What is better s6 edge. Samsung Galaxy S6 vs Galaxy A5 (2017): comparison of smartphones of different classes. Software: Apps

Not so long ago, flagship smartphones from Samsung, namely the Galaxy S6 / S6 Edge, fell into my hands. No, I did not purchase these two flagships, they just gave my friend SGS6 Edge, and another friend SGS6. And so I wondered which version of S6 is better. After a few moments of using the device, I realized that you absolutely should not overpay for the curved screen that the Galaxy S6 Edge has. Read more in my author's review of Korean novelties.

Specifications

• Body material: aluminum, glass
• Color: black, green, blue, gold
• Operating system: Google Android 5.0
• Network: GSM 900/1800/1900, 3G, LTE, nano SIM card
• Processor: Samsung Exynos 7420, 8 cores
• Graphics accelerator: Mali-T760 MP8
• RAM: 3 GB
• Memory for data storage: without a slot for memory cards, depends on the version
• Screen: capacitive, multi-touch, Super AMOLED, diagonal 5.1 inches, resolution 1440x2560
• Main camera: 16 MP, LED flash, autofocus, optical stabilization
• Front camera: 5 MP
• Battery: 2550 mAh, non-removable, wireless charging
• Dimensions: 70.5x143.4x6.8mm
• Weight: 138g

Specifications, in general, are the same, so we will not get hung up on them.

Now let's take a closer look at the main functions of the flagships and compare them.

Equipment

The flagship smartphone from the Korean company Samsung comes with headphones, a power adapter (where USB is connected), a USB adapter itself, and documentation. Also in the photo above you can see a special stick for SIM cards.

Appearance: which of the flagships turned out more beautiful

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge undoubtedly looks beautiful and attractive, hands are drawn to this particular variation. A screen curved on both sides, pleasant colors and, of course, the metal case itself, covered with Gorilla Glass protective glass… do I need more words?

But there is one downside. Due to the curved screen, manufacturers had to make the side frames very thin, so when using this smartphone, they will constantly dig into the palm of your hand. Frankly, there were accidental clicks on the side displays, which interfered with the work with the smartphone. But the Galaxy S6 device isn't ugly either. If you do not look at the lack of a curved display, the model turned out to be quite nice.

Pleasant to the touch case, covered, like the Edge version, with protective glass Gorilla Glass 4. The rounded metal edging on the sides of the case successfully complements the design of the flagship. But this format also has its drawbacks. If you use the device for a long time, it will certainly heat up. Both the glass surface and the metal edging suffer here. The glass surface is very easily soiled, it is easy to smudge, and it will no longer look very attractive from the outside. But on a device with a snow-white color, this is almost imperceptible.

The build quality of the regular and curved versions is at a high level. As already published on Thresh, despite the lack of moisture protection, the smartphone was successfully able to. This speaks of a truly flagship build.

Screen

The screen of the Koreans turned out to be quite good (now we are talking about the S6), I would even say excellent. A 5.1-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 2560x1440 provides the best pixel density, 577 ppi, which is currently the highest among smartphones.

Thanks to advanced screen brightness settings (up to 700 cd/m2), you can use the device in any light conditions, whether it's a bright sunny day on the field or a dark night in the wilderness.
The Galaxy S6 Edge has the same specs but with a more flexible screen. Here, Samsung uses a similar technology to the LG G Flex. The company used an OLED display, the LEDs of which can be applied to any surface (flexible, transparent, solid).

In the version of the Galaxy S6 Edge, the Korean company uses flexible plastic, on which OLEDs were applied.
In addition to all of the above, both flagships have an anti-reflective coating.

Display curves

Finally, we will find out what is the meaning of the curved screen in the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. The smartphone has a far-fetched, but interesting feature. You are offered five colors that you can choose for certain contacts to separate them into categories (friends, enemies, from work, relatives, children).

As soon as your phone receives calls from certain contacts, the screen will shimmer with the specified color on both sides. In addition to this function, there are a couple of useful tools.

First, the night hours. You can set when and on which of the bends the time will be displayed. Secondly, the “information flow” function, that is, notifications and information of interest to you will be sent to the bends in the form of a tape.

Last but not least, thanks to the SuperAMOLED display (with its deep blacks), the borders of the screen will not glow light black, but only the notifications/clock itself. This is a significant plus for fans of style and fashion.

System

Samsung's flagships run on Google's latest OS, Android 5.0. Smartphones have a theme store that allows you to easily customize the look for yourself. But it is worth saying that the famous Samsung tachwiz has not gone away.

But the fact that the developers made it a little easier, saved us from unnecessary functions, pleases us. The design of many standard applications has changed, it's good that for the better. I note the presence of a fingerprint scanner, it works amazingly quickly and without errors. Among other things, the smartphone has a built-in Samsung Pay payment system, which, when you turn on superuser rights (ROOT).

From the minimum of pre-installed applications - Microsoft services (yes, you can't do without them): OneDrive (10 GB for free), OneNote and Skype. Of the interesting, there is also a Smart Manager utility that allows you to monitor battery performance and memory.
Of particular note is the camera app that launches instantly - a dream for a photographer who loves to capture fast-paced moments. But more on that below.

