What will be the samsung galaxy s6. Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge review. Everything you need to know about smartphones! Various sensors perform various quantitative measurements and convert physical indicators into signals that a mobile device recognizes

Samsung Galaxy S6 is a new "successor" of the legendary kind of flagship smartphones of the Korean company. Perhaps, more than one model of the manufacturer was not as expected as this one, because it was promised to show an almost new smartphone in all directions, and the Koreans did it. We want to present you our review, because the Galaxy S6 really has something to praise.

Design and materials

Despite the generally accepted design concept, the origin of the Galaxy S6 can only be recognized by the front of the smartphone. If we look at the model from behind or from the sides, it's hard to say that this is the good old Galaxy. The use of a metal frame and a one-piece design had a positive effect on the appearance, and the smartphone lies much better in the hand, and it feels much more premium. The display and back cover are covered with ultra-strong Gorilla Glass 4.

The metal back cover shimmers especially beautifully under the rays of light! The physical dimensions of the model are 143.4 x 70.5 x 6.8 mm and the weight is 138 grams. The smartphone will be produced in four colors: black, white, gold and blue. The speaker and headset jack were moved to the bottom, while on the sides there are only volume buttons, power and one SIM card slot closed by a flap.

There is no slot for a microSD memory card, so calculate how much you use the device's memory to choose the appropriate modification of the smartphone - 32, 64 or 128 GB.

Display

They decided not to increase the display size of the new flagship - a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED screen is used, but with a Quad HD resolution (2560 by 1440 pixels) and the highest pixel density of 577 ppi. With such parameters, it is simply unrealistic to see individual pixels! In addition, the screen is very bright and colorful, has the highest possible viewing angles and very deep blacks - there is simply nothing to complain about, all images and videos look amazing.

Iron

As expected, the Samsung Galaxy S6 has all the top hardware developments that the Korean brand has in its arsenal. The flagship is equipped with the seventh generation Exynos chipset - model 7420, created using the new 14nm technology, which provided even greater performance and energy efficiency.

It is based on a 64-bit 8-core processor with an operating frequency of up to 2.1 GHz and an ARM Mali-T760 video accelerator. The test results are impressive, which is worth only the indicator in AnTuTu:

The use of 3 GB of DDR4 RAM also has a positive effect on the overall speed. As for the internal drive, as already noted, three model options are available for sale: 32 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB of internal memory, which by the way is also created using new technology that provides record write and read speeds.

The thin and light body simply could not accommodate a super-capacious battery and the Galaxy C6 uses a 2550 mAh battery, however, new hardware technologies and high software optimization make it possible to achieve high autonomy results, even despite such a “gluttonous” screen and powerful chip. To ensure the best possible user experience, the Galaxy S6 comes with wireless charging support by default, as well as a fast charging function - 10 minutes of connection to the power is enough for 4 hours of smartphone operation.

Front and main cameras

The main camera module has a resolution of 16 megapixels, while the front camera is 5 megapixels. What unites them is that in both cases lenses with a light transmission of f / 1.9 are used - which is why in low light mode the cameras capture maximum light, from which the pictures and videos will turn out bright and clear.

The main module is complemented by a bright flash, and next to it is an infrared heart rate sensor, which also contributes to shooting through the main camera, because it is he who is responsible for correcting the white balance. Among other things, it is worth noting automatic real-time HDR and optical image stabilization (OIS). The camera app interface has been made even more convenient, all elements are at hand, and the application launch time is 0.7 seconds.

Other options

The loudspeaker, moved to the lower end, has become one and a half times louder, while the sound quality is also noticeably higher. The fingerprint scanner has also been updated, which works by touch, and not like in the Galaxy S5, where you had to swipe your finger over it.

It is worth noting the TouchWiz user interface with Android Lollipop - it really was rebuilt from scratch and lost not only unnecessary software, but also a lot of unnecessary functions, although it acquired a new feature - the use of custom themes.

Video

Accessories for S6 and S6 Edge

Video: shell overview

For users:

You must have already learned specifications and know about all the possibilities Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. Today I will talk about the experience of real operation of 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 smartphone camera is capable of. Go!

The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge package includes a charger (5 V, 2 A), a wired headset, a Micro-USB cable and a metal SIM card extractor. It's good that the Koreans stopped using yellow boxes made of thin and super cheap cardboard. Now, of course, the packaging still does not make much impression, especially against the backdrop of a price of more than fifty thousand rubles for a phone, but still better than it was before.

Specifications Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge SM-G925F

I think it will be interesting not just to look at the specifications of the smartphone in its purest form, but to compare them with the capabilities of its predecessor, the Galaxy S5 (SM-G900F). The specifications of the regular S6 and its curved version are the same. Compared to last year's version, a lot has changed: in green I marked what has changed in the direction of improvement, in red - in the direction of deterioration.

Later we will definitely talk more about iron components and, of course, touch on performance.

Design

Let's talk a little about the design of the device. I want to say right away that in real life the device looks much better than in the photographs and, moreover, in the press images. Judging by the photos alone, it would seem that Samsung continues to persevere in its line of monotonous devices with a missing design, but now it is also trying to deceive the user, saying that we are talking about a device with a first-class appearance.

When you take a smartphone in your hand, you understand that there is no deception here and you have a really interesting, beautiful device in front of you.

The most surprising thing for me was that Samsung managed to combine the continuity of their correct design in their opinion and make an objectively very entertaining device in terms of appearance. Of course, you may not like the design, but in any case, it is worth recognizing that it came out interesting and due to the display curved at the edges, there is simply nothing like it on the market.

Owners of the S6 Edge should be warmed by the idea that nothing like this will appear on the market in the near future. Yes, perhaps at the beginning of 2016 we will see something bent in a similar way from some eminent manufacturer, but not a single Chinese company that is now rushing to Olympus will be able to do something like this 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 definitely 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 solution - placing an excellent photomodule in a thin case is a task that no one can do so far. However, the Koreans managed to beat this moment and the back side, even with a protruding camera lens, is perceived as a whole.

The same cannot be said about the device from Apple. 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 screens give +50 device charisma, but at the same time -25 usability.

The thing is that during normal operation, accidental clicks on the screen in the place of its curved ends are not uncommon. Sometimes this happens in the browser when you accidentally click on some link with an ad like "How to lose 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 don’t understand why the device does not respond to your attempts. After 5 seconds, it becomes clear that at this point the thumb lightly touches the curved part of the screen and the viewfinder stops responding to any touch.

Here's another scenario for everyday use of a smartphone. In the morning, while still lying in bed, the first thing many of us reach for the phone to see the time, check the weather or check the mail. It is clear that we do this either in a completely horizontal position, or in a reclining position. So, using the "edge" in any of these cases is very difficult. The device is tilted down to your face and, it is clear that the phone rests on the thumbs. And given that it is impossible to keep it on the edge in this position (false clicks on the curved edges of the display will work), 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 over. Any owner of the S6 Edge will have to go through this stage and get used to holding the device properly or drop it and smash it.

