Samsung Galaxy S6 - increase the operating time. Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge review

Now, after all the presentations and premieres at the IFA in Berlin, we can digress and do a detailed time test battery life Galaxy S6 Edge+.

Did the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge models show very long battery life after all the tests? However, curiously, the Galaxy S6 Edge + turned out to be much better.

samsung galaxy The S6 Edge+ features a 5.7-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED screen and is powered by an Exynos 7420 processor, which is the same processor found in the Galaxy S6. The battery of the new flagship is 15% larger - already 3000 mAh.

And here is the first smartphone test showing the Galaxy S6 Edge + talk time (3G) and here the new Samsung flagship did an excellent job - it went beyond 30 hours.

An excellent result is also visible when surfing the web. Here Galaxy s6 Edge + was able to work for more than 10 hours.

When playing a video, we not only enjoy the quality of the picture, but also how long the smartphone can work in this mode. The Galaxy S6 Edge was able to play an hour-long video 14 times before the battery reached a critical 10%. This is extremely impressive.

The Samsung Galaxy s6 Edge+ performed above average overall, but in a dedicated power saving mode, it was able to run for about 10 hours on a single charge before the battery died.

So in the end we got 83 hours of Galaxy S6 Edge + on a single charge.

In other words, if the smartphone was able to last 83 hours in the test, then we can expect the Galaxy S6 Edge+ to last more than three and a half days on a single charge. Moreover, if you often use the Internet and watch videos, then we will be able to use the flagship for more than a day. Of course, all these tests are artificial, but you can compare with the results of other smartphones without any problems, since the template is common to everyone. In this case, the Galaxy S6 Edge+ shows its endurance at the level of the Galaxy Note5, which in the ranking showed 85 hours.

The Galaxy S6 Edge+ also supports fast wired and fast wireless charging (approximately 90 minutes of charging time with wired charging and approximately 120 minutes with wireless).

As always, two battery saving modes are available to the user - Power Saving and Ultra Power Saving. The last mode disables all but the most basic functions and allows the phablet to work for a few more hours on a few percent of the battery charge.

Releasing expensive smartphones that look and feel cheap? Even the market leader cannot afford this in 2015 - the top devices of competitors have become too good, too many excellent devices offer good performance and stylish appearance for half or even a third of the price of flagships. Probably, Galaxy smartphone S made of glass and metal should have appeared a year earlier - then Samsung might not have had it in 2014. But still, better late than never.

Appearance

The Galaxy S6 is the most beautiful smartphone Samsung has ever released. The previous flagships of the S-line have always caused discomfort with a combination of high prices and a plastic case. In the case of the Galaxy S6, this dissonance is absent. An aluminum frame, glass front and back with elegantly rounded edges, record-breaking thinness and convincing weight - all this is designed to convince that the price tag of 47,000 rubles is justified. We are talking about a simple version of the Galaxy S6, not Edge with a curved screen (there will be a separate article about it).

Some sources of inspiration for Samsung designers are still easy to guess, but this time the rounded frame with a perforated speaker grill, already seen in more than one or two smartphones, does not hurt the eyes.

Although the Galaxy S6 does not say a new word in design, it organically combines current trends with classic body lines for the company's flagships.

It cannot be said that the device makes passers-by turn around on the street (this only happens today with), but looking at it, twisting it in your hands is much more pleasant than the Galaxy S5 or Note 4. The only thing that hurts the eye is the protrusion under which the camera is hidden. However, given the quality of the images, which is discussed below, this sacrifice is more than justified.

Convenience

For better or worse, the smartphone is becoming one of the main objects in their lives for more and more people, competing with a working PC and a car. Comfortable shoes and clothes, a comfortable bed are important for us, a smartphone should also be comfortable - after all, we often devote several hours a day to it. How good is the Galaxy S6 in this regard? Based on the rather modest dimensions for a device with a 5.1-inch display (143.4 by 70.5 by 6.8 mm), as well as due to the body frame without sharp edges, one could assume that the device is very convenient.

