Seoul, South Korea (BBN)-Samsung is all set to launch its new flagship models, the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge, in India on Monday.
With the new models, Samsung has taken a quantum leap in design (Galaxy S6 Edge) and also given the phones some spruced up user experience, reports Firstpost.
The devices aren’t just plastic now and boast of metal and glass.
Apart from the refreshing dual edge display design, both Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge sport a similar display size, camera and most other features are also exactly the same.
However, the S6 Edge puts the edges to good use with features like the edge lights up each time someone calls, allowing you to assign specific colour for various callers.
The notifications and other shortcuts have been accommodated on the sides.
The UI is more customized and it also get a bigger battery, obviously you will also be paying slighter higher.
With the devices all set to reach Indian shores, here’s a quick look at what you need to know about the new Samsung flagship models.
DESIGN – A PREMIUM-LOOKING DEVICE IS FINALLY HERE
For years, everyone has been complaining about how Samsung’s premium S series is built with cheap materials.
But falling sales have forced Samsung to give user feedback some serious thought.
Finally, the not-so-plush looking leather back is replaced with glass and the sides are built using metal, just like the Note 4.
It now looks premium and more durable.
With dual edge, the Galaxy S6 Edge has a great design, which is refreshing and different.
DISPLAY – GETS A THUMBS UP, AGAIN
Samsung gets it right with the display again.
The new Galaxy S6 models feature a 5.1-inch 2K display, which means a whopping 2560 x 1440 pixels.
The pixel density goes up to 572ppi, which is way higher than the 326ppi seen in the iPhone 6.
Needless to say, its an AMOLED display.
CAMERA – BUMP UP IN PERFORMANCE
Though Samsung has maintained the same 16MP sensor seen in the Galaxy Note 4, it does get a useful update.
Samsung now employs faster lens that has never been seen in the previous models.
The Galaxy S6 comes with an f/1.9 lens.
This would mean a bigger aperture.
The device is now capable of capturing more light, and eventually one will get better photos.
This also means good low light photography.
In fact, Samsung employs the same f/1.9 lens for the 5MP front-facing camera too.
PROCESSOR – GOES AHEAD WITH EXYNOS
This time around, Samsung has decided to go ahead with its own Exynos chip (Though, India always got the Exynos variant).
The new Exynos comes with the much-talked about 14 nanometre (nm) architecture for efficient performance.
However, it also plans some Qualcomm Snapdragon variants of the Galaxy S6.
For now, expect Samsung’s Exynos 7 Octa-core processor which contain two quad-core processor clocked at 2.1 GHz and 1.5GHz respectively, coupled with 3GB RAM.
RAM
The new Galaxy S6 has employed the super-fast LPDDR4 RAM.
The large 3GB of the could help the device run without too many lags.
Along with the new Exynos chip, it could also help deal better with the TouchWiz.
Touchwiz
Yes, Samsung’s Galaxy S6 models will retain the TouchWiz UI.
However, it is believed to be less cluttered.
Based on Android 5.0 Lollipop, it is now streamlined for quick and better usage.
The company hasn’t bid goodbye to S Voice or S Finder, but you will find the rumoured new entrants like Microsoft’s OneDrive and OneNote.
The S6 Edge gets further customization options.
WIRELESS CHARGING
The Galaxy S6 has ditched the replaceable battery found in the Galaxy S5, but now allows you to charge the smartphone wirelessly.
It supports WPC and PMA wireless charging using Samsung’s own charging pad.
On using a traditional microUSB cable, Samsung promises to get 50 percent battery capacity in a half hour.
It comes fitted with a 2,550mAh battery.
NO SWAPPABLE BATTERY
With the introduction of improved wireless charging on the Galaxy S6, the company also decided to fit in a non-removable battery.
A change that most users may not like.
NO EXPANDABLE STORAGE
The company’s minimum storage capacity model is upgraded from 16GB to 32GB.
In a not-so-consumer-friendly move, Samsung has also pulled out support for microSD card slot.
It has been a feature that set Samsung phones apart from the iPhone.
We hope Samsung has compensated well for the removal of these features.
WIRELESS PAYMENTS
Finally, Samsung also rolled out its own mobile payments to take on Apple Pay.
For now its will be launched with the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, but it will support others Samsung phones in the future.
It will let you use your debit/credit cards and pay for goods using your smartphones.
It will use NFC as well as a technology called Magnetic Secure Transmission.
So, vendors won’t need to upgrade their existing payment systems to support Samsung Pay.
Click here to know more about Samsung’s payment system.
Though, we don’t expect the company to launch its payments services anytime soon.
PRICING AND AVAILABILITY
Samsung is expected to start shipping the new Galaxy S6 models in April.
Though there is no word on the pricing in India, Samsung Netherlands site had listed the 32GB variant of Galaxy S6 for € 699 (approximately Rs 48,400), the 64 GB version for €799 (which comes to Rs 55,300) and the Galaxy S6 Edge for 32 GB version at €849 (which comes to approximately Rs 58,800), while the 64 GB version of the S6 Edge is listed as €949 (which comes to Rs 65,700).
The price of the 128 GB version of the smartphone was not mentioned on the site, raising suspicions on whether it will be part of the initial launch phase.
An earlier report had said that the 128GB version of the Galaxy S6 will cost €949, while the Galaxy S6 Edge’s 128GB variant will be priced €1049 which comes to Rs 73,300.
BBN/SK/AD-22Mar15-11:30am (BST)