Which is better: review-comparison of Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. Galaxy S6 vs S7 comparison - which is the best choice? Samsung s6 comparison
Surely you have already learned specifications and you know about all the possibilities Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge... Today I'm going to share a real-life experience with one of the hottest new products of this year. We will talk about the nuances of operation, useful or useless features, and also see what the built-in camera of a smartphone is capable of. Go!
The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge package contains a charger (5 V, 2 A), a wired headset, a Micro-USB cable and a metal SIM card extractor. It is good that the Koreans have abandoned the use of yellow boxes made of thin and super cheap cardboard. Now, of course, the packaging still does not make much of an impression, especially against the background of the price of more than fifty thousand rubles per phone, but still better than it was before.
Characteristics Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge SM-G925F
I think it will be interesting not just to look at the technical characteristics of the smartphone in its pure form, but to compare them with the capabilities of its predecessor - Galaxy S5 (SM-G900F). The specs of the regular S6 and its curved version are no different from each other. Compared to last year's version, a lot has changed: in green he marked what has changed in the direction of improvement, in red - in the direction of deterioration.
| Samsung Galaxy S5 (SM-G900F) | Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge (SM-G925F) | |
| CPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 @ 2.5 GHz (4 cores) | Exynos 7 Octa 7420, 2.1 and 1.5 GHz, 64-bit (8 cores: 4 Cortex-A57 and 4 Cortex-A53) |
| Video accelerator | Adreno 330 | Mali-T760 MP8 |
| RAM | 2 GB LPDDR3 | 3 GB LPDDR4-3104 |
| Built-in memory | 16 GB | 32/64/128 GB |
| Memory card support | Yes (micro SD up to 128GB) | No |
| Display | Super AMOLED 5.1 '', 1920 × 1080 pixels (432 ppi) | Super AMOLED 5.1 '', 2560 × 1440 dots (577 ppi) |
| Main camera | 16 megapixels | 16 megapixels |
| Front-camera | 2 megapixels | 5 megapixels |
| Battery | 2800 mAh | 2550 mAh |
| OS | Android 4.4.2 (5.0 Lollipop available) | Android 5.0.2 |
| cellular | 2G, 3G, 4G | 2G, 3G, 4G LTE-A Cat 6 (FDD LTE: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 26, |
| Wireless interfaces | Wi-Fi (a / b / g / n / ac), Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, USB 3.0 (OTG), infrared port | Wi-Fi (a / b / g / n / ac), Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, USB 2.0 (OTG), infrared port |
| Connectors | GPS / GLONASS / Beidou | GPS / GLONASS / Beidou |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, barometer, light sensor, fingerprint scanner, heart rate monitor | |
| SIM card form factor | Micro | Nano |
| Water and dust resistant | Yes (IP67 standard) | No |
Later we will definitely talk in more detail about iron components and, of course, we will touch on performance.
Design
Let's talk a little about device design. I want to say right away that the device looks much better in real life than in photographs and, moreover, in press images. Judging only by the photo, it may seem that Samsung continues to stubbornly bend its line of monotonous devices with a missing design, but now it also tries to deceive the user, saying that we are talking about a device with a first-class appearance.
When you take a smartphone in hand, you understand that there is no deception here and you have a truly interesting, beautiful device in front of you.
The most surprising thing for me was that Samsung managed to combine the continuity of its design, which was correct in their opinion, and to make an objectively very amusing device from the point of view of appearance. Of course, you may not like the design, but in any case, we have to admit that it came out interesting and due to the curved display at the edges there is simply nothing like it on the market.
S6 Edge owners should be warmed by the thought that nothing like this will appear on the market any time soon. Yes, perhaps at the beginning of 2016 we will see something curved in a similar way from some eminent manufacturer, but not a single Chinese company rushing to Olympus will be able to do something similar in the next year or two. The latter will look for ways to stand out in other directions (lack of side frames, etc.) and this is certainly a plus for you and me, consumers.
Sorry, but I can't help but compare the device with the iPhone 6. In Edge, like the regular S6, the rear camera sticks out very noticeably above the surface of the case. It is clear that this nuance is due to an engineering decision - to place an excellent photo module in a thin case - this is a task that is beyond the power of anyone. However, the Koreans managed to beat this moment and the back side, even with a bulging camera lens, is perceived as a whole.
The same cannot be said about Apple's device. Here the camera sticks out, apparently because the engineers simply did not have time to complete the product on time. This is exactly the impression you get when you look at the iPhone 6.
The convenience of use
Curved screen gives +50 to the charisma of the device, but at the same time -25 to usability.
The thing is that in the course of normal use, accidental pressing on the screen in the place of its curved ends is not uncommon. Sometimes it happens in your browser when you accidentally click on some link with an advertisement like "How to lose weight by 65 kg in two weeks!". And it also happens that when shooting something with the built-in camera, you try to tap on the screen to focus on the object, but you do not understand why the device does not respond to your attempts. After 5 seconds, it becomes clear that at this moment the thumb touches the curved part of the screen and the viewfinder stops responding to any touches.
Here's another scenario for everyday smartphone use. In the morning, while still lying in bed, the first thing many of us do is reach for the phone to see the time, find out the weather, or check our mail. It is clear that we do this either in a completely horizontal position or in a reclining position. So, using "edge" in any of these cases is very difficult. The device is tilted down towards your face and, it is clear that the phone rests on the thumbs. And given that it is impossible to hold it along the edge in this position (false presses on the curved edges of the display will be triggered), then it is impossible to use the smartphone lying down.
It would seem that there is a simple way out - to always hold the device by the metal edging. However, in this case, the area of contact between the smartphone and the palm along the edging becomes smaller and the risk of dropping the smartphone from the hands increases many times. Any S6 Edge owner will have to go through this stage and get used to holding the device correctly, or still drop it and break it.
There is one more thing to consider if you can't decide between the regular S6 and its curved sibling. In about a week, the euphoria from a new, interesting and unique device will pass and, so to speak, harsh everyday life will come, during which you will constantly compromise when using your smartphone. Either it is difficult to pick it up when it is lying on the table, then you accidentally and constantly press the screen with your palm and something goes wrong - all these troubles will haunt you constantly.
