Galaxy S6...Wow

[nj-morris]

So I went to the store yesterday with the intention of looking at the iPhone 6 Plus, as that is what I'm planning to get as my next phone, but there was somebody using the only one available, so I decided to occupy myself with the Android phones on the stand opposite. One of the first phones I had a look at were the S6 and the S6 Edge, two phones that I didn't really think about before. I used them, and I was absolutely wowed.
Design and build: The phones at this particular stores had those annoying things on the back which are supposed to protect against theft, so I didn't quite have the opportunity to see what it felt like in hand in normal usage circumstances. I have a vague idea, but it wasn't enough. The glass seems premium enough though. The S6 Edge looked cool, but it isn't worth the £110 premium. I'm curious about the protruding camera though. Don't tend to use my phone when it's flat on a table so it shouldn't be a problem.
And the screen. Oh. My. God. I heard this comment in a review, and I have to reiterate, this screen looks like one of those stickers that they put on some phones. In fact, even better. Blacks, whites, reds, blues and greens are completely pure. I was 100% satisfied. Unneeded areas of the screen would black out, and video was absolutely amazing. AMOLED needs to be the standard for all displays, smartwatches, widescreen TVs, the lot.
And of course, the OS. I've always thought that I was more suited for iOS, but after checking out this phone I'm keen to give Android a go. It would be nice to have more features and customisation options. And TouchWiz seems nice, and as I understand it it is much less bloated than it used to be, so I can take that as a plus.
I'm really tempted to choose this as my next phone when I'm viable for an upgrade in October. I'm really not sure what I want, this or the iPhone 6 Plus. Is there anything that I need to know about it from S6 users? Any chance of a price drop any time soon? And I heard that the S7 might even release late this year rather than next year. Is this likely? Any comments would be appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[MRU]

There is a massive S6 thread here already where we have posted reviews and opinions.

https://forums.macrumors.com/index.php?threads/Galaxy-S6.1844076/

If your not upgrading till October and your looking as 6 plus, you may want to hold off and wait for the 6S Plus and Note 5 to be released and try those also. I certainly wouldn't recommend getting a 6 plus with its new model out very shortly.

 

[nj-morris]

There is a massive S6 thread here already where we have posted reviews and opinions.

https://forums.macrumors.com/index.php?threads/Galaxy-S6.1844076/

If your not upgrading till October and your looking as 6 plus, you may want to hold off and wait for the 6S Plus and Note 5 to be released and try those also. I certainly wouldn't recommend getting a 6 plus with its new model out very shortly.

I've seen that thread, I just don't see any reason why I shouldn't post my take and my questions on a separate thread. And I know about the 6S Plus and Note 5, I just think that they will be too expensive for my liking, and that the 6 Plus and S6 would get price drops after those two phones release.

 

[MasterRyu2011]

I've seen that thread, I just don't see any reason why I shouldn't post my take and my questions on a separate thread. And I know about the 6S Plus and Note 5, I just think that they will be too expensive for my liking, and that the 6 Plus and S6 would get price drops after those two phones release.

buying a phone when the new model releases is the perfect time really. Those who want the latest and greatest can get that, while those who want the late, but not latest, can snag some great discounts.

 

[AppleRobert]

First off, the Plus is a phablet the S6 is not. Better comparison would be the Note 4/5.

My advise, now go try the Plus and see how you feel about it. There is plenty offered in the S6 thread like MRU stated maybe even a Plus versus S6 or Note 4 thread.

Both are great smartphones, I have the Plus and only would be able to comment specifically to why I chose it. Some reasons: better battery life, bigger display, the Apple Store, like its design better.

One of the bigger hot buttons for me with the S6 is app refreshes/Management. Another is overbloated colors.

I had a Note 4 and sold it.

 

[nj-morris]

First off, the Plus is a phablet the S6 is not. Better comparison would be the Note 4/5.

My advise, now go try the Plus and see how you feel about it. There is plenty offered in the S6 thread like MRU stated maybe even a Plus versus S6 or Note 4 thread.

Both are great smartphones, I have the Plus and only would be able to comment specifically to why I chose it. Some reasons: better battery life, bigger display, the Apple Store, like its design better.

One of the bigger hot buttons for me with the S6 is app refreshes/Management. Another is overbloated colors.

I had a Note 4 and sold it.

