A Quick Introduction – Samsung Galaxy S6 Review
Samsung Galaxy S6 is a powerful and attractive looking smartphone. The Galaxy S series is being revamped and their features upgraded. The latest Galaxy S6 model will no longer feature plastic, but instead the more premium glass and metal. Unfortunately, the sealed battery, lack of a card slot, and no waterproofing capabilities are some prominent drawbacks. However, Samsung being Samsung will definitely have something better up its sleeves. Let’s take a look at other details in this Samsung Galaxy S6 Review.
The aesthetics of the Samsung Galaxy S6 is amazing and uses an AMOLED screen. Its 5.1-inch screen with QHD resolution makes for the best ever display experience. With this model, Samsung is completely depending on its Exynos platform. This chipset allows higher clock speeds, lower power consumption, making it overall faster and more efficient. The company has not forgotten about the camera. It has a 16MP rear camera with a wide f/1.9 aperture and a 5MP selfie camera also with an f/1.9 aperture. While the rear camera offers optical image stabilization, the front selfie camera has superior low-light capabilities.
Design and Build Quality
Samsung used all its creative abilities to design the Samsung Galaxy S6. Its body is made of a brushed metal frame that works to hold the glass panels together. While plastic is no doubt more durable in nature since metal can easily dent and glass can crack, the latter options lend a premium look and feel to the product. The phone features Corning Gorilla Glass 4 both in the front and at the back – this is seen for the first time in the Samsung S series. Letting go of plastic and investing in glass and metal is the cheapest and the easiest way to offer a luxurious experience without increasing its weight.
As the company tried its hardest to make a better product, it did have to let go of a few things. This includes ditching the removable battery. Unfortunately, Samsung also decided to remove the dust and water protection. Why this decision was taken is anybody’s guess since this feature was a major selling point for Galaxy S5. As expected, despite the beautiful design, there is a camera hump. However, some might consider the fact that a better lens, the introduction of the new fingerprint sensor, and optical image stabilization make up for the loss. Unlike other phones featuring glass bodies, the S6 is not very slippery. However, you might have to deal with constant smudges.
Performance and User Interface
Samsung Galaxy S6 is the first flagship phone of the company which doesn’t come with microSD expansion. All its predecessors had memory expansion which was one of the highlights of the phones. When Google disabled this feature, Samsung supported the shifting of apps to the SD card! Today, the company uses its UFS 2.0 storage which makes storage and retrieving much faster.
Coming to the user interface of this smartphone, it features the usual Samsung homepage. However, there are some new features. The lock screen might seem cluttered at times, especially if you get a lot of messages and so on. The lock screen shows two notifications – the others are collapsed. You will see the icons of the other apps with alerts. To see the entire list, you can always tap on the down arrow. If you don’t want to see notifications from a certain app, you can go to the settings menu and disable it. Besides notification, the lock screen also shows weather info and your pedometer advancements. It also features a camera and call dialler option – a quick way to access these apps. The other shortcut to access the camera is to double-tap the home key. No matter where you are, you will be able to access the camera app instantly.
Display
The display experience of the latest Samsung Galaxy S6 is the highlight of the model. The super AMOLED display offers 577ppi. Samsung has chosen to go with the diamond-shaped PenTile matrix. The default screen mode lets the user experience each color, shade, and tone vibrantly and vividly. You can enjoy its low reflectivity and wide-angle viewing without any issues. Comparatively, the S6 model is not as bright as some others in the market. However, for your reference, its brightness is higher than that of the Galaxy Note 4. It is good enough for use in bright sunlight.
Other Features
The fingerprint scanner on this phone is pretty reliable. After you have fed your data into it, it doesn’t take a lot of time to analyze and unlock the phone. You don’t even have to place your finger very precisely. You can also have a private mode and secure it with your fingerprint. In private mode, a secure folder is created which will not show up anymore when the mode is not enabled. You can also set up such that the private mode is disabled every time you unlock the phone. If you don’t want snoopy people to glance at your notifications and texts, hiding the content in the lock screen is a great option. There is also a Smart Lock feature. This disables the functions when a trusted or already paired device is connected, such as a car stereo, NFC sticker, or a Bluetooth smartwatch.
There are also plenty of themes here. You will have the option of downloading whichever one you want from the Galaxy Apps store. There is even an Avengers theme one! With these themes, you can change the icons, the wallpapers, and even some of the Samsung default apps. The notification area also changes. Besides the graphical and visual changes, you will also be able to add new alarm notes, notification sounds, and new ringtones with these themes.
Audio Quality
The Samsung Galaxy S6 audio could easily be the best in this price range. Its clear stereo quality output is a clear winner. With headphones, you would be hard-pressed to find such a good option. It also offers one of the best accurate audio reproductions, satisfying most audiophiles out there. However, regarding the volume control, it does not go as high as some others.
Samsung’s TouchWiz music player is a favorite among the fans. The app is clean and intuitive to work with. There are only two main screens – with one, you can browse your playlist and look at your many folders. With the other, you can play your piece and use the playback controls. Adapt Sound tunes the equalizer automatically based on the headphones and your preference. The Smart Volume controls effectively balance the volumes depending on whether you want to speed up or slow down.
Video Player
The video player has undergone some subtle changes as well, making it simpler and easier to handle. The DLNA view is no longer there either. The video player supports multiple file types and up to 4K 2160p encoded with H.265/HEVC codec. The pop-up mode has the video in a tiny floating window so that you can keep an eye on the window while checking out something on the main screen on the phone. There are also some in-built video editing options there, such as the ability to add background music, some color effects, trimming, volume, and more. You can always download a more advanced model if you require it.
Battery Life
Many were concerned about the battery life of the Samsung Galaxy S6 model, especially since the screen resolution was increased and the battery capacity decreased. Although the battery didn’t perform very badly, it was not up to the standard of other options. Once charged fully, the phone can last for about 20 hours on 3G calls. Comparatively, the Galaxy S5 could last longer. If you are looking for a phone with a large battery, check out Samsung Galaxy M30.
Camera Quality
The Samsung Galaxy S6 uses the TouchWiz gallery app. The default view shows the photos grouped based on time. You can pinch out or zoom in to enlarge or reduce the size of the thumbnails. Video highlights are created automatically which can be exported and shared on any social media. You can also view your Picasa photos on your Gallery app. Unfortunately, you can’t for Facebook images.
The Galaxy S6 features a 16MP Sony IMX240 sensor which also happens to be the one that the Galaxy Note 4 makes use of. However, it comes with a wide f/1.9 aperture lens which brings in more lights and gives a better effect. The UI experience of the camera is excellent. The default area is clean and not cluttered at all. You can find additional settings on the viewfinder. There is also an auto HDR mode that you can enable so that you don’t have to fiddle around every time you use it. The images taken are rich in color and vibrant.
The Verdict – Samsung Galaxy S6 Review
Now that you have read the Samsung Galaxy S6 Review, you have a better idea about the phone and its capabilities. The Galaxy S6 is quite amazing after its revamp and update. It is, in many ways, superior to its predecessor, despite the changes in many aspects, including the removal of the memory card slot and sealing the battery. However, with an amazing chipset, a great camera, a decent enough battery, this phone is not all that bad. If you like, you can also check out Samsung’s tablet – Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1.
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