Think carefully whether you need such an attraction and whether you are ready to sacrifice the convenience of using your device for the sake of the wow effect that the Galaxy S6 Edge produces.
By the way, due to the use of tempered glass on the front and back (the latest generation of Corning Gorilla Glass 4), the device itself does not try to slip out of your hands. Managing in this regard, for example, with the iPhone 6 is much more difficult.
During operation, of course, small scratches on the glass will begin to appear, but on a white model they are very difficult to notice. In my copy, these were available, but it is very difficult to photograph them.
The movement of all physical buttons is moderately soft and clear. It is pleasant to press on them, even in spite of the barely noticeable, but still present, backlash.
In general, the assembly of the smartphone is at its best, however, we still managed to find a couple of nuances.
In the corners, in the places of smooth transitions on the body, a gap is visible between the glass and the metal bumper.
In the photo below, I even managed to insert a piece of paper into this slot. In other places, the bezel fits as tightly as possible, and there are no even tiny gaps.
The paint on the sloping end of the protruding camera lens peels off rather quickly.
This is somehow not very cool for a fashion product that costs more than 50,000 rubles. Perhaps the manufacturer will solve this problem in future batches.
| Length | Width | Thickness | The weight | |
| Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge | 71,7 | |||
| Samsung Galaxy S5 | 72,5 | |||
| Apple iPhone 6 | 138,1 | |||
| HTC One M9 | 144,6 | 69,7 | 9,61 | |
| Sony Xperia Z3 | 146,5 |
Fans of compact smartphones will be happy to get their hands on the Galaxy S6 Edge, as despite the 5.1-inch display it is very compact, lightweight and very thin. The smartphone seemed small to me, and it would be great if Samsung released something larger. I think we should wait until autumn and try the Galaxy Note Edge 2. By the way, there is no mode of operation with only one hand here. You can comfortably use the device like that.
Display
Despite the seemingly big 5.1-inch screen, don't expect the screen to be large. Such is the paradox. Due to the rounded sides, the useful area of the screen is reduced and this is reflected in the information that is placed on the screen, more precisely, that remains readable. For example, in the browser we are accustomed to the system automatically aligning the text to the edges of the screen with a double tap, but here the text goes to the curved sides and it becomes difficult to perceive the text in this position. Each time you have to adjust the text to the useful area of the display by manually scaling the text with two fingers. Comfortable? Unlikely.
The above concerns only full versions of sites. For clarity, in the left photo below you can evaluate how one of the popular resources on the topic of mobile devices looks on the S6 Edge screen. In the photo on the right, our website is open in the browser, which is specially optimized for mobile devices - nothing needs to be scaled, everything remains readable from the very beginning.
In general, the curved screen makes you take a fresh look at the already boring interface of many applications. So, Instagram played differently due to the rounded edges. The same goes for other utilities on Android. And this is definitely very cool! A completely useless but very cool feature of the Galaxy S6 Edge.
I liked the display of the time on the side bar of the display in night mode. I woke up so suddenly at night, turned my head, looked at the glowing clock on the side of my smartphone and slept on until the alarm clock. Comfortable? Yes. Necessary? Um ... I guess.
As for the viewing angles, there is something to tell about here. In my test photos below, I compared the S6 Edge's screen (left / top in photos, display mode: Responsive) with one of the best displays I've seen on mobile in the last year - (right / bottom).
As you can see, the display of the Korean smartphone shows itself, on the whole, not bad, but the stock of brightness is still lacking in comparison with the Chinese.
I would not say that color rendering is perfect in both devices. In the S6 Edge, the image is slightly green, while in the MX4 Pro the colors are slightly pink. At this point, whoever likes something, but traditional green displays in solutions from a Korean corporation are not close to me.
However, the edge screen is beyond competition in terms of black transmission.
Samsung displays the deepest black color that Meizu's device cannot boast of. By the way, the latter, so you know, conveys a dark shade well when comparing its display with that of Huawei Honor 6 Plus. Here you can look at the comparison of these two Chinese and be convinced of the veracity of this statement.
The same applies to the behavior of the screen in the sun. The display remains readable in all conditions. The backlight adjustment sensor, of course, does not react in the fastest way to a sudden change in lighting, but it always does it correctly.
Processor, graphics and memory
The most modern mobile processors from Samsung Exynos 7420 Octa are used as the "brains" of the smartphone. It is based on 4 high-performance Cortex-A57 cores with a frequency of 2.1 GHz and 4 additional Cortex-A53 with a lower frequency of 1.5 GHz (big.LITTLE). The processor is created using 14-nanometer technology. The closest competitors are the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810, which has some overheating issues, and the Nvidia Tegra K1.
Responsible for the graphics ARM Mali-T760 MP8. The frequency of each shader cluster reaches 772 MHz. The declared support for OpenGL ES 3.1, OpenCL 1.1 and DirectX 11. According to some tests, this video chip built into the processor bypasses Adreno 430 and PowerVR GX6450 (Apple A8) in performance. The high resolution 2560 x 1440 in games is what the graphics do with a bang.
In addition, it uses the fastest 3 GB LPDDR4-3104 memory (speeds up to 24.8 Gb / s).
Performance
The speed of the animation, the interface is maximum. Any menu, graphics fly and it becomes clear that you are dealing with a perfectly debugged interface.
The camera starts up in less than a second and takes photos even faster. During the entire testing period, I could not find any bottlenecks where the device stuttered at least once.
Have you read about the specifications of the smartphone above? So, does it make sense to say that the performance of modern 3D games is maximum? I think this is overkill.
The same goes for performance in various benchmarks.
In 64-bit test AnTuTu Galaxy S6 Edge managed to score as many as 70 641 virtual parrots! That's really really: "Can your smartphone do that?"
More details in the screenshots below.
Camera
Gorgeous! Seriously! It is really the best among all currently existing mobile devices (spring 2015). Don't believe me? Then watch the bee peacefully collecting nectar on the blossoming almonds below.