Thanks for the reply.
I know the 6 Plus is a phablet, but the S6 and the 6 Plus are actually quite close in size. I would like the Note 5, but, correct me if I'm wrong, it offers no extra function. I like phones as big as possible, but if it doesn't have the extra function that the 6 Plus has over the 6, I don't think it's worth the extra money. If it's not that much extra, I probably wouldn't mind it. But I've basically ruled out the 6 because I find it too small.
I'm still completely torn though. I've taken the things you mentioned into consideration. I haven't seen any comparisons, which I will do, but I'm not sure if they will help as they don't really discuss the things that matter.
Still, I have two and a half months.

 

[jeepik]

I would like the Note 5, but, correct me if I'm wrong, it offers no extra function.

Pen input is a major function of the Note which puts it in a category of its own
Historically battery life has been insane compared to all other phones as well, jury will be out on this one

The Note is not just a bigger version of the s6, i think you may be referring of the s6 plus, which is just a bigger screen phone version of the s6 edge

 

[nj-morris]

Pen input is a major function of the Note which puts it in a category of its own
Historically battery life has been insane compared to all other phones as well, jury will be out on this one

The Note is not just a bigger version of the s6, i think you may be referring of the s6 plus, which is just a bigger screen phone version of the s6 edge

Pen input is useless on a phone in my view. It's fine on a tablet as there is sufficient space for it, even though I wouldn't even use it on a tablet. No, the S pen features in the Note in my opinion are gimmicky. Not sure if they will do something on the Note 5, but I wouldn't bet on it.
Battery life? Good point, but if a phone can last me a day, I'm fine. And with fast changing, I can't see insufficient battery life as a problem.
Anything else?

 

[billy the fish]

First off, the Plus is a phablet the S6 is not. Better comparison would be the Note 4/5.

My advise, now go try the Plus and see how you feel about it. There is plenty offered in the S6 thread like MRU stated maybe even a Plus versus S6 or Note 4 thread.

Both are great smartphones, I have the Plus and only would be able to comment specifically to why I chose it. Some reasons: better battery life, bigger display, the Apple Store, like its design better.

One of the bigger hot buttons for me with the S6 is app refreshes/Management. Another is overbloated colors.

I had a Note 4 and sold it.

Are you aware that display mate used scientific measuring equipment to rate the screen on the s6 As perfect. , could Not be more true to real Life. You think it's overblown because you are used to washed out pale Lcd screens on an iPhone. .

 

[lugworm]

Pen input is useless on a phone in my view.

Unless it's on an iPhone of course. Then it's a brilliant addition.

 

[KAB2010]

Are you aware that display mate used scientific measuring equipment to rate the screen on the s6 As perfect. , could Not be more true to real Life. You think it's overblown because you are used to washed out pale Lcd screens on an iPhone. .

idk who paid them off... it gives a very obvious red/tan tint to skin in all pictures. compare it to any other non amoled phone and you'll see. the whites are definitely not accurate either. the popping colors are impressive though

 

[steve knight]

I decided to go wit the s6 instead of the new iPhone. a bit f a mistake. it is not a bad phone the screen is great the camera is great and much faster too. I can show you a low light pic with each I just tested them. it is fast and pretty smooth. but the apps are good or bad or in-between. games seem to be the worst offenders and there are so few that look good. but it is nice to be able to check out a app and delete it in 20 minutes and get a refund. like audible can see my books I put on there using iTunes but not the android version I need another app. but the apps share the login info so like kindle and amazon that all share my google email all link up and i only log into one. samsung pay sucks in the cards it supports. nfc seems weaker and it took longer on most machines when paying with the phone.. with light use the phone would be at 20% at two starting at 7 am. then it would be down to 30 after a charge when I got home and needed more to last till I went to sleep. the screen eats the battery bad. the notification light s good and bad nice to see the charge status but but if you got some other notification that took over so you don't know the charge status. audio ducking sucked any system sound and my book would stop and take a couple seconds to get going again. bluetooth is more solid and the bluetooth bug I had on the iPhone is still there two os's and two phones later. phone call quality is really good better then a iPhone. you can't do much on the lock screen the notifications is not as good as iPhone and no today screen you can't mark things read or see much of a email.

 

[JackieInCo]

Pen input is useless on a phone in my view. It's fine on a tablet as there is sufficient space for it, even though I wouldn't even use it on a tablet. No, the S pen features in the Note in my opinion are gimmicky. Not sure if they will do something on the Note 5, but I wouldn't bet on it.
Battery life? Good point, but if a phone can last me a day, I'm fine. And with fast changing, I can't see insufficient battery life as a problem.
Anything else?