There's one more thing to consider if you can't decide between the regular S6 and its curved cousin. In about a week, the euphoria of a new, interesting and unique device will pass and come, so to speak, harsh everyday life, during which you will constantly compromise when using your smartphone. Either it is difficult to pick it up when it lies 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 about 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 front and back (the latest generation of Corning Gorilla Glass 4), the device itself does not try to slip out of the hands. To manage in this respect, 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 course of all physical buttons is moderately soft and clear. It is pleasant to press them, even despite the presence of a barely noticeable, but still present backlash.

In general, the assembly of the smartphone is at its best, but a couple of nuances were still found.

In the corners, in places of smooth transitions on the case, 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 front panel fits as tightly as possible and there are not even tiny gaps.

The paint on the sloping end of the protruding camera lens peels off pretty quickly.

Somehow this is not very cool for a fashion product, costing from 50,000 rubles. Perhaps in future batches the manufacturer will solve this problem.

Fans of compact smartphones will be happy to get their hands on the Galaxy S6 Edge as it is very compact, light and very thin despite its 5.1-inch display. The smartphone seemed small to me and it would be great if Samsung released something bigger. I think it's worth waiting for autumn and trying Galaxy Note Edge 2. By the way, there is no mode of operation with just one hand here. You can use the device comfortably.

Display

Despite the seemingly large 5.1-inch screen, don't expect the screen to be big. 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, which remains readable. For example, in a browser, we are used to the fact that the system automatically aligns the text to the screen borders with a double tap, but here the text goes on curved sides and it becomes difficult to perceive the text in this position. Each time you have to adjust the text to fit the usable area of ​​the display by additionally scaling the text manually with two fingers. Conveniently? Unlikely.

The above applies only to full versions of sites. For clarity, in the left photo below you can see 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 opened 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 has already played differently due to the rounded edges. The same applies to other utilities on Android. And it is definitely very cool! A completely useless, but very cool feature of the Galaxy S6 Edge.

I liked the display of time on the side bar of the display in night mode. I woke up so suddenly at night, turned my head, looked at the luminous watch on the side of the smartphone and you sleep on until the alarm clock. Conveniently? Yes. Need to? Um…probably.

As for the viewing angles, there is something to talk about. In the test photos below, I compared the screen of the S6 Edge (left / top in the photos, display mode: "Adaptive") with one of the best displays that I have seen in mobile devices over the past year - (right / bottom).

As you can see, the display of the Korean smartphone shows itself, in general, not bad, but it still lacks a margin of brightness in comparison with the Chinese.

I would not say that the color reproduction is perfect in both devices. In the S6 Edge, the image is slightly greenish, while in the MX4 Pro, the colors are slightly pinkish. Here, someone likes what they like, but traditional green displays in solutions from a Korean corporation are not close to me.

However, the "edge" screen is beyond competition for the transmission of black.

Samsung displays the deepest blacks, which Meizu's device cannot boast of. By the way, the latter, so you know, conveys a dark tint quite well, if we compare its display with that of the Huawei Honor 6 Plus. Here you can look at the comparison of these two Chinese and verify 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 respond in the fastest way to a sudden change in lighting, but it always does it correctly.

Processor, graphics and memory

As the “brains” of the smartphone, the most modern mobile processor from Samsung Exynos 7420 Octa is used. It is based on 4 performance cores Cortex-A57 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.

The ARM Mali-T760 MP8 is responsible for the graphics. The frequency of each shader cluster reaches 772 MHz. Support for OpenGL ES 3.1, OpenCL 1.1 and DirectX 11 is declared. According to some tests, this video chip built into the processor outperforms Adreno 430 and PowerVR GX6450 (Apple A8). The high resolution of 2560 x 1440 in games is something the graphics can handle with a bang.

In addition, it uses the fastest memory 3 GB LPDDR4-3104 (speed 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. For all the time of testing, I could not find any bottlenecks where the device stuttered at least once.

Read above about the specifications of the smartphone? So, does it make sense to say that the performance of modern 3D games is maximum? I think it's overkill.

The same applies to performance in various benchmarks.

In the 64-bit AnTuTu test, the Galaxy S6 Edge managed to score as many as 70,641 virtual parrots! That's really true: "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? Then look at the bee peacefully gathering nectar on the blossoming almond tree below.

If you still have doubts, then here are examples with the rest of the shots taken 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. Rate how the Samsung factory turned out in one of the photos below.

Optical stabilization works well in most situations, but it never hurts to take two or three shots at a time. It happens that the photos are blurry, but it is found out too late.

Examples of 100% crops are below, in their places.

The device takes pictures very quickly. The same goes for HDR shots, and generally the launch of the camera. In the settings, 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 find an interesting story until the image is saved to the smartphone's memory.

Samsung has taken a path that can only be welcomed. Firstly, they improved the already excellent camera compared to the same Galaxy Note 4. And, secondly, they simplified the process of creating photos and menus. Previously, when you clicked on a button with gears, a matrix with monochrome icons and inscriptions opened in front of you, from which your eyes watered.

Now everything is simple. Basic settings, including resolution selection, geotagging activation, setting additional shutter buttons (volume keys) and so on, are available by pressing the same gear.

Again, there are few modes, but there is all the most basic: shooting slow or fast video, creating panoramas, now fashionable focus selection after shooting, and so on.

Of course, there is a “Pro” mode, where you can play around with the shutter speed settings yourself, tighten up the picture with the help of additional settings and choose the appropriate ISO. By the way, below is an example of a snapshot, stuck together 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.

Video smartphone is capable of recording at a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels at 30 frames per second. An example is below.

As before, the camera is capable of shooting slow-motion or fast-paced videos. In this case, the resolution will not exceed 1280 x 720, and for the correct viewing of such masterpieces on a computer, special players and codecs will be required. I am closer to the implementation of shooting such a video in . There, the chip is referred to as Timeshift Burst and is made more elegantly.

Battery life

Forget about two days of battery life on a single battery charge. 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 should not 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, you should use the power saving mode. From the usual economy mode, there is not much sense, but the extreme power 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 kind of budget phone: it becomes a little thoughtful.

Models and prices

In this article, I propose, in addition to reviewing the actual operation of the phone, to touch on 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 a vacation or business trip.

We have

At the moment, there are several versions of the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. 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 have the same marking: SM-G925F.

A little later, another model will appear on 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's not all. Most 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, it's something else. For only 89,990 rubles, the happy owner of the device will receive a wireless charger and an external battery in the kit.

In addition, the buyer will receive a membership card to the Quintessentially Lifestyle club, a service that makes hotel reservations for you, tables in restaurants and more around the world. A good opportunity to try the service for very little money. A subscription in isolation from a Samsung device costs completely different money, much more than the price of an “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 for reference.