In fact, believe me, everything is not so simple. Yes, when you take the Galaxy S6 in your hand, the smartphone fits perfectly in it. During the conversation, you also do not experience any problems, but then the nuances begin. The fact is that “premium” aluminum and glass are very “slippery” materials. In addition, the shape of the case makes the grip area of ​​​​the smartphone and the palm of the hand minimal.

Bottom line: The Samsung Galaxy S6 is one of the most easily dropped phones I've ever dealt with. That is, the user either constantly risks dropping the device when manipulating with one hand, or is forced to work with a rather compact device like a phablet, with both hands. To be fair, the iPhone 6, and especially the 6 Plus, has the same problems - slipping out of your hand very easily. One solution is to buy a bumper case. But then it’s not clear why to spend money on a beautiful new smartphone, because in a Galaxy S6 case from half a meter you can’t distinguish it from the year before last Galaxy S4.

The location of the power / lock button on the right edge of the smartphone is very good, but changing the volume with the keys on the left edge is not so convenient, they are placed a little high for pressing index finger. The home button, with the fingerprint scanner finally working quickly and without problems, is quite convenient, although I personally prefer devices with on-screen keys. In the case of off-screen touch buttons, it's very annoying to accidentally press them while playing games or watching movies. On the Nexus 5, for example, the virtual buttons are hidden in full-screen mode until you specifically call them up with a swipe from the edge of the screen.

Screen

Samsung could not install in latest flagship Ultra-high resolution Quad HD screen (2560 by 1440 pixels, 5.1 inches diagonal, 557 ppi pixel density, Super AMOLED). On the one hand, it's nice, high-tech, the picture is great. On the other hand, Full HD with such a screen diagonal is more than sufficient, the vast majority of users in life will not distinguish a clearer display from a less clear one with a pixel density above 300-350 per inch. And to render a super-clear picture, additional processor resources are spent, the battery is consumed faster. In general, I still do not see the point (other than marketing, of course) in smartphone displays with a pixel density above 400 per inch.

In terms of brightness and color reproduction, the display is excellent, and you can choose the color profile (more saturated or more natural colors) to your liking. In the bright sun, the mode of increased brightness and contrast is automatically turned on, the color reproduction suffers from it, but the picture becomes visible almost like in the shade.

Gorilla Glass 4 promises to protect the screen glass from cracking and scratching. However, reality can be cruel even with the most high-tech materials. Our tester had one oily scratch and a couple of smaller scratches after a few days of use. Before that, the smartphone fell a couple of times with the screen on the floor (linoleum in the office, parquet at home), maybe he met a couple of especially strong grains of sand there. Frankly, the appearance of scratches, despite the fact that the device did not go through any serious alterations like falling on asphalt or tiles, upset me. So you should not expect the invulnerability of sapphire from Gorilla Glass 4. If you want a scratch-free smartphone, buy protective films or book cases.

Cameras, sound

You know what's best about the Samsung Galaxy S6 as a pocket camera? This is not even the quality of the pictures, but how quickly you can launch the camera by double-clicking the home button. Firstly, this function works equally well on a “sleeping” smartphone and when you are in some kind of application. Secondly, it seems to me that finding and pressing a sufficiently large Home button is easier than fumbling for a dedicated camera button, which is equipped with some smartphones from other manufacturers. But the main thing is speed, a picture can be taken literally in one and a half to two seconds after the thought has visited you: "Stop, a moment, you are beautiful!" and you reached into your pocket for your smartphone. The camera's claimed launch time (whether via double-clicking Home or via the home screen icon) is 0.7 seconds.

The main camera of the Galaxy S6 uses a fast lens (minimum aperture f 1.9), optical stabilization and a 16-megapixel back-illuminated Sony IMX240 sensor. There is LED flash, Live HDR, 8x digital zoom, ISO up to 3200, 4K or Full HD video recording at 60 fps, slow motion and time lapse shooting. The sound is recorded in stereo from two microphones. The front camera is 5-megapixel, uses a matrix manufactured by Samsung.

