I've been pretty consistent over the years in what I think is most important to a phone. I've never placed much priority over microSD or removable batteries. Removable batteries is only great when the phone is old and you really need to exchange the battery. Luckily, the GS6 has a way to do that. And as for microSD, just give it up. Use wifi and use the cloud, buy an external USB key for your car or something, and get as much memory as you need from the get-go. Stop clinging on the past.
![[H]ard|Forum](/styles/hardforum/xenforo/logo_dark.png){kind=logo}
Samsung Galaxy S6
- Thread starter CHANG3D
- Start date
To put TD's point another way:
You hold smartphones in your hand, and keep them close to you most of the day even when you're not holding them. They're not just companion devices, they're reflections of your personal values. How could design not be a major factor in a phone review?
Think of it like a car (yes, I'm abusing car analogies). When you step out on to your driveway, do you want to get into a utilitarian, soul-crushing people carrier, or a luxury sedan/sports car that makes you smile every time you see it? That's the thing that Samsung didn't understand for the longest time -- that good design isn't just about finding a way to hold the guts of your product, it's about stirring something inside that makes people enjoy using that product.
You don't need metal and glass to do that. The original Moto X felt great, and Nokia/Microsoft have turned plastic shells into an artform. But that's the key: the designers put a lot of TLC into the material rather than simply adding texture and calling it a day. The Galaxy Note 4 did a good job on that front, but I think Samsung wanted to make a clean break and do a phone that was not only guaranteed to feel nicer, but show that the company had learned its lesson and was taking design seriously.
You hold smartphones in your hand, and keep them close to you most of the day even when you're not holding them. They're not just companion devices, they're reflections of your personal values. How could design not be a major factor in a phone review?
Think of it like a car (yes, I'm abusing car analogies). When you step out on to your driveway, do you want to get into a utilitarian, soul-crushing people carrier, or a luxury sedan/sports car that makes you smile every time you see it? That's the thing that Samsung didn't understand for the longest time -- that good design isn't just about finding a way to hold the guts of your product, it's about stirring something inside that makes people enjoy using that product.
You don't need metal and glass to do that. The original Moto X felt great, and Nokia/Microsoft have turned plastic shells into an artform. But that's the key: the designers put a lot of TLC into the material rather than simply adding texture and calling it a day. The Galaxy Note 4 did a good job on that front, but I think Samsung wanted to make a clean break and do a phone that was not only guaranteed to feel nicer, but show that the company had learned its lesson and was taking design seriously.
QwertyJuan
[H]F Junkie
- Joined
- Aug 17, 2000
- Messages
- 11,285
The only thing YOU'VE been consistent in over the years, is thread crapping and arguing like a child.
Man you washed that iPhone stench off of yourself fast
I don't hate the iPhone 6 Plus, it just wasn't my cup of tea at the end of the day. But it so easily could be a with a few tweaks, which I doubt Apple would ever do;
- Software keys would be a nice, I mean even Windows Phone have them, not only Android.
- LED Notification light, Blackberry has had it for years, not just Android.
- Widgets allowed on the home screen.
- 2GB RAM is sorely needed, but I am sure the 6S will have that upgrade.
But all of the above is on my Android phone already, and that's a big reason I went back.
thedocta45
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2007
- Messages
- 1,325
That was the most passive aggressive positive review I have ever read.
T4rd
Fully [H]
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2009
- Messages
- 20,139
I like how the Verge said it wasn't quite as good as the iPhone in camera pics, but then shows it destroying it in low light, only for them to say that it makes dark pictures too bright, lol.
Ocellaris
Fully [H]
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2008
- Messages
- 19,077
I like how the Verge said it wasn't quite as good as the iPhone in camera pics, but then shows it destroying it in low light, only for them to say that it makes dark pictures too bright, lol.
It does make dark pics too bright, I've been noting that in most of the low light photos. Everything looks blown out.
