On 1 March Samsung announced its 2015 flagship products – the S6 and the S6 Edge. Some say it’s an iPhone copy, others hail it as the next big thing in mobile technology. Luckily, Tech Girl was not only in Barcelona to get hands on with the phone but also at the South African live streaming to weigh in.
First impression
The Samsung S6 is very pretty with its metallic tones that change in the light (I feel like I need to make “The Dress” joke here, but I suspect it’s still too sensitive for Team White and Gold). Yes it looks like an iPhone, but let’s be honest here – how much variation is there in the world of smartphone design?
The first thing I noticed is that there is no SD slot, which is presumably because Samsung is relying on the cloud for storage, which I do not, because I don’t trust putting my very personal data (images, whatever) in what is ultimately a public space.
The most noticeable difference is in the S6 Edge which has a dual edged screen i.e. the screen goes over to the side on both sides of the phone. The larger screen allows for several nifty features – the ability to identify and answer a call when the screen is facing down and notifications appearing on the side screen. The S6 and S6 Edge boast Gorilla Glass 4 and a metal casing that is 50% stronger than leading brands. But with more screen to break and with gravity being to your screen what Scar was to Mufasa, I do not want to be around when a S6 Edge user drops this from a height (no word on Samsung’s screen repair policy for this model yet).
What’s changed
Selfie friendly camera
The new camera is my favourite new feature. The S6 has a 16MP back camera, 5MP front camera and an upgraded lense. The selfie below was taken in dim conditions with the front camera, which everyone has to admit is pretty awesome.
I know what you iPhone loyalists are saying – the iPhone is just as good. But when it comes to dimly lit conditions, it isn’t. The image below is from the Samsung unpacking, which gives a direct comparison between the S6 and the iPhone 6. Samsung is the clear winner here.
Faster charging
Samsung claims that just 10 minutes of charging will give you 4 hours of standby usage. This is a welcome upgrade, except they aren’t releasing numbers on the battery’s standby time which makes me immediately suspicious. Faster charging is great unless you have to charge your phone twice a day. It also supports wireless charging, which is a plus.
Samsung Pay
Samsung is looking to go head to head with Apple with their Samsung Pay feature which will roll out in South Korea and the USA in the second half of the year. Samsung Pay will use tokenisation and fingerprint scan to ensure secure phone payments. This means that you will be able to make payments with a simple swipe of your finger and tap of your phone. Samsung South Africa are currently working with local partners with a plan to roll out Samsung pay locally in due course.
Final Verdict
The S6 has some welcome improvements, but nothing that will justify what will probably be its large price tag. I recommend the S6 for Samsung loyalists, selfie ingénues and for anyone who is looking to nix their wallet eventually. For everyone else in the premium smartphone space, there’s the iPhone 6 and Sony Xperia Z3.
The S6 will be launching in South Africa on Friday, 10 April.
Our editor also got hands on with the phone in Barcelona. She got the notifications info re: the Edge wrong (what a chop) but you do get a chance to see the actual phone. You can watch that here:
Will you join the Next Galaxy with the S6?
