The Samsung Galaxy S6 is unique, it is powered by Samsung Exynos 2.1GHz octa core processor that’s pretty powerful, comes with a Quad HD sAMOLED screen and an excellent 16MP camera that shoots great quality pictures/videos.
Galaxy S6 versus S6 Edge
Not much of a difference between the two. The S6 Edge comes with dual Edge (curved) screen and with extra features related to the edge screen, almost all the specifications are the same (except for some minor changes).
Galaxy S6 Unboxing
Inside the box you will find the S6 handset, user guide, warranty card, premium earphone with earphone plug caps, SIM tray ejector pin, data cable and fast charging adapter.
Wireless charger Unboxing
The box pack contains Qi standard wireless charging pad and user guide. Plug the phone charger into the micro USB port on the Wireless charger and place the S6 handset on the charging pad (check video review). Blue LED will light up indicating the handset is charging and it will turn green when fully charged, if the handset is not removed from the wireless charging pad after the handset is fully charged the LED will shut off and charging will stop.
Design
The Galaxy S6 is a perfect blend of metal and glass. S6 is using a strong aluminium frame that not only looks great but also provides additional strength. The rear side comes with light reflective 2.5D Corning Glass 4 protection – it’s with a glossy finish and reflects dazzling spectrum of colours from certain angles.
Build quality and finishing is excellent. S6 weight with non-removable battery is 138 grams and dimensions are 70.66 x 143.28 x 6.77 (mm) – slim, lightweight and sturdy. S6 is almost flat on the front (the dedicated navigation button are slightly out). The handset back is also flat except for the camera module that is a bit out. The metal sides are curvy.
Volume rocker is placed on the left and power button with single SIM tray is placed on the right. There is IR on the top side and audio jack (3.5mm), micro USB port and speaker out vents are placed at the bottom. There are dual mics for noise cancellation.
The handset is a bit slippery – cause of the glossy finish, glass on rear and metal frame. This is a single SIM (Nano SIM) handset with 4G LTE support.
There is LED notification and following sensors – accelerometer, light, gyro, proximity, magnetic, hall and barometer.
Display and OS
Galaxy S6 sports a 5.1 inch screen (Super AMOLED) with Quad HD – 2560 x 1440 pixels resolution. Viewing angles, touch response and colour reproduction are just great.
64 bit Android Lollipop 5.0.2 is running out of the box with Touch Wiz UI.
Memory and Storage
The S6 is loaded with 3GB RAM and optional 32GB/64GB/128GB storage. The one I used for the review is with 32GB storage. You will get about 23GB free space for apps and around 1.2GB free RAM on the first boot. There is no micro SD card slot, however OTG is supported.
Performance
It’s powerful! Using the world’s first 14nm Samsung Exynos 7420 octa core processor (2.1 GHz Cortex-A57 quad core + 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 quad core) coupled with Mali T760 GPU. Performance is amazingly fast and lag free. Handset does heat up and it feels much hotter on the sides than on the rear probably because of the metal. You