And then slap a $5 piece of weirdly-colored plastic on the back of the phone. And if you don't, then you deal with the dings and shattered glass that are part and parcel of these supposedly "premium" designs.
Nobody with a brain takes this argument seriously.
Been running my M7 naked for 2 years has a little bit of wear and tear on the edges of the alluminum borders, minor nicks that you have to look focus on to see. The screen has very fine scratches that only show up under direct sunlight. I probably lost out on like 20-50 bucks of resale value by not using a case and screen protector. Who cares.
everyone uses a case. People that can chew gum and walk at the same time don't really need them. I can be conscious of the fact that I'm holding a 700 dollar piece of equipment and do other stuff without losing my grip. Plus from all the videos I've seen of the s6, it appears to be one of the most durable phones of all time. Not too worried about running it naked.
everyone uses a case. People that can chew gum and walk at the same time don't really need them. I can be conscious of the fact that I'm holding a 700 dollar piece of equipment and do other stuff without losing my grip. Plus from all the videos I've seen of the s6, it appears to be one of the most durable phones of all time. Not too worried about running it naked.
I like how the Verge said it wasn't quite as good as the iPhone in camera pics, but then shows it destroying it in low light, only for them to say that it makes dark pictures too bright, lol.
It is possible to do that. Blown highlights are one problem, but there's also the question of showing too much more than the eye can see. You want enough light to reveal detail, but not so much that the scene looks unnaturally well-lit. I'm not seeing that last part in the camera samples so far, but it is possible.
Here's the wireless charging vehicle dock for the convenience of not having with deal with cable or lining up connector. Just plop it on and it charges.
http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/cell-phones-accessories/EP-HN910IBUSTA
http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/cell-phones-accessories/EP-HN910IBUSTA
Not sure if serious.
I like how the Verge said it wasn't quite as good as the iPhone in camera pics, but then shows it destroying it in low light, only for them to say that it makes dark pictures too bright, lol.
The Galaxy S6 definitely wins in the 1st photo with the buildings.
The main difference is the photo resolutions (16MP for the SGS6 vs the 8MP vs the iPhone 6). Also the Galaxy S6 has superior OIS whereas the OIS on the iPhone 6 is too shaky.
In that aspect, the Galaxy S6 camera totally crushes the iPhone 6's camera.
The regular iPhone 6 has no OIS... which gives the nod to the GS6, of course, but it makes its achievements more understandable. The iPhone does pretty well with software alone (certainly compared to HTC), but OIS would be a big plus.
Apologize ahead of time for this unorganized rambling of a review.
Welp finally came in. Verdict.. It's still a phone lol.. Ah the thrill of the hunt. I'm happy with it, I still hate material design with a passion, but other than that it's a great all around phone. Only thing I'm debating with myself is whether or not it was worth 1000 dollars. The answer I've come up with is.. yes and no.. is it 1000 dollars better than my M7? Eh.. yes.. maybe.. probably not.. Is it worth the money when you compare it to all other flagships that start out at 600-700 dollars. Yes! Absolutely. Makes all the other flagships seems overpriced as hell. All that aside, there's the run down of what I've noticed in a few hours of use.
Battery: Battery was scaring the shit out me when I first got it. I felt like there was a hole in the back of the S6 and lithium was leaking out everywhere like a bucket of water with a hole in it. I was doing a combination of web browsing, video watching, and general app and setting things. It seemed like it was draining a percent every couple minutes. Keep in mind though, this was all done over LTE, I've managed to forget my wireless password. After I did the T-Mobile update my anxiety has eased up a bit. Battery drain feels far more normal now. I'm thinking maybe the LTE connection to T-Mobile was draining it? I'll be able to give a better idea tomorrow of how it fares during a full days use.
Charging: This part I'm most disappointing about so far. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong, but it seems to be charging slow as shit. I haven't left it on for that long, but after 30 minutes it went up maybe 10-15%... Actually now that I'm looking at the notification drop down it says 3 hours and 30 minutes to full charge from 44% which can't be right.. Maybe my surge protector is fucked up or something.