Samsung programmers continue to improve image processing algorithms for many years, as a result, the company's smartphones have become the best photo solutions among Android devices. And due to the higher resolution of the sensor, the presence of optical stabilization and the superbly implemented “night” mode, the device manages in many situations to beat even Apple devices that are traditionally considered the standard among smartphones. Here are some photos (click to view full size image in a new tab):

All pictures taken during the test on the Samsung Galaxy S6 can be viewed (Dropbox).

The only complaint about the camera is that if you want to immediately view the photo you just took, you will have to wait an agonizing couple of seconds, the delay is noticeably longer than on most smartphones released last year and this year. It is hoped that this is a software bug that will be fixed in future software updates. After all, the Galaxy S6 has the most advanced flash memory in terms of speed, so in theory there should be no delays in writing an image to it and reading it.

The Galaxy S6's built-in music speaker sounds loud, but the sound is too “metallic” for my taste, the same iPhone 6 Plus plays music more pleasantly, you can hear more details. Through the audio output, the playback quality is simply excellent, including with expensive headphones, there are no complaints.

Performance, software features

In short, the Galaxy S6 is the fastest Android smartphone to date. At least, this is indicated by the results of popular benchmarks.

The device runs on a proprietary system-on-a-chip Samsung Exynos 7420 (64-bit processor, 4 Cortex-A57 cores at 2.1 GHz and 4 Cortex-A53 cores at 1.5 GHz). This is the world's first mobile chip produced using the 14nm process technology, Qualcomm will use this technology only in the upcoming Snapdragon 820 (which, according to rumors, will again be produced by Samsung, and not by TSMC, like previous models of chips in this line). 3 GB of RAM is more than enough for any scenario so far, although the 64-bit SoC can work with a large amount of memory.

Built-in memory 32, 64 or 128 GB, and there is no support for microSD cards. This is disappointing - after all, 32 GB, and it is this version that will most likely be the best-selling one, is not enough at the present time. If you shoot photos in full resolution and 4K video, save series from Amediateka for offline viewing (all smartphone buyers receive a free trial monthly subscription to the service), install modern games with advanced graphics, then free space will run out very quickly.

By the way, about games - the ultra-high screen resolution makes itself felt, and the result in the Epic Citadel test at maximum graphics settings is not exactly a record one. The coveted 60 fps is achieved only on simply “high” graphics quality:

At the same time, in practice, no brakes were noticed in modern games like Real Racing 3, Dungeon Keeper 5, NOVA 3. By the way, the device heats up quite strongly during the game, but, fortunately, the temperature does not reach an uncomfortable level.

However, not only the performance of SoC and memory determines whether the device will seem fast to the user or not. With the number of points in benchmarks and frames per second in games, Samsung flagships have never had problems, but with the speed of the interface - all the time. It is gratifying that the branded Touch Wiz in the version for the Galaxy S6 is much less different from stock Android than before, and is not overloaded with unnecessary bells and whistles. Even the "Briefing" panel with news and other content based on recommendations from the Flipboard service is now disabled.

I have only one major complaint left with TouchWiz, and that one is purely subjective - the blue color of the “curtain” of notifications is disgusting to me personally. You can change it only by installing a different theme from the theme store, where, unfortunately, nothing decent could be found. Samsung should definitely add at least one professionally made theme in the style and colors of stock Android, since the Google Play version of the flagship is no longer planned.

In the updated Touch Wiz, the organization of the system “curtain” is still not reasonable and neat, as in stock Android 5.0 - notifications are displayed on the first swipe, and a panel with settings shortcuts and switches on the second. It uses the more traditional all-in-one interface for Samsung interfaces.