If you still have doubts, then here are examples with the rest of the frames captured on the device. The originals can be taken from here in one archive and in detail how to study them offline.
Even photos taken at night look good. Check out how the Samsung plant turned out in one of the photos below.
Optical stabilization works well in most situations, but it never hurts to take two or three frames at a time. It happens that the photos are blurry, but it turns out it's too late.
Examples of 100% crops are below, in their proper places.
The device takes pictures very quickly. The same goes for HDR shots, and indeed the launch of the camera. In the parameters, you can set that the photo application is launched by double-clicking on the "Home" key. Thus, you will have approximately 1.5 seconds from the moment you discovered an interesting plot, until the image is saved to the smartphone's memory.
Samsung has taken a welcome path. Firstly, we improved the already excellent camera compared to the same Galaxy Note 4. And, secondly, we simplified the process of creating photos and menus. Previously, when you click on a button with gears, a matrix with monochrome icons and inscriptions opened in front of you, which made your eyes watery.
Now everything is simple. Basic settings, including choosing a resolution, activating geotagging, setting up additional shutter buttons (volume keys) and so on, are available by pressing the same gear.
Again, there are not many modes, but there are all the most basic: shooting slow-motion or fast-motion video, creating panoramas, the now fashionable choice of focus after shooting, and so on.
Of course, there is a "Pro" mode, where you can play around with the exposure parameters yourself, tighten the picture using additional settings and choose the appropriate ISO. By the way, below is an example of a shot made from different frames at different ISO settings.
There are two sets of preset filters: the first is called by pressing a separate virtual key from the viewfinder, and the second is available from the "Pro" mode. Korean developers apparently don't like what Instagram has to offer.
The smartphone is capable of recording video in a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels at 30 frames per second. See example below.
As before, the camera is capable of shooting slow motion or fast motion videos. In this case, the resolution will not exceed 1280 x 720, and for the correct viewing of such masterpieces on a computer, you will need special players and codecs. I am more close to the implementation of shooting such a video in. There, the feature is referred to as Timeshift Burst and is made more gracefully.
Battery life
Forget about two days of battery life on a single battery charge. The Galaxy S6 Edge will have to be charged every day, unless, of course, you bought this smartphone just to make calls.
Get a wireless charger and train yourself to put the device on it every day before bed. So life will become much easier and you shouldn't worry about the lack of battery power.
During the night, the device spends about 6-8 percent of the charge to nowhere. During the day, most of the energy is consumed by the screen, data transfer and, of course, built-in hardware. With very heavy use, the smartphone runs the risk of not surviving until the night and being discharged halfway to the outlet. In this case, it is worth using the power saving mode. There is not much sense from the usual saving mode, but extreme energy saving will allow you to stay in touch twice as long. By the way, when this feature is activated, the device is not only limited in the use of all its functions, but also behaves like some budget phone: it becomes slightly brooding.
Models and prices
In this article, I propose, in addition to feedback on the actual operation of the phone, to touch upon the issue of existing models. The range of prices and modifications, of course, is not great, but the information will still be useful. This is especially true for those who decide to buy a gadget abroad during their vacation or business trip.
We have
There are several versions of the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge at the moment. First of all, they differ in the size of the built-in memory: it can be 32, 64 or 128 GB. The order of prices, respectively, is as follows: 54,990, 57,990 and 62,990 rubles. All these modifications bear the same marking: SM-G925F.
A little later, another model will appear on the market in our market, which will have support for two SIM cards on board at once. True, we are talking about the usual Galaxy S6 Duos (SM-G920F), which will have 64 GB allocated for data storage. Nothing is known about the version with a curved display and two SIM cards.
And that is not all. More recently, the Korean company announced the start of sales of a special version of the smartphone in color with the brand name "noble emerald". The coloring itself does not carry any special bonus, this is something else. For just 89,990 rubles, the lucky owner of the device will receive a wireless charger and an external battery included.
In addition, the buyer will receive a Quintessentially Lifestyle Club membership card, a service that reservations hotels for you, restaurant tables and much more around the world. Not a bad opportunity to try the service for very little money. A subscription apart from a Samsung device costs very different money, much more than the price of the "edge".
They have
In the international arena (if you are on vacation in the USA - it will come in handy) there is a whole scattering of different types of "edge". Below is a selection of models with approximate prices for them as a guide.
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge SM-G925P- This option is available with Sprint and has support for the following cellular networks: UMTS: 850/900/1900/2100 MHz. As for LTE, the modification is designed to work in networks with the following bands: FDD LTE: 700 (12), 850 (5), 850 (26), 1700/2100 (4), 1900 (2), 1900 (25) MHz ; TDD LTE: 2500 (41) MHz.
SM-G925A- sold from AT&T operators and supports UMTS networks (850/1900/2100 MHz), as well as LTE FDD: 700 (17), 800 (20), 850 (5), 900 (8), 1700/2100 (4), 1800 (3), 1900 (2), 2100 (1), 2600 (7) MHz.
SM-G925V- can be purchased at Verizon showrooms and points of sale. Declared work in UMTS (850/900/1900/2100 MHz) and LTE FDD: 700 (13), 850 (5), 1700/2100 (4), 1800 (3), 1900 (2), 2600 (7) MHz ...
SM-G925T from the American operator T-Mobile - will be able to connect to UMTS (850 / 1700/2100 / 1900/2100 MHz), as well as the 4th generation LTE FDD cellular network: 700 (12), 700 (17), 800 (20), 850 (5), 1700/2100 (4), 1800 (3), 1900 (2), 2100 (1), 2600 (7) MHz
And a relatively rare modification SM-G925R from the U.S. Cellular is equipped with support for UMTS (800/1900 MHz), as well as LTE FDD: 700 (12), 700 (13), 700 (17), 850 (5), 1700/2100 (4), 1900 (2), (7 ) MHz.
