Samsung Galaxy S 6 Preview

[Gaidax]

What a fail, basically they ripped away all those features that made Galaxy good and UNIQUE in a first place and replaced them with a curve and metal back, both of very questionable ACTUAL USE.

Now I don't see even why should I buy Samsung phone over HTC one, Nexus or iPhone for that matter. Previously it was because of removable battery which is a huge plus and I used this feature quite a bit, even the less used SD card was a great asset for me when I needed it.

Only hope left is with LG G4, G3 was already exceptional - hopefully they keep removable battery and it's a winner.

 

[Gaidax]

Also to a dude above, rationale behind replaceable battery is:

1. Ability to quickly and easily slide in a fresh 100% battery that can be easily carried with you in your damn pants. And don't tell me "15 mins charge" bullshit, I could not charge it on 7 hours bus trip to a resort 2 months ago (what I COULD do and done, is simply changing to a fresh battery in sub 20 seconds) and neither I always remember to charge it until it's too late. I'm not a damn charging robot.
2. Ability to replace your battery after 1 year when it begins to lose charge for as little as 10 bucks.

 

[JohnUSA]

I will NOT upgrade my S5 to this new S6.
No microSD card and no replaceable battery.
These 2 missing features are the kiss of death.
Bye bye Samsung, you lost me as a customer.

 

[Ninjawithagun]

True innovation (and some common sense!) would mean that Samsung would provide a USB 3.1 dongle, which is now readily available to manufactures. I really hope they think about this and include it into the upcoming S6, Note 5, and next-gen Note tablets.

 

[cknobman]

Samsung software is the biggest reason to avoid their phones.
Security Policy Updates (Samsung specific software) is the #2 battery drain software on an Android phone. http://bgr.com/2015/02/27/android-battery-drain-apps-study/

 

[Steveymoo]

Good lord. Look at all the people whining about SD card and battery support. I also used to use these tired cliches, until I got a HTC One m7. 32gb is enough, I don't store much music locally, have never run out of space for apps and games, and the battery is still going strong (after nearly 2 years.) I really think this isn't an issue now. At least it has the option for wireless charging!

 

[airborn824]

I am happy for the specifications and love tha 14nm die. BUt the price is too high. I hope for Asus Zenphone 2 for Verizon...

 

[nwaobodo]

that's the fact I think ,
Samsung listen to the Media more than their consumers.

 

[celestus]

I understand the technophile requirement for a removable battery and SD slot but they have a phone for those needs, the note series.

 

[emike09]

Whoever keeps ridiculing Samsung demanding "Fashion over Function" needs to be shot. Why is Samsung trading in such important functions like Micro-SD card, Waterproofing, non-removable batteries, and a more dentable, damageable glass/metal vs strong plastics.
I've been using the Samsung Galaxy series since the S3, but I'll be leaving Samsung for something else. Really disappointed with the fashion trend. I need function, and couldn't care less how the phone looks.

 

[sephirotic]

The S4 is the best phone I ever had, much better than the Iphone 4 I had previous to it, But not having SD card is UNNACEPTABLE. Yet another lost customer for you, Samsumg.

 

[pkellmey]

I would never pay for a phone that I can't add an SD card or replace the battery.

 

[Hellbound]

No removable battery, no micro SD slot!?!?! I might was well own an iPhone...
The Note 4 better last me a while lol....

 

[Sakkura]

I understand the technophile requirement for a removable battery and SD slot but they have a phone for those needs, the note series.

It's not just technophiles that care about good battery life. Samsung wrecked battery life by simultaneously putting in a weaker battery AND a screen that will draw more power and also force the GPU to draw more power. That's compounded by their decision to not make it replaceable (let alone upgradeable), which means it's a significantly worse phone than its predecessor on perhaps the single most crucial parameter.

 

[T3kn1kl]

This phone is great. Who cares about sd cards and non removable battery. It's like having an iphone running android. And that's what i wanted since the ip4 lol . my current iphone has 16 gigs and I rarely use it all. I just wish the phone was smaller.

 

[CompGee]

I hope I DON'T get the S6 for Christmas this year. I would recommend the S5 999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999 times more than THAT S6.

 

[An AFK User]

The removal of micro SD cards and unremovable batteries is gonna hurt the already faltering samsung phone market a lot.