Battery

Galaxy S6 does not set autonomy records - Samsung engineers obviously had a priority on minimizing the thickness of the case, they had to sacrifice battery capacity, it is 2550 mAh. At the same time, an energy-efficient AMOLED screen and a “smart” battery-consuming processor help the device, with standard use (without games and videos), stretch from morning to late evening. Streaming the House of Cards series from Amediateka in HD 720p resolution via Wi-Fi at maximum brightness takes about 22% of the battery (that is, in this mode, the smartphone will last a little more than 4.5 hours on a full charge). A similar indicator when watching an hour of video from the built-in memory of a smartphone was 12% in our testing - that is, a 100% charge will last for about 8 hours and 20 minutes. Half an hour of playing slasher with the faulty graphics of Dungeon Hunter 5 "cost" me 14% of the charge (3.5 hours at 100% battery). The performance is weaker than that of such "hardy" devices as the iPhone 6 Plus, Xperia Z3 or even more Huawei Mate 7, but somewhat better than the Nexus 5.

In practice, it looks like this: when I use the iPhone 6 Plus, I don’t have the thought of connecting it to charging in the car on the way home from work (I usually arrive at the editorial office around 7:30, leave around 15-16), usually there is still 60-70% charge. The Galaxy S6 has 40% left, and "auto-feeding" happens almost always. Nexus 5 usually gets an additional dose of electricity even earlier, at 2 o'clock in the afternoon - because you never know. Fortunately, the Galaxy S6 implements fast charging technology, from zero to 70-80% the device is charged from the supplied adapter in about an hour, a full charge takes another 30 minutes. A weaker charger from the Nexus 5 fills the Galaxy S6 battery up to 100% in two seconds half an hour.

Purchase, conclusions

The Galaxy S6 is an ideologically different smartphone than all previous devices of the Galaxy S line. The previous flagships of the Koreans were a geek's dream - top-end features, support for memory cards, a replaceable battery, water protection (in the Galaxy S5). In the novelty, flexibility and security were sacrificed for the sake of style, and the result was not only a powerful, but also a really very beautiful phone, which for the first time does not lose outwardly to its main competitors, including Apple devices.

Galaxy S6 is also, perhaps, the best for today mobile camera, which in many situations shoots more attractive (clear and bright) photos and videos than the iPhone 6. At the same time, the ergonomics of the “slippery” smartphone due to the selected materials are not ideal, typing with one hand or managing applications is uncomfortable - you are afraid to drop the device . Probably a matter of habit, but returning from the Galaxy S6 to my good old plastic Nexus 5, I was relieved. Firstly, a device with a soft-touch plastic lid simply cannot slip out of your hand. Secondly, dropping 20 thousand on the asphalt is still not as unpleasant as nearly 50.

in major retail chains and mobile operators Galaxy S6 sells for 46,990 rubles for a 32-gigabyte version. "Gray" phones without an official guarantee can be found somewhat cheaper - from 41,000 rubles. The price does not depend on the color - white, gold, blue-black. The version with two SIM-cards in official retail is equipped with 64 GB of internal memory and costs more - from 49,990 rubles.

Let's sum up the review of Samsung Galaxy S6.

Pros:

• The best ever Galaxy S design
• Premium body materials
• Record for today for the ecosystem android performance
• The best mobile camera among Android smartphones, surpassing the iPhone 6 camera in many shooting scenarios

Minuses:

• High (especially in conditions of a slightly strengthened ruble) price
• Unreliable in the palm of your hand, typing with one hand is inconvenient
• Unremarkable battery life
• No microSD card slot

Specifications

• Model: SM-G920F
• Screen: Super AMOLED 2560 by 1440 pixels, 5.1 inches diagonal, pixel density 557 ppi, Gorilla Glass 4
• Chipset: Exynos 7420 (64-bit, 4x Cortex-A57 @ 2.1GHz & 4x Cortex-A53 1.5GHz)
• Graphics: Mali-T760MP8
• Memory: 3 GB RAM, built-in flash drive 32, 64 or 128 GB
• Cameras: 16 MP, optical stabilization, autofocus, flash and 5 MP front
• Network: 2G, 3G, LTE
• Wireless interfaces Wi-Fi dual-band 802.11b / g / n / ac, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, infrared port, wireless charging with support for Qi and PMA standards
• Geolocation: A-GPS, GLONASS, Beidu
• Sensors: accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, compass, barometer, heart rate sensor
• Battery: 2550 mAh
• Dimensions: 143.4 x 70.5 x 6.8 mm (thickness excluding camera protrusion)
• Weight: 138g

At one time, the Galaxy S6 made a lot of noise, and to be honest, a lot of time has passed since its release, but it is still being considered by many as an option for purchase. In S6, all the best that was in the past developments of the manufacturer and in general in the mobile technology market was implemented. Finally, it was decided to abandon plastic in favor of more premium materials, which had a positive effect on the perception of the gadget and its design.

