Skip to footer

Samsung Galaxy S6 cuts controversial features, embracing new vision

At the Mobile World Congress, Samsung finally revealed the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, the latter of which has a curved screen. 

|
Samsung
Promotional shot of the Galaxy S6 Edge, which was unveiled at the 2015 Mobile World Congress.
  • By Tess Danielson Staff Writer

After months of speculation that inspired its own parody site, Samsung finally put all the rumors to rest and unveiled the Galaxy S6, or to be more specific, its two versions of the Galaxy S6.

At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, the year’s largest cellphone exhibition, the South Korean tech company showed off the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. While both versions are quite similar, the curved screen of the Galaxy S6 Edge stole the show. 

The flagship smart phone features a screen that curves over the left and right side of the device – much like the Note Edge, except the screen curves on both sides. The edges display different widgets, such as contacts, news alerts, and an alarm clock, freeing up space on the main screen.

Outside of the sleeker looking design, both S6 models are pretty much the same. Both phones continue Samsung’s trend of offering one of the most pixel-dense screens on the market. The 5.1-inch display features quad-HD resolution and a density of 577 pixel’s per inch, giving the screen a sharper image than the Galaxy S5 and Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus.

The latest Galaxy smart phones, set to debut in 20 countries in April, will feature a 16-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front camera and will be compatible with a smaller version of Samsung’s virtual reality headset, Gear VR.

Though both versions of the Galaxy S6 models are similar, the smart phones highlight some major shifts in Samsung design.

The much-criticized plastic casing, which made the phone feel cheap, has been replaced with a metal one and now feature a glass screen made of Corning’s Gorilla Glass 4. Samsung claims the new Galaxy can withstand the occasional drop and is 50 percent stronger than other high-end phones. 

The smart phones also do away with cords and allow for wireless charging and will operate using Samsung’s 64-bit Exynos octa core.

The S6 models will additionally feature the S5’s fingerprint scanner, which will allow users to operate Samsung’s newly purchased mobile payment system LoopPay, which it bought last month as a competitor to Apple Pay.

While many will appreciate the updates, to achieve the thinner design and heavier feel, Samsung had to ditch some old features.

The phone is no longer waterproof and for those who preferred to change out sim cards or carry extra batteries, the case is no longer detachable. This also means the Galaxy S6 will have limited storage and be available with 32, 64, or 128GB of internal storage.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Samsung Galaxy S6 cuts controversial features, embracing new vision
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/2015/0302/Samsung-Galaxy-S6-cuts-controversial-features-embracing-new-vision
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe