How big of an impact can a small change have? The Samsung Galaxy S6 edge has only the extra screen curves compared to the vanilla Galaxy S6, but these two phones couldn't feel any more different - it's a difference that you can readily feel when you hold them in your hand.
Different, and yet the same, the two Galaxy S6 phones share some of the best components available, tied together with software built on new philosophy to match the new hardware ideology.
Here's the recap of the key specs and disadvantages and... please, pardon the deja vu feel.
Key features
Curved screen, thin (7mm) profile, premium dual-glass design reinforced by a metal frame
5.1" Super AMOLED of QHD (1440 x 2560) resolution, class-leading ~577ppi, Corning Gorilla Glass 4
Exynos 7420 64-bit chipset, octa core processor with four 2.1GHz Cortex-A57's and four 1.5GHz Cortex-A53 cores, Mali-T760 MP8 GPU, 3GB of RAM
Android 5.0.2 Lollipop with TouchWiz and Samsung Pay
16MP camera, f/1.9 aperture, 4K video recording, LED flash, optical image stabilization
32/64/128 GB of built-in storage (64GB comes as standard issue on some markets)
Active noise cancellation via dedicated mic
New generation of fingerprint scanner
LTE Cat.6, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, GPS/GLONASS/Beidou, NFC, IR port, Bluetooth 4.1, ANT+
Heart-rate sensor, barometer, SpO2
Built-in wireless charging (Qi/PMA)
2,600mAh battery
Main disadvantages
Pricier than its sibling, with only the curved screen to show for it
No water or dust protection
No user-replaceable battery
No microSD slot
No FM radio
No stereo speakers
Samsung spun off a whole new Galaxy line, the A (or Alpha) series, to practice making phones with proper metal frame and then got back to the drawing board and came out with the new design language of the Galaxy S6 family. Combining the metal frame with a dual-glass build (front and back) is certainly not the most novel design solution but it's one that works well and it's a first for Samsung's smartphones.
And despite being their first attempt at this design approach, the Galaxy S6 came out borderline perfect - perhaps lacking on novelty, but excelling in implementation. The Galaxy S6 edge however takes it even further for those who want something that much more special. It comes with an off-the-chart novelty factor and is rightfully priced higher than the regular Galaxy S6.
But is this sort of a difference worth the hefty price premium? A tough question, indeed, unless you reside in one of those markets where the Galaxy S6 edge will be selling with 64GB of storage as a base version, partly making up for the outrageous markup. But even then, you sure are getting a lot more than a mere storage upgrade for the extra money.
Join us on the following pages as we explore the hardware differences between the two and discuss the added value of the curved screen.
Samsung has a job to do here. While by no means a sales flop, there’s a feeling that the company lost its way somewhat with the Galaxy S5. That it just wasn’t a flagship worthy of the company bearing the standard for Android in the war against Apple.
The S6, then, is an opportunity to bounce back - and Samsung hasn’t squandered it.
Just about every criticism levelled at the S5 has been fixed, and while it might not cause your friends to go quite as enviously green as the Galaxy S6 Edge, the vanilla S6 has 99.9% of the substance, just skimming off that top layer of flashy panache.
The people who said Samsung had lost its mojo were wrong.
For years we’ve been complaining about Samsung’s plastic phones. The Galaxy S5 and its predecessors, all the way back to the Galaxy S in 2010, were plastic. In the old days it was fine, but we got tired of paying £500 for phones that felt, well, cheap.
All that has changed. There is practically no plastic on the Samsung Galaxy S6. Its front and back are super-tough Gorilla Glass 4, its sides aluminium.
The Sony Xperia Z3 has a similar glass ’n’ metal style, but the Galaxy S6’s curves are softer and the handset itself less wide. There’s a hint of boxiness to it, but at just 6.8mm thick it’s not going to be too much of a handful for most adults out there.
It feels great. And switching between it and the Note 4 just proves that Samsung should really have given up on its dream of leather effect plastic phones a lot earlier.