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge SM-G925P- this option is available from the Sprint operator 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- Available at Verizon stores and retail outlets. Claimed to 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 cellular network of the 4th generation LTE FDD: 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 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.

All 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 missing one from the operator: we substitute A, T, V or R instead of F at the end of the model name.

The only parting word before purchasing: check 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.

Conclusion

The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is a truly unique device. At the moment, it remains the leader of the entire market both in terms of performance and innovation.

Most likely, the situation will not change until the end of the summer, until the moment when the Korean manufacturer introduces the next generation of 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 set the price even higher, since the S6 Edge is playing alone in its league.

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 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 high and how will you deal with the curved edges of the hero of today's article? I described the last point 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 regular, non-curved modification, everything is different here. Yes, we have a very powerful, productive device with excellent case materials. However, the device is devoid of the same image component as the Edge or iPhone 6. Such a comparison has set the teeth on edge, but it is not we, the journalists, who do this, but the company itself.

Samsung openly competes with Apple, building 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 competitors such as HTC or Sony and force them out of the Russian market. However, the company did not want to do this, as well as remember the Chinese companies, which are more and more active in conquering the domestic market. In unstable economic conditions, users tend to save money and choose more affordable solutions. And the holiday season is still ahead - after all, you also want to relax. They don’t have extra money for the most-most 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 still impossible to compete head-on with the Cupertinos. People are addicted to the stereotypes that have stuck in their heads: the 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).

smartphone, Android 5.0, monoblock body, screen 5.1", 2560x1440, nano-SIM SIM card, GPS/AGPS/Glonass, Wi-Fi / 3G / LTE / NFC, weight 138 g

Why choose a smartphone Samsung Galaxy S6 32Gb

For a bright screen

The diagonal of the smartphone display is 5.1 inches. This size is convenient for viewing photos and videos, surfing the web and reading e-books. Thanks to Super AMOLED technology and a high resolution of 2560x1440 pixels, the screen surprises with clarity and contrast, accurate display of the smallest details, and impresses with rich and colorful color reproduction.

For efficient work

Due to the powerful eight-core processor with a frequency of 2100 MHz and 3 GB of RAM, the smartphone functions confidently in multitasking mode, quickly responds to commands and loads applications, and does not allow freezing in resource-intensive games. Built-in memory of 32 GB allows you to store a large number of photos, videos, music and other content. If necessary, its volume can be increased up to 64 GB using a microSD card.

For smart camera

The 16 MP main camera takes bright and clear pictures in any conditions. It is equipped with a powerful flash and a fast autofocus system, does not allow the appearance of blurry shots thanks to the optical stabilization function.

For a reliable battery

The capacity of the battery installed in the smartphone is 2550 mAh. It is designed for 17 hours of active talk and can be up to 168 hours in standby mode. The smartphone supports fast charging technology and can be charged both traditionally and wirelessly.

for the desired features

The Samsung Galaxy S6 is equipped with a radio and an MP3 player. The built-in fingerprint scanner is responsible for fast unlocking and reliable data protection. NFC technology allows you to pay for purchases with a contactless method, without taking your wallet or bank card out of your bag.

Image model on the fastest possible platform

Smartphones of the flagship Samsung Galaxy S series do not need a special introduction. Along with Apple products, Samsung smartphones traditionally arouse keen interest among users of any age, gender and religion. In the new season, the Korean company has prepared a real surprise for its fans. You can call it a rethinking of values ​​or a reboot, whichever you like, but the fact remains: after years of boring sameness, Samsung designers have finally decided on a real change. For the first time in many years, it's safe to say that Samsung has shown a truly stylish, modern and attractive design. In principle, the option with two glass panels and a metal side frame is not so fresh, over the past few years we have seen it in the iPhone, and in the Sony Xperia, and even in the fashion models of the Huawei P series, but for Samsung smartphones it is really new . And given the experience of past years, when one plastic in Korean smartphones was replaced by another, such drastic changes can even be called a breakthrough.

However, the participants of the MWC 2015 exhibition managed to be pleasantly surprised not only by unexpected changes in design and attractive appearance during their first acquaintance with the novelties of the Samsung mobile family. Those who have had time to get acquainted with the hardware stuffing Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge were also amazed by the unprecedented level of performance that these powerful mobile devices demonstrated. Thanks to the new SoC, Samsung's new flagships have confidently climbed onto the top step of the podium and, apparently, will not be pushed out of there soon.

Not without disappointment, of course. Fans of the Korean brand have always been warmed by the idea that their chosen side in the confrontation between Samsung and Apple is the maximum openness to change. A slot for a memory card and a removable battery are those enduring values ​​that outweigh the scales for them in comparison with the policy of closeness, "things in themselves" that apple smartphones have been cultivating from the very beginning. Now, the last bastions have collapsed: according to these characteristics, the new Korean devices are indistinguishable from both the iPhone and other modern smartphones, the creators of which have reoriented faster than others. In the new Samsung flagships, there is neither a slot for installing a memory card, nor, moreover, a removable battery - all this is considered a relic of the past. The funny thing is that it happened exactly at that significant moment when the newest, fifth version of Android finally allowed users to install applications on a memory card, and it is on Android 5.0 that new Samsung devices are initially based. Once again, the developers made an unfortunate blunder, but most of the users will most likely forget it very quickly, as if nothing had happened - the fans will understand and forgive. Only another cute and very fast smartphone, one of many, will remain in memory.

Video review

To get started, we offer you to watch our video review of the Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone:

Now let's look at the characteristics of new items.

Key Features of Samsung Galaxy S6 (Model SM-G920F)

• SoC Exynos 7420 (64-bit), two clusters of four processor cores: ARM Cortex-A57 at 2.1 GHz and ARM Cortex-A53 at 1.5 GHz
• GPU Mali-T760
• Operating system Android 5.0 Lollipop
• Touchscreen Super AMOLED display, 5.1″, 2560×1440
• Random access memory (RAM) 3 GB LPDDR4
• Internal memory 32, 64 or 128 GB
• No microSD card slot
• Communication GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
• Communication 3G WCDMA 850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz
• Data transfer rate max 4G LTE Cat6 up to 300Mbps
• Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5 GHz), Wi-Fi hotspot
• Bluetooth 4.1, NFC
• IR port, USB OTG
• GPS/A-GPS, Glonass, BDS
• Position, proximity, lighting sensors, barometer, fingerprint sensor, Hall and heart rate sensors
• Camera 16 MP (F1.9), optical stabilization, autofocus, LED flash
• Camera 5 MP (F1.9), front
• Battery 2550 mAh, non-removable
• Support wireless charging
• Dimensions 143×70×6.8 mm
• Weight 138 g

Equipment

The Samsung Galaxy S6 comes in a small cardboard box with a few jumpers inside. On top of the box is a cover made of thinner cardboard.

The kit consists of a miniature but powerful charger (output current 2 A), a Micro-USB connecting cable, and flat-wire headphones with rubber ear cushions exactly the same shape as Apple EarPods.