Display: Okay so the screen is gorgeous. I'm coming from the M7 which has one of the best screens out there, so the jump wasn't initially too drastic. After playing with the S6 for awhile though, I went back to the M7 and it just looked washed out from the lack of contrast, which is saying a lot because it has high contrast for an LCD. OLED has awesome blacks, whatever we know that. The thing that impressed me the most is when I switched the S6 over to basic mode. My god the color accuracy was as good or better than any calibrated tv/display I've had. I've never seen such life like realistic skin tones in videos. Demolished my M7 in this area.
Once nighttime rolled around though... this thing turned into a different beast. Made the money completely worth it, It makes me want to sit in a dark room and watch HD videos all day. The picture is just absolutely stunning. So vivid and life like, it's a real experience. The entire time I was comparing the screen to the M7 I noticed how much bright the M7 was. Then eventually I realized I was on auto brightness, which doesn't seem to do as well of a job as my M7 for giving me the level of brightness I'd like. Once I auto adjusted.. Holy fuck this screen gets bright as shit. That's what made night watching a huge joy. I was afraid if I pushed up the brightness the blacks would wash out and the colors would get all off. Nope.. Colors stayed relatively true and blacks were still black. Super impressed with this display.
Camera: Messed around a little bit with the camera. Very easy to use. Smooth and quick focus. I noticed a couple times the focus seemed to get confused and took a second to find itself, but it would come through short time. Biggest thing I noticed is almost every shot I took was clear and useable except for quick motions. Took some shots in the dark that came out very clean, not nearly as much noise as you'd expect. The post processing must be crazy good, because sometimes on the screen a shot will look noisy and awful, but once you snap it and look at it, clean as a clear sunny sky.
UI: I don't really have much experience with TW before hand, so I can't compare contrast. It really didnt feel any more intrusive or heavy to me than Sense did. Instead of buzzfeed theres some other thing I cant think of right now, and thats about it. Wasn't really seeing this whole touchwiz thing everyone was always melting about. UI was responsive fluid, I only got it to lag once or twice for maybe a half of a second if that. I just hate material design and all the white, and rolodex multitask shit, bleh.
Build: Man the phone is gorgeous and feels premium as fuck. After 15 minutes of using it I went back to my M7 and my M7 felt like a 200 dollar chinese phone, I couldn't believe it. The feel of this thing is just incredible. Also, this is sort of related to camera. Something about the weight balance of the phone.. I don't have the most steady hands and my M7 I'd try and stay still when snapping a picture but had a hard time. S6 I can hold steady without issue, Something bout the weight distribution is just right.
Welp finally came in. Verdict.. It's still a phone lol.. Ah the thrill of the hunt. I'm happy with it, I still hate material design with a passion, but other than that it's a great all around phone. Only thing I'm debating with myself is whether or not it was worth 1000 dollars. The answer I've come up with is.. yes and no.. is it 1000 dollars better than my M7? Eh.. yes.. maybe.. probably not.. Is it worth the money when you compare it to all other flagships that start out at 600-700 dollars. Yes! Absolutely. Makes all the other flagships seems overpriced as hell. All that aside, there's the run down of what I've noticed in a few hours of use.
Battery: Battery was scaring the shit out me when I first got it. I felt like there was a hole in the back of the S6 and lithium was leaking out everywhere like a bucket of water with a hole in it. I was doing a combination of web browsing, video watching, and general app and setting things. It seemed like it was draining a percent every couple minutes. Keep in mind though, this was all done over LTE, I've managed to forget my wireless password. After I did the T-Mobile update my anxiety has eased up a bit. Battery drain feels far more normal now. I'm thinking maybe the LTE connection to T-Mobile was draining it? I'll be able to give a better idea tomorrow of how it fares during a full days use.