Camera: which smartphone does the best job

The Galaxy S6 features a 16MP main camera that captures breathtaking images. What's more, optical stabilization and flash (albeit LED) make Samsung's new flagship a good choice for photographers. In terms of camera, both versions are almost the same (at least I didn’t notice any differences). Both the S6 and S6 Edge perform this function at the highest level.

It is worth giving preference to the built-in camera application, which instantly takes pictures. And a large number of settings will help you make a real masterpiece of world art from a photo. Here, check out sample photos taken with the main camera of the flagships (click on the image to see the original):

Performance and autonomy

As for the performance category, the proprietary Samsung Exynos 7420 processor helped the device take first place in the AnTuTu benchmark (temporarily). The smartphone has received more than 69k points - an unprecedented record!

Unfortunately, due to the lack of constant access to the models, I could not test the battery autonomy with the Treshbox branded tester. Therefore, you have to believe only my words (and the screen above), and I, in turn, the words of the public. A vicious circle is obtained.

Communication and communications

In general, both smarts here are in the same niches, I personally did not notice any differences from the operation of networks. The speed of receiving and transmitting data via mobile Internet networks is almost unlimited, 4G LTE takes its toll.

In addition, the transfer between devices via Bluetooth is also on top, because both models use version 4.1, the most advanced. But for streaming a high-bitrate video file, this will still not be enough, so the smart has a Wi-Fi (ac) and Wi-Fi Direct wireless module installed. Thanks to the NFC chip, the new Korean flagships can be used as a regular credit card.

Conclusion: which one is better?

Summing up the use, I will say that having a version with curved edges is stylish, but expensive. On the other hand, it is quite interesting to use a smartphone with a rounded display.

But these are the first 10 days for sure, a maximum of a month. And then you get bored, it becomes indifferent: there are side screens, there are none ... Therefore, for long-term use, I advise practical and economical people to buy Galaxy S6. As you can see from the review, both flagships are absolutely no different: one system, one hardware, one camera, the same communication capabilities. Yes, and using the S6 is easier, because you will not be afraid that the smartphone is about to slip out like a piece of toilet soap.

But if you love style, try to follow all fashion trends and are not going to actively use such a smartphone, then take the Edge version, I am sure you will like it. I hope I did not write this review-comparison in vain. Thanks for attention!

Devices of the GALAXY S series almost all the time of their existence "left out" solely due to advanced technical characteristics, coupled with a moderate - by the standards of flagships - price. And finally, the time has come for a change: it seems that this year some manufacturers themselves will want to "circle" the GALAXY S6 Edge. But this device costs more than the rest.

Samsung GALAXY S6 Edge, official photo

In terms of hardware, everything has also changed dramatically over time with the GALAXY S5, although the policy remains the same: the new flagship has the best, the most advanced. The S6 and S6 Edge smartphones boast a Quad HD display, the latest Exynos 7420 platform, the most advanced LPDDR4 RAM, LTE Cat. 6 and 16-megapixel camera. In general, "full stuffing", all with the latest technology. Are the new flagships really that good? Let's try to answer this question after a detailed test.

⇡ Specifications

	SamsungGALAXY S5	SamsungGALAXY S6	SamsungGALAXY S6 Edge
Touch screen	5.1 inches, 1920 × 1080 pixels, AMOLED, 432 ppi;	5.1 inches, 2560 × 1440 dots, AMOLED 575.9 dpi; Capacitive, up to ten simultaneous touches	5.1 inches, side-curved, 2560 × 1440 pixels, AMOLED; 575.9 dpi; Capacitive, up to ten simultaneous touches
Safety glass	Corning Gorilla Glass 3		Corning Gorilla Glass 4 on both sides
Air gap	Not	Not	Not
Oleophobic coating	There is	There is	There is
Polarizing filter	There is	There is	There is
factory film	Not	Not	Not
CPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AC v3: four cores Qualcomm Krait-400 (ARMv7, 32-bit), frequency 2.46 GHz; process technology 28 nm HPm	Samsung Exynos 7420: process technology 14 nm	Samsung Exynos 7420: four cores ARM Cortex-A57 (ARMv8, 64 bit), frequency 2.1 GHz; four cores ARM Cortex-A53 (ARMv8, 64 bit), frequency 1.5 GHz; process technology 14 nm
Graphics controller	Qualcomm Adreno 330	Mali-T760 MP8	Mali-T760 MP8
RAM	2 GB LPDDR3	3 GB LPDDR4	3 GB LPDDR4
Flash memory	16 GB (~12 GB available to the user) MicroSD memory card slot	32/64/128 GB	32/64/128 GB (64 GB version on the test, ~ 53.7 GB available to the user); There is no slot for memory cards
Connectors	1 × Micro-USB 3.0 (MHL) 1 × 3.5mm headset jack 1 × Micro-SIM 1 x MicroSD	1 × Micro-USB 2.0 (MHL)	1 × Micro-USB 2.0 (MHL) 1 × 3.5mm headset jack 1 × Nano-SIM
cellular	2G/3G/4G One SIM card Micro-SIM format	2G/3G/4G	2G/3G/4G One Nano SIM card
Cellular 2G		GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz	GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
Cellular 3G	HSDPA (42.2/5.76 Mbps) 850/900/1900/2100 MHz		HSPA (42.2/5.76 Mbps) 850/900/1900/2100 MHz
Cellular 4G	LTE FDD band 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20 (2100/1900/1800/850/ 2600/900/800 MHz) LTE Cat. 3 (150/50 Mbps)		LTE FDD band 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 20 (2100/1900/1800/1700/850/ 2600/900/700/800) LTE Cat. 6 (300/50 Mbps)
WiFi		802.11a/b/g/n/ac, 2.4 and 5 GHz	802.11a/b/g/n/ac, 2.4 and 5 GHz
Bluetooth	4.0+A2DP	4.1+A2DP	4.1+A2DP
NFC	There is	There is	There is
IR port	There is	There is	There is
Navigation	GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou	GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou	GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou
Sensors		Ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, accelerometer/gyroscope, magnetometer (digital compass), barometer, fingerprint sensor, heart rate sensor	Ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, accelerometer/gyroscope, magnetometer (digital compass), barometer, fingerprint sensor, heart rate sensor
Main camera	16 MP (5312x2988), Samsung S5K2P2 1/2.6” back-illuminated CMOS sensor with ISOCELL technology, element size 1.12 μm; Autofocus, single LED flash	16 MP (5312 × 2988),	16 MP (5312 × 2988), Sony IMX240 BSI matrix 1/2.6'' back-illuminated, element size 1.2 μm; Optical stabilization system; Autofocus, single LED flash
Front-camera	2 MP (1920x1080), No autofocus, no flash		5 MP (2592 × 1944), No autofocus, no flash
Nutrition	Removable battery 10.78 Wh (2800 mAh, 3.85 V)	Non-removable battery 9.69 Wh (2550 mAh, 3.8 V)	Non-removable battery 9.88 Wh (2600 mAh, 3.8 V)
Size	142×73mm Case Thickness: 8.3mm	143×70.5mm Case Thickness: 6.8mm	142×70mm Case Thickness: 7mm
Weight	145 g	138 g	132 g
Hull protection	IP67	Not	Not
Operating system	Google Android 4.4.2 (KitKat)	Samsung's own TouchWiz skin	Google Android 5.0.2 (Lollipop) Samsung's own TouchWiz skin
Current price	29 990 rubles	49 990 rubles	56 990 rubles