Appearance and usability

Samsung Galaxy S6 is not too large, even somewhat elegant smartphone. While we're probably just getting used to a five-inch screen size as the standard, it has become the norm, and we no longer consider such sizes for a pocket mobile device to be something out of the ordinary. Slim profile, heavily rounded corners, low weight - the device fits quite comfortably in the hand of any size and fits in the pocket of any clothing. However, due to the smooth metal frame and glass surfaces, the Galaxy S6 turned out to be quite slippery, so you need to be careful with such a device and make sure that it does not slip out of your hands and break on the floor.

The materials are chosen with taste: both panels, front and back, are made of tempered glass Corning Gorilla Glass 4, and the side frame that runs along the entire perimeter of the case is made of metal. Thank God, this time the creators did not paint over the metal, cover it with plastic or otherwise hide it, as happened with the Galaxy A series. The frame itself has a fairly thick profile, a noble matte surface, and of course, it is she who is most degree gives the appearance of the device seriousness and high cost. Thanks to its pleasant coolness and harsh metallic sheen, the smartphone will look good with any of the most expensive suits and in any of the most expensive environments. Perhaps if the case were entirely metal, it would not look as catchy and expressive as the current combination of glass and metal. But in any case, we will not know this - after all, if the Koreans had made their S6 entirely of metal, it would have become a copy of the iPhone 6, and this is unacceptable for obvious reasons.

The assembly does not cause any complaints, Samsung is all right with this. Having abandoned the removable cover, the developers resorted to a common solution for placing cards in the side slots: now here, too, you need to press the secret button with a paperclip to remove the container with the SIM card. The sled is made of metal, designed for a Nano-SIM standard card, and there is no other slot for a memory card. By the way, specialists from the iFixit website gave the smartphone only four points (out of ten possible) for ease of disassembly and, accordingly, maintainability (the situation is even worse for the S6 Edge: it got three points).

The body of the smartphone is quite thin, the camera module protrudes noticeably from the back wall. In this matter, the new Samsung smartphones turned out to be no better than the notorious Apple iPhone 6/6 Plus, which only the lazy did not break the bones for such an option for placing the camera module. Not far from the lens is a unit consisting of a single LED flash and a heart rate sensor.

The front of the smartphone is completely covered with Gorilla Glass 4 protective glass. To the left of the speaker grille, you can see the notification LED indicator, its large dot shines in different colors, informing about the charging status and incoming events. It is curious that the operation of the indicator is regulated in the settings section dedicated to sound.

In the lower part, under the screen, there is an oval mechanical key and two touch buttons on the sides of it. The touch buttons have a bright white backlight. A fingerprint scanner is again integrated into the central mechanical key, and a few words should be said about it separately. Finally, Samsung understood why they failed to correctly implement this most useful tool, which has long been perfectly implemented in the Apple iPhone, in previous models. In the Galaxy S5, I had to hold the device firmly with one hand, and slowly and tediously run my finger over the scanner with the other, which was annoying. As a result, owners quickly turned off the scanner due to inefficiency, although the convenience of unlocking a smartphone without having to remember digital codes and zigzag passes is great, you just need to apply it correctly. Finally, after waiting for some time, the Koreans decided to exactly adopt the idea of ​​​​the scanner, which was originally embedded in the iPhone. Now in the Galaxy S6, the button reads the fingerprint at the same time as pressing, unlocking the screen. You don't need to swipe, you can hold your hand at any angle, everything is done with one hand and in one click - everything is exactly the same as in the iPhone. Finally, the scanner in Samsung smartphones has become comfortable to use. It's a pity that it took so long for Korean developers to do this.

The very process of reading the fingerprint and setting the lock are identical to those in the iPhone: there is no longer a need to drag your finger along the entire button panel many times, point touches are enough. Naturally, you can add several fingers for recognition, and for reliability, you will be asked to come up with a code. Recognition is clear, and if you pick up the smartphone correctly, then just one touch is enough to unlock the screen, which is very convenient.

The mechanical volume and lock keys are located on opposite side faces and are also made of metal. It should be noted that for the first time in Samsung, the volume control key is implemented not as a single two-position rocker, but as two separate buttons (like in other well-known phones ...). The buttons are small, well protrude from the body, the action is springy and responsive, traditionally there are no complaints about the controls in Samsung devices.

The Micro-USB 2.0 connector and an audio output for headphones with a diameter of 3.5 mm (under the minijack) were installed on one, lower end. Micro-USB supports connecting external devices and flash drives in OTG mode.

On the upper end, right in the middle, there is a small dark window of the infrared port, which, as before, serves to emulate the remote control for controlling various household appliances, from TVs to music centers. The smartphone is already pre-installed with a familiar program called Smart Remote with many ready-made settings for any type of equipment, and you can use the current program guide.

The smartphone does not have protection against dust and moisture; you can’t find a strap attachment on the case. But the device is promised support for wireless charging, compatible with WPC 1.1 (output power 4.6 W) and PMA 1.0 (4.2 W) standards.

The Samsung Galaxy S6 is available in several bright body colors, and the developers have traditionally given these colors their own romantic names. In addition to the white (white pearl) and black (black sapphire) color options, the buyer is also offered “dazzling platinum” and “blue topaz”, but the green option (noble emerald) that many people liked will be available only for the Galaxy S6 Edge modification.

Screen

The Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone is equipped with a Super AMOLED touch screen protected by modern Gorilla Glass 4. The physical dimensions of the display are 63 × 113 mm, the diagonal is 5.1 inches. The screen resolution in pixels is 2560×1440 (dot density 577 ppi), which is more than worthy.

The frame around the screen is quite thin: the distance from the edge of the case to the edge of the screen from the sides is about 3 mm, and at the top and bottom - about 15 mm. At this point, it is worth noting that since the side edges of the case are straight and almost flat, when girthing, the fingers climb onto the screen more than smartphones with heavily beveled edges, like the same one. As a result, unwanted accidental clicks on the screen were recorded.

The brightness of the display has manual and automatic adjustment, the latter is based on the operation of the light sensor. There is also a proximity sensor that blocks the screen when you bring the smartphone to your ear. Multi-touch technology allows you to handle 10 simultaneous touches.

A detailed examination using measuring instruments was carried out by the editor of the "Monitors" and "Projectors and TV" sections Alexey Kudryavtsev. Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the test sample.

The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface, resistant to scratches. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are no worse than those of the screen of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photo in which a white surface is reflected in the off screens (on the left is Nexus 7, on the right is Samsung Galaxy S6, then they can be distinguished by size):

The screen of the Samsung Galaxy S6 is slightly lighter (brightness in photos is 105 versus 101 for the Nexus 7) and does not have a pronounced tint. Note that reflections from bright objects on the Samsung Galaxy S6 screen have a faint bluish halo. The ghosting of reflected objects in the Samsung Galaxy S6 screen is very weak, which indicates that there is no air gap between the screen layers. Due to the smaller number of borders (glass-air type) with very different refractive indices, screens without an air gap look better in conditions of strong external illumination, but their repair in case of cracked external glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be changed. On the outer surface of the Samsung Galaxy S6 screen there is a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (very effective, noticeably better than Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much easier and appear at a slower rate than in the case of ordinary glass.

