Review of the Samsung Galaxy S6

Samsung Galaxy S6 appears to be the brand's turning point. It continues the model numeration, but presents an entirely new body and designated features. This time, Samsung somehow disregarded competition's selling features. Samsung dropped waterproofing, diminished the microSD slot, replaceable battery, and the poor FM radio was axed as well as the speakers. In light of letting those go, we're introduced to a sleeker, shinier, and glossier body, made of metal and glass, as Samsung dabbles into the future with Galaxy S6.

Look, Design, Feel (9/10)

The new model comes with four color options – White Pearl, Gold Platinum, Black Sapphire, and Blue Topaz. Much thinner at 6.8mm thick and 138g heavy, Galaxy S6’s AMOLED 5.1” screen occupies the central front side. On top are the 5MP front camera, sensors, and the earpiece. Below the screen are the usual buttons and Home key which also serves as a fingerprint scanner. The left side of the phone has the volume controls, while the right side holds the power button, and SIM card tray. The busy bottom side has the 3.5mm phone jack, USB port, mic and speaker lined up. The top side has the IR blaster and a pinhole in case of extra microphone. The 16MP main camera, along with the flash and heart rate sensor, dominates the back side.

The grip is close to perfection. With its slimmer body and glass-metal combination, Galaxy S6’s handling proves more efficient with the new design.

Features (9/10)

Phones now function as camera, calculator, laptop, watch, radio, audio and video recorder, calendar, TV, and endless more. But the newest trend is the thriving feature of banking capabilities, and every leading phone brand hopped onto this mobile wallet wagon. Samsung Pay is Visa and Mastercard certified, and is constantly being updated for better payment convenience and wider merchant reach. Upcoming banks to affiliate include JP Morgan and American Express.

Messaging is equipped with security highlights including Reject Calls and Spam Filter.

Photo filing can be categorized based on people, time, location, among others, and can be moved to Private Mode.

Watching videos can be done simultaneously while exploring the phone as the video box floats.

The 16MP camera comes with equally advanced software. There’s no end to the presets the user can assign with the Pro Mode, which can be manually tinkered. Quality-wise, images produced are sharp and color rich. Low light or dark shot images appear high grade with good contrast.

Browsing comes with pre-installed apps that cannot be uninstalled, which users have now come to accept and ignore. There’s OneDrive with free 100GB, OneNote for impromptu ideas, Skype, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, among others. S Health is your personal health-checker. It uses the phone-inclusive hardware to get data on your heart rate, and calculate stress. The app also makes sense of your eating habits and can make recommendations of your dietary and sleep needs.

Other pre-installed apps are S Voice (voice command), S Planner, My Files, Peel Smart Remote (TV sync), The Voice (recorder).

Connectivity (9/10)

Samsung Galaxy S6 could satisfy every connectivity need of choice. Running on Samsung’s own Exynos 7420 chipset, this curvy beauty can accommodate LTE, 2G, 3G, 4G, dual-band WiFi, and Bluetooth. With IR blaster, it can communicate and control home appliances with proper setup. ANT+ and Samsung’s quick connectivity apps also allow wireless exchange with any sports sensor.

Samsung’s new offering is never complete without GPS, and not only GPS, GLONASS and Beidou (China) SatNav is present.

Performance (9/10)

Samsung Galaxy s6’s AMOLED screen is undoubtedly one of the best screens in the market. The rich saturation makes everything impressive and lively, although there is option to view it in a more realistic light (professional photo mode).

The non-replaceable battery clocks more than 19hours talk time, 12hours video usage, and 11hours web surfing. This phone would last you 3 solid days until battery drains.

As Samsung took out the expandable storage mircoSD, the news proved quite controversial, and users are quick to show their disappointment; that, on top of the non-replaceable battery. But surely Samsung has reasons for eliminating their best-selling features. And that is speed. It was obviously decided that fiercely quick performance trump extra storage and charging options, and they may be right. Never has mobile manoeuvring even been so swift, and users will definitely notice the difference. Fear not, cloud storage OneDrive is available and easily accessible, complimentary for Samsung Galaxy S6. Audio quality proved superb.

Value for Money (8/10)

It's no surprise that Samsung Galaxy S6's cost belongs to upper bracket of phone pricing. It's newly curved, beautiful and rad body shows no mercy in upping its glam factor. More vitally, it boasts lightning fast performance. Not to mention the overflowing apps and features included, S6's missing microSD and replaceable battery seem forgivable. Great photo quality from the 16MP main camera and 5MP selfie cam.

Still, if everything it offers matches your checklist, then Samsung's new offering is a perfect 10. But if you prefer the more conventional storage control and could survive without half the built-in apps, then the cost will not be worth every penny.

In light of moving forward, Samsung's attempt to divert its focus should be applauded. It expanded options and offered an alternate way to advancement via its own path.