The Samsung Galaxy S6
Is the great new smartphone from Samsung. We do a review for the technical specifications with which this terminal is equipped. You can also take a look at this first hands-on the S6 from Barcelona.
Price
[Updated 03/03/2015 10: 30] Official prices.
First of all, sit down, since perhaps you of a fit to read what I'm going to tell you then, and it is not anything other than the official prices, provided by Samsung:
- Samsung Galaxy S6 32 GB: 699 euros
- Samsung Galaxy S6 64 GB: 799 euros
- Samsung Galaxy S6 128 GB: 899 EUR
Design
To everyone's surprise the Galaxy S6 is not a unibody of metal, but only the inner body and the edge is this material, being the back of glass. This requires a change, first, its predecessor the S5, and then for all the rumors that placed it with completely metal body.
It is easy to see from the back which is which, the left being the Edge version, with more rounded corners, and, surprisingly, glass body. We can, once and for all, banish the Korean manufacturer plastic fame.
The speaker changes position, going to the bottom of the device, although it reminds a little of terminals of Apple design.
Being a unibody, the SIM happens to come into the side, in a hole that we have to open with the classic tool or needle. We can not remove the casing back, and therefore, not battery.
On the other hand, we can appreciate that the volume buttons are willing on the left side of the device, there is a separate button to raise the volume and the other to lower it.
The truth is that it is a terminal that is pleasing to the view, a wise move by Samsung. Also noteworthy is that it will be available in four different colors.
Software
The Samsung Galaxy S6 arises with Android Lollipop series, with the personalization of the manufacturer, TouchWiz layer.
Brings several additional applications, however, this interface is not as heavy and does not have much bloatware as before, making a much more fluid and fast phone terminal.
At the same time, the design and finish is soft and clean.
Camera
In terms of megapixels do not see improves on the S5, it continues with 16 MP. It comes equipped with optical image stabilizer. As a novelty, it is capable of shooting in RAW.
The software and the camera interface has been reviewed completely, and manual controls change. It greatly improves the speed of opening the sensor, shot and approach, can now take pictures much faster. In 0.7 seconds is the time taken from the press until you take the picture.
Battery
The battery is 2,550MAH, but with fast charging technology. Samsung says that with 10 minutes of charging, is capable of delivering up to 4 hours of use.
At the same time, the Galaxy S6 is equipped with wireless capacity, something that makes it extremely comfortable, since you are not tied to any cable anymore.
Technical specifications
| System | 5.0 Android Lollipop + TouchWiz |
|---|---|
| Screen | 5.1 inches, Super AMOLED, QHD (2560 x 1440 pixels) |
| Processor | Samsung 64-bit, 7420 Exynos, Quad 2. 1 GHz + Quad 1.5 GHz |
| RAM | 3 GB |
| Internal memory | 32/64/128 GB |
| Battery | 2,550 mAh + Wireless charging |
| Camera | 16 MP with OIS / 5 MP |
| Connectivity | 4.1 Bluetooth, A2DP, you, apt-X, ANT +, USB 2.0, NFC, IR Remote, wireless: 802.11 a/b/g/n/a |
| Dimensions | 142.1 x 70.1 x 7.0 mm |
| Weight | 132 grams |
| Price | 32 GB: 699 euros 64 GB: 799 euros 128 GB: 899 EUR |
Release date and price of the Galaxy S6
The smartphone will be available for purchase beginning April 10 in three different versions, of 32, 64, or 128 GB of internal memory.
What do you think? Would you like to see in the Samsung Galaxy S6?
The Apple Watch
There are three main varieties of Apple Watch: Apple Watch Sport (made from aluminium and Ion-X Glass, with a fluoroelastomer strap), Apple Watch Collection (stainless steel and sapphire crystal glass) and Apple Watch Edition (18-karat gold, with sapphire).
