All eyes were on Samsung at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this year, for two main reasons. The first and most troublesome for the manufacturing, Samsung’s devices have not sold as well as expected in recent times and the Korean giant is catching up in terms of sales figures by its competitors. The second, from the unit’s code name, which has leaked several times, “Project Zero” was a promise of a new beginning for Samsung’s flagship device.
We could test a few days the Samsung Galaxy S6 and therefore offer our impressions on this unit.
Design
So the Samsung Galaxy Alpha Ax Galaxy and Galaxy Note 4 showed a shift of manufacturing to more high-quality materials, the Galaxy finally S6 represents the culmination of this trend. It is no longer talking about plastic but two Gorilla Glass 4 glass plates placed around a hoop made of aluminum.
The result is very successful and give a real impression of quality and top range phone. The grip is also very different from previous models: the glass is indeed much more slippery than the Galaxy S5 textured plastic, it will get used to hold the camera a little more strongly
. The device was presented in 4 colors: black, white, gold and blue. We were able to use the black and white patterns and these are very different from one another. The black model offers a range of colors depending on the light to which it is exposed, from black to dark blue, sometimes even the lighter blue in sunlight. However much it attracts fingerprints. The white model is more stable for its share in color, offering some light reflections at times, but this color simplicity also allows far less fingerprints, which can be very significant.
at waist level, the Galaxy S6 is very similar to its predecessor and those who do not appreciate the tendency to be overweight with each new device generation will be reassured. The youngest is even slightly less wide than the Galaxy S5, with 70.5mm against 72.5mm and much finer, with only 6.8mm against 8.1. Only the height of the unit is slightly higher, with 1.4mm longer. Finally, the weight is also moving in the right direction, with the loss of 7 grams despite the use of new materials.
If the new model marks a change from its predecessors, it also frees Samsung had two advantages over its main competitor: Apple. It is no longer possible to expand memory capacity using a Micro-SD card or to easily remove and replace the battery. This suggests that the premium design of Galaxy S6 is currently a price to pay.
Connectivity
The Samsung Galaxy S6 got a perfect level of connectivity with up to 300mbps LTE, WiFi 802.11 ac dual-band, Bluetooth 4.1 with A2DP, NFC and an infrared port.
The infrared port is now operated by the Peel Smart Remote app instead of Samsung’s application in previous models. The transition is completely transparent to users because the features are the same between the two applications.
Call quality is excellent and my interlocutors have never complained about misheard me. I had no reception problems and flow rates achieved in LTE in Montreal were always located around 50 mbps, which is more than enough for most uses.
Screen
The Galaxy Note 4 was the first phone from Samsung have a Quad-HD display with 2560 x 1440 pixels, and had been the subject of critical acclaim both in terms of notes overall and in terms of the reality of colors. The Samsung Galaxy S6 retains the same resolution, but on a much smaller 5.1-inch screen, bringing the pixel density at 577 ppi, a record in the market. To give you an idea, this is almost double the pixel Samsung Galaxy S5 on the same screen size!
In fact, the screen is really beautiful and brings a real pleasure when the viewing all content: texts are readable regardless of their size, high resolution videos are gorgeous and the photos show an impressive amount of detail
The viewing angles are still as good and. AMOLED technology allows for very deep blacks, which is very significant when navigating the menus, for example. The user also has the option to adjust the color tones, which is convenient for those who are not a fan of saturated color AMOLED screens. There is also an automatic mode that, in the original application, analyzing the type of content and automatically adapt to the most appropriate display mode.
The visibility in bright is also excellent, thanks to the use of a strong light on the screen, a drink on the screen that is not very reflective and excellent contrast ratio. Use outdoors remains easy without having to look for a shadow point.
One of the novelties that the phone user regulars in the room will appreciate is the “Super Dimming Mode” inaugurated by Galaxy S6 and provides a much lower screen brightness, to view content without eyes hurt or bother someone who would sleep next to you.