The only major difference between the Samsung GALAXY S6 and S6 Edge is in the display and design: the first device has a fairly standard screen, while the second one has curved sides. The rest of the devices are very similar to each other, but are not completely identical. There is a slight difference in dimensions: the case thickness of the regular version is 6.8 millimeters, while that of the Edge is 7 millimeters. But the modification with a rounded display is slightly lighter - 132 versus 138 grams. Finally, different batteries are used: 9.69 Wh (2550 mAh, 3.8 V) for the regular version and 9.88 W h (2600 mAh, 3.8 V) for the Edge. The rest of the S6 and S6 Edge are identical in terms of technical stuffing.

⇡ Appearance and ergonomics

All Samsung devices are somehow similar to each other. They have similar body proportions, approximately the same corner radius, an oblong central key at the bottom of the front panel... in general, a Samsung smartphone has always been easy to recognize. The situation has not changed much: the appearance of the GALAXY S6 / S6 Edge has remained very characteristic - even if you see this couple for the first time, it will not be difficult for you to guess that you have Samsung in front of you.

Nevertheless, the GALAXY S6/S6 Edge are fundamentally different from their predecessors. So much so that, if we draw parallels, we can say: S6 and S6 Edge are not even “restyling”, this is a full-fledged new “body” for Samsung flagships. The company's designers and engineers have finally abandoned the use of plastic in favor of metal and glass. This is perhaps the key difference between the S6/S6 Edge and its predecessors. The front and back panels of the device are covered with protective glass Corning Gorilla Glass of a relatively new, fourth generation. For the first time, by the way, it was used in the Samsung GALAXY Note 4 phablet, the company's first mass-produced device with a curved screen. The glass quite reliably protects the gadget panels from scratches and other minor damage.

The GALAXY S6 Edge is available in four colors: Black Sapphire, Gold Platinum, White Pearl and an exclusive Green Emerald. Unfortunately, it is not yet possible to order a device in the corporate green color in Russia. A black sapphire gadget came to us for testing. In our opinion, this is a very successful color. The smartphone appears black, however, when it is exposed to light, a dark blue reflection appears. In general, the phrase "dark blue metallic" characterizes this color much better and more accurately than "black sapphire". It should be borne in mind that the “regular” GALAXY S6 has different body colors.

The Samsung GALAXY S6 Edge is a pleasure to hold in your hands. The gadget is quite convenient to control with one hand: you won't have to shift it and hold it with the second - it's good that Samsung decided not to increase the screen size in comparison with the GALAXY S5. Yes, the display here is 5.1-inch, which is not so much by modern standards. The device does not slip in the hands, although the panels are quite smooth. During operation, the palm somehow touches the “sidewall” of the screen, but the gadget absolutely does not react to these false pressings. They are probably blocked at the software level.

The layout of controls and connectors is quite standard - plus or minus the same as in previous Samsung devices. Getting used to a smartphone is very easy. In the upper part of the front panel there is a 5-megapixel front camera lens, a speaker mesh, a proximity sensor optocoupler and an LED indicator.

Samsung GALAXY S6 Edge - front, five-megapixel camera

At the bottom of the front panel is an oblong "Home" key with a metal edging, which has a built-in biometric sensor. Next to it are two standard touch buttons equipped with a switchable backlight - "Open Applications Menu" and "Back".