Each variety is available with a 38mm or 42mm case, and each can have its strap easily swapped for an alternative thanks to a neat quick-release mechanism. Is that an entirely new Apple Watch accessories industry we hear rolling round the hill?
From the front the Apple Watch looks like a small wrist-worn iPhone 6. It has the familiar rounded corners, the black screen border and the curved edges to the screen, while the case body is similarly rounded and tactile. On its right-hand side are a pair of buttons - the Digital Crown and a function button - and on its back are a pair of lenses lit by green LEDs which read your heart rate.
Put it on and it sits slightly proud from your wrist, but it feels as comfortable as any watch. Apple has been careful to keep it from looking bulky (it’s not as obtrusive as, say, the LG G Watch R or Moto 360) and even the larger version didn’t look out of place on a dainty female wrist. In fact, all versions look daintier in real life than in the promo images, and the 38mm models are particularly teeny.
Build quality is everything you’d expect from a high-end watch manufacturer. The details are perfectly etched, the materials feel great (cold and glossy in the Watch collection’s stainless steel, light and dusty in the Sport’s aluminium) and the straps are of a quality that would befit a £200+ watch. Both the front and rear are protected by high-quality glass - sapphire crystal on the Apple Watch collection and solid gold Edition models, and ‘Ion-X’ toughened glass on the Sport.
Buttons depress with a reassuring click, while the tiny Digital Crown strikes an impressive balance of smallness and accessibility. We’re going to use the phrase ‘knob feel’ here, so brace yourself: the Apple Watch’s knob feel is light, with very little resistance and no click. It’s a great piece of design, allowing you to move things on screen without covering them with your clumsy great prodfingers. It turns easily but accurately, so you can quickly navigate menus and land on your intended target.
The Watch is water-resistent - but only up to a point. Apple says that it is rated to the IPX7 standard and that it is "splash and water resistant but not waterproof". It continues that you can "wear and use Apple Watch during exercise, in the rain, and while washing your hands, but submerging Apple Watch is not recommended." It's also worth noting that, as you'd expect, the leather bands aren't water resistant at all.
Screen
Apple Watch hands on review
Apple Watch hands on review
The screen is bright and crisp, and looked at from the kind of glancing angles you’d expect to look at a watch screen from – edge-on while riding a bike or balancing in a crowded train – words and pictures remained nicely readable. Pixels are visible if you go looking for them, but resolution is on par with that of the best Android Wear devices.
While some of the watch faces look fantastic - and with 2 million possible combinations out of the box, you should find one you like - this watch will never be able to ape posh fashion watches in the same way as the Moto 360. Well, not circular posh fashion watches, anyway.
Taptic feedback
Apple Watch hands on review
Apple Watch hands on review
Rather than chirp at you, the Watch lets you know things are happening in phone-land by issuing nudges via its 'Taptic Engine'. Now, this could be easily written off as a cleverly marketed buzzer, but there's more to it than that.
We’re not exactly Haptic Feedback Review Monthly, but there is a difference between nuanced haptics and a flat buzz – Valve’s Steam Controller, for example, uses it to fool your hands into thinking you’re holding something with a different shape – and we think it’s an area that will become increasingly important as wearable tech becomes more popular.
The Taptic Engine haptics in the Apple Watch have just that sort of nuanced feel: you get the sense of a carefully directed and modulated vibration, which means different buzzes can convey different information. More on that in a moment.
We’re not exactly Haptic Feedback Review Monthly, but there is a difference between nuanced haptics and a flat buzz – Valve’s Steam Controller, for example, uses it to fool your hands into thinking you’re holding something with a different shape – and we think it’s an area that will become increasingly important as wearable tech becomes more popular.
The Taptic Engine haptics in the Apple Watch have just that sort of nuanced feel: you get the sense of a carefully directed and modulated vibration, which means different buzzes can convey different information. More on that in a moment.