 

[Ninjawithagun]

Good lord. Look at all the people whining about SD card and battery support. I also used to use these tired cliches, until I got a HTC One m7. 32gb is enough, I don't store much music locally, have never run out of space for apps and games, and the battery is still going strong (after nearly 2 years.) I really think this isn't an issue now. At least it has the option for wireless charging!

Umm, that's why the HTC M8 now has a micro SD slot, increased the battery capacity to 2600mAh and added battery saving features to the operating system. Therefore, your counter arguments are voided. NEXT!

 

[Rapajez]

Kind of bummed out by the no replaceable battery or SD Card. That was the one thing they had going for their flagships! Granted, the lowest model still has 32GB of storage, which is still more than my current 16GB + 8GB SD card. Unlike my tablet, I can't see needing 30+ HD games on my phone...but I suppose those sizes could increase in the following years. If the battery is a lot better than the S4, the helps...but still is a necessary feature for some, especially if you're in a line of work where you may become isolated with just your phone.

The HTC M9 at least has an external SD slot, but lacks some of the features and specs of the S6. Have to see what Motorola and LG are offering. Would love to see a 4-way shootout article.

 

[Rapajez]

Also...the Edge design seems like it would be incredibly annoying to use if the sides are touch-sensitive. Wouldn't you constantly be touching the screen every-time you handled the phone?

 

[Shawn Px]

Its interesting to see all the comments about the terrible direction samsung took by removing SD card and swappable batteries. I wonder, where were you all when sales were down by 40% for the S5? Maybe by switching designs samsung will appeal to the people who actually buy the latest premium phones and gain a new customers who may switch from competing brands.

 

[Rapajez]

Its interesting to see all the comments about the terrible direction samsung took by removing SD card and swappable batteries. I wonder, where were you all when sales were down by 40% for the S5? Maybe by switching designs samsung will appeal to the people who actually buy the latest premium phones and gain a new customers who may switch from competing brands.

That doesn't mean we have to stop being mad about it. . No matter how long the battery lasts, if you're on a 5-leg-flight, or in the middle of the dessert, you want to be able to swap in spares. That and there's the whole battery performance degrading over time thing. Instead of dropping $20 on a new one, you have to get a new phone? Granted, that's probably not 99% of the market...but it's one of the reasons I went with an S4.

I'll admit, the wireless pay thing is pretty impressive. I have no idea how that works on old non-NFC registers. Witchcraft? Magnets? Quantum Mechanics? Probably Quantum Mechanics.

I'll probably grab a HTC M9 this go around. I always liked that line better, but stuck with the Galaxy series for the removable stuff. Plus it kept an SD slot, if you need it.

 

[Jeff in MN]

The removable SDCard allowed users to overcome the Android security obstacle of writing "unapproved" files to the card with current versions of Android. Without rooting the phone, you could still write to the SDCard using a PC and reinsert the card. Several occasions have needed to remove the battery from S4 to reinitialize the phone when all buttons failed. A spare battery for travel is also good to have.

Eliminating these two features is enough reason move to a different phone. Too bad, I really liked the S4 and was planning to move to the S6...

 

[Moshmc]

With all my years using Samsung, I've never used the microSD feature, so I won't miss it. I am happy Samsung have finally gone premium in their build - they will always have the plastic phones for those who prefer the removable batter / SDcard.

One advantage that was from the removable back cover was that when dropped, some of the shock was absorbed when the cover and battery detached from the phone. It remains to be seen how this phone fares in droptests.

In general I think this phone will definitely improve sales - the people here crying over sdcards and removable battery are a vocal group, but my bet is that they are a coval minority.

 

[Jeff in MN]

I am one that does use the SD card. I'm using a 64GB card with about 40GB used. Music, photos and videos occupy most of the space. I suspect that you are not a very heavy user and there may be other phones that would be suitable for your type of use. The removable back cover also allowed for the use of the S View cover, which may no longer be possible. I used the S View cover as opposed to other protective case.

I do like the metal housing, wireless charging and enhanced display. My concern is that the S6 seems to represent a step forward in terms of new features and metal case - and a step backwards in terms of loss of established features such as the removable battery, loss of expandable/removable storage. The removable battery was one of the main reasons I switched from HTC and went to the Galaxy 3. My wife has the Galaxy 5 and I am still using the Galaxy 4. The Galaxy 4 is the first phone that I have owned where I am not impatiently waiting to reach the end of a contract. It has been very good overall but I do feel like I can afford to wait for a "no compromise" phone from someone, be it HTC, LG, Samsung...