The same applies to the regular version of the Samsung Galaxy S6 SM-G920F. It is enough to remove the last letter in the model name and substitute the one missing from the operator: substitute A, T, V or R instead of F at the end of the model name.
The only parting word before purchasing: specify which bands are broadcast in your city by the operator whose services you are going to use. This is an important point that should be taken into account in advance, in addition to the fact that not all models indicated above can be bought by non-US residents.
Output
The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is a truly unique device. At the moment, it remains the market leader in both performance and innovation.
Most likely, the situation will not change until the end of the summer, until the moment when the Korean manufacturer will present the next generation Note 5 or Note 5 Edge to the world. Considering all this, the declared price of 54,990 rubles fully justifies itself. Moreover, the manufacturer could have set the cost even higher, since in its league the S6 Edge plays alone for now.
We talked about everything that is important to know when purchasing a device. I did not touch on the points that you already know. We have analyzed what the manufacturer and other publications are silent about. Only two points remain unclear: why is the cost of the regular Galaxy S6 so overpriced and how will you deal with the curved edges of the hero of today's article? I described the last moment in some detail in the body of the review - there is everything that any user is likely to encounter during real, normal use of a smartphone.
As for the price of a conventional, non-curved modification, everything is different here. Yes, we have before us a very powerful, productive device with excellent body materials. However, the device lacks the same image component as the Edge or iPhone 6. Such a comparison has set the teeth on edge, but not we, the journalists, do it, but the company itself.
Samsung is openly competing with Apple for its pricing policy. However, why the buyer should pay for the manufacturer's ambitions is not clear.
If Samsung set the price at 35-40 thousand rubles (which, in fact, happened during the spring-summer 2015 price war), it would have a chance to finally do away with such competitors as HTC or Sony and oust them from the Russian market. Nevertheless, the company did not want to do this, as well as remember about Chinese companies that are increasingly actively conquering the domestic market. In an unstable economic environment, users tend to save money and choose more affordable solutions. And there is still a vacation season ahead - you also want to relax. They have no extra money for the very device.
Now, after the publication of sales reports from Apple and the Korean electronics giant, it becomes clear that Samsung's strategy is not working and it is impossible to compete head-on with the Cupertinians. People are addicted to stereotypes that have stuck in their heads: iPhone is cool, it's status, period! So far, the Koreans are only partially able to convince buyers of the superiority of the same Galaxy S6 Edge (and, on all fronts).
Apple and Samsung have been major rivals in the smartphone market for many years. And if in the past few years their rivalry partly proceeded in court sessions, then this year manufacturers have completely switched to fighting within the framework of technology. And this has a positive effect on the flagship devices of the companies. First, Apple introduced the iPhone 6, recognizing a mistake in refusing to release large smartphones. And now Samsung has brought the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge to market with new body materials. At the same time, with the iPhone 6, Apple has already managed to significantly increase sales and regain its lost positions in the market. Let's see what answer Samsung has prepared for the rival with the Galaxy S6 edge.Considering that Apple is making significant changes to its smartphones a generation later, and the iPhone 6s will hit the market this year, we decided that comparing the current generation iPhone with the Galaxy S6 edge would be very useful. Moreover, the devices will directly compete with each other for at least another six months. Much of what is written below will also hold true when comparing the Galaxy S6 to the iPhone 6 directly.
A little about the testing itself
In order to make the summing up of the test results simpler and more understandable, the devices will receive from 1 to 10 points for each section. The winner will be determined by their sum.
Materials, build quality
In the past, Samsung has used plastic in its flagship models, while Apple has favored glass and metal. Actually, the lion's share of criticism of Samsung designers was based on the use of plastic. This year the situation has changed dramatically.
In the Galaxy S6 edge, the company pioneered the use of aircraft-grade aluminum, which creates a rigid frame for the case, as well as Gorilla Glass 4. The latter differs from the third-generation glass in increased strength and, according to its specifications, can withstand a drop from a height of 1.2 meters onto a hard surface.
A new approach to materials, as well as the abandonment of the rear removable cover, allowed Samsung to create a very high-quality case, with a tight fit of all elements.
In the iPhone 6, Apple has traditionally used anodized aluminum, as well as glass covering the display on the bezel. All this is combined into a monolithic body, with a good fit of all parts.
As a result, both models stand out for the use of quality materials and excellent build quality, as befits a flagship.
The convenience of use
The smartphones presented in comparison have different display diagonal, but in terms of size they are quite comparable.
The height and width of the Apple iPhone 6 is 138.1 × 67 mm, with a thickness of 6.9 mm. The smartphone turned out to be really thin and not very wide, which allows the thumb to reach the top of the display.
The iPhone 6's power button is on the right side, while the volume rocker is on the left.
Thanks to the good placement, both thumb and forefinger fit equally well.
The dimensions of the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge, despite the large diagonal, are 142.1 × 70.1 × 7 mm. The smartphone came out a little taller and wider than the iPhone 6, but at the same time retained the dimensions that were comfortable to use.
The S6 edge fits well in the hand, although its edges may initially seem overly sharp, in practice this is not the case. The location of the power button and volume keys here is similar to the iPhone 6.
Today, this is the best option for realizing good ergonomics in a smartphone.
Thus, both models perform well in everyday use. The dimensions of the iPhone 6 are likely to appeal to those switching from smaller diagonal models. Otherwise, the Galaxy S6 edge, with the same level of ergonomics, looks more advantageous due to more rational use of the front panel area.
Display
The Galaxy S6 edge uses a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels. All this allows the screen to form an image with a pixel density of 577 per inch. Thanks to this, the Galaxy S6 edge has significantly improved the quality of the picture, which is now closer to high-quality glossy magazines.
Another feature of the Galaxy S6 edge is that it folds over to the right and left edges of the case. It not only looks impressive, but also carries a functional load. The curved edges of the case make it easier to scroll through lists.
The use of a curved display also produces an interesting visual effect, with the bezels on the sides appearing to be just tiny. But in fact, they are large enough to protect the screen if dropped.