Interface
Now back to those buttons. The way you interact with the Watch is both familiar and unlike any other device you’ll have used. Sometimes you pull the screen around with your finger and tap an icon or on-screen button (just as you would with a smartphone), sometimes you scroll through lists and options or zoom in and out using the Digital Crown and sometimes you press the screen a smidge harder.
That’s right - the Watch’s screen is pressure-sensitive, and pushing with meaning opens up new options just as a right mouse button click would.
One of the most-used functions on the Watch will be Glances, accessed by pulling up from the bottom of the screen. This gives you quick access to single screen, Google Now-style contextually useful cards full of data from apps such as Calendar, Activity, Weather and Passbook (for tickets).
In use, even with the beta software we were trying, the Watch is amazingly slick. Menus glide (we saw a little menu stutter when certain apps first loaded, but nothing significant) and transitions are near-instant.
The sheer variety of control methods is initially confusing - you’ll end up going back to the main menu or turning off the screen a few times - but after a few minutes it’s simple to navigate even complex menus. Other smart watches such as the Pebble are simpler, but it’s hard to see how Apple would make so much functionality navigable if it was too. Talking of which…
Functionality
Look, it's a viewfinder for your phone's camera
Nice activity-tracking graphics
Out of the box the Watch will include apps for your email, messaging, calendar, photos weather, Maps and more, all of which will let you do exactly what you’d expect. Anything that shows up as a notification on your iPhone will be visible and actionable from your Watch, too: it's like having an iPhone on your wrist.
More interesting are the Music app, which remotely controls your iPhone’s music or plays it back from 2GB of built-in storage, and the Remote Camera app which turns the tiny screen into a viewfinder, and more interesting still are the Watch’s fitness-tracking capabilities. The heart-rate monitor and built-in sensors allow it to map your activity and feed it into the Activity app, which allows you to set calorie targets and will nudge you if you are inactive for what it considers to be too long. The included Workout app lets you choose from a variety of common routines and goals, so you can easily tell it you want to go for a 5km jog and it’ll leap into action, timing you as you go and giving real-time feedback on your progress. We didn’t actually take it for a run, but the apps present information in a simple way, and the heart-rate sensor is impressively quick to kick in.
As with Android Wear, the Apple Watch gives you access to voice control, too. You can use Siri to conduct searches (“what time will I get this blasted hands-on finished?”), set reminders or dictate messages, and you can choose to send messages either as the recorded audio clip or translated into text.
In fact, there are numerous novel ways to message with the Apple Watch. Sure, you can pop over an emoticon or an animated hand-wave, but the Digital Touch app takes interaction to a new level: you can send a sketch you’ve made on your watch face, a selection of taps or even a rendering of your heart beat.
We felt Digital Touch in action and it’s not as frivolous as it sounds: you may not have thought you want to know what your my heartbeat feels like, but if it’s your child sending a message when you’re at work, or a friend dropping you a picture from a foreign country, you might think differently. The Taptic engine does a good job of conveying touches, feeling like a subtle, buzzing prod to the wrist; it’s a more personal, emotionally resonant method of interaction than you’ll find on other devices, and a novel use of the Watch’s form factor.
We did’t get to see the Apple Watch taking or making a phone call via its built-in speakerphone, and we also missed out on trying Apple Pay as it’s only available in the USA for now. Still, the UK version has the hardware to enable this contactless payment solution - that’s NFC, plus the ’Secure Element’ chip that locks away card details - so we hope it’ll be available later this year. Certainly, it’s one piece of functionality that marks the Apple Watch apart from its competitors, and could turn out to be the killer feature given the extra convenience it allows. No more awkward wallet fumbling ever again!
The question is whether Apple Watch is trying to do too much. If it were simpler, it wouldn't require the complex control mechanisms Apple's devised for it. We still don't know what the smartwatch's defining purpose is; it may be the Swiss army knife approach Apple's taking now, or it could be a more stripped-down approach akin to Pebble's. We'll only find out when we're actually living with it.
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