The body thickness here is by no means outstanding - seven millimeters (excluding the protruding rear camera lens). However, due to the tapering metal edging on the sides, a misleading impression is created that the smartphone is much thinner than stated.

The power button of the device is placed on the right end under the thumb, and the volume control buttons are on the left. The keys are metal, with a short and distinct stroke. The Nano-SIM SIM card tray is hidden at the top end, and next to it is an infrared port for controlling household appliances.

The slot of the external speaker is moved to the bottom end. Its placement is successful - in the process of operation it does not overlap with the hand. Next to it is a Micro-USB interface, combined with a video output (MHL), as well as a universal 3.5 mm jack for connecting a wired headset.

On the rear panel is the main lens, 16-megapixel camera along with LED flash, as well as a heart rate sensor. The panel is quite easily soiled - it quickly gets dirty and collects fingerprints very willingly. However, you can get rid of them with the help of any improvised rag. The body of the device is non-separable.

Samsung GALAXY S6 Edge - rear panel. Peeling off a barcode sticker is a whole task.

Photos in the interior

Contents of delivery

• Phone
• Charger with USB cable
• Wired stereo headset
• SIM card clip
• Instruction

Specifications

• Android 5.0.2 (5.1 early summer), latest generation TouchWiz shell
• 5.1 inches, SuperAMOLED screen, 577 ppi, 2560x1440 pixels, automatic brightness control
• Chipset Exynos 7420, 8 cores (4 cores A53, 4 cores A57), maximum clock frequency up to 2.1 GHz, 64 bit
• GPU MALI-T760
• 3 GB LPDDR4 RAM, no memory cards
• 32/64/128 GB of internal memory, UFS 2.0
• Front camera 5 megapixels, main camera 16 megapixels, OIS, True HDR, tracking autofocus, F 1.9, white balance detection by IR sensor, shooting mode Pro
• Samsung Pay payment system
• Wi-Fi: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz), HT80 MIMO(2x2) 620Mbps, Dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, Mobile hotspot, Bluetooth®: v4.1, A2DP, LE, apt-X, ANT+, USB 2.0, NFC, infrared for home appliances control
• LTE cat.6
• In-body wireless charging (WPC1.1(4.6W Output) & PMA 1.0(4.2W)
• Li-Ion 2550 mAh battery, extreme power saving mode, fast charge in one hour
• Dimensions - 143.4 x 70.5 x 6.8 mm, weight - 138 grams

Positioning

The flagship of 2015 was created with two goals - traditionally to compete with the current iPhone model, in our case, the iPhone 6, and also partially rehabilitate the Galaxy line after the rather sluggish sales of the Galaxy S5, which many perceived as a step aside. Samsung focused on water protection in S5, the presence of the IP67 standard, but it turned out that these functions are not very important for consumers, they rather pay attention to the image component. And it is traditionally lower for Samsung phones than for the iPhone. As a result, Galaxy S5 sales were good, but far from the company's internal plans. Suffice it to say that the Galaxy S5 was the best-selling Android flagship of all phones, but it fell short of the iPhone's sales.

In 2015, Samsung is betting on metal, glass and the highest specs possible. That is, the bet on high-quality case materials, even if the continuity with the previous generation of Galaxy, which was considered an unsuccessful experiment, is violated. It is curious how many people claim that the lack of protection against water has now suddenly turned into a disadvantage. I highly doubt that this is the case, although the function looks interesting for any model.

The bet is made on design, workmanship of the body and direct competition with the iPhone. Numerous claims that this device is an exact copy of the iPhone are not entirely true. It is made in the style of the iPhone, but is not an exact copy. When you look at it, you see the same Galaxy line, there are no special differences.

Those who want to see the iPhone in this device will see it anyway, there is no point in convincing them. In life, phones are very different, they look like different models. It is impossible to confuse the iPhone and Galaxy S6 in real life, not a single person made a mistake in determining which phone is in which hand, even from a distance of several meters. Another indicator will be the lack of legal claims from Apple, although the indicator is indirect, since the last time the similarity of the models was also very far-fetched.

The flagship from Samsung will be of interest to both ordinary users who want to get a modern smartphone with the highest camera quality, a good and large screen, and a one-day battery life. Also, this model will suit those who can be called technology enthusiasts, as it implements the latest developments, which will last at least a couple of years. Although there was not without a fly in the ointment, which we will talk about in this review.

The Galaxy S6 is a key device for the entire market in 2015/2016, as it was for previous Galaxy models. Global sales of the S6 (together with the S6 EDGE variant) can be expected to outperform the S5 in a comparable time frame. Interest in this model is much higher. Let's take a look at the strengths and weaknesses of this solution together.

Design, dimensions, controls

The phone turned out to be compact for such a screen diagonal, its dimensions are 143.4x70.5x6.8 mm, weight is 138 grams (for comparison, S6 EDGE is 142.1x70.1x7 mm, 132 grams). Fits well in the hand, does not slip.

Compared to Apple iPhone 6 Plus

Compared to Samsung Galaxy Note 4

Compared to Samsung Galaxy S5

The side frame and back wall are made of metal, special attention was paid to strength characteristics, it cannot be bent even with great effort. This was especially emphasized at the presentation. Since Samsung decided that the model should indulge the consumer with variety, they presented it in many colors. To achieve this, the back wall is painted over and covered with Corning Gorilla Glass 4. Exactly the same piece of glass covers the front surface. In order not to create confusion, Samsung calls the glass the fourth generation, but in fact, it is different from what other manufacturers get (less scratches, more resistance to falls, which is important with such a screen). You can call this piece of glass Gorilla Glass 4+, although such a name would be very conditional.