The case has become thinner and lighter, received a non-removable battery. But not all the changes have benefited - now there is no moisture protection, and besides, we were deprived of a slot for a microSD card. But as soon as you start to get to know the gadget better, you just forget about minor flaws against the background of numerous advantages, which we will dwell on in more detail as part of our review of the Samsung Galaxy S6.

Specifications Galaxy S6:

• Screen: 5.1'' Quad HD 1440x2560, Super AMOLED, 577 ppi
• Processor: Exynos 7420 octa-core, 2.1 GHz
• Graphics accelerator: Mali-T760MP8, 600 MHz
• Operating system: OS Android 5.0.2 Lollipop, TouchWiz UI
• RAM: 3 GB
• Built-in memory: 32 GB
• Memory card support: No
• Communication: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz || UMTS 850/900/1900/2100 MHz || LTE: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 26
• SIM: Nano-SIM
• Wireless interfaces: Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (dual-band 2.4/5 GHz), Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, IrDA
• Navigation: GPS, GLONASS, Baidu, Galileo
• Cameras: main - 16 MP (OIS, autofocus, LED flash); front - 5 MP
• Sensors: accelerometer, G-Sensor, proximity, light, oxygen SpO2 and heart rate, compass, barometer, fingerprint scanner
• Battery: 2550 mAh, non-removable
• Dimensions: 143.4x70.5x6.8 mm
• Weight: 138 grams

Galaxy S6 Package Contents

The device comes in a white package, which does not greatly exceed its dimensions. On its back you can see the main characteristics, and after printing it, we get access to the charger, microUSB cable, wired headphones with a convenient control unit, a paper clip and documentation.

Design

In terms of design, the smartphone is practically no different from the Edge version. The only difference is that it uses a standard flat display, but otherwise the design is very similar to the manufacturer's past developments.

Even if you cover the brand logo on the front panel, the device will still be recognizable. Moving from one flagship to another key points design, including a mechanical button "Home" and the design of the speaker grille. It would seem that these are elements that do not attract special attention, but it is precisely from such trifles that the recognizable design of gadgets is formed.

Compared to previous generations, the design has become more accurate. The body materials of the Galaxy S6 are exactly the same as the Edge. The front and back panels are protected by Gorilla Glass 4. Strengthens the structure with a stylish and durable frame made of aircraft-grade aluminum.

The smartphone received a monolithic body, so you can forget about independent battery replacement. But this is rather a plus, because with such an assembly, the possibility of backlash and punching of the cover is excluded, each part sits perfectly in its place.

The case received rounded edges, due to which it lies well in the hand. When you take it in your hands for the first time, it seems that the case is very slippery, because the main material of manufacture is glass. But thanks to good ergonomics, the probability of dropping it will be extremely small.

A standard set of sensors, a conversational speaker and a front camera were installed above the screen.

Below it is a mechanical home button and a pair of touch buttons on the sides of it.

On the left is the volume rocker.

On the right is the display power control button and the nanoSIM tray.

On the top edge there is a microphone and an infrared port for controlling household appliances.

Bottom - 3.5 mm headset jack, microUSB port and external speaker.

On the back side we see the main camera module with a resolution of 16 megapixels. It protrudes above the body. which is a bit impractical. To the right of it is a flash and a saturation sensor, as well as a heartbeat. Closer to the center is the company logo.

Display

The Galaxy S6 duos review proceeds to the consideration of the screen, which is built using Super AMOLED technology with a diagonal of 5.1 inches with a resolution of 2560x1440 pixels. This combination gives 577 dpi, which distinguishes the display from competitors. Of course, with such a high density, you will not notice any individual pixels. The picture is rich, contrasting and well detailed, working with the screen is a pleasure.

