery, and no microSD
support or waterproofing. Samsung's lost me as a customer."
But let's not get our knickers in a
twist: the S6 gains so much more than what it loses. And we can quite easily
live with what we're losing..
The Samsung Galaxy S6 does indeed
look a bit more iPhone than did the Galaxy S5, but
it's still Samsung through and through. Remember what we had before, with that
awful dimpled plastic rear? It's no longer waterproof, but at least those who
don't drop their phone in the loo needn't fiddle with that irritating plastic
flap each time they need to charge their phone. For those of you who really
need the waterproofing, look to the rumoured Samsung Galaxy S6 Active.
With 32-, 64- and 128GB storage
options, OTG support, 100GB of free OneDrive space and unlimited Google Photos
storage for your photos and video, is the lack of microSD really a problem?
Storage has only ever really been a genuine issue when it comes to apps, which
more often than not couldn't be moved to the SD card, and the Galaxy S6 now has
at least double the amount of internal storage for these. You will likely find
faster performance when accessing files stored on internal- rather than
removable storage in any case.
We won't fob you off with the excuse
that reduced battery life can be countered with super-fast charging, built-in
wireless (not-so-fast) charging and an ultra power saving mode that makes the
phone pretty much unusable for all the things you want it for. The loss of
250mAh from the battery capacity and the addition of a higher-resolution screen
is not the combination we were dreaming of.
But let's not pretend the Samsung
Galaxy S5 would last a full working day for most users. Nor would most other
high-end phones for that matter. So you used to have to carry a spare battery;
now you need to carry a power bank or use a battery
case. And as you'll discover below, that's a compromise worth making.
Price and UK availability
The Samsung Galaxy S6 is available to pre-order now from Samsung and all major UK mobile operators. SIM-free it costs £599 with 32GB of storage or £660 with 64GB, while pricing for a 128GB version is coming soon. The device will go on sale on 10 April 2015.
Somewhat surprisingly, this means
SIM-free the Samsung Galaxy S6 is actually more expensive than the iPhone 6, which costs £539
for the 16GB model, £619 for 64GB, and £699 for 128GB. Even on contract this is
a pricey phone, so we recommend waiting a few months for the SIM-free price to
drop - which it will, rapidly.
We got our review sample from EE,
which is offering Wi-Fi calling on the Samsung Galaxy S6. For commuters or
those travelling to remote areas, the ability to place calls over Wi-Fi when
there's no cellular signal will be a real attraction. If this doesn't sound
like something you would use, also look to other mobile operators to find the
deal best suited to your needs.
The Galaxy S6 is expected to be available
worldwide from 10 April, but UK pricing has yet to be officially announced. Mobile Fun has revealed that it will be
selling the 32GB S6 for £579, which is the same as Samsung's original price for
the Galaxy S5.
We have also had confirmation that Vodafone
and Three will be among the carriers selling S6 contracts
Design and build
It has to be said the S6 is the
best-looking Samsung Galaxy yet, ditching the dimpled plastic rear cover of the
Galaxy S5 in favour of a
tough Gorilla Glass 4 back panel and metal chassis. At last Samsung's S-series
flagship looks, feels and acts like the premium smartphone it is. (A phone well
worth protecting)
We weren't at all keen on the shiny
mirror finish to the Blue Topaz model we saw at MWC 2015 , but our Black Sapphire sample is
gorgeous. The Galaxy S6 is also available in White Pearl and Gold Platinum. It
does attract fingerprints; more so with the coloured versions than the white
and black models. Whichever one you choose, we highly recommend viewing it in
store first.
Samsung has long been criticised for
copying Apple's designs, and with the S6 you can understand where some of those
claims might have come from. Indeed, Samsung has picked on all the things we
hate about the iPhone, and produced a handset that will anger many S-series
fans, removing the waterproofing protection and the ability to add in removable
storage and replace the battery. (If you need more power to get you through the
day your best bet is now to use a power bank).
In other respects the two are also
similar, in the same way are all premium smartphones. More so when viewed
side-on, with similarly rounded edges, button- and port positioning. For
example, on the right side you'll find a power button and SIM slot, at the top
left are volume buttons, and on the bottom a headphone jack, charging port and
speaker grill.
One might argue these are simply the best places for those things, of course: while we'd prefer to see a front-facing speaker, we wouldn't like the S6 to be any larger; it's already at the limit for comfortable one-handed use.