When displaying a white field in full screen and with manual brightness control, its maximum value was 355 cd/m², the minimum was 1.9 cd/m². You also need to take into account the fact that in this case the smaller the white area on the screen, the lighter it is, that is, the actual maximum brightness of the white areas will almost always be higher than the specified value. As a result, readability during the day in the sun should be at a fairly good level (we didn’t have a chance to check the possibilities). The reduced brightness level allows you to use the device without any problems even in complete darkness. Automatic brightness control works according to the light sensor (it is located to the left of the front speaker slot). You can make adjustments to how this function works by moving the adjustment slider. Next, for the three conditions, we present the screen brightness values ​​for the three values ​​​​of this setting - for 0%, 50% and 100%. In complete darkness in automatic mode, the brightness decreases to 1.9, 8.5 and 18 cd / m², respectively (the first is too dark, the rest are normal), in an office lit by artificial light (about 400 lux), the brightness is set to 65, 140 and 210 cd/m² (dark - just right - just right, corresponding to the specified correction), in a bright environment (corresponding to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more) - increases to 355 cd/m² regardless of the position of the slider. This value is equal to the maximum for manual adjustment. In general, the result of the automatic brightness adjustment function is as expected. At any brightness level there is a significant modulation with a frequency of 237 Hz. The figure below shows brightness (vertical axis) versus time (horizontal axis) for several brightness settings:

It can be seen that at maximum and close to it, the modulation amplitude is not very large, and as a result, there is no visible flicker. However, when the brightness is lowered (somewhere below 75%), modulation appears with a large relative amplitude. Therefore, the presence of such modulation can already be seen in the test for the presence of a stroboscopic effect or simply with a rapid eye movement. Depending on individual sensitivity, such flickering can cause increased fatigue.

This screen uses a Super AMOLED matrix - an active matrix on organic light emitting diodes. A full color image is created using subpixels of three colors - red (R), green (G) and blue (B), but there are twice as many green subpixels, which can be referred to as RGBG. This is confirmed by a fragment of a microphoto:

For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.

On the fragment above, you can count 4 green subpixels, 2 red (4 halves) and 2 blue (1 whole and 4 quarters), while repeating these fragments, you can lay out the entire screen without gaps and overlap. For such matrices, Samsung introduced the name PenTile RGBG. The manufacturer considers the screen resolution based on green subpixels, on the other two it will be two times lower. The location and shape of the sub-pixels in this variant is close to the case of the Samsung Galaxy S4 screen and some other newer devices from Samsung and not only with AMOLED screens. This version of PenTile RGBG is better than the old one with red squares, blue rectangles and stripes of green subpixels. However, some uneven contrasting borders and other artifacts are still present. However, due to the very high resolution, they have minimal effect on image quality.

The screen is characterized by excellent viewing angles, although the white color, when deviated even at small angles, alternately acquires a light blue-green and pinkish tint, but the black color is just black at any angle. So black that the contrast setting is not applicable in this case. When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the white field is excellent, but if you look closely, you can notice a slight unevenness in the color tone at the level of pixel groups. For comparison, here are photos in which the screens of the Samsung Galaxy S6 (profile AMOLED movie) and the second comparison participant, the same images were displayed, while the brightness of the screens was initially set to approximately 200 cd / m², and the color balance on the camera was forcibly switched to 6500 K. White field:

We note the excellent uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field. And a test picture (profile Basic):

The color reproduction is good, the colors are moderately saturated, the color balance of the screens is slightly different. The photo above was obtained after choosing a profile Basic in the screen settings, there are four of them:

Profile adaptive display differs in some kind of automatic adjustment to the type of displayed image and environmental conditions, which is obtained by selecting the two remaining profiles shown below.

AMOLED movie:

Saturation and color contrast are markedly increased.

Photo AMOLED:

The saturation is still high, but the color contrast is closer to normal. Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen (profile AMOLED movie). White field:

The brightness at an angle on both screens has noticeably decreased (in order to avoid strong darkening, the shutter speed is increased compared to previous photos), but in the case of Samsung, the drop in brightness is much less pronounced. As a result, with formally the same brightness, the Samsung Galaxy S6 screen visually looks much brighter (compared to LCD screens), since you often have to look at the screen of a mobile device at least at a slight angle. And a test picture:

It can be seen that the colors have not changed much on both screens and the brightness of the Samsung at an angle is noticeably higher. Switching the state of the elements of the matrix is ​​\u200b\u200bpractically instantaneous, but there may be a step at the front of the inclusion of about 17 ms wide (which corresponds to a screen refresh rate of 59 Hz). For example, the dependence of brightness on time looks like this when moving from black to white and vice versa:

In some conditions, the presence of such a step can lead to plumes trailing behind moving objects. However, dynamic scenes in films on OLED screens are distinguished by high definition and even some “twitchy” movements.

For profiles Photo AMOLED and Basic the gamma curve constructed from 32 points with equal intervals over the numerical value of the gray tint did not reveal any blockage either in the highlights or in the shadows, and the exponent of the approximating power function is 2.22, which is slightly higher than the standard value of 2.2, while the real gamma - the curve slightly deviates from the power dependence (in the captions in parentheses are the exponent of the approximating power function and the coefficient of determination):

For profile AMOLED movie The gamma curve has a slightly S-shaped character, which increases the apparent contrast of the image, but in the shadows the distinguishability of shades is preserved.

Recall that in the case of OLED screens, the brightness of image fragments dynamically changes in accordance with the nature of the displayed image - it decreases for images that are generally bright. As a result, the resulting dependence of brightness on hue (gamma curve), most likely, does not correspond slightly to the gamma curve of a static image, since the measurements were carried out with sequential grayscale output almost on the entire screen.

Color gamut in profile case AMOLED movie very wide, it almost covers Adobe RGB coverage:

When choosing a profile Photo AMOLED coverage is slightly reduced:

When choosing a profile Basic coverage is compressed exactly to the sRGB borders:

Without correction, the spectra of the components are very well separated:

In the case of a profile Basic with the maximum correction, the color components are already noticeably mixed with each other:

Note that on screens with a wide color gamut without proper color correction, normal images optimized for sRGB devices look unnaturally saturated. Hence the recommendation - in most cases, watching movies, photos and everything natural is better when choosing a profile Basic, and only if the photo was taken on an Adobe RGB setting does it make sense to switch the profile to Photo AMOLED. Profile AMOLED movie, despite the name, is the least suitable for watching movies or anything else.