The screen of the Samsung Galaxy S6 is for my taste the best available on the market at the time of writing this test, followed very closely by the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and iPhone 6 Plus. Some prefer the slightly actual colors on the iPhone 6 Plus, others deeper blacks offered by Samsung. Few will be disappointed by one or the other.
Samsung Galaxy S6 Performance
While we already indicated in our test of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 that the aircraft was much more reactive than its predecessors, especially by simplifying the Touchwiz interface and it was no longer necessary to wait for the first making day of the device for a fluid system, the Galaxy S6 shows that the trend continues.
No matter manipulations we are doing with the device, the notion of fluidity and responsiveness system is present: intensive applications are getting faster, menus appear instantly and the camera is very quick to get started. It must be said that the Galaxy S6 features an impressive technical specifications, with a Samsung octal-core processor and 3GB of RAM.
For lovers of figures, we performed various more conventional benchmarks, including here are the results below.
Geekbench 3
Geekbench 3 Multi Heart
Quadrant
3DMark
Antutu
Antutu
This shows that the Samsung Galaxy S6 is more powerful than its predecessor, but also far exceeds Galaxy Note 4 in all tests. Remember, Geekbench announced the results of 1086/3229 on the Galaxy Note 4 while one is now to 1408 / 4636. If it is obviously tests that do not always translate into performance in real situations, c ‘Here is a confirmation of the overall impression of the performance was when using the device.
Operating system and new Touchwiz
The Samsung interface has often been criticized for its complexity and too many menus. Samsung wanted to leave here with a good foundation and interface of the Galaxy S6 marks a real break with that of his predecessors. Everything is smoother, clearer, even sometimes to overlook some features present in the past.
We have devoted several articles on various innovations in the operating system of the new device Samsung, whether the new graphic, management applications, or new opportunities brought by the themes. We therefore do not be detailed here they work, but we can only welcome the Samsung approach that gives here a real energy to their interface.
Galaxy S6 Calendar
Galaxy S6 Clock
Galaxy S6 Messages
Galaxy S6 Smart Manager
Fingerprint Sensor
After inaugurating a fingerprint sensor on the Galaxy S5, then Alpha Galaxy and Galaxy Note 4, Samsung still was not able to convince the usefulness of this feature when to slide your finger on the button, rather than simply position it as was the case for the iPhone 5S model. This inconvenience is finally part of the past because now works this way on the Galaxy S6.
Unlocking the device is now much easier and faster. Regulars of Apple devices will not be lost. So this is great news, because once one has tasted this locking method, it is difficult to do without it.
Battery
While we saw an increase in battery capacity every year on the models of the Galaxy S, Samsung has worried the audience by announcing that the Galaxy S6 would offer only 2550mAh against 2600mAh for the Galaxy S5. Fortunately, in return promised manufacturing a processor and a much more efficient screen into energy.
In fact, I have noticed a greater autonomy Galaxy S5 in most uses. I never had any problems to hold the average day use, while a more intensive use generally kept me going about 14 hours. Battery tests performed with Geekbench 3 also confirm this impression, he actually took about 8:30 to overcome the battery of the Galaxy S6 high CPU usage, while it took only 5 hours for S5 Android Lollipop turns off under the same conditions. The improvement is significant at this level
Galaxy S5 Battery Test
Galaxy S6 Battery Test
For more anxious not to take the day complete, Samsung offers two solutions: fast loading and the wireless charging built into the unit. While the first is not a new Samsung device, the second is for the first time available without purchasing specific shell to recharge the wireless device. It will be possible, right out of the box, using a wireless charger standard Qi or PMA.
For intensively used the Galaxy Note 4 and the Nexus 6 at CES early this year, fast loading is a real benefit when you need to quickly increase the capacity of the device. Within minutes and see the percentage increase in eye sight is really nice.
Finally, as a last resort, the Galaxy S6 offers the now classic extreme energy saving mode, which switches the black and white screen and allows to use only a few applications. In this mode, the device is mainly devoted to the calls and SMS, but it helps to troubleshoot when misjudged the remaining battery and the charger was not nearby.