The maximum display brightness of the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge is 600 cd / m2, and the minimum is 2 cd / m2. The factory calibration of the smartphone screen is performed at a good level, but significantly differs depending on the selected mode. The optimal one, according to our measurements, is the "AMOLED Photo" mode. In it, the screen shows more than 100% coverage of the sRGB color space with a large bias towards green. At the same time, its temperature is within 6500K, and the gamma is at the level of 2.2-2.3, which is a good indicator.
The iPhone 6 has a 4.7-inch display with a 1334-by-750-pixel resolution, which produces an image with a pixel density of 326 pixels per inch.
Apple has traditionally used an IPS panel, but this time with dual-domain pixel technology, which allows for wider viewing angles. This design is based on the idea that not all pixels need to be aligned. Instead, they can be skewed when viewed from the perspective of the lines defined by the rectangular edges of the display to compensate for uneven light output.
Despite the lower resolution and ppi, the iPhone 6 display looks very good. Its maximum brightness level reaches 500 cd / m2, and the minimum - 4.7 cd / m2, which is an excellent indicator for IPS screens. The factory calibration of the display on the iPhone 6 is very good.
Overall, both screens leave a good impression, but when compared directly, the Galaxy S6 edge's display looks better, is larger, sharper, and has richer colors.
Performance
The smartphones in our comparison are built on their own processors. The iPhone is powered by a 1.4GHz 2-core 64-bit A8 processor, which is built using a 20nm manufacturing process. The Galaxy S6 edge uses a 64-bit 14nm Exynos 7420 processor, clocked at 1.5GHz and 2.1GHz. The AnTuTu benchmark test for iOS and Android is different, but it generally measures the performance level of the devices. In this parameter, the Exynos 7420 bypasses the A8.
However, given the lower resolution of the display, the iPhone 6 will have enough processor power for most tasks. In the Galaxy S6 edge, the Exynos 7420 has enough performance not only for the current demanding applications and games, the processor has a good supply of power, which will allow it to remain relevant for a couple of years.
At the same time, when switching between the iPhone 6 and Galaxy S6 edge, the difference in the amount of RAM is clearly visible. Samsung's flagship uses 3GB, while Apple decided to stick with just 1GB. This is not enough for a flagship smartphone. As a result, switching between open applications and tabs in the browser is more comfortable on the S6 edge.
Built-in storage, depending on modification, starts at 16GB in the iPhone 6 and 32GB in the Galaxy S6 edge, both of which lack memory card slots.
Camera
The Galaxy S6 edge uses a 16-megapixel camera with f / 1.9 aperture and OIS. The iPhone 6 has an 8-megapixel camera with f / 2.2 aperture and dual flash.
In good light:
In good lighting in HDR:
In poor light:
With flash:
Macro:
As you can see from the pictures, the Galaxy S6 edge camera has better picture details due to the larger aperture and resolution. Apple squeezed the maximum possible out of the 8-megapixel Sony photo module, but it could have been replaced with another one with a higher aperture ratio and resolution.
The fingerprint scanner
The Galaxy S6 edge and iPhone 6 can use a fingerprint scanner to unlock the display, as well as to purchase apps from the brand store.
In both cases, they are aligned with a mechanical Home button below their displays. The principle of operation of scanners is the same; to unlock, you just need to put your finger on their surface.
At the same time, they work equally well, Samsung has improved a lot in this regard in a year, and differ only in shape.
Multimedia
Galaxy S6 edge and iPhone 6 out of the box support a fairly large number of multimedia files. It should be noted that if the corresponding format is not in the list, then it can be easily bypassed by installing third-party players. But let's see what the test models are capable of initially.
Apple iPhone 6 can play AAC, MP3 Audible, Apple Lossless, AIFF and WAV audio formats. You can transfer music to the built-in player only through iTunes, which is not always convenient.
The iPhone 6 sounds very good, it has a good volume headroom and has the ability to customize the equalizer.
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge supports MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, and OTA audio formats. Especially worth highlighting is the support for uncompressed FLAC audio. You can use a USB cable and wireless sync to transfer files to your smartphone.
The sound quality of the S6 edge is also at a good level, while the volume headroom will also delight fans of open headphones.
As for the volume of the external speaker, both smartphones give about the same sound quality to it, but the S6 edge still shouts over the iPhone 6.
Both smartphones can play video through the built-in player, but have different codec support:
| Codec \ Name | UltraHD4K.mp4 | Neudergimie.mkv | GranTurismo.mp4 | Spartacus.mkv | ParallelUniverse.avi |
| Video | MPEG4 Video (H264) 3840 × 2160 29.92fps, 19.4 Mbit / s | MPEG4 Video (H264) 1920 × 816 23.98fps, 10.1Mbit / s | MPEG4 Video (H264) 1920 × 1080 60fps, 19.7Mbit / s, 20 Mbit / s | MPEG4 Video (H264) 1280 × 720 29.97fps, 1.8 Mbit / s | MPEG4 Video (H264) 1280 × 536 24.00fps 2.8 Mbit / s |
| Audio | AAC 44100Hz stereo 124kbps | MPEG Audio Layer 3 44100Hz stereo | AAC 48000Hz stereo 48kbps | Dolby AC3 44100Hz stereo | MPEG Audio Layer 3 44100Hz stereo 256kbps |
iPhone 6
Galaxy S6 edge
In general, these models do an excellent job of playing music, except for the built-in FLAC support in the Galaxy S6 edge. But in terms of video, the basic capabilities of the Samsung smartphone are noticeably higher than that of the iPhone 6.
Autonomy and charging
The iPhone 6 has a built-in 1810 mAh battery versus a 2600 mAh battery in the Galaxy S6 edge. We compared the battery life of smartphones using the Geekbench 3 test, which discharged them with the displays turned on and set to medium brightness.
As a result, the iPhone 6 lasted 3 hours 28 minutes, while the Galaxy S6 edge lasted 7 hours 32 minutes. These tests are confirmed by actual use, in which the iPhone 6 can withstand maximum daylight in medium load mode, while the Galaxy S6 edge works for about a day.
