Samsung Galaxy S6

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psyNKKKOKgY]

Samsung has posted a video of its new Galaxy S6 and S6 edge smartphones being put through drop-testing. It will come as no surprise, in a manufacturer promo video, to see that both handsets come through unscathed.

To be fair to the S6, though, it did fare well in a recent independent drop test when put up against Apple’s iPhone 6 (video below) …
Expand
Expanding
Close

Epic Samsung Galaxy S6 cinematic camera test (Video)

Dom Esposito Apr 7 2015 - 8:51 am PT

6 Comments

Whether you’re shooting video or taking photos, there’s no denying that camera quality is one of the main factors at play when choosing your next smartphone. This year Samsung has really stepped up things in the camera department with an improved 16-megapixel sensor (UHD video recording) and an impressive f1.8 aperture plus optical image stabilization.

The camera is miles better than what was found on the Galaxy S5 and even seems to outdo the Note 4’s camera performance. As shown in our camera comparisons, the Galaxy S6 outshines the best of the best and that’s especially true for its video recording capabilities…

iFixit tears down the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge, gives us a look behind its curved screen

Stephen Hall Apr 7 2015 - 7:40 am PT

iFixit has been hard at work tearing down the latest round of Android flagships, and following last week’s pull-apart of the HTC One M9, we now have a look at the inside of the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge. Smartphones in general have been breaking records for difficulty in repairability, but it seems that this year’s phones in particular are especially a pain, and the S6 edge is absolutely no exception. In fact, the S6 edge is taking a two-point hit in repairability compared to the S5…

Galaxy S6 edge gets the bend test, actually fares worse than the iPhone 6 Plus (Video)

Stephen Hall Apr 3 2015 - 9:59 am PT

9 Comments

The iPhone 6 Plus launch was riddled with endless #bendgate drama, but it looks like the latest flagship from Samsung doesn’t fare much better than Apple’s flagship—at least according to this test. Dozens of YouTube videos have given the latest iPhone line the beating, but now it looks like it’s time for the 2015 round of Android flagships to get tested as well…

Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 edge now available for U.S. pre-order

Ben Lovejoy Mar 31 2015 - 6:24 am PT

Almost a month after Samsung formally announced its new flagship handsets, the S6 and S6 edge, the company has tweeted that the handsets are available for pre-order in the US. Both models will go on sale on April 10th from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, and U.S. Cellular …
Expand
Expanding
Close

Samsung Galaxy S6 gets dunked and brutally beaten, comes out mostly unharmed (Videos)

Stephen Hall Mar 30 2015 - 6:44 am PT

Every time a new flagship smartphone comes out, YouTube reviewers and testers like to push them to the limit and see how far they can go when brutally tortured—for science, of course. And now that the Galaxy S6 is landing in the hands of some buyers, these tests are finally starting to hit the internet. One YouTuber tests the phone’s waterproof abilities despite it no longer technically being waterproof, and another just absolutely smashes the phone on the ground to see what happens…

First teardown of the Samsung Galaxy S6 posted, looks difficult (Video)

Stephen Hall Mar 20 2015 - 12:04 pm PT

The Samsung Galaxy S6 was only recently announced at the beginning of this month, but at least one person seems to have already gotten their hands on the device and given it the teardown treatment. Smartphone teardowns have definitely gotten more difficult as components continue shrinking and device designs have gotten sleeker, and based on this video, the Galaxy S6 is no exception…

You can find the full teardown over at iFixit (a site well-known for their comprehensive device disassemblies), but this one is a community contribution. It supposedly only takes 12 steps to take apart, but the guide is definitely an over-simplification if you have no experience tearing these devices down. Just removing the back of the S6 would probably be a challenge for the faint of heart.

You can check out the full teardown video below:

PSA: Samsung’s Galaxy S6 has been rooted by Chainfire

Stephen Hall Mar 16 2015 - 2:45 pm PT

Chainfire has announced this afternoon that the first two models of the Samsung Galaxy S6 have been added to the CF-Auto-Root repository. Specifically, you’ll find that CF-Auto-Root for both the SM-G920T and SM-G925T are now available, otherwise known as the T-Mobile Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. CF-Auto-Roots for other devices in the S6 family are surely imminent…

As per Chainfire’s Google+ post:

Either way, the first CF-Auto-Root’s for the S6 family are up: SM-G920T and SM-G925T – the T-Mobile US S6 and S6 Edge.

Only very minor modifications were necessary [to the existing CFAR script]. The S6 CFAR has been tested on a real device, and root was achieved. Further information? I have none, I wasn’t there in person.

All completely expected, but perhaps nice to know regardless.

Before actually rooting though, consider that KNOX will likely be tripped, and there’s a good chance untripped KNOX will be required for phone based payments.

If you want to download the CF-Auto-Root, be sure to head over to the repository: http://autoroot.chainfire.eu/. It’s probably not going to be useful for many yet, because the Galaxy S6 hasn’t even shipped for most. And in the case that you don’t have any need for a root at all, you’re probably in the majority.

Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked press event is now available for replay on YouTube

Stephen Hall Mar 2 2015 - 6:23 am PT

Samsung made several big announcements yesterday, including its new flagship smartphones, but in case you were busy over the weekend or simply forgot to tune in, the Korean company has now uploaded a video of the Galaxy Unpacked event to YouTube for your viewing enjoyment. Among other announcements, Samsung told the world about the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge, as well as its upcoming Samsung Pay service.