One might argue these are simply the best places for those things, of course: while we'd prefer to see a front-facing speaker, we wouldn't like the S6 to be any larger; it's already at the limit for comfortable one-handed use.
The lines on the iPhone's rear that extend to its edges appear to be mimicked on the S6's sides, with plastic strips apparently used to allow signals to pass through the metal. Here, though, they are found at the top- and bottom edges rather than left- and right.
Flip over the Samsung Galaxy S6 and
its camera is centred at the top of the device and protrudes much further than
that of the iPhone 6, which sits at top left. Both phones will therefore rock
when placed and prodded on the desk, but the central positioning and squarer
design of the Galaxy's camera means it comes off better in this regard.
Forget what you've read: the S6 is
larger and thicker than the iPhone 6. Although Samsung quotes 6.8mm against
Apple's 6.9mm, in our lab we measured 7.1mm. And taking into account the
protruding rear camera, it's actually 8.7mm. At 138g, it's also 9g heavier than
the iPhone 6.
The heart-rate scanner remains
present and unique to Samsung, but now has the neat functionality of acting as
a capture button for the selfie camera. This pairs with the preinstalled S
Health app to help you keep track of your daily activity and goals.
One thing Samsung has clearly borrowed from the iPhone 6 is its fingerprint scanner, and we're so glad it did. Now it works: first time; every time. Built into the home button as before, the S6 now uses touch- rather than swipe-style recognition, just like Apple's TouchID. It's easy to set up, and simple enough to use that you will actually want to do so. The fingerprint scanner will become more useful later this year when Samsung Pay comes to the UK, too.
But we've saved the best until last
here: the biggest difference between the Samsung Galaxy S6 and iPhone 6 is the
Galaxy's gorgeous, super-high-resolution Quad-HD screen. With 2560x1440 pixels
stretched across a 5.1in screen, the Samsung has a crazy pixel density of
577ppi - sharper even than the LG G3. You might argue that
such a high-resolution panel isn't necessary on a device of this size -
particularly one that you want to keep going all day long - but it's simply
stunning, and games, videos and pictures look amazing.
Samsung uses Super AMOLED screen
technology in its mobile devices, which omits a backlight and therefore places
less of a strain on the battery. That's not to say this screen is dull - at
600cd/m2 it's an improvement over the S5 and easy to see even in bright
daylight.
sAMOLED panels typically produce deep contrast (dark blacks and crisp whites) and saturated colours - an effect you'll either love or hate, and we love it.
sAMOLED panels typically produce deep contrast (dark blacks and crisp whites) and saturated colours - an effect you'll either love or hate, and we love it.
At first glance, you'd be forgiven for mistaking the Samsung Galaxy S6 for
the iPhone 6. Its
rounded edges with brushed metal look almost identical to Apple's flagship.
However, flip the S6 over and you'll spot a major difference: Samsung has
gone for a mirrored finish rather than the brushed finish you'll get with the
iPhone 6. Samsung describes the effect as a “unique visual texture that
reflects natural light.” We're not keen on it – it's quite blinding, and not in
a good way.
It also picks up fingerprints within minutes. There are four
colours to choose from, though, with the white and black models much less prone
to fingerprints and eye-aching mirror effects than the blue and gold models.
It's a departure from the traditionally plastic back for Samsung. Last
year's S5 had that dimpled plastic back, but the S6's metallic back is made
with Gorilla Glass 4, just like the display. Gorilla Glass 4 is designed to be
super-durable, but if something should happen to the back of your S6 you won't
find it as easy to fix as with the previous models, because Samsung has made
the decision to go for a unibody design and therefore no removable back. That,
of course, also means that there is no access to the battery.
It does feel
light and comfortable to hold and not too big, though, weighing 138g and
measuring 6.8mm thick (that's .1mm thinner than the iPhone 6 but 9g heavier, in
case you're wondering).
A big downfall to the S6, and incidentally another way that it's similar to
the iPhone 6, is that the S6 doesn't appear to be waterproof. Samsung only
introduced the waterproof design with the Galaxy S5, so the decision to
sacrifice that extra durability that many people loved about the previous model
is a surprising one.
Display
The Samsung Galaxy S6's display is stunning, at 5.1in and 577ppi, it's one
of the best screens we've seen so far on a smartphone. It's has a Quad HD 2560
x 1440 resolution. It's arguably a bit unnecessary on a screen of this size,
but there's no denying that it looks amazing.