The iPhone 6 charges from 0 to 100% in about 2 hours, and the smartphone has an undocumented fast charge feature. Using a 2.1A charger, iPhone 6 can be charged in 1 hour and 40 minutes.
Galaxy S6 edge takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes to charge via the included charger. At the same time, the fast charging function allows you to charge the smartphone from 0 to 15% in 10 minutes, with economical use this can be enough for up to 4 hours of work. The battery charges up to 80% in 50 minutes. Samsung Adaptive and Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 built-in wireless charging charges the Galaxy S6 edge in approximately 3 hours.
As a result, in terms of autonomy, the Galaxy S6 edge shows the best results, which are also complemented by fast charging and support for wireless chargers.
final grade
In terms of the total points in this comparison, the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge deservedly wins, for which it receives the Editor's Choice "Best Quality". Samsung has managed to significantly improve the functionality of its flagship, while it received a good design and body materials. The remaining six months before the release of the next version of Apple's smartphone, the iPhone 6, will be difficult to compete with the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge. It will be even more difficult for the new iPhone to do this if it gets only minor improvements over the iPhone 6. Samsung has been able to raise the bar for quality, and while it hasn't become unattainable, the company has made a significant leap forward in technology.
Samsung Galaxy S7 - one of the most anticipated smartphones of the first half of 2016 - fully met the expectations of the fans of the South Korean manufacturer and, in general, was liked by the majority of interested users. Along with this, many potential buyers have a quite natural question: is it worth updating from the S6 model, or are the differences between the two smartphones not so significant? More on this later.
Design features
The materials used for the production of the smartphone, as well as the design of the device, surpass those of the S5 in all respects. In the novelty of 2016, the manufacturer decided not to deviate from the chosen path and retained the best features of the S6, without making any noticeable changes. The list of those includes only the following points:
- part of the camera no longer protrudes above the back cover;
- the edges of the back panel have become rounded, like on the Samsung Note 5;
- a slot for flash cards of microSD format appeared;
- the case has become waterproof;
- the thickness of the case increased insignificantly, primarily due to the increase in battery capacity.
In general, the 2016 model is more comfortable and ergonomic in the hand, without slipping or causing any other inconvenience.
Display
Samsung Galaxy S6 was equipped with a QHD display with a resolution of 2560x1440 pixels. Overall, the screen is still one of the best on the market.
What about the S7 model? The novelty is equipped with a similar QHD Amoled display with a diagonal of 5.1 inches. Among the innovations, the Always On mode should be noted: when activated, indicators of time, battery charge, notifications of missed calls and received messages, etc. are nicely and compactly placed in the center of the display. You can select different options for displaying image data.
For example, the G5 and V10 models from LG are equipped with similar displays.
Camera
The predecessor was equipped with a 16 megapixel camera, which allows you to take high-quality photos with realistic colors and shoot excellent video recordings. The number of megapixels in the S7 model is 12, but the quality, at the same time, has significantly increased. The whole secret lies in the Britecell module: the resolution of the physical matrix is 24 megapixels, but the finished image is formatted in 12 megapixels by combining adjacent dots. As a result of such processing, there is an increase in the sharpness of the picture and a higher definition is provided.
According to the manufacturer, the Galaxy S7 has a near-instant autofocus function, which is also a serious advantage for users who prefer to take photos and shoot videos using a smartphone.
Battery
The battery capacity has grown by 400mAh over the Galaxy S6 and is now 3000mAh. As well as its predecessor, the 2016 flagship has super battery saving and fast battery recovery features. On average, it takes 80-90 minutes to fully charge a Galaxy S7 battery. Additional benefits include wireless charging.
Processor and operating system
The 2016 model is powered by Exynos 8890 or Snapdragon 820 processors, depending on the recipient country. The Galaxy S6 was powered by an Exynos7420 processor, which roughly matches that of the Snapdragon 810.
The amount of RAM also differs: the new item has 4 GB versus 3 GB of the Galaxy S6 model.
The flagship of 2016 initially runs on the latest version of Android Marshmallow at the time of the release of the device. Along with this, the new version of the mobile operating system is available to Galaxy S6 owners.
Samsung's proprietary custom skin - TouchWiz - has barely undergone any changes compared to the Galaxy Note 5 and S6 Edge +.
Price
And here, the Galaxy S6 has a clear advantage. This smartphone can already be found within 30,000 thousand rubles, when, as a novelty in 2016, it will cost an average of 40,000 rubles, and in the case of the Galaxy S7 Edge, you will have to pay about 50,000 rubles.
Thus, in our opinion, it is not worth rushing to run and change the Galaxy S6 to a brand new flagship. And the strongest difference between one and the other in the emerging memory card slot and moisture protection. If these indicators are not very critical for you, you can safely take the Galaxy S6 - its power is still quite enough for all tasks, and the money saved when buying will not be superfluous. Or choose something else - the 7th "Galaxy" with other gadgets.
P.S. Like it if you think it's too early to write off the "old S6"! Or write in the comments why you think differently!
The iPhone 6s Plus and Galaxy S6 Edge + are technically the most advanced smartphones of the two giants - Apple and Samsung. These flagships will clearly compete with each other in the category of phablets that have become very popular lately. These flagships feature the best displays, the best designs, the most advanced technology, the most amazing cameras - all the best on the market today. Together, this makes them amazing smartphones. But let's take a look at the Galaxy S6 Edge + and iPhone 6s Plus and talk about them in detail to determine if one is worth buying.
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Design
The Galaxy S6 Edge + and iPhone 6s Plus are considered some of the nicest phablets out there. But this does not mean that these smartphones no longer have other exceptional qualities, because in fact they are head and shoulders above their "classmates". Even if you don't like the curved screen of the S6 Edge + or the slim body of the iPhone 6s Plus, you still need to work very hard to play down their impeccable style.In fact, the Galaxy S6 Edge + is the same S6 Edge, but in size is clearly larger - it has the same curved display edges, metal frame and glass. The iPhone 6s Plus, by contrast, has a 7000 series aluminum alloy all-metal body. At least the iPhone isn't a fingerprint magnet, though.