I only use the pen on my Note 4 and Note Edge to make screen caps. If you don't know, you take out the pen, tap on the capture icon that pops up and then draw a square or rectangle around the area that you want to capture. You can then share that instantly in whatever app you choose or email it or save it. I wish the iPhone could do that although I still love my iPhone probably more.

Pens aren't just for drawing. I use the pen on my Surface Pro 3 for the same purpose.

 

[nj-morris]

Unless it's on an iPhone of course. Then it's a brilliant addition.

Was that really necessary?

 

[jamezr]

I only use the pen on my Note 4 and Note Edge to make screen caps. If you don't know, you take out the pen, tap on the capture icon that pops up and then draw a square or rectangle around the area that you want to capture. You can then share that instantly in whatever app you choose or email it or save it. I wish the iPhone could do that although I still love my iPhone probably more.

Pens aren't just for drawing. I use the pen on my Surface Pro 3 for the same purpose.

I have used my Pen on my Note 5 to make changes to PDF files too. I don't use the Pen a whole lot. But when I do need it it is invaluable.

 

[jamezr]

Unless it's on an iPhone of course. Then it's a brilliant addition.

agreed......to some if it is not on an iphone then they don't need it. But if it is available on an iphone then of course it is as it should be.

 

[762999]

So I went to the store yesterday with the intention of looking at the iPhone 6 Plus, as that is what I'm planning to get as my next phone, but there was somebody using the only one available, so I decided to occupy myself with the Android phones on the stand opposite. One of the first phones I had a look at were the S6 and the S6 Edge, two phones that I didn't really think about before. I used them, and I was absolutely wowed.
Design and build: The phones at this particular stores had those annoying things on the back which are supposed to protect against theft, so I didn't quite have the opportunity to see what it felt like in hand in normal usage circumstances. I have a vague idea, but it wasn't enough. The glass seems premium enough though. The S6 Edge looked cool, but it isn't worth the £110 premium. I'm curious about the protruding camera though. Don't tend to use my phone when it's flat on a table so it shouldn't be a problem.
And the screen. Oh. My. God. I heard this comment in a review, and I have to reiterate, this screen looks like one of those stickers that they put on some phones. In fact, even better. Blacks, whites, reds, blues and greens are completely pure. I was 100% satisfied. Unneeded areas of the screen would black out, and video was absolutely amazing. AMOLED needs to be the standard for all displays, smartwatches, widescreen TVs, the lot.
And of course, the OS. I've always thought that I was more suited for iOS, but after checking out this phone I'm keen to give Android a go. It would be nice to have more features and customisation options. And TouchWiz seems nice, and as I understand it it is much less bloated than it used to be, so I can take that as a plus.
I'm really tempted to choose this as my next phone when I'm viable for an upgrade in October. I'm really not sure what I want, this or the iPhone 6 Plus. Is there anything that I need to know about it from S6 users? Any chance of a price drop any time soon? And I heard that the S7 might even release late this year rather than next year. Is this likely? Any comments would be appreciated.
Thanks.

the S7 should be announced in the last week of February and hit the shelves a few weeks later. I have a Note4 and the screen is really outstanding. I'm personally not missing the iPhone. I now love touchwiz and I miss it when I use other android phones. I will probably update when the next Note line is available, I wanted to skip a generation.

There is plenty of thing you just can't do on iOs. I will tell one right away before someone asks. I normally do a 2h commute each day and watch lot of tv shows/movies. Instead of plugging a cable, I open Totalcommander, connect to my server via SFTP (wifi connection), download them to my phone and disconnect. I can even do it remotely, I don't have to be at my home. I also don't need to convert my files, they're are players for everything. On iOS, you have to assign medias to iTunes or a specific app (like VLC).

 

[nj-morris]

the S7 should be announced in the last week of February and hit the shelves a few weeks later. I have a Note4 and the screen is really outstanding. I'm personally not missing the iPhone. I now love touchwiz and I miss it when I use other android phones. I will probably update when the next Note line is available, I wanted to skip a generation.

There is plenty of thing you just can't do on iOs. I will tell one right away before someone asks. I normally do a 2h commute each day and watch lot of tv shows/movies. Instead of plugging a cable, I open Totalcommander, connect to my server via SFTP (wifi connection), download them to my phone and disconnect. I can even do it remotely, I don't have to be at my home. I also don't need to convert my files, they're are players for everything. On iOS, you have to assign medias to iTunes or a specific app (like VLC).