Each color due to the glass looks like a metallic, they play well in the sun. Just like on Sony devices, handprints remain on the glass, it is easily soiled, but not excessively. In bright light, the marks are almost invisible, but in the room they become noticeable.

In life, the devices play in the light, while indoors they look dull.

Other colors will appear, but this is a matter of the near future. Accessories for the Galaxy S6/S6 EDGE also turned out to be quite bright, the case color theme is played up.

In the S6 EDGE, you can feel the cut of the case due to the beveled screen, there is nothing like that in the regular S6, it lies in the hand very well. The metal frame has recesses on the side edges, which also adds convenience.

The tray for the nanoSIM card is located on the right side surface, right there is the on/off button. The volume keys are on the left. At the top end there is an infrared port for controlling household appliances and a microphone, another microphone is located at the bottom end. There is also a microUSB connector (USB 2.0), 3.5 mm for a headset or headphones, a speaker output.

On the back surface, in addition to the flash, there is a heart rate sensor, it also performs a number of other functions, more about this in the section on S Health. There is a physical button on the front panel, it has a fingerprint sensor (you can unlock the device by placing your finger, you don't need to swipe it). There are also two touch keys, everything is familiar to other devices from Samsung. Above the screen is a proximity sensor, as well as a 5 megapixel front camera.

Display

Screen with a diagonal of 5.1 inches, SuperAMOLED, 577 ppi, 2560x1440 pixels, automatic brightness control. This is one of the best screens from Samsung, it traditionally has a customization of colors - from bright and sometimes acidic to muted. Here everyone will choose their own option, but the main thing is that, according to reviews of professionals testing screens in various devices, AMOLED matrices in previous models have already become very accurate in color reproduction and behavior in the sun. In this device, the screen quality has also improved and the brightness of the backlight has been improved (in the sun, everything is readable with a bang).

Communication options

If you can imagine that the device has all the possible technologies, then this is the case of S6/S6 EDGE. Just to list them all: Wi-Fi: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz), HT80 MIMO(2x2) 620Mbps, Dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, Mobile hotspot, Bluetooth®: v4.1 , A2DP, LE, apt-X, ANT+, USB 2.0, NFC, infrared for home appliances control.

Memory, RAM, performance

The device has 3 GB of RAM (LDPPR4), which has a maximum bandwidth of 3.2 GB / s (64 bits). Built-in memory may vary - 32, 64 and 128 GB. The memory type is UFS 2.0, which also provides maximum write and read speeds, this is actually an SSD array. In terms of speed, the memory subsystem is such that no device has comparable characteristics yet.

The Exynos 7420 chipset belongs to the latest generation, made at 14 nm. Technically, this is an 8-core solution, 4 Cortex-A53 cores, 4 - Cortex A57. The graphics core is Mali T-760, but its version has been updated compared to Note 4 (more frequency, etc.). It is also the fastest processor in existence, which together with the memory makes this machine very fast. In life, it just flies, there are no brakes at all (Android 5 also contributes to this). During my communication with the phone, there were no slowdowns or crashes of applications.

And here is what the results look like in synthetic tests. These are the best values ​​possible for devices of this kind. With performance in synthetic tests, everything is more or less clear, see the values ​​​​below.

It is more interesting how the device behaves in 3D tests, that is, how predisposed it is to graphics, because the MALI graphics processor has always been inferior to similar solutions from Qualcomm, and even more so from NVidia. The increased frequency, eight cores - all this should in theory contribute to performance, but on the other hand there is an increased screen resolution.

There are other tests, we will give their values ​​here.

But it was interesting to see how, for example, Epic Citadel is going. In the initial test on an almost clean device, the result was about 60 frames per second.

But then, when I tried to repeat it, it turned out that the program gives out 50 frames at best, after heating it is 30 frames at all. This is one of the biggest weaknesses of the Galaxy S6 in terms of performance - 3D graphics and how repeatable you get.

Having looked at the 3D toys, I can say that the spread of results in Dead Trigger 2, NOVA3, Asphalt 8, Real Racing 3 is from 30 to 60 frames per second. In some games, the level is kept at 60 almost constantly, in some it is closer to 30. But this is with the maximum settings for textures, resolution, and so on. Even taking this into account, you as a user will not see any problems in the game, since stuttering at 30 frames per second simply does not exist. And this is the lowest value.

For those who want to approach performance in a straightforward and stupid way, I recommend comparing the gaming component in GTA, as this game is not optimized for MALI graphics, loads not the best textures and is guaranteed to have graphics display problems. In my opinion, this is a flaw in the game and the lack of optimization for a specific platform, but as an example of "flaws" it will do. Today, the question in 3D games is simple - for which platform they are optimized and how well. The same solutions from NVidia tear everyone in terms of 3D performance and graphics rendering quality, but they are not popular. Apparently, not everyone needs it.

Battery

The built-in battery has a capacity of 2550 mAh (2600 mAh in S6 EDGE), the operating time is about a full day under load. This is about 3 and a half hours of screen operation (auto-brightness, twisted to the maximum), data transfer to 4G. The video device plays for about 10.5 hours.