Color reproduction varies greatly depending on user settings, with a total of four modes available:

• Adaptive;
• Movie;
• A photo;
• Base.

The last two produce the most realistic colors, but if you like them to be slightly oversaturated, then you should set any of the first two.

Galaxy S6 Performance

Samsung Galaxy S6 specifications are built on the Exynos 7420 processor, developed at the manufacturer's facilities. It is based on 8 cores with a frequency of 2.1 GHz, which complements the Mali-T760MP8 graphics accelerator. RAM - 3 GB, built-in - 32 GB, of which 24 GB remains for the needs of the user. Galaxy S6 32gb specifications are relevant even now, it can easily pull even the latest games on high graphics. Not a single application has yet been able to fully load the device so that it turns off.

Samsung Galaxy S6 in synthetics:

Not without drawbacks, now games, photos and video files are quite large, and therefore 24 GB may not be enough, and there is no possibility to expand the volume with a memory card. At least a little this disadvantage is compensated by providing 100 free gigabytes of OneDrive cloud storage, but it's still not the same.

The Samsung g920f Galaxy S6 32gb black review showed that the external speaker sounds clear and has a good volume margin, except that the low frequencies are a bit lacking. The earphones that come with the device are perfect for everyday use, they are not only comfortable, but also sound good. With a high degree of probability, they will come to replace your old headset.

Heart rate monitor Samsung Galaxy S6

Near the sensor from the main camera module is a sensor designed to measure heart rate. To use it, the proprietary S Health application was preinstalled, where you can track your heart rate and stress level. It works smartly, but there are doubts about the accuracy of measurements. In addition to tracking performance physical activity, such as running or cycling, you can find out the level of oxygen in the blood, enter information on the amount of liquid drunk per day. The application will help you monitor your health and adhere to active image life.

Offline work

A review of the Galaxy S6 64gb active in Russian revealed that everything is bad with the battery capacity - 2550 mAh, despite the fact that performance has increased markedly. You can count on a day of autonomy if you turn on the Internet only when necessary, set the brightness to low, and unload resource-intensive applications from memory when you stop using them. Autonomy is vulnerable spot device.

For an hour of playing Asphalt 8, the battery loses 22% of the charge, and when playing videos at 100% brightness and 70% volume, 16% is consumed per hour. In standby mode, with one active SIM card, only 1% of the charge is consumed in a few hours. In about a week, the gadget sits down completely, if you do not touch it at all.

The Samsung Galaxy S6 duos gold 64gb review showed that in difficult situations, when it is not possible to connect the smartphone to a power outlet in the near future, you can switch to one of two power saving modes: standard or extreme. The first barely noticeably affects autonomy, and the second improves it by about 150%, but in this case the screen goes into black and white mode.

It takes 1 hour 35 minutes to fully charge from zero to a hundred. Thus, in 10 minutes you can charge the battery for 4 hours of operation. This saves in situations when it is time for you to leave the house and there is no time to wait. Charging time from a computer is an order of magnitude longer - about 5 hours. Supports wireless charging.

Interface

The review of the Samsung Galaxy S6 phone goes to an interface that is built on Android version 5.0 out of the box, but you can immediately update over the air to more recent versions. Everything is simple and convenient, which you can see in the screenshots below.

Samsung Galaxy S6 cameras

Samsung Galaxy S6 camera review is a pleasant surprise, because at the time of release, one of the best cameras was installed in the phone. The manufacturer managed to prove that the main thing is not the number of megapixels, because most of the competitors had 20 megapixel modules, but they are noticeably inferior in terms of image quality.

If you wish, you can use the advanced mode, where you can set your shooting parameters, but in most cases this is not necessary. With automatic settings, the optimal algorithm is selected depending on the current shooting conditions. A real find was night shooting, in which you can get pictures with decent quality and detail. Of course, there are noises, no manufacturer has yet managed to completely get rid of them on night shots, but their number is minimal.