Check out the video below…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqYsIRU5rQU

Samsung Galaxy S6 vs S6 Edge hands-on comparison (Video)

Dom Esposito Mar 1 2015 - 6:09 pm PT

5 Comments

Samung’s Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge marks one of the biggest changes we’ve to the Galaxy S lineup of smartphones. This time around Samsung took a different approach and designed something that’s sleek, thin, and powerful. But what’s different between the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge? Well, let’s go ahead and find out…

Latest sketchy image of Samsung Galaxy S6 – a claimed Sprint promo

Ben Lovejoy Feb 27 2015 - 5:04 am PT

2 Comments

A pupported Sprint promo image for Samsung’s Galaxy S6, set to be revealed on Sunday evening, was posted to a Reddit thread. The main thread link is to a Sprint pre-registration page, but a claimed Sprint employee posted the above image.

The images appear in line with earlier claimed leaks, but it’s of course not uncommon for fake images to be based on earlier ones. As Gizmodo notes, there is also inconsistent use of upper/lower case for ‘Edge’ in the image, suggesting it should be viewed with some caution …
Expand
Expanding
Close

LG reportedly pushes back G4 launch due to competition from Samsung

Chance Miller Feb 16 2015 - 7:03 am PT

According to a new report from the Korea Times, LG has decided not to release its expected G4 flagship at Mobile World Congress next month. Instead, the company plans to release it on its own during April. Last year, the G3 was released on May 27th, but LG is believed to still anticipate releasing its successor before that day this year.

TouchWiz on Samsung Galaxy S6 will be slimmer and faster, pack preloaded Microsoft apps

Stephen Hall Feb 13 2015 - 7:06 am PT

2 Comments

News has been tossed around lately that Samsung’s TouchWiz will be losing a lot of weight with the release of the Samsung Galaxy S6, and now SamMobile is back with a few more details as to what changes the Korean company will be making. The software is being optimized to be “near stock” in terms of performance, but new information suggests that Samsung will also be preloading a slew of apps from Microsoft’s productivity suite.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Bloomberg supports suggestion of Note Edge style wraparound display on Samsung Galaxy S6

Ben Lovejoy Feb 11 2015 - 6:10 am PT

Bloomberg is reporting that the Samsung Galaxy S6 will be released in two versions, one of them with a wraparound screen similar to the Note Edge but curving around both left and right sides of the display.

Samsung Electronics Co. plans to release two new versions of its top-tier Galaxy smartphone next month, including a model with a display covering three sides, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter […] The second model to be unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in Spain will only have a front-facing display.

Earlier claimed renders had also suggested a curved screen, though with some confusion about whether the wraparound would be on only one side, like the Edge, or both sides as now claimed by Bloomberg …
Expand
Expanding
Close

You can already buy a Samsung Galaxy S6 case on Amazon

Jan 30 2015 - 8:39 am PT

4 Comments

We’re not expecting Samsung to officially unveil its Galaxy S6 until early March, but that’s not holding case makers back. Spigen is already selling several Galaxy S6 compatible cases on Amazon…
Expand
Expanding
Close

Samsung reportedly rushing to dismantle TouchWiz as it feels heat from Apple in Q4

Stephen Hall Jan 29 2015 - 8:05 am PT

5 Comments

TouchWiz has long been known as being far too full of bloat and unnecessary software, but the real problem with Samsung’s version of Android is that these added features come with a hard hit on performance. According to a report this morning from SamMobile, the Korean company might be going as far as to remove all features from the OS that can possibly be downloaded—and this just so happens to coincide with today’s market share numbers showing that Apple and Samsung were neck-and-neck in Q4.

Samsung Galaxy S6 unveiling expected at MWC sans Snapgdragon 810, ‘Active’ variant returning

Stephen Hall Jan 21 2015 - 7:27 am PT

It’s definitely not unexpected by any stretch of the imagination, but Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S6 has been tipped to be introduced at the 2015 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain (via Chosunilbo). The smartphone is shaping up to be the most technically powerful smartphone Samsung has ever made, and it looks like it’s going to be fundamentally different in many ways than every other Galaxy S phone that has preceded it.

Purported Samsung Galaxy S6 “Project Zero” specs leak in AnTuTu benchmark

Stephen Hall Dec 5 2014 - 7:28 am PT

Every year when any company’s new flagship is around the corner, benchmarks for what are assumably prototypes of those devices tend to pop up on phone benchmark websites months before they see any kind of official announcement. Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S6 smartphone isn’t any exception, and today we have evidence (via CNMO) that the phone has already shown up on AnTuTu, possibly corroborating previously leaked details about the upcoming handset’s specs.

Snapdragon 810 chip issues could delay LG G4, Xperia Z4; less likely to impact Samsung Galaxy S6

Ben Lovejoy Dec 4 2014 - 7:48 am PT

Qualcomm is experiencing problems with its upcoming Snapdragon 810 chip, expected to power several of next year’s flagship smartphones – potentially delaying their launch. The high-powered chip is expected to be used in the Samsung Galaxy S6, LG G4 and Sony Xperia Z4, and has also been slated for a new Motorola phablet.

Business Korea cites an unnamed industry source in reporting that testing of the chip has revealed several issues.

The Snapdragon 810 overheats when it reaches a specific voltage. It also slows down owing to problems with the RAM controller connected to the AP. In addition, there is an error in the driver of the Adreno 430 GPU.

The 810 is a 64-bit octa-core chip supporting 4K displays, and hence a likely bet for the next generation of top-tier phones …
Expand
Expanding
Close

Samsung & LG planning to use sapphire-covered screens on premium smartphones – rumor

Ben Lovejoy May 23 2014 - 6:58 am PT