Charging: This part I'm most disappointing about so far. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong, but it seems to be charging slow as shit. I haven't left it on for that long, but after 30 minutes it went up maybe 10-15%... Actually now that I'm looking at the notification drop down it says 3 hours and 30 minutes to full charge from 44% which can't be right.. Maybe my surge protector is fucked up or something.
Display: Okay so the screen is gorgeous. I'm coming from the M7 which has one of the best screens out there, so the jump wasn't initially too drastic. After playing with the S6 for awhile though, I went back to the M7 and it just looked washed out from the lack of contrast, which is saying a lot because it has high contrast for an LCD. OLED has awesome blacks, whatever we know that. The thing that impressed me the most is when I switched the S6 over to basic mode. My god the color accuracy was as good or better than any calibrated tv/display I've had. I've never seen such life like realistic skin tones in videos. Demolished my M7 in this area.
Once nighttime rolled around though... this thing turned into a different beast. Made the money completely worth it, It makes me want to sit in a dark room and watch HD videos all day. The picture is just absolutely stunning. So vivid and life like, it's a real experience. The entire time I was comparing the screen to the M7 I noticed how much bright the M7 was. Then eventually I realized I was on auto brightness, which doesn't seem to do as well of a job as my M7 for giving me the level of brightness I'd like. Once I auto adjusted.. Holy fuck this screen gets bright as shit. That's what made night watching a huge joy. I was afraid if I pushed up the brightness the blacks would wash out and the colors would get all off. Nope.. Colors stayed relatively true and blacks were still black. Super impressed with this display.
Camera: Messed around a little bit with the camera. Very easy to use. Smooth and quick focus. I noticed a couple times the focus seemed to get confused and took a second to find itself, but it would come through short time. Biggest thing I noticed is almost every shot I took was clear and useable except for quick motions. Took some shots in the dark that came out very clean, not nearly as much noise as you'd expect. The post processing must be crazy good, because sometimes on the screen a shot will look noisy and awful, but once you snap it and look at it, clean as a clear sunny sky.
UI: I don't really have much experience with TW before hand, so I can't compare contrast. It really didnt feel any more intrusive or heavy to me than Sense did. Instead of buzzfeed theres some other thing I cant think of right now, and thats about it. Wasn't really seeing this whole touchwiz thing everyone was always melting about. UI was responsive fluid, I only got it to lag once or twice for maybe a half of a second if that. I just hate material design and all the white, and rolodex multitask shit, bleh.
Build: Man the phone is gorgeous and feels premium as fuck. After 15 minutes of using it I went back to my M7 and my M7 felt like a 200 dollar chinese phone, I couldn't believe it. The feel of this thing is just incredible. Also, this is sort of related to camera. Something about the weight balance of the phone.. I don't have the most steady hands and my M7 I'd try and stay still when snapping a picture but had a hard time. S6 I can hold steady without issue, Something bout the weight distribution is just right.
Can you throw some of these apps at it with maxed settings to gauge performance?
Set Droidchess to computer vs computer. Exynos 4412 does about 700-800K nps while Snapdragon 800 is about half.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.petero.droidfish
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.epicgames.EpicCitadel
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.elevenbitstudios.anomaly2Benchmark
This is the only review so far that touches on that and professionally done unlike The Verge garbage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4QbQmJd-ZQ&feature=youtu.be&t=722
Set Droidchess to computer vs computer. Exynos 4412 does about 700-800K nps while Snapdragon 800 is about half.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.petero.droidfish
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.epicgames.EpicCitadel
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.elevenbitstudios.anomaly2Benchmark
This is the only review so far that touches on that and professionally done unlike The Verge garbage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4QbQmJd-ZQ&feature=youtu.be&t=722
I owned a Note 4 for ~1 month (loaner from someone) and it has spoiled me, I simply cannot go back to a smaller screen now. My LG G2 now feels tiny, and the screen isn't really as nice.