I think it's worth taking a closer look at the 7000 series aluminum alloy if you're interested in the iPhone 6s Plus. In fact, the alloy contains aluminum, zinc and magnesium to make the body of the smartphone stronger, but it is difficult to work with such material in production. So far, this alloy is still used in the Apple Watch Sport and iPhone 6s.
But the S6 Edge + can no longer surprise with the appearance of the S6 Edge. He has everything where we expected. The convenient fingerprint scanner, heart rate monitor, MicroUSB 2.0 port with support for fast charging, and support for fast wireless charging remain the same. Alas, the last two points are missing in the iPhone 6s Plus and I hope that Apple will think about major changes for future generations of iPhones.
The lack of a slot for MicroSD cards and removable batteries is a common feature of our phablets, and this is a big disappointment for users. The good news is that the smartphones really look like premium devices and also received high-quality materials. But if you put them side by side, the difference will still be very obvious, even in size.
Even though the Galaxy S6 Edge + has a 5.7-inch display, it is smaller than the 5.5-inch iPhone 6s Plus: 154.4 x 75.8 x 6.9 mm versus 158.1 x 77.8 x 7.1 mm. The S6 Edge + is even lighter than the competitor - 153g versus 172g. For smartphones, this is a very big difference that you can feel with your hands. And the proportions of the S6 Edge + body are better, although there are some users who may argue that this is not a criterion for convenient use of a smartphone.
Display
The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge +, with its 5.7-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1440 x 2560 pixels, is literally outperforming its rival, which has a 5.5-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels. Although it's already hard to argue with the opinion that the Quad HD display in smartphones is a dubious achievement. In fact, the iPhone 6s Plus screen looks just as good, although Samsung's display has a pixel density of 518ppi, while the iPhone has “only” 401ppi. The difference can be noticed only when considering very small details and in graphically complex objects, hieroglyphs.
However, over the years Apple has been releasing smartphones with displays that on paper may not seem the most advanced, but in practice they are in no way inferior to rivals. But, in fact, the display of the iPhone 6s Plus will be practically indistinguishable from the screen of last year's model. And this is still a cool color temperature, a high level of brightness, color balance close to the ideal gamut, fantastic viewing angles. All this is great, but for Apple it is important to maintain the level of competitors' flagships, that is, it was possible to increase the resolution and expand the color gamut.
The display in Galaxy S6 Edge + is traditionally Super AMOLED, with a high level of brightness, color temperature close to neutral, correct color balance. This is a high quality display, one of the best in its class, and its performance has not deteriorated with the appearance of curved sides. Although if you look for flaws, you can find them - you can notice strange color distortions at certain angles of inclination. This is almost the only point that Samsung Display specialists should work on.
The key difference between the two phablets is that Apple is using the new 3D Touch technology in the iPhone 6s Plus. This is already in the new MacBook and Apple Watch - it allows the display to determine the pressure level that is already used in the user interface. But the technology is not unique, that is, it is already being used by other manufacturers. Huawei has released its flagship with Force Touch.
Processor and memory
Of particular interest to these phablets is that they both offer excellent performance, although they have a huge difference in hardware. It boils down to the fact that Samsung and Apple adhere to polar opposites in their views. Samsung is leading the technology arms race in the Android market, pushing competitors to the constant search and development of new technologies, although so far only the Korean giant has the ability to quickly launch new products into mass production. As for Apple, this is a completely different matter. The company will only go for significant hardware improvements if they bring the changes needed to increase sales. And now to the characteristics themselves.The Galaxy S6 Edge + has the very best Samsung has to offer so far. This means that the phablet works on the Exynos 7420 processor, which is created using the 14 nm FinFET process technology. It is eight-core 64-bit with four Cortex-A57 cores @ 2.1GHz and four energy efficient Cortex-A53 @ 1.5GHz. In addition to the powerful processor we have a Mali-T760 MP8, 4GB LPDDR4 RAM and UFS 2.0 memory.
The iPhone 6s Plus has its own Apple A9 processor, which is still manufactured by Samsung and has only 2 cores clocked at 1.8GHz. It's strange that Apple is still not going to officially publish all the information about the processor and GPU PowerVR. There is also 2GB of RAM - even this is considered a significant leap forward, since until now, iPhones had 1GB of RAM for several years in a row. Be that as it may, according to early tests, the A9 shows a performance gain of 19% compared to the A8, 6% in the single-core test compared to the A8X, in the multi-core test the increase is 69% compared to the A8 (8% when compared to A8X). It sounds good, but not surprising at all. At the official presentation, according to tradition, they promised much more growth.
Now for memory. Galaxy S6 Edge + appeared on the market in two versions - with 32 and 64GB of storage, while there are more options for iPhones - 16, 64 and 128GB. But the Samsung phablet technically has a big advantage in memory read / write speed due to the UFS 2.0 technology. Apple still works with eMMC memory, although it makes economic sense. In the end, Samsung chose UFS 2.0 because these chips can also be sold to other manufacturers, whereas Apple doesn't make anything other than finished products.
Connection
Samsung has an advantage here, too. Galaxy S6 Edge + supports 4G LTE with a huge number of frequencies. Also, to improve signal reception, a MIMO (2x2) antenna and two-channel Wi-Fi, as well as NFC, are used. Bluetooth 4.2 with support for low energy profile, positioning by GPS, Glonass and Beidou system.Meanwhile, the iPhone 6s Plus is available for both GSM and CDMA carriers, and there is VoLTE support for high-quality broadband calls. This not only improves the quality of outgoing communications, but also allows you to work with simultaneous voice and data transmission. The Galaxy S6 Edge + has this feature as well. iPhone 6s Plus also has support for GPS, Glonass and Bluetooth 4.0 LE, as well as Wi-Fi 802.11 ac and NFC.
