Product Spotlight: Samsung Galaxy S6 and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge
Samsung has evidently been struggling in market share lately due to the immense popularity of the latest Apple flagship devices. It seems that the South Korean cellphone manufacturer has also noticed this decline in popularity of its products. In order to combat this, the company has released two new smartphones on March 1.
The Samsung Galaxy S6 is the successor of the widely popular Galaxy S5. The front panel of the phone looks very similar to its predecessor; however, everything else seems to have changed. The body is made out of a very strong metal; it looks sturdy, and will likely be very difficult to bend. The back of the phone is covered with Corning Gorilla Glass 4, so the phone itself should be able to withstand much wear and tear.
Unfortunately, this flagship device is not IP 67 certified, meaning it will not be water resistant and you should be very careful when using this device around water. One major aspect of this device that blows all current flagship devices out of the water, is its brilliant display. The S66 packs a Super AMOLED, 2560×1440 display, which comes down to almost 577 PPI. It very well may be the best display in the smartphone market as of now. Additionally, the screen is not only vibrant, but also extraordinarily bright which makes it ideal for use in sunny situations.
On top of all of this, the phone packs an Octa-core, 64 bit processor with 3 gigabytes of RAM. In non-techie terms, let’s just say that is like super fast.
The phone also has a redesigned, 16 megapixel camera that is snappier than ever. As an added software feature, you can double tap the home button from anywhere and immediately access the camera. The camera itself has one of the quickest shutter speeds ever seen on a smartphone. The front facing camera shares similar features, but unfortunately it is only 5 megapixels.
The S6 also has an improved fingerprint sensor, similar to that of the iPhone 6, and contains a new software feature called “Samsung Pay.” Samsung Pay, which is their answer to mobile payments, uses NFC technology and works similarly to Apple’s very own “Apple Pay.”
The Galaxy S6 Edge contains the same exact specs as the Samsung Galaxy S6; however on top of all those extremely satisfying innards, the display on the Edge is curved. This allows for a much more natural and easy to hold form factor and allows flexibility in viewing angles when consuming media.
Samsung is also including some extra software features that take advantage of the curved, edge screens. For example, when the screen is off, you can opt to dimly show the date and time on the edge of the screen. Also, you can swipe in from the right and access your 5 most contacted friends.
Android Lollipop has been notorious for adding Material Design, which involves a lot of swiping in from the left edge or right edge of the screen. This curved design makes the entire interface a lot more smooth and comfortable.
Despite the differences, both phones are aesthetically pleasing. As a last bonus, they contain IR blasters so you can control your television and anything else that uses IR.
All in all, these phones are extremely powerful and have strong potential. It looks like Samsung does, indeed, have a chance to gain the top spot in the smartphone industry.