If the S6 has an even better screen than N4 and a better TouchWiz, I really think the N5 will be amazing. Of course by that time we'll have the G4, OnePlusOne Two etc to compare to. I just wish Samsung had gone with a slightly larger screen, all the TW multi window features aren't really usable.
If the S6 has an even better screen than N4 and a better TouchWiz, I really think the N5 will be amazing. Of course by that time we'll have the G4, OnePlusOne Two etc to compare to. I just wish Samsung had gone with a slightly larger screen, all the TW multi window features aren't really usable.
Skripka
[H]F Junkie
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2012
- Messages
- 10,791
Has nothing to do with LTE. Can tell you that much, unless Samsung engineered something wrong. S6 like just about all smartphones now, are single-hardware-radio path and using LTE burns no more power than other radio protocols. Prior devices which were battery vampires on LTE where battery vampires because LTE was via a separate physical hardware radio. Of course single-path also makes VoLTE support necessary to use the internet and talk at the same time, which not all carriers do.
You crank the brightness and watch your battery evaporate. You admit to opening the taps on brightness.
Erasmus354
[H]F Junkie
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2004
- Messages
- 9,450
"Cheap China Glass"(tm) Samsung Galaxy S6 comes with scratches on the glass out of the box
Guess Gorilla Glass 4 isn't the end all be all like the unpaid Samsung reps here on the forums have been claiming....
Guess Gorilla Glass 4 isn't the end all be all like the unpaid Samsung reps here on the forums have been claiming....
Skripka
[H]F Junkie
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2012
- Messages
- 10,791
$1K smartphone...and it comes with scratches in the digitizer. Bravo Samsung.
Only question is how large of a QC issue this is and how big a batch(es) are effected.
how do you know they are unpaid astroturfers? Samsung admits to hiring companies to astroturf among other social marketing. Both of these guys make posts that reads like copy and paste jobs.
Samsung's paid astroturfing has (to my knowledge) been limited to countries in eastern Asia. For instance:
http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/24/taiwan-fines-samsung-for-astroturfing-internet-comments/
The boring answer: given that the Samsung boosterism we see here usually involves either basic factual errors (say, not understanding who uses Gorilla Glass) or irrational obsessions with destroying Apple, it's more likely that they're just fanpeople who've invested too much of their self-worth into a piece of technology.
http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/24/taiwan-fines-samsung-for-astroturfing-internet-comments/
The boring answer: given that the Samsung boosterism we see here usually involves either basic factual errors (say, not understanding who uses Gorilla Glass) or irrational obsessions with destroying Apple, it's more likely that they're just fanpeople who've invested too much of their self-worth into a piece of technology.
Doesn't really matter since T-Mobile or Samsung have to replace it for them anyway. It's not like they're not getting them replaced.
I'm pretty sure those people are just astroturfers. If not, this may be a packaging issue (T Mobile's fault) or a minor QC problem.
I say "minor QC problem" because thousands, if not, millions of people already have the Galaxy S6/S6 Edge in Asia and Europe, and so far, no reports of damaged screens.
But the incident that you cited was also filled with basic factual errors.
P.S. LOL @ your shameless self-promotion!
And I totally agree. It definitely is a minor QC problem. But if this was an Apple or HTC phone, your counterpart/colleague would be going outright insane over "cheap" quality or material. And he will also refer to that photo for years to come talking about how Apple and HTC suck.
P.S. Corrected that for you.
I'm having the same issue. I honestly wouldn't have noticed until a very sunny day, but took it out in some sun and got some swirls. They're way more faint than some of the people in the thread have ,but I have them. Not sure what to do at this point, will see how it plays out I suppose. It looks like the scratches are under the glass, not on the surface.
not sure if you read through the page.
There are clearly people all over the world, having the problem in that thread.
And its growing pretty fast...
#scratchgate?