Camera
Samsung is the company that traditionally uses the best cameras in the Android world. This tradition has not been broken, and the Galaxy S6 Edge + received the 16MP main and 5MP front cameras, which we know a lot about. These are the same cameras found in the Galaxy S6 / S6 Edge. Both cameras have an f / 1.9 aperture, which means they shoot with high quality in low light.The camera in the iPhone 6s Plus has finally escaped the captivity of 8 megapixels. Apple is rather restrained in improving its smartphones in this regard. It is only now that we see a 12MP iSight camera as the main one, as well as a 5MP front camera, whereas until now it was a modest 1.2MP module. In addition to standard attempts to improve the quality of photos, support for shooting videos with 4k resolution (3840 x 2160 pixels) becomes a nice addition, that is, this is the level of Android flagships.
But both phablets received modules manufactured by Sony. Although we already know everything about the Galaxy S6 Edge + camera, since we got acquainted with it back in April, while not everything is known about the iPhone 6s Plus, although it has already announced technology with RGBW subpixels for better low-light shooting. This technology uses an additional white sub-pixel located next to the RGB sub-pixels. We've seen this type of sensor in action in the Huawei P8, and this camera performed well in various conditions. However, RGBW comes as no surprise. Improvement occurs only due to special processing algorithms from Apple.
Battery life
The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge + boasts a 3,000mAh battery, which lasts for 9 hours and 29 minutes with the always-on display in a dedicated test. The iPhone 6s Plus has a slightly smaller battery - 2915 mAh, but it only lasts 6 hours 32 minutes in a similar test, but this is not an impressive result, although this is enough for someone.In addition to extended battery life, the Galaxy S6 Edge + has fast charging support - it only takes 80 minutes to fully charge the battery. In addition, there is also support for fast wireless charging, which will be an excellent alternative to standard charging. It is also important that 120 minutes is enough to charge up to 100%. The iPhone 6s Plus has nothing like this.
Output
This will actually be a heated battle between the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge + and the Apple iPhone 6s Plus, as they will be in constant competition. Both phablets offer a premium set of everything the average user dreams of - better design, great displays, very powerful hardware, quality cameras. Apparently, a lot will now depend on marketing and brand loyalty, and not on the technical equipment of the phablets.South Korean manufacturer has announced an improved version of the curved flagship smartphone GalaxyS6edge -GalaxyS6edge +. He got a much larger screen. This can be seen in the comparative photo. But what other surprises did she give him Samsung? Let's find it out right now.
1 - size
The first thing that catches your eye when comparing two phones lying side by side is the changed dimensions. New variant GalaxyS6edge + gained height and width, but at the same time was able to become slightly narrower than the original version.
The overall dimensions look like this: 154; 76; 6.9 mm y GalaxyS6edge + against142; 70.7 mm y GalaxyS6edge.
2 - weight
Of course, this also affected the weight of the new device. The extended version now weighs 153 grams against 132 for its predecessor.
3 - structure of the body and cover
Nothing has changed in the material of the case and lid. Still aluminum, still Gorilla Glass 4 on the non-removable lid. It does not happen that a version marked with + suddenly begins to be made from something else. So the designers are resting here, enjoying their previous work well done.
4 - color palette
Remained and the classic black and white body colors. Also, both options have gold. And in order to be somehow different, the new phone with a curved display received a silver color, and the old one differs from the entire line. Galaxy green.
5 - display
You can clearly see that the new display has become much larger. More precisely, by 20 percent. 5.7 inches received GalaxyS6edge +. This is the size of a great phablet, and is a good replacement for a mini tablet. GalaxyS6edge has 5.1 inches, which is also not bad, but not so catchy.
But in the screen resolution and display type, nothing has changed. The QHD screen has 2560 by 1440 pixels. The display type is oleophobic, or AMOLED, as the buyer is more accustomed to seeing on the box with the product. Only the pixel density has changed. From 577 units to 518. That is, the picture has become less sharp, but it is hardly noticeable to the eye at this resolution.
Of course, there were also curved displays, which are usually called "triple". Samsung she also did not add support for the S Pen stylus, so that the model would not compete with another product of the company - the Note 5 phablet.
6 - processor
The processor remains the same. For almost half a year Samsung did not manage to release a more advanced chip than that of Exynos 7420... This eight-core and 64-bit chip operates at frequencies of 2.1 and 1.5 GHz and allows the battery to last much longer than the opponents.
7 - RAM
The update lies in the fact that the new version has received the maximum possible at the moment for smartphones 4 GB of RAM. The original version has "only" 3 GB. Support for multitasking just got better.
8 - internal memory
In order not to increase the cost of the extended version of the smartphone with a curved display, Samsung had to abandon the 128 GB version for sale. Then it would cost almost as much as meaningless branded phones. And the South Korean manufacturer prefers cutting edge and affordable. Micro SD card support was not added either. It will slow down the device as Samsung switched to a new type of flash memory, which offers improved performance.
9 - cameras
The cameras have remained the same. 16 megapixels for the main camera, 5 megapixels for the front. Support for automatic digital stabilization is included.
10 - battery
The new growth and width (even despite the thinner body) allowed Samsung to solve the main problem of the flagship - to supply a more capacious battery. The new smartphone received 3000 mAh, while the previous version had only 2600 mAh. A few extra hours of work will not hurt the device.
The batteries are still non-removable, have fast charging capabilities and support wireless charging.
11 - other
Both devices support the company's instant mobile payments - Samsung Mobile Pay. Both also still have a heart rate sensor. But the new phablet also received support for an additional qwerty keyboard from the Blackberry company. The device clings to the case and you can type quickly with both fingers if you miss the physical buttons on your phone.
12 - software
Latest version Android 5.1.1 stands on both smartphones running a proprietary shell from Samsung.
13 - release, price and withdrawal
The first version of the smartphone with a curved display on both sides entered the market in April 2015 and is offered for $ 750. The extended version will appear at the end of August 2015 for $ 800. For those for whom the difference of $ 50 does not matter (and for everyone else), we, of course, recommend the extended version. It has no downsides other than the lack of a 128GB storage option. And the huge display of this device can easily replace any tablet. And even the tablets coming out next year can't match GalaxyS6edge + by performance.