Of the pleasant things, I note that fast battery charging is supported - it takes one hour. If you use a conventional 2A charger, the battery charge time will be 2 hours. The phone has built-in wireless charging that supports several formats, that is, you can buy both a branded device and any other. I had a charger from Lumia (DT-601, Qi standard) at hand, it charges the device perfectly.

Expecting this model to last as long as the Note 4 was not worth it. But the result turned out to be slightly higher than that of the iPhone 6 with the same load (number of calls, transferred data). The difference is almost imperceptible, we can say that these devices live the same time. Again, for most people, this will be a full-time job.

Many people have a misunderstanding of how changing the chipset and process, speeding up memory, getting a different screen with a higher resolution may not lead to an increase in power consumption. The logic is simple - all new technologies consume more energy. But the logic is vicious and far from reality, just new technologies allow you to get less power consumption, which Samsung consistently shows on its Galaxy line, and the same Note has long become the benchmark in terms of operating time.

Camera

A separate detailed and large material is devoted to the description of the camera and all its capabilities.

Software Features - Android 5.x and TouchWiz

Samsung has begun to simplify the TouchWiz shell, and in Android 5 this is clearly visible. So far, this is not pure Android, but a lot of unnecessary rubbish has been removed, useful and not so useful functions have been added, the system began to look simple and understandable. I will try to describe the changes sequentially.

So, in the drop-down curtain, everything is different from Android 5 - Samsung retained one row of shortcuts, but the list scrolls horizontally, and you can also select the icons that are shown here. I like the way it's done in pure Android, it's enough to pull it again, and the full list opens, I think it's more convenient.

Some icons have additional functionality, for example, the Wi-Fi icon now displays part of the Wi-Fi network name. This is a trifle, but quite convenient, which I found very interesting.

Traditionally, there is an S Finder in the drop-down curtain, in which you can search for content both on the network and in the phone's memory. The search can be limited to categories. This is a convenient search client for the device. Nearby is a utility for connecting to other devices, everything is also familiar in it.

How do notifications open on the lock screen? When clicked, they redirect you to the respective application. If a screen lock is set, for example, to a fingerprint, then you receive a warning that you need to press the center key - touch, and the phone opens the desired item again. Everything has become much clearer and simpler than it used to be. If you do not need a notification, then you can simply swipe it to the side.

Of the minuses in the menu, I note for myself this - I have about 6 screens with icons, before you could click on the square of a particular screen in the line below. Now when you click the transition goes only to the next screen. Uncomfortable.

Dialer and Contacts. By dialing a number, you can quickly call a contact, it is enough to correctly enter the first digits or letters of the name, surname. Matches will appear in the list. The call log has a filter by call type.

Just like on previous models, you can swipe left or right on a name to send a message or make a call, this setting can be turned off, but many liked it. In favorites, in addition to the selected contacts, there is also a list of numbers that you often use. When making a call, information related to the contact, recent SMS, mail, calendar events are displayed.

In the list of contacts, you can scroll through the names by letters of the alphabet (Russian comes first, then Latin).

The changes are purely visual, the UI has become simpler and lighter, but the functionality has been retained at the level of the previous version of TouchWiz. This seems wrong to many, but it is only a matter of taste and habit.

Messages. Some people are frustrated by the exceptionally lop-eared man that is on the menu for rooms without a user-installed icon. It has been preserved as before, although its size has greatly decreased. You can choose the design of the windows, their style, set your wallpaper. You can also get rid of this little man by choosing a different theme or your own screensavers. There are scheduled messages.

The set of features is typical, and it will be enough for ordinary users. I have no complaints about working with messages on this device.

Of the unusual functions, I note shortcuts for quickly inserting text - they work in all menus. That is, when the T9 function is activated, by typing the letter assigned to the shortcut, you will see in the list of tips not only the words, but also the recorded template. So far, this only works for the English language, but the thing is very useful and convenient.

Gallery. Sorting photos works by time, place, event or category (here the phone itself determines what is in the picture - food, landscape, portrait, and so on). There is also access to Picasa from the menu.

Calculator. In a horizontal position, scientific, in a vertical position, normal.

Clock. Alarm clock, world clock, stopwatch and timer. Familiar sections, but outwardly they are redesigned and look more interesting.

Notes. Plain text notes that are synchronized with the cloud and transferred from phone to phone.

My files. A regular file manager that also supports Google Drive. Convenient and simple, there are all possible operations with files.

Voice recorder. In addition to the usual voice recording, you can turn on the Interview mode (for the first time it was in Note 4), then the microphones at the ends work in turn, the recording quality is good. There is also a voice note mode, when the text entered by voice is immediately recognized.

Peel Smart Remote. A program for controlling household appliances using an infrared port. Automatically determines your location, shows a list of channels and programs, can work with any technique. On other devices it is not so interesting, since they do not have an infrared port.

S Planner. The calendar has been made visually lighter and simpler. There are birthday reminders, synchronization with any network calendars, a separate task list. I like how this application is arranged, there is nothing superfluous in it and everything is clear.

S Health (ver. 4). Completely revamped S Health app with motivational rewards (walk more, do more, etc.). The sensor on the back of the phone is used to measure heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, stress levels and emotions. Now you can enter a food diary, there is a database of products and their calories. In every sense, this application has become richer, and it is not necessary to use all the options. You can also keep track of workouts here, plus there is a virtual trainer who can help train.