Video Camera Samsung Galaxy S6
Rear Camera
While we were pleasantly surprised by the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, which marked a real improvement in the picture quality compared to its predecessor, the Galaxy S6 really impressed us. On paper already, the new device offers every advantage on his side, with a 16-megapixel infrared sensor with optical stabilization and an aperture of f / 1.9 promises good performance in low light.
From the first captured shots, we can realize the progress made in this regard. While the result was very random on predecessors, which can give stunning images as pixels porridge, especially in low light, the Galaxy S6 shows great consistency. In ideal lighting conditions, the images are very detailed and the colors are true, while in average conditions or low light, the result is surprising. While the display suggests digital noise before the seizure, once the photo is captured, the report is very detailed without being too noisy. One can for example see the two examples Night progress below between the Galaxy S5, left, and Galaxy S6, right. These photos of portions to show the differences and not full image resized.
A Pro mode also appeared to leave open the possibility for the user to manually adjust most aspects of image capture, whether the exposure, white balance and focus, for example. Those who did not agree with the automatic choices made by phone will be delighted.
The image capture is also much faster. Launch the camera thanks to the double pressing the Home button is done very quickly, even if the second promised by Samsung 0.7 was closer than double when the unit was locked, which is very correct. Taking photographs is also very fast and the focus is making regular, pressing the capture button takes almost instantly the photo. A significant improvement is observed at this level, particularly in relation to the Galaxy S5. The new high-end Samsung comes and play with the iPhone 6 Plus, with which we will propose soon a comparative pictures in identical conditions.
You can check the line-up will complete gallery on Flickr –Bra.
Camera before
We have very little spoken in the past of the front camera, especially since they were usually the bare minimum and used to troubleshoot during video calls. On the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, the panorama Selfie also drew our attention as it allowed even to those who do not like to be alone in the photo, you can easily take pictures with friends.
Providing a front camera of 5 megapixels with the same aperture of f / 1.9 that the rear camera, Samsung has piqued our curiosity and actually it produces very detailed and usable results. It is of course far from what can make the rear camera, but it finally became possible to make a Selfie without turning his camera to get a nice result.
Video Camera
On the video side, the difference with the Note 4, which was already very good, is less obvious. Optical stabilization of the machine will continue to do a very good job and footage captured in 4K are very detailed, while maintaining focus and quickly adjusting the brightness. The development is very fast and brightness adjustment as well.
Samsung also finally realized how slow his camera was not effective and was inspired by Apple at the ease of use: it is now possible to capture a sequence and then define which section of it is displayed in slow motion, in order to emphasize a particular element. The quality of the footage has also been revised upwards, with much less pixelation than before. The slowed captured sequences are however limited to 720p.
Media
As the Galaxy S5 and Note 4, the original video player Unfortunately not play 5.1 or DTS formats, then simply display images without sound. The subtitles are instead supported without problems, they are integrated into the container or srt format.
Fortunately, VLC helps overcome these limitations and content in 1080p are very fluid and read without no problems.
When we saw that the Galaxy Note 4, despite its size, had only a single speaker, we do not do us a lot of illusions about the Galaxy S6. Unfortunately, we always roof settle for a single grid speaker for sound, at the bottom of the unit. If this is not very annoying if you want to use the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 for watching videos or listening to a song time to time, we can only be disappointed after trying some HTC devices equipped with Boomsound the technology.
So is the speaker not bad, it is also even more powerful, but it does not act by a criterion that should tip the balance in for the Galaxy S6 when choosing a device.
Conclusion
The Samsung Galaxy S6 is a real success in terms of use by making a near faultless performance at all levels. The design is a matter of taste, everyone will find his account or not, but we can only be satisfied with the choice of finest materials. As for the disappearance of the micro-SD slot for cards and removable battery, there is very likely that Samsung has made this choice in the awareness that this is not the majority who used it, and the company was prepared to take the risk.
Finally, Samsung has for its launch of a beautiful gift from Apple, which has to raise prices following the decline of the Canadian dollar and of the euro. The 32GB Samsung Galaxy S6 is found and almost $ 100 less than the 16GB iPhone 6, either with or without a contract, which becomes very interesting.
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