Not that I don't appreciate the advice, but months have passed since this post and I've got an S6 Edge+, which I love. It's weird, if I hadn't made that visit to the store, I would have probably ended up getting the iPhone. As you say, there's many things on this phone that I love that the iPhone doesn't have. I kind of expected my friends, who are the sort of people who all get iPhones, to be all anti-Samsung on this, which some are, but a lot of them have commented that it's really nice looking and all that.
And yet I'm kind of annoyed, because I got the S6 Edge+ in October, and the S7 Edge+, along with all the other S7 variants, are supposed to be announced in January. Oh well, there's not really much to justify the wait based on what I've seen and predicted. Plus, 6 inches, although videos would be killer, would be unwieldy, while 5.7 is ideal.

 

[AppleRobert]

Not that I don't appreciate the advice, but months have passed since this post and I've got an S6 Edge+, which I love. It's weird, if I hadn't made that visit to the store, I would have probably ended up getting the iPhone. As you say, there's many things on this phone that I love that the iPhone doesn't have. I kind of expected my friends, who are the sort of people who all get iPhones, to be all anti-Samsung on this, which some are, but a lot of them have commented that it's really nice looking and all that.
And yet I'm kind of annoyed, because I got the S6 Edge+ in October, and the S7 Edge+, along with all the other S7 variants, are supposed to be announced in January. Oh well, there's not really much to justify the wait based on what I've seen and predicted. Plus, 6 inches, although videos would be killer, would be unwieldy, while 5.7 is ideal.

Got the S6 Edge+ myself, I initially went with the LG V10 but exchanged it.

Haven't used the IPhone 6S+ since I purchased either one. Don't concern yourself about the S7, just continue to enjoy the Edge+ as I sure am.

 

[billy the fish]

idk who paid them off... it gives a very obvious red/tan tint to skin in all pictures. compare it to any other non amoled phone and you'll see. the whites are definitely not accurate either. the popping colors are impressive though

Let me guess, when the iPhone finally gets a super amoled Screen made by Samsung it will be the best screen ever made... because.. they did.it right..
You can throw your teddy's out of the cot all you want.. the 6plus screen is lame compared to the s6, deny it all you want.. what will it take for you to alter your opinion. . I suppose every single review site on the Web are all being paid off are. They?

 

[billy the fish]

Was that really necessary?

Of course it is, because the usual pathetic replies we get to any new feature is, it's gimmicky, it's useless, no one wants it.. then 2 years later when apple has copied it, it's the best thing since sliced bread. . And worse.. they invented it...

 

[KAB2010]

Let me guess, when the iPhone finally gets a super amoled Screen made by Samsung it will be the best screen ever made... because.. they did.it right..
You can throw your teddy's out of the cot all you want.. the 6plus screen is lame compared to the s6, deny it all you want.. what will it take for you to alter your opinion. . I suppose every single review site on the Web are all being paid off are. They?

No, the Galaxy Screen is very nice but its clear to anyone with good eyesight that skin tones are wildly inaccurate in indoor lighting pics that you are trying to edit due to how the display shows colors (which switching to basic mode helps, but obviously that's very inconvenient to do each time). I wish every phone had an option of an IPS display.

 

[MRU]

Of course it is, because the usual pathetic replies we get to any new feature is, it's gimmicky, it's useless, no one wants it.. then 2 years later when apple has copied it, it's the best thing since sliced bread. . And worse.. they invented it...

No it wasn't necessary because a) no-one had mentioned the iPhone in relation to the s-pen and b) this is an S6 thread. There is NO NEED to turn every thread into a 'I can wee higher than you' bickerfest.

 

[nj-morris]

Of course it is, because the usual pathetic replies we get to any new feature is, it's gimmicky, it's useless, no one wants it.. then 2 years later when apple has copied it, it's the best thing since sliced bread. . And worse.. they invented it...

Well you can complain about that somewhere else because I've never seen anyone on MacRumors, or indeed anywhere, with that attitude. And I would like to hear an example of when that happened with a feature Apple came out with.

 

[billy the fish]

Well you can complain about that somewhere else because I've never seen anyone on MacRumors, or indeed anywhere, with that attitude. And I would like to hear an example of when that happened with a feature Apple came out with.

Wow, the denial is strong in this one. .