Samsung Galaxy S6 review in Russian showed that with more simple conditions shooting you can get excellent pictures. If you shoot without HDR, then fine details will be hard to see in deep shadows. Activating this option improves detail and color saturation in shadows.

Video quality is also good. You can save the recording in FullHD format at 60 fps, QHD, in accordance with the display resolution, and UHD (3840x2160). The last two formats are limited in time - up to 5 minutes of shooting, which is done in order to save user memory.

The front camera has a resolution of 5 megapixels and shoots decently, especially if you remember the year of release. The module has a wide viewing angle, it can be used both for taking selfies and for video communication.

Conclusion

So we have completed the review of the Samsung Galaxy S6, which has grown a lot compared to its predecessor. Improvement on all fronts - design, ergonomics, display and of course stuffing, worked on everything except for the battery. Although it is enough for a day of average use.

Where could I buy?

Your assessment of the smartphone:

You must have already learned characteristics 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 specifications smartphone in its purest form, and 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 it objectively very interesting from the point of view of appearance device. 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.

Ease 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 moment 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 corners, in places smooth transitions on the body you can see the gap 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 the browser, we are used to the system automatically aligning 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. Every time you have to adjust the text to fit usable area display by additional manual scaling of the text with two fingers. Comfortable? Unlikely.

The above applies only to full versions sites. For clarity, in the left photo below you can evaluate how one of the popular resources on the topic looks like mobile devices 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. Comfortable? Yes. Need? 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 I have seen in mobile devices for Last 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 well, if you compare its display with that of 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 a smartphone, the most modern of the existing ones is used today. mobile processors from Samsung Exynos 7420 Octa. 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). A high resolution 2560 x 1440 in games is what the graphics do 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! She is truly the best in the world. this moment 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 found interesting story, before saving the image to the smartphone.

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 is 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 external battery included.

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 much 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"eja". 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. it important point, which 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 body 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).

We are delighted with the many improvements and optimizations that Samsung has added to software your gadgets. Today we will talk about a very important feature that allows you to optimize the performance of installed applications. The feature is available on the company's flagship devices, including the Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 Edge+, Galaxy Note 5, and even last year's Galaxy Note 4.

Updated 5.12.2015: According to our readers in the comments, some of them have this functionality on the Samsung Galaxy S5 and Samsung Galaxy Note 3. Most likely, this depends on the firmware version, so it is possible that these functions are available for other smartphones, such as the Galaxy A and J series.

We're talking about the built-in App Optimization feature, which monitors the power consumption of most installed apps on the phone. Optimization is performed automatically - if a certain application is not used for 3, 5 or 7 days, then it suspends its work in the background.

Some tech-savvy users may notice some similarities between Samsung's solution and Greenify, one of the most popular Android app optimization utilities.

So, how do you use TouchWiz's built-in app optimization features? Let's break it down step by step:

1. Open " Settings” and go to the menu “ Battery". By default, it should be available from the “ Quick Options”, but it's okay if it's not there - just scroll down the list and find the appropriate item.

   

2. In the “Application optimization” section, tap on the “ DETAILS”.

   

3. You enter the list of installed applications on the device. First of all, make sure the switch in the upper right corner is turned on, and under it are placed the programs that will be optimized.

   

4. Speaking of automatic optimization, we can easily choose its delay. Press the button Menu” in the upper right corner, then click on “ Select automatic optimization delay”; in the window that appears, you can choose to delay the start of optimization of unused applications.

   

5. If you don't want to optimize certain programs that you use on a daily basis, you can remove them from the list of optimized applications. From the same menu in the form of three dots, select “ Change". Put checkmarks in front desired programs, and tap on the button “ Change settings” at the top of the screen, and then select the corresponding item in the drop-down box.

   

6. You can also quickly change the settings for each of the applications in the list. To do this, tap on a specific application and select the desired option.

   

7. If any of the optimized applications uses an excessive amount of system resources, the user will receive a notification, by clicking on which you can get full information about it. You can easily stop it from working or remove it altogether.

That's all. It's a quick and easy way to optimize your Samsung Galaxy's battery life without any third-party utilities.