The balance of shades on the gray scale is good. Profile color temperature AMOLED movie above 6500 K, in the remaining two it is close to 6500 K, while in a significant part of the gray scale this parameter does not change very much, which improves the visual perception of the color balance. The deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) remains below 10 units over most of the gray scale, which is considered a good indicator for a consumer device, but the fluctuations in this parameter are already large:

(The darkest areas of the gray scale in most cases can be ignored, since there the color balance does not matter much, and the measurement error of color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

Let's summarize. The screen has a fairly high maximum brightness and has good anti-glare properties, so the device, most likely, can be used outdoors without any problems even on a sunny summer day. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable value. It is permissible to use the mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works quite adequately. The advantages of the screen include a very good oleophobic coating, as well as a color gamut close to sRGB and an acceptable color balance (if you select the appropriate profiles). At the same time, let's recall the general advantages of OLED screens: true black color (if nothing is reflected on the screen), excellent white field uniformity, noticeably smaller than that of LCDs, and a drop in image brightness when viewed from an angle. The disadvantages include modulation of the screen brightness. Users who are particularly sensitive to flicker may experience fatigue as a result. However, overall the screen quality is very high.

Sound

The sound of the Samsung Galaxy S6 is very decent. The smartphone emits a fairly loud sound, saturated with the entire spectrum of frequencies, including low frequencies. The smartphone sounds really nice, at the maximum volume level the sound is not distorted, does not wheeze, there are no complaints at all. The speaker grille is brought out to the bottom end, so that the sound does not overlap when the smartphone is on a hard surface. In conversational dynamics, the voice of a familiar interlocutor, timbre and intonation remain recognizable, the conversation is quite comfortable.

With headphones, the smartphone also sounds at the level of modern flagships; a branded player with the maximum number of settings is used as standard to play melodies. All sound effects are combined by a technology called SoundAlive - however, some of them are available only with headphones connected. The same applies to the sound optimization function. For manual settings, an equalizer with preset values ​​is available, as well as separate controls for bass and treble.

Traditionally, there was no FM radio in the standard smartphone package, but there is a voice recorder. For the recorder, in addition to the standard mode, there are also specific “interviews” and “voice notes” - all this is already familiar to us from previous models of the series. The smartphone cannot record telephone conversations from the line.

Camera

Samsung Galaxy S6 is equipped with two modules of digital cameras with a resolution of 16 and 5 megapixels. The front camera is equipped with a 5-megapixel module with f / 1.9 aperture, the video shoots with a maximum resolution of QHD (2560 × 1440). For popular selfie-style entertainment, there's a group selfie mode, and it's even possible to take a virtual shot of a particular subject to create a multi-directional view of the subject - in this case, most likely your own head. You can take a photo with the front camera without touching the screen, with an outstretched hand gesture, or by voice command. It is also possible to take a self-portrait by tapping your finger on the heart rate sensor located on the back of the smartphone.

The main 16-megapixel camera has an aperture of f / 1.9, tracking autofocus, optical stabilization (OIS) and an LED flash that works as a flashlight if necessary. A quick launch of the camera is possible by double-clicking on the central hardware key under the screen.

The settings menu has been completely redesigned, now there is no matrix of interactive square cells, there is one button for selecting shooting modes, and the rest of the settings are combined into a long scroll that expands as needed. In addition to the usual auto and manual modes, you can also select panorama, selective focus and the same so-called virtual shooting mode to create a multi-directional view of subjects. By the way, the specific modes of fast and slow video shooting were also removed here, so you can’t find them in the settings of the camera itself (only the resolution is set there).

Video camera Samsung Galaxy S6 can shoot in any of the latest resolutions up to 4K (UHD). As always, the option of shooting at 60 fps is very curious, while the resolution is 1920 × 1080 (Full HD). The camera copes with any options perfectly, there are no complaints about the quality of the resulting video image. The quality of video recording can be judged by test videos.

• Clip #1 (30 MB, 1920×1080 @60 fps)
• Movie #2 (43 MB, 3840×2160 @30 fps)
• Movie #3 (26 MB, 2560×1440 @30 fps)

	Good sharpness across the field of the frame, but it drops a little towards the edges.
	Even in the shadows, the sharpness is not bad.
	Excellent long-range sharpness.
	The color of the sky and the building is quite even. Light noise can be seen at the edges of the frame.
	The camera does a good job of detailing in the shadows.
	Sharping on the wires is practically absent.
	The branches of the trees are well developed.
	The numbers of all cars in the frame are clearly distinguishable.
	And on a fairly dark frame, good sharpness and noise reduction are visible.
	Under room lighting and with a flash, the text worked out well.
	The camera does just as well without a flash.
	Macro photography in room lighting works well with the camera.

We also tested the camera on a laboratory bench according to our methodology.

Assessing the flagship camera, you can not help but compare it with the rest. And as soon as I started taking pictures with it, I already want to say that this particular camera should henceforth be considered the best. Of course, there will definitely be a fly in the ointment, but the camera is really amazing. To want even more from a smartphone camera, you need to have a good imagination or have no idea about photography at all. It's hard to find fault with even the smallest things. The shadows do not make noise, the details are well worked out, there are small defects, but this is not a SLR camera and not even a compact one - this is a smartphone. You can look for a long time for the lack of “soul” or “pleasure” in the pictures, but objectively there is nothing to complain about.

Now about the fly in the ointment. All images have an area of ​​blur on the right. Most likely, this is not a problem of the applied camera module, but specifically of our instance, but doubt has been sown. To have such a defect, of course, is unworthy of a flagship. The camera is really good, perhaps the best, but the problem is still significant. In general, at least check the camera when buying.

In a laboratory test, the Samsung Galaxy S6 confidently outperforms its main competitor, the iPhone 6. And if in the center of the frame their results differ slightly, then at the edge of the Galaxy S6 it gives a very decent result. Moreover, according to this result, it is quite seriously superior (and slightly -). In the center of the frame, all the latest Samsung flagships show themselves about the same, but the dependence of resolution on lighting in the Galaxy S6 is the most “smooth and beautiful”.

If we forget about the blur zone on the right side of the frame, which we are ready to attribute to a defective sample, the camera can be called excellent. It is well suited for documentary and art photography.

Of the new "chips" in the camera, there is a mode for shooting two frames with a focus on the far and near plans, with the ability to subsequently switch between them. We recently saw a similar one in Xiaomi Mi Note.

There is also a 3D image capture mode that can be "rotated". It is created by wiring a smartphone around an object. Again, we recently saw a similar one in Jiayu S3.

Both modes are very doubtful in practical terms, so they can only claim the title of a funny "chip".

Telephone part and communications

The smartphone works as standard in modern 2G GSM and 3G WCDMA networks, and there is also support for fourth-generation LTE Cat6 networks with the maximum possible speed of up to 300 Mbps per reception. In practice, with a SIM card from the domestic operator MTS, the smartphone confidently recognizes and works with 4G networks.