As mentioned previously it's made with Gorilla Glass 4, so should prove to be tough and durable, and is Super AMOLED as can be expected from a Samsung flagship.
Hardware and performance
Something that's instantly obvious
when you pick up the Galaxy S6 is just how fast it is, with the only lag we
could find occuring when trying to use the multi-tasking screen or swiping in
the Flipboard pane to the left of the home screen (we removed this in any
case).
Everything else is fluid and achieved in an instant - even browsing the web on the train in notoriously patchy areas, we couldn't believe our eyes as pages that would usually take several seconds to load were just there .
Everything else is fluid and achieved in an instant - even browsing the web on the train in notoriously patchy areas, we couldn't believe our eyes as pages that would usually take several seconds to load were just there .
There is less bloatware dragging
down this phone, and TouchWiz really does feel as though it's had a rocket up
its bum. (We'll talk more about software later on.) But the core hardware is
impressive, too.
Having shunned the Qualcomm
Snapdragon 810 chip originally expected to be found inside the UK version of
the Samsung Galaxy S6, the company has opted for its own octa-core Exynos 7420
processor. This is a 14nm, 64-bit chip built with two quad-core (1.5GHz
Cortex-A53 and 2.1GHz Cortex A-57) sets.
A Mali-T760 GPU is integrated, and
there's 3GB of LPDDR4 RAM.
Storage-wise you get a choice: 32-,
64- or 128GB, plus unlimited storage for standard-size photos and video via
Google Photos,
and 100GB of free OneDrive space. After installing a handful of benchmarking
apps on our 32GB review sample we had just over 22GB free.
Oddly, given the identical hardware
inside, the Samsung Galaxy S6 didn't fare as well as the S6 Edge in our benchmarks, but
that just goes to show how reliable are such tests. Nevertheless, both phones
turned in a significantly higher multi-core result in Geekbench 3.0 than
anything we've ever seen before, with the S6 recording 4438 points and the Edge
5076. Their closest competitor here is the HTC One M9, with 3778
points. In single-core performance the phones turned in 1347- and 1501 points
respectively.
SunSpider performance is really very
good for an Android phone, with the Samsung Galaxy S6 recording a tiny 462ms
(this is iPhone territory) when tested with the preinstalled Samsung browser.
However, for a fair test we run all our SunSpider tests in Chrome, in which the S6
recorded 1048ms. Again, the S6 Edge fared better, with 990ms (lower is better
in this test).
For graphics benchmarks we use
GFXBench 3.0, in which the Samsung Galaxy S6 recorded 30- and 14fps in the
onscreen elements of T-Rex and Manhattan. In the newly released Manhattan 3.1
test the S6 scored 6fps.
We did find the Samsung Galaxy S6
became rather warm in use (and not only when stressing the hardware with our
benchmarks), but not uncomfortably so.
Inside the Samsung Galaxy S6 is a
2550mAh battery, slightly smaller than the 2600mAh battery inside the Galaxy S6
Edge. However, in our Geekbench 3.0 battery life tests it performed better. The
Galaxy S6 managed 6 hours 53 minutes in this test, with a battery life score of
4136. Meanwhile, the Edge recorded 6 hours 41 minutes with 4011 points.
There are a couple of other points
worth making in terms of the battery, too. You might lose 250mAh on the battery
capacity, the ability to swap in a spare and gain what's likely a
power-draining screen, but the S6 features wireless charging as standard (both
PMA and Qi standards), and also supports quick charging. Samsung says you'll
get enough power for four hours use in 10 minutes, and that it'll charge in half
the time of the iPhone 6. With the supplied adaptor we got from zero to 40
percent in 30 minutes.
We ran the same Geekbench 3.0
battery test on our now year-old Samsung Galaxy S5 to see how it compares. You
can't draw any accurate conclusions from this test as the phone has been in
full-time use for at least the past six months and the battery is not going to
be in the same condition that it was out of the box, but we can say battery
performance on the S6 is significantly better than on a year-old S5. In
Geekbench 3.0 the S5 recorded exactly 5 hours, with a battery score of 3001
points.
Let's not forget the Samsung Galaxy
S6 also has an Ultra power saving mode, which turns off non-essential features
and screen colours to vastly increase battery life, although it may well make
your phone unusable for all the things you want it for.
