The future of Samsung’s mobile business was on the line tonight in Barcelona and at a media packed event the Korean Company laid down the gauntlet to Apple, with an all new Galaxy S6 which they claim is the best in the world.
They said that theS6 battery life is better than the new iPhone 6 and so is the new S6 camera.
And in another dig at Apple a Samsung executive said that their metal casing is superior and that “it does not bend like some competitors”.
The said that the S6 can charge faster and that the new Galaxy even takes better pictures faster than the iPhone 6 and in a no holds barred presentation they presented both images and video taken with both cameras to prove their point.
With Samsung’s mobile future on the line a lot was is at stake with the new Galaxy offering which comes in two models, The Edge and the straight up 6 model.
The Samsung Unpacked was a vintage Samsung bash, showmanship, masterful presentations and a smartphone that is set to take on the all new HTC M9 and the new Apple iPhone 6.
The stakes are high for Samsung, which saw its previous flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S5, fall flat with consumers. In the one year since that launch, the smartphone market has become more challenging for the South Korean tech giant.
One the high end, Apple’s enlarged iPhones drove record sales and challenged Samsung’s dominance of premium large-screen smartphones. On the low end, Chinese and Indian players released a raft of sleek handsets priced at a fraction of comparable Samsung smartphones.
To reverse the damage, Samsung has tonight released a new device that directly rebuts many of the criticisms that dogged its predecessor. In contrast to the mostly plastic Galaxy S5, the S6 will come encased in a slim frame made of reinforced glass and aircraft-grade aluminum.
“I am the next Galaxy” was the theme and as an audience of thousands sat spellbound the new features were rolled out.
Firstly there are two new models with a curved screen on both sides for the new Edge.
What’s changed on the inside is a simplification of the layout. Icons are out text titles are in. Navigation is simpler and the S6 has a big new battery that for the first time is built in.
What’s clear is that Samsung has pushed the envelope in terms of what Samsung has done with its new Galaxy which combines metal and glass, eschewing almost entirely the standard plastic setup that the Samsung Galaxy of the past.
A metal frame runs throughout, sandwiched between two panes of durable Gorilla Glass 4, which has also been treated on the inside with a special reflective material coating, giving them a top shelf jewelled metal look.
Though in the samples that I played with the all new metal backs easily marked which is a problem that HTC had with their M8 metal back One.
The new Samsung Edge has a screen that curves away on either side of the front display screen with Samsung claiming that they are the only Company who can deliver a duel curved Smartphone glass today.
There is also a subtler, matching curve on the back surface, too. The effect is both visually stunning and pleasant to hold.
The device which weighs in at 137 grams is significantly lighter than 158 gram HTC one M9.
Samsung has also boasted about their impressive specs, that includes a slimmer and lighter design, than the struggling Galaxy S5.
The raw details for the Galaxy S6 are:
5.1-inch 2560?1440 Super AMOLED display with 577 ppi
Exynos Octacore processor, 3GB LPDDR4 RAM
32/64/128GB UFS 2.0 internal storage
Android 5.0
F/1.9 16MP rear camera with optical image stabilization and live HDR
F/1.9 5MP front camera with live HDR
Category 6 LTE with 300 Mbps down/50 Mbps up max theoretical speeds
Wi-Fi 802.11 AC with HT80 MIMO, Bluetooth LE, NFC, IR blaster
2,550mAh (GS6) and 2,600mAh (GS6 edge) batteries
While the new HTC M9 has a 20.7 megapixel camera the Samsung S6 only has a 16.7 megapixel camera though it does have a F1.9 lens Vs a F1.8 in the M9.
The f/1.9 aperture on the front and back cameras should translate to improved low-light function on each claims Samsung.
The auto HDR and image stabilization options also help contribute to the goal of making it much easier for device owners to snap great pics.
Samsung has also added a feature whereby double pressing the home button launches the camera instantly, in what it claims is just 0.7 seconds, no matter where you happen to be or from device lock. A subject lock borrowed from the NX-1 dedicated Samsung camera lets you continually autofocus on a specific subject, too.
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Prior to the mega launch a disclaimer appeared on screen claiming that specs could change and that images shown at the event are for have been adjusted for demonstration purposes only.