S Voice. The engine from Nuance is used, as well as on previous models. The speech synthesizer is very clumsy, as if from the past, command recognition is stupid and completely loses to Google Now. It’s definitely not worth using this voice control, although it has a wide functionality. It's not very pleasant.

smart manager. A new utility that combines several programs from different companies, but in one interface. So, there is Clean Master, which is able to remove application caches, various garbage. The utility for working with the battery shows how much it can stretch, you can switch between modes. In the Security section, it is possible to install KNOX, plus there is an antivirus from McAfee. There is also a utility to clean up the RAM, which is more a tribute to the needs of users and their desires than an urgent need for Android - this is more of a harmful utility than a useful one.

Microsoft Applications. The folder contains three pre-installed applications - OneDrive, OneNote and Skype. These are applications that Microsoft pays for pre-installation, there are no differences or integration into the system. It is worth demolishing them immediately, in any case, the first two deserve it. The user is given 100 GB of free space in the cloud from Microsoft for two years.

mail. A regular email client that supports multiple accounts, HTML-layout. There is nothing unusual here, as well as advantages over the GMail client. Outwardly, they became very similar.

Settings. A set of settings familiar to Galaxy S, I will not list everything, I will give the main screens, of which everything is clear and so.

Free apps with S6/S6 EDGE

Samsung is used to giving flagship customers subscriptions to paid services or applications, sometimes this is quite a tangible savings. I will try to list the main gifts, they may differ from country to country and may not be available everywhere:

• The Economist - 6 month subscription;
• Audible, audiobooks, 3-month subscription, one book free every month;
• NY Times - news, 12 week subscription;
• Pocket
• Parallels Access - 6 month subscription, access up to 5 computers;
• PayPal - discount on various products;
• Evernote is a premium subscription;
• Flex keyboard;
• Entrenador - personal trainer;
• Magisto Video Editor - three months subscription to the service;
• Keepy - note-taking service, 6-month subscription;
• Shazam - version without restrictions and without ads;
• Hancom Office 2014 - unlimited license;
• Kindle - 12 month subscription, you can get one book per month;
• Deezer - 6 month music subscription
• Kick is an application for football fans, match results.

Additional accessories for Galaxy S6/S6 EDGE

For several years, Samsung has been creating the widest range of accessories for its flagships. Starting from the 6th, the set comes with headphones of a new design, which are built by analogy with the Level In, provide good sound and are noticeably better than the previous model.

In terms of cooperation with well-known brands, I would like to note cases from Burton, protective cases with crystals from Swarovski, leather covers from Montblanc, women's handbags from Rebecca Minkoff, cases painted by Britto. It is almost impossible to find these accessories in wide sale, their cost is very high.

Now let's look at the standard set of accessories, they are completely the same for the two models, only the article and color schemes differ. Wireless charging is available in two colors - white and dark gray. I recommend taking a dark color, since the rubber insert at the top gets dirty very quickly on white, which prevents the phone from slipping. More practical dark color.

QI 1.1 standard is supported (backward compatible with 1.0), charging speed is about 4-5 hours, which is typical for such devices. The cost of the charger in Russia will be 3,490 rubles. The fast charger included in the kit costs 2,000 rubles if you buy it separately, so you should not lose it. The same price for a car charger that supports Quick Charge technology.

An ordinary transparent bumper covering the back of the phone will cost 2,590 rubles.

But the opaque cover can be of almost any color, it is of good quality, but it also needs to be matched to the color of the phone so that they match. Its price is 2290 rubles.

The book cover is also available in different colors, the price is 2,990 rubles, this kind of covers make the device very thick.

The S View Cover with a window has become very popular. Different fabric or leather, a huge number of colors - all together create an alternative. You can activate the camera, turn on the dialing of favorite numbers, listen to music, open the quick shortcuts panel - the latter was not available before. In the video I show how this case works, it's worth a look. But the price bites - 4,490 rubles.

You can also choose a mirrored flip case in different colors, it has an NFC tag, so Chinese craftsmen will not do anything like that. When closed, you can answer calls, dismiss messages and reminders. There is no need to open the device.

You can see how all these accessories work in our video.

Impression

Samsung S6 was pleasantly surprised by the volume of the Samsung S6 speaker, despite the fact that there is only one speaker at the end - it is very clear and loud, the device is well audible in different conditions. The video showed the differences with the S5, they are visible to the naked eye. We can say that in terms of sound this is one of the loudest and most pleasant devices of the company. The vibrating alert is average in strength, there are no achievements here.

The quality of communication with the phone does not cause any complaints in any form. I tried to find differences from my Note 4, I could not find them. The quality of work in LTE is also flawless, I noticed that the phone clings to Wi-Fi networks better than Note 4. Subjectively, it seemed that it was a little better in general in terms of communication quality.

I love how the one-touch fingerprint works, you can watch this feature in the video.

The speed of launching the camera from any menu is less than a second. Just press the Home button twice. And it's convenient. The camera is excellent and comparable to Note 4, which I consider (and not only me) the best device on the market in this parameter.

One could go on listing how the S6 differs from most devices on the market - the fastest processor, the best camera, the display, which has already been recognized as outstanding. But this is all poetry, because we need to dwell on a few negative points that may repel the purchase of this device.

