Is Samsung's Latest Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge Enough To Dislodge Apple?
Samsung has fired its first shot in a bit to reclaim their lost market share. Your move, Apple.
By Darian Goh — 02 Mar 2015, 03:19 PM
Forget what you know about Samsung Galaxy smartphones, the Korean company has started on a fresh note for their latest flagship phone
For the next Galaxy, Samsung had embarked on a full reboot with what they call Project Zero. Going back to the drawing board, the Korean smart phone maker aspires to create something new, with a fresh new slate aiming to set a whole new standard for smart phones. For the exterior, Samsung experimented with new manufacturing processes to create a fresh yet stylish design, while its internals are optimised to give a superior performance with help from its own Samsung subsidiaries.
soyacincau.comIn an effort to reclaim lost market share to Apple, Samsung has launched two flagship models, the S6 and the S6 Edge
Samsung will sell two versions of its next flagship phone, one of which has a screen that curves round its sides. Samsung lost market share to Apple and others after the S5 sold fewer copies than its predecessor in many countries.
The Galaxy S6 Edge uses the feature to provide a quick way to stay in touch with select contacts, and to alert owners to important information. It will be sold for a higher price than the standard S6, which otherwise has the same specifications.
The S6 Edge, compared to the Galaxy Note 4, which had a curved edged screen as well.
Image via slashgear.comThe first thing one notices about the new S6 phones is the look and feel of it. It is no longer made out of plastic. Instead, they have a premium feel with a new all-glass design.
The curved screen may grab all the headlines, but the real improvement in the Galaxy S6 is that Samsung finally ditched its Fisher-Price plastic. In response to the competition at the low end from Xiaomi and Apple's jump into phablets, Samsung built a flagship that actually feels like it's worth the price tag. The Galaxy S6 dumped the plastic found on the S5 and, like the iPhone 4 or Xiaomi Mi Note, went with an all-glass design. The result is a phone that outclasses every plastic Galaxy that came before it, making the S6 feel like a worthy upgrade.
arstechnica.com
The curved version of the S6 looks more aesthetically pleasing, and there are a few tricks that you can do with it. You can assign a colour to a contact so that it's easier to know who's calling at a glance.
The Galaxy S6 Edge is basically just a Galaxy S6 with a special curved screen that cascades—like a waterfall, or a Salvador Dali painting—down both sides of the phone, giving you access to all sorts of little helpful widgets without taking up your entire screen. It's the same idea as the Galaxy Note Edge, only with two edges instead of one.
gizmodo.com
Contacts that you speak with often can be given a specific color. When your phone is laying flat on a table and someone calls, the idea is that you'll be able to see the color, know exactly who's calling, and determine whether you should go outside and answer that important call from your boss or just stay in the bar and scream drunkenly at your friend. Also, if you're busy or one beer past forming coherent sentences, you can double tap the heart rate sensor near on the Edge's lens and it will send a pre-determined text message of your choosing.
gizmodo.com
However, the look of the new Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge has been called out for being a little to similar to the iPhone
I'm not saying Samsung completely ripped off Apple, because that's not true at all. But there are some similarities, let's say, between recent iPhones and the new Galaxy smartphone. First off, Samsung encases the new S6 in two panes of glass on the front and the back. Yes, you read that right—no more removable, plastic-y stuff with a Band-aid finish. Just straight Gorilla Glass 4.
gizmodo.com
Samsung launched its Galaxy S6 today and I imagine the people least happy to see it were Apple's lawyers. The poor things likely had their Sundays disrupted by their competitor's new phone, alarmed to see just how similar it was to the iPhone 6.
cnet.comJust as Apple caught up to Samsung on screen size with the iPhone 6, now Samsung is trying to close the gap on perceptions of both quality and simplicity. There's less supposedly exciting software. Which just might make the phone easier to use.
cnet.comLooks aside, the phones do pack a punch. The new S6 and S6 Edge are both powered with a strong processor and a generous amount of RAM storage.
And yes, the S6 will be shipping with Samsung's in-house Exynos processor (with 3GB of RAM), an octo-core chip worthy of competing against Qualcomm's latest 64-bit Snapdragon 810, the chip which was originally rumored to feature in this phone.
gizmodo.com
Of course, the S6 lineup also boasts improved specs, including a slimmer and lighter design, compared to the S5 and older Galaxy hardware. Here’s a breakdown of the primary improvements:
- 5.1-inch 2560×1440 Super AMOLED display with 577 ppi
- Exynos Octacore processor, 3GB LPDDR4 RAM
- 32/64/128GB UFS 2.0 internal storage
- Android 5.0
- F/1.9 16MP rear camera with optical image stabilization and live HDR
- F/1.9 5MP front camera with live HDR
- Category 6 LTE with 300 Mbps down/50 Mbps up max theoretical speeds
- Wi-Fi 802.11 AC with HT80 MIMO, Bluetooth LE, NFC, IR blaster
- 2,550mAh (GS6) and 2,600mAh (GS6 edge) batteries
techcrunch.com
The screen is upgraded with a glorious Quad HD Super AMOLED display, which basically means you have crisp, clear images on your phone. The reason for this is so that it can be paired with their Gear VR, where one can view virtual worlds using the screen.
The Galaxy S6 has a Quad HD (2560 x 1440) Super AMOLED display, but on a 5.1-inch smartphone. That means you're looking at 577 pixels per inch. That's the smallest phone to come with a screen at such an eye-watering resolution. It's insanely crisp.
gizmodo.com
Like the Galaxy Note 4 before it, the S6 and the S6 Edge will also have an optional Gear VR headset. You strap it to your head, stick in your phone, and special magnifying lenses let you see into virtual worlds. It's essentially the same design as the current Gear VR, but smaller to accomodate the smaller phone.
gizmodo.com
Moving on to the camera, the phones has a 16-megapixel camera with a better lens that improves low-light performances
Both phones have a 16-megapixel rear camera and a front-facing five megapixel camera, with a new f1.9 lens that promises better low-light performance. There are also some enhancements to the camera app. A new auto real-HDR feature will automatically turn on HDR when necessary.
recode.net
If you're looking to get one, the phones are expected to hit the Malaysian market on 10 April 2015
For the Malaysian market, we expect Samsung to offer the base 32GB storage option for the standard Galaxy S6 and perhaps they might offer the S6 edge locally with a larger 64GB or 128GB storage capacity as a key differentiation. In terms of availability, do expect Malaysia to be among the first countries to get it, and it will be available starting 10th April.
soyacincau.comThe Galaxy S6 and S6 edge go on sale starting April 10 in markets around the world, with White Pearl, Black Sapphire, and Gold Platinum color options for both, plus a special Blue Topaz for the Galaxy S6, and Green Emerald reserved for the Galaxy S6 edge.
techcrunch.com