The rest of the network capabilities of the smartphone are also on top: there is support for NFC technology, Bluetooth 4.1 supports A2DP, LE, apt-X, ANT + profiles. Wi-Fi 802.11n/ac, HT80 MIMO (2×2) (up to 620 Mbps) supports both frequency bands (2.4 and 5 GHz) and Wi-Fi Direct technology, you can organize a wireless access point via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth channels. It is possible to connect external devices to the USB port in OTG mode.

The navigation module works with both GPS and the domestic Glonass system, and also sees satellites of the Chinese Beidou (BDS). There are no complaints about the navigation module, a cold start occurs within a minute or faster. The device is also equipped with a magnetic field sensor, on the basis of which the magnetic compass of navigation programs functions.

Spontaneous reboots / shutdowns were not observed during testing, but surprises did occur. So, after another reboot in normal mode, the screen of the device suddenly stopped responding to any touches - only the mechanical hardware buttons of the smartphone worked. It was possible to get out of the situation only through a forced reboot by holding the power buttons and volume down for a long time, otherwise it was impossible to use the device.

The layout and layout of the keys are standard for Samsung smartphones: switching languages ​​is not done by the usual pressing of a special button with the image of a globe, but by a horizontal longitudinal gesture along the space bar - not the most convenient option. The standard layout has a dedicated top row with numbers. For lovers of Swype, a method is provided for continuous input with a stroke from letter to letter. The phone application supports Smart Dial, that is, while dialing a phone number, a search is also carried out immediately by the first letters in contacts.

OS and software

The Samsung Galaxy S6 immediately runs on the fresh, fifth version of Android OS, but you won’t see its own Material Design interface here, it has been completely replaced by the traditional design of the proprietary TouchWiz shell installed on top. The new version of TouchWiz has undergone minor changes, but in general everything has remained familiar from previous smartphones from this manufacturer. The only thing that was adopted from the most notable innovations of the fifth version of the Android OS is interactive notification panels that pop up on top of running applications, conveniently swiped to the side with a side gesture.

Gestures are supported, but their number is reduced to a comfortable and logical minimum. Power-saving modes, privacy mode, the ability to work simultaneously in two windows and the Briefing news panel, caused by a side swipe on the left, are still in place - an analogue of HTC Blinkfeed. The side panel of virtual buttons has been removed, there is no way to reduce the working area of ​​​​the screen for controlling the fingers of one hand. New in Android 5.0, the ability to enable guest mode has been removed here and replaced with a branded private mode. The notification panel also has nothing to do with the proprietary Android 5.0 panel, everything remains the same here: the panel does not unfold in two stages, the list of quick access icons scrolls with a horizontal swipe, branded buttons are also built into here for quick connection to other devices and S Finder.

The heart rate sensor, located on the back side next to the camera, is controlled by the same branded program for global monitoring of one's own health called S Health. The infrared port is served by a special remote control emulation program called Smart Remote. In general, there are not so many additional programs installed, most of them are useful, but I was surprised by the pre-installed block of Microsoft branded programs (OneDrive, OneNote, Skype).

Performance

The hardware platform of the Samsung Galaxy S6 is built on the basis of the most powerful single-chip system (SoC) of Samsung's own production Exynos 7420, produced according to the standards of the 14-nanometer process technology. The configuration of this single-chip system includes two clusters of four cores: ARM Cortex-A57 with a frequency of 2.1 GHz and ARM Cortex-A53 with a frequency of 1.5 GHz. The powerful video accelerator Mali T760 is used as a GPU. RAM in the device is provided as much as 3 GB (LPDDR4). Internal memory is implemented on drives that meet the UFS 2.0 specification. Flash memory capacity is 32, 64 or 128 GB, not expandable with memory cards. In the case of a model with a minimum volume, the user initially has access to about 25 GB of the nominally designated 32 GB. In addition, the device supports the mode of connecting external devices to the USB port (USB Host, USB OTG) - an external flash drive can be connected via an OTG adapter.

According to the test results, the Samsung Galaxy S6 hardware platform showed extremely high results, displacing all previous record holders without exception, including Meizu MX4 and Samsung Galaxy Note 4, which had been in the first places in the AnTuTu test for quite a long time.

As a result, Samsung gave the world another champion in terms of power - a reference smartphone that will be equaled throughout the season, trying to catch up and match. The device is extremely productive, its capabilities will be enough for a long time to perform any tasks, including the most demanding games.

Testing in the latest versions of AnTuTu and GeekBench 3 comprehensive benchmarks:

For convenience, we have summarized all the results obtained by us when testing a smartphone in the latest versions of popular benchmarks in tables. Several other devices from different segments are usually added to the table, also tested on similar latest versions of benchmarks (this is done only for a visual assessment of the received dry numbers). Unfortunately, within the framework of one comparison, it is impossible to present the results from different versions of benchmarks, so many worthy and relevant models remain “behind the scenes” due to the fact that they once passed the “obstacle course” on previous versions of test programs.

Graphics subsystem testing in 3DMark, GFXBenchmark, and Bonsai Benchmark gaming benchmarks:

When testing in 3DMark for the highest performing smartphones, it is now possible to run the application in Unlimited mode, where the rendering resolution is fixed at 720p and VSync is disabled (due to which the speed can rise above 60 fps).

Browser cross-platform tests:

As for benchmarks for evaluating the speed of the javascript engine, you should always make allowances for the fact that the results in them depend significantly on the browser in which they are launched, so that the comparison can only be truly correct on the same OS and browsers, and this possibility is available when testing not always. In the case of Android OS, we always try to use Google Chrome.

Video playback

To test the "omnivorous" when playing video (including support for various codecs, containers and special features, such as subtitles), we used the most common formats, which make up the bulk of the content available on the Web. Note that for mobile devices it is important to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is most often impossible to process modern versions using processor cores alone. Also, do not expect everything from a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it. All results are summarized in a single table.

According to the test results, the test subject was not equipped with all the necessary decoders that are needed for the full playback of most of the most common multimedia files on the network. To successfully play them, you will have to resort to the help of a third-party player - for example, MX Player. True, it is also necessary to change the settings in it and manually install additional custom codecs, because now this player does not officially support the AC3 audio format.

¹ Audio in MX Video Player only played after installing an alternative custom audio codec; The regular player does not have such a setting.

Video output features tested Alexey Kudryavtsev.

We did not find the MHL interface, as well as Mobility DisplayPort in this smartphone, so we had to limit ourselves to testing the output of video files on the screen of the device itself. To do this, we used a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see “Methodology for testing video signal playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices) 720/24p

Note: If both columns Uniformity and Passes green ratings are set, this means that, most likely, when watching movies, artifacts caused by uneven alternation and dropping frames will either not be visible at all, or their number and visibility will not affect viewing comfort. Red marks indicate possible problems with the playback of the respective files.