Accelerometer, Gyro Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Digital Compass, Barometer, Ambient Light Sensor, Fingerprint Sensor, Health Sensor
Manufacturer Part Number
SM-G900FZWABTU
Manufacturer Website Address
http://www.samsung.com/uk/
Marketing Information
Striking design
The first thing Will noticed about the latest Galaxy smartphone is its new striking design, which comes in a choice of colours - Charcoal Black, Electric Blue and Shimmery White. However, beneath the perforated exterior are more eye-catching features; like the new camera. It has the world's fastest autofocus speed, at only 0.3 seconds, and Selective Focus, which allows you to focus on what's important and blur everything else.
Capture the moments that matter
Being able to capture and save precious memories is one of the most important features that a smartphone can have. The new Galaxy S5 has superior camera functionality, featuring a 16 megapixel camera with an enhanced menu and user interface so you can effortlessly take, edit and share photos.
The Galaxy S5 has the world's fastest autofocus speed up to 0.3 seconds and the advanced High Dynamic Range (HDR), so it is possible to reproduce natural light and colour with striking intensity at any time. Also new is a Selective Focus feature which means you can focus on a specific area of an object while simultaneously blurring out the background. With this capability, you no longer need a special lens kit to create a shallow depth of field (DOF) effect.
Tap into the fastest connections
The Galaxy S5 offers the most advanced LTE experience and Wi-Fi performance available today, ensuring blazing fast data speeds for unrivaled media consumption and productivity.
The Galaxy S5 supports the fifth generation Wi-Fi 802.11ac and 2X2 MiMo, and the largest LTE frequency supporting Category 4. If that wasn't enough, for anyone looking for an even faster connection, the Galaxy S5 also features Download Booster, a Wi-Fi technology designed to boost data speed by bonding Wi-Fi and LTE simultaneously. No matter where you are, you are guaranteed to have the fastest available connection.
Be more fit and active
With the enhanced S Health 3.0, the new Galaxy S5 offers more tools to help you stay fit and well. It provides a comprehensive personal fitness tracker to help you monitor and manage your behaviour, along with additional tools including a pedometer, diet and exercise records, and a new, built-in heart rate monitor. You can further customise your experience with an enriched third party app ecosystem and the ability to pair with next generation Gear products for real-time fitness coaching.
Essential device protection
The Galaxy S5 is IP67 dust and water resistant. It also offers a Finger Scanner, providing a secure, biometric screen locking feature and a seamless and safe mobile payment experience. The Ultra Power Saving Mode turns the display to black and white, and shuts down all unnecessary features to minimize the battery consumption.
Limited Warranty
2 Year
Standard Memory
2 GB
INTRODUCTION
The Samsung Galaxy S5 can be defined by one word: evolution.
The camera has evolved to give clearer, faster snaps. The fitness-tracking abilities of the S5 are enhanced over the Galaxy S4 by packing in a more powerful S Health app and a dedicated heart rate monitor on the rear. A fingerprint scanner adds to the most secure Galaxy phone ever made.
The battery is larger, the screen bigger and brighter, the processor quicker and the design altered.
The spec sheet certainly doesn't let it down: a 2.5GHz quad-core CPU, 2GB of RAM, a 2800mAh (removable) battery, 16 / 32GB of memory (with up to 128GB extra through microSD), one of the world's most vibrant screens that's been extended to 5.1-inches and added biometrics.
However, it's hard to point to one stand out feature that will grab the prospective user when they handle the Galaxy S5 for the first time.
To many, that won't matter, as Samsung's built a fan-base that only Apple can rival, and a number will be picking up the new Galaxy without a second thought over whether it competes adequately with its rivals.
But now - you can scrap all that. The Galaxy S6 is here, and it's a phone with a lot, lot more going for it.
For one, the design is awe-inspiring in comparison: the metal and glass edges might be a lot more iPhone-esque than Samsung's lawyers might like, but it's certainly a much nicer design.