The obvious thing is the lack of memory cards. I'm so used to having the ability to put in a memory card that I feel uncomfortable without it. The amount of memory of 32 GB seems to me clearly insufficient for the full use of the device - listening to music, watching videos, taking pictures. This is a limitation that is annoying and came with the iPhone. I really hope that the "brilliant" idea to do this will not visit the company's engineers in the Note line.

Now about another point - the device warming up, which is often felt when working in heavy applications (three-dimensional toys) or transferring large amounts of data (Wi-Fi or LTE / 3G does not play a role). The case near the camera is heated, as well as the metal frame. It becomes quite hot, but you can keep the device warm, it does not burn. This moment upset me a little, and not at all because of the heat as such, after all, all fast devices heat up. Rather, here we come to another issue - replacing the battery. After about a year and after 350-400 charge cycles, the battery capacity will drop by at least 20 percent. If in other devices of the Galaxy line you could replace it yourself, then you will have to contact the service center or read the instructions on how to disassemble the phone, look for a replacement battery and pervert in such ways. In the same iPhone, this is a standard story that its owners have learned. The fact that the Galaxy S6 abandoned the collapsible case is understandable, but this does not add joy.

I managed to drop the Galaxy S6 a couple of times, it did not bring any problems - but this is not an indicator either. I am sure that Gorilla Glass 4 will not have any problems, as, however, this can be seen with Note 4. As part of the VIP program, the first replacement of a screen that you break will cost up to 3,000 rubles. No manufacturer provides such conditions, and this is a significant advantage, as well as confidence in the quality of the product (the cost of replacing the screen on the iPhone 6 is approximately equal to half of its cost).

For many, there will be a choice between the Galaxy S6 and iPhone 6, the arguments for both devices were given in a short video. But I can say that these are devices of a different class - the iPhone is fashionable and empty in terms of functionality and capabilities, the Galaxy S6 is the best in its class.

The Galaxy S6 will cost 49,990 rubles in Russia (in Europe the price will be at the same level as for the Galaxy S5 - 650 euros). Many will consider the choice between S6 and S6 EDGE, the second device will cost about 55,000 rubles. Start of sales - in mid-April.

I like both S6 and S6 EDGE. Although from the image point of view, the second one is more interesting, but the first one is more practical. Functionally, there is no difference between them.

By and large, the Galaxy S6 turned out to be very pleasant in appearance, functional, which is what you expect from a Galaxy device, but it also does not have memory cards, which many will consider a minus. Comparing this model with similar devices in the same price category, we can say that they are much inferior in all respects. It is a device without any compromises, the best in almost everything. Of the subjective things, personal rejection of the design and / or Samsung may intervene. But these matters are so subtle that there is no point in discussing them. From a market perspective, the Galaxy S6 sets a very high bar for both performance and everyday usability. The ergonomics of this device is simply excellent.

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 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.

	Samsung Galaxy S5 (SM-G900F)	Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge (SM-G925F)
CPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon 801, 2.5 GHz (4 cores)	Exynos 7 Octa 7420, 2.1 and 1.5 GHz, 64-bit (8 cores: 4 Cortex-A57 and 4 Cortex-A53)
video accelerator	Adreno 330	Mali-T760 MP8
RAM	2 GB LPDDR3	3 GB LPDDR4-3104
Built-in memory	16 GB	32 / 64 / 128 GB
Memory card support	Yes (micro SD up to 128 GB)	Not
Display	Super AMOLED 5.1 '', 1920 × 1080 pixels (432 ppi)	Super AMOLED 5,1'', 2560×1440 dots (577 ppi)
Main camera	16 MP	16 MP
Front-camera	2 MP	5 MP
Battery	2800 mAh	2550 mAh
OS	Android 4.4.2 (5.0 Lollipop available)	Android 5.0.2
cellular	2G, 3G, 4G	2G, 3G, 4G LTE-A Cat 6 (FDD LTE: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 26,
Wireless interfaces	Wi-Fi (a/b/g/n/ac), Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, USB 3.0 (OTG), infrared port	Wi-Fi (a/b/g/n/ac), Bluetooth 4.1 , NFC, USB 2.0 (OTG), infrared port
Connectors	GPS / GLONASS / Beidou	GPS / GLONASS / Beidou
Sensors		Accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, barometer, light sensor, fingerprint scanner, heart rate monitor
SIM Form Factor	Micro	Nano
Water and dust protection	Yes (IP67 standard)	Not

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 you can’t keep it on the edge in this position (false clicks on the curved edges of the display will work), then it’s 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.

	Length	Width	Thickness	Weight
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge		71,7
Samsung Galaxy S5		72,5
Apple iPhone 6	138,1
HTC One M9	144,6	69,7	9,61
Sony Xperia Z3	146,5

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. Necessary? 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! Really! 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 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 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 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 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.

Output

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).

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, the Galaxy S smartphone 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 high for pressing with the 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 help but install a Quad HD ultra-high resolution screen (2560 by 1440 pixels, 5.1 inches diagonal, 557 ppi pixel density, Super AMOLED) in the latest flagship. 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 has 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.

The Galaxy S6 is also arguably the best mobile camera available today, taking prettier (clearer and brighter) photos and videos than the iPhone 6 in many situations. 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 large retail chains and mobile operators, the Galaxy S6 is sold at 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-breaking performance in the Android ecosystem today
• 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