Not to mention Android Police did a review on the S6 and got their camera glass cracked just by letting the phone falling flat back at where it stand.
http://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-galaxy-s6-review-595233/
It doesn't seem like there is a QC problem to me, since Samsung is known to cheap out as much as they can, even over the limited.
If you ever work in Samsung, you will know what I am saying.
Last edited:
Megalith
24-bit/48kHz
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2006
- Messages
- 13,000
Why is there something wrong with everything.
Skripka
[H]F Junkie
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2012
- Messages
- 10,791
My man, St. Augustine, came to the conclusion it was because of man...and because tomatoes don't walk.
not sure if you read through the page.
There are clearly people all over the world, having the problem in that thread.
And its growing pretty fast...
#scratchgate?
Not to mention Android Police did a review on the S6 and got their camera glass cracked just by letting the phone falling flat back at where it stand.
http://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-galaxy-s6-review-595233/
It doesn't seem like there is a QC problem to me, since Samsung is known to cheap out as much as they can, even over the limited.
If you ever work in Samsung, you will know what I am saying.
Remember when the iPhone 6 had the display popping out after a light drop? It was all over the Internet and no one really cared.
And these people are going to get their phones replaced anyway.
It isn't as if T-Mobile or Samsung wont replace their phones. They will.
AltTabbins
Fully [H]
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2005
- Messages
- 20,387
They did something to Gorilla Glass to make it worse. My iphone 4s was flawless when I sold it, not even a hairline scratch on it anywhere. I ran it without a case too for my entire 2 year contract. My iphone 5s had more hairline scratches on the screen in the first month than all of my other phones, laptops, tablets, anything tech related, combined.
Scratches on a handful of devices is putting you off?
Anyone else not like how the edge feels to hold? Checked them out at best buy wanting to like the phone because I think the tech is awesome but the backside is such a sharp corner it is not comfortable in the hand, my friend noted the same thing. Really liked the non-edge so I got it pre-ordered. My note 2 has served me well over the past 2 years but I'm over the bulk. Plus having a small tablet (tab pro 8.4) and huge phone doesn't make a lot of sense .
.
TheOne&OnlyZeke
100% Irish
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2000
- Messages
- 11,266
Ordered myself the S6 Edge. Got a good deal on an upgrade from my carrier, so why the hell not. If I don't like it I'll sell it and maybe get the LG G4 or something
And will it bend?
SquareTrade Shows Samsung S6 Edge as Bendable as iPhone 6 Plus & More Li...: https://youtu.be/3Y7tPczbOec
I doubt I would be able to bend it in my pockets, so it doesn't matter to me. But I'm holding off until I see the S6 Active partially due to the Edge being uncomfortable in the hands. But I intend on putting a case on it, which might make it more holdable.
And an op-ed on the Edge:
http://gizmodo.com/samsung-galaxy-s6-edge-a-quirk-that-doesnt-really-work-1694821006
SquareTrade Shows Samsung S6 Edge as Bendable as iPhone 6 Plus & More Li...: https://youtu.be/3Y7tPczbOec
I doubt I would be able to bend it in my pockets, so it doesn't matter to me. But I'm holding off until I see the S6 Active partially due to the Edge being uncomfortable in the hands. But I intend on putting a case on it, which might make it more holdable.
And an op-ed on the Edge:
http://gizmodo.com/samsung-galaxy-s6-edge-a-quirk-that-doesnt-really-work-1694821006
Last edited:
No, not having any sort of water proofing turns me off. Seeing that it has some qc issues only adds to that. Definitely not buying unless the S6 active changes that and Ill give Samsung sometime to figure stuff out.
IMO these 2 previews are the most detailed and excellent:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=708WS-Rpbn8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMiBwym9QFc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=708WS-Rpbn8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMiBwym9QFc
Have you seen the water test video? The edge lasted 20 minutes underwater before messing up. It still sort of worked afterwards. That's waterproof enough for me.