According to the frame output criterion, the quality of video files playback on the screen of the device itself is good, since frames (or groups of frames) can be displayed with more or less uniform alternation of intervals and without frame drops (with the exception of files with 60 fps - one frame is always skipped due to for screen refresh rates of 59 Hz). When playing video files with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 (1080p) on a smartphone screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly on the wide border of the screen. The clarity of the picture is high, but not ideal, since there is no escape from interpolation to the screen resolution. However, for the sake of experiment, you can switch to the one-to-one mode by pixels, there will be no interpolation, but PenTile features will appear - the vertical world through the pixel will be in the grid, and the horizontal one will be a little greenish. This is on test worlds, the described artifacts are absent on real frames. The brightness range displayed on the screen actually corresponds to the standard range of 16-235 - in the shadows, only a couple of shades merge with black, but in the highlights, all gradations of shades are displayed.

Battery life

The capacity of the built-in non-removable battery installed in the Samsung Galaxy S6 is far from a record by modern standards - only 2550 mAh. However, even despite the most powerful platform and a fairly large five-inch screen, the smartphone adequately proved itself in terms of battery life, showing excellent autonomy in most standard usage scenarios. It should be noted that in order to save energy in the settings of the device, there are traditionally two branded power saving modes: normal and extreme. The maximum power saving mode significantly reduces the level of energy consumption by turning off secondary functions and preserving vital functions at the moment, as well as, for a visual effect, turning the image on the screen into black and white.

Continuous reading in the FBReader program (with a standard, light theme) at the minimum comfortable brightness level (the brightness was set to 100 cd / m²) lasted about 20 hours until the battery was completely discharged. With continuous viewing of video in high quality (720p) with the same level of brightness through a home Wi-Fi network, the device lasted 12 hours. In the 3D-games mode, the device worked for 4 hours. The smartphone supports fast charging technology, so the device charges very quickly. Full charge time is only about 1.5 hours, and according to the assurances of the developers, just 10 minutes of charging allows you to charge your smartphone for a subsequent four-hour use.

Outcome

With the release of its next flagship, Samsung did not make a noticeable breakthrough and technological revolution, but gave the market such a polished and polished product that there is simply nothing to complain about this time. The smartphone seems to strive to please everyone with its thoughtful practicality. Not a single unnecessary detail, everything superfluous is removed, combed and trimmed, ticks are put in front of literally every item from the wish list of the average user. Dimensions are not large and not small, they are comfortable, as well as the weight of the device. The quality of the selected materials and the assembly are not satisfactory, the metal surfaces finally appeared in all their glory, not painted over and not hidden. All technical characteristics - to the maximum, sensors - any to choose from. Fingerprint scanner, infrared, heart rate sensor, wireless charging - all additional flagship super features are available. Only the lack of protection against water comes to mind, but recently the user excitement around the need for such functionality began to fade, and the Koreans immediately crossed it out. The smartphone is almost perfect, but it is now far from being available to everyone. The price of the new Samsung flagship is set so that even hardened gadget lovers turn pale. Not everyone can afford a new smartphone for 50 thousand rubles, but even here Samsung is in trend: without exception, all top-tier players are gradually, but confidently, by joint efforts, raising this bar higher and higher. So we still have to be surprised more than once in the new season, but for now it remains only to admire such novelties, while getting used to the new prices.

The South Korean smartphone maker will no doubt continue to release flagship models of the Galaxy S line in 2015 as well. The Galaxy S6 has been in various rumors for months now, and we already know a few things about its hardware specs and the timing of its announcement. In any case, the S6 model is already in the works and there will be a lot of information from various sources in the coming months.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 has been on the market for about half a year, so the media, analysts and fans are already turning their attention towards the Galaxy S6. Based on previous presentations and leaks that have surfaced online in various articles, we hope to get an idea of ​​what we should expect from the unannounced flagship.

For a couple of years, we have already become accustomed to the fact that Samsung introduces its Galaxy S smartphones in February or March. We also expect the Galaxy S6 to be unveiled in the first quarter of 2015 - probably either in February at MWC 2015, or maybe at CES 2015 in January (but there is very little chance). In any case, sales may begin next March.

In recent news, we said that Samsung is working on the flagship Galaxy S6 literally from scratch. The smartphone is being developed as part of the Project Zero project, which is not surprising, because smartphone sales have fallen sharply compared to their predecessors, and the company is clearly not going to lose fans.

Earlier this year, there were already rumors that the Galaxy S5 will get a Quad HD display. Samsung felt that a Full HD screen for a flagship would be enough, and therefore in 2015 it is definitely necessary to wait for an increase in the S6 screen resolution to QHD (2560 x 1440 pixels). This is because already in the second half of this year, an unspoken standard for flagship smartphones has been set. Again we will see a Super AMOLED screen, but its diagonal should grow to at least 5.2 inches, but no more, so as not to threaten sales of the Galaxy Note 4. By the way, Samsung is quite capable of fitting a slightly larger display into the dimensions of the Galaxy S5 due to narrower frames .

We all know that Google recently introduced a new version of its operating system - Android 5.0 Lollipop with built-in support for 64-bit processors. There are already rumors that the Galaxy S6 will run on a processor of its own production - Exynos 7420, and the second model of the flagship will already be with Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processors (depending on the sales market). Yes, let's clarify at the expense of processors - the Exynos 7420 will be with LTE support thanks to the built-in Exynos Modem 333 modem, but the Snapdragon 810 will already be eight-core with four Cortex-A57 and four Cortex-A53 cores, with an Adreno 430 graphics accelerator and support for 64-bit computing.

As for the design, it should be the first flagship of the Galaxy S line with a metal body. Enough steps have already been taken to produce affordable premium smartphones. Firstly, this is the Galaxy Alpha with its metal frame, which we also saw on the Galaxy Note 4 phablet. Secondly, a separate line of Galaxy A premium smartphones with metal cases has appeared. It's a pity, but this means one thing - we lose access to a replaceable battery.

The Galaxy S6 will “get fatter” due to the increase in memory – the RAM will already be 3GB, and the built-in volume will increase to 128GB. The entry model will have 16GB of internal storage, but is only available in the Asian market, while 3 variants will appear in the international market: 32, 64 and 128GB. But what about microSD card support? I hope Samsung doesn't give up on this.

Samsung is also already setting a new standard for front-facing cameras – it makes sense to wait for a 5-megapixel selfie camera, given that this is already a popular trend. As for the main camera, Samsung may limit itself to a 16-megapixel camera, as in the Galaxy Note 4, with optical image stabilization, smart autofocus, support for Ultra HD video recording, as well as the ability to accelerate recording (slow motion). It looks like it will also improve the ability to shoot in low light.

Apple has set a new rule in the smartphone market by introducing its iPhone with a fingerprint scanner. Samsung backed the initiative so the S6 will have this sensor as well as a heart rate monitor and UV sensor, which is a significant advantage. It is possible that a retinal scanner will also appear, but there is little chance here.