Inside the Galaxy S6 you'll find an Octacore
Exynos processor rather than Snapdragon, paired with 3GB RAM. During our time
with the Galaxy S6 we found it brilliantly fast, with apps launching pretty
must instantaneously every time. We're looking forward to getting the S6 into
our labs for some full benchmark testing, as we're expecting some impressive
results.
In
terms of storage, you might be surprised to find that there's no microSD card
slot in the Samsung Galaxy S6. The company has decided to take a leaf from
Apple's book, but a leaf that is likely to disappoint many of its fans.
Instead, you'll need to decide on the storage
space you'll need when you buy the S6. Samsung seems to have been smarter with
its starting space than Apple, opting for 32GB instead of the small 16GB of the
iPhone 6's starting model, and then also offering 64GB and 128GB models.When it comes to connectivity, you'll
find 802.11ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, LTE and an IR Remote.
Connectivity
Connectivity options are strong on
the Samsung Galaxy S6, with everything you'd expect: dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi,
Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, an IR blaster and a
Download Booster that can pair the power of 4G Cat 6 LTE with Wi-Fi for
downloads over 30MB. The Samsung Galaxy S6 takes a single nano-SIM.
Cameras
As a cameraphone the Samsung Galaxy
S6 is excellent. As before there is a 16Mp camera with LED flash at the rear,
but it now supports smart optical image stabilisation, automatic real-time HDR
and IR Detect White Balance.
There are all the manual controls and camera presets you would ever have need for, and we particularly like the fact a double-tap of the home button can launch the camera in a fraction of a second.
There are all the manual controls and camera presets you would ever have need for, and we particularly like the fact a double-tap of the home button can launch the camera in a fraction of a second.
With very little photographical expertise,
we found the S6 fast to focus and able to take great shots out of the box -
even in low light. There's no dedicated capture button, but in landscape mode
either of the volume buttons do the job. You can see the quality of the camera
in our standard St Pancras test shot below.
Video is supported up to 4K,
although set to full-HD by default. This makes sense since it would otherwise
eat through your storage. The S6 also has slow- and fast-motion video modes.
At the front of the phone is a 5Mp
selfie camera and, as we mentioned earlier, we like the ability to use the
heart-rate sensor as a capture button.
We were
really impressed with the camera during our testing. Samsung has given the S6
an excellent 16Mp snapper on the rear paired with an LED flash, and a 5Mp camera
on the front for some pretty good selfies, both with an f/1.9 aperture.
That rear-facing camera has optical image
stabilisation and some good auto-focusing features, including tracking and
selective focus. There's also auto real-time HDR (this applies to the
front-facing camera, too), as well as low light video capabilities, slow
motion, fast motion, IR Detect White Balance and more.
Handily, a simple double click of the home
button on the S6 will launch the camera from any screen.
Software
So much of the Samsung Galaxy S6's
software was hyped up before its launch. Most importantly, TouchWiz was said to
be stripped right back, and not as laggy with less bloat preinstalled.
There are fewer apps preinstalled on
the S6, but you still get a lot. As well as all Google's apps you get Samsung's
own apps for browsing the web, listening to music and watching videos, managing
emails and calendar appointments, plus social apps for Instagram, Facebook and
Messenger, and several tools including Memo, My Files, S Voice, Smart manager,
Voice Recorder and Smart Remote.
Then there's the Galaxy Apps store, S Health and My Galaxy, as well as the rumoured Microsoft suite that turned out simply to be OneNote, OneDrive and Skype (you can always download Word, PowerPoint and Excel free from Google Play if you need them).
Then there's the Galaxy Apps store, S Health and My Galaxy, as well as the rumoured Microsoft suite that turned out simply to be OneNote, OneDrive and Skype (you can always download Word, PowerPoint and Excel free from Google Play if you need them).
With our phone supplied by EE, we
also found MyEE, Lookout and a Games & Apps store. So that's three app
stores you'll find on this phone if you purchase it from EE.
What's different here is that
although you can't uninstall many of the preinstalled apps, you can disable
them or hide them from view. Plus, TouchWiz is fast.
The most
notable changes TouchWiz makes to the standard Android 5.0 Lollipop OS
installed on the Samsung Galaxy S6 are in the Settings menu and drop-down
notification bar. Both are easy to find your way around and customisable,
allowing you to choose which settings or toggles you want to access most
frequently and place those at the top of the window. Also in the notification
bar you'll find a brightness slider and shortcuts to S Finder and Quick Connect.
Some
users will find TouchWiz's Easy mode beneficial, putting the phone's key
features right at their fingertips. The Samsung Galaxy S6 also features a
Private mode and Do not disturb, the latter preventing incoming calls, text
messages and emails if you're trying to watch a film or play a game. Of course,
if you still don't like it you can disable TouchWiz by installing a custom
launcher.
New to
the Samsung Galaxy S6 are themes. Installed on the phone are the default-,
pink- and space themes, and there's access to a new Themes store that offers
free themes for everything from Hello Kitty to Lego.
Several
gestures are supported. Besides those we've already mentioned, Smart Stay lets
the Galaxy S6 track when you are looking at the screen and prevent it going to
sleep. It also supports Direct Call (instantly calling a contact as you hold it
to your ear), Smart Alert (vibrating when you pick it up to warn of missed
calls or notifications), and gestures for muting the phone or taking a
screenshot with a swipe of the palm.
One of
our favourite software features of the Samsung Galaxy S6 is Split Screen, which
lets you view two apps on screen at once. This is accessed via the
multi-tasking menu, but doesn't support every app on the phone.
The
Samsung Galaxy S6 also supports lock screen notifications, although these can
be turned off in the Settings menu.
The Galaxy S6 runs Android 5.0 Lollipop, as
can be expected. It's overlaid with Samsung's TouchWiz UI. There's the S Health
4.0 app, which will track your activity thanks to the various sensors including
a barometer and is also used in conjunction with the heart rate scanner on the
rear of the device.
Samsung's new Samsung Pay is made available
thanks to the NFC chip, too, though it isn't set to launch in the US until the
second half of 2015 so won't arrive in the UK for a long time.
One interesting thing is that the S6 comes
with Microsoft Apps pre-installed, and you'll get OneDrive with 115GB of space
for two years, as well as Microsoft's OneNote app.
Samsung KNOX is present with security
features including Find My Mobile.
Battery life
Samsung representatives were keen on highlighting the S6's battery life. The
company claims that just 10 minutes of charging time will give you four hours
of battery life, and there's optional wireless charging available too.
The battery itself is 2,550mAh. Samsung provides an Ultra Power Saving Mode
for prolonging that battery life further. We'll be bringing you full battery
tests soon.
Extra features
In terms of additional features we've got the fingerprint scanner in the
home button, which has been tweaked to now recognise your fingerprint with just
a touch rather than the previously slightly annoying downward swipe.
Rating
Samsung's Galaxy S6 is the best
Android phone of 2015 so far, although we've yet to see what's to come from the
LG G4 and Sony Xperia Z4.
It's fast, it's well built, it has a gorgeous screen and the software isn't overly intrusive. The fingerprint scanner is vastly improved, the heart-rate scanner a potential draw for some users, and the wireless- and fast charging welcome inclusions.
We'd like to see the price come down (which we are sure it will) and it's a shame we've lost the removable battery, waterproofing and microSD support, but these are all things we can live with.
If you want to see the price of this Samsung Galaxy S6 click here
See other product :
* Samsung Galaxy S6 * Amazon Fire Phone
* Sony Xperia Z3 Compact D5803 * Motorola Moto G (2nd Generation)
* Samsung Galaxy A5 * Samsung Galaxy Young 2
* Samsung Galaxy S3 mini * Samsung Galaxy J1
* LG Realm * Nokia Lumia 635
* Nokia Lumia 520 * BLU Advance 4.0 A270A
* HTC Desire 510 (A11) white * HTC one M9
See other Review :
TrustedReview
TechRadar
It's fast, it's well built, it has a gorgeous screen and the software isn't overly intrusive. The fingerprint scanner is vastly improved, the heart-rate scanner a potential draw for some users, and the wireless- and fast charging welcome inclusions.
We'd like to see the price come down (which we are sure it will) and it's a shame we've lost the removable battery, waterproofing and microSD support, but these are all things we can live with.
If you want to see the price of this Samsung Galaxy S6 click here
See other product :
* Samsung Galaxy S6 * Amazon Fire Phone
* Sony Xperia Z3 Compact D5803 * Motorola Moto G (2nd Generation)
* Samsung Galaxy A5 * Samsung Galaxy Young 2
* Samsung Galaxy S3 mini * Samsung Galaxy J1
* LG Realm * Nokia Lumia 635
* Nokia Lumia 520 * BLU Advance 4.0 A270A
* HTC Desire 510 (A11) white * HTC one M9
See other Review :
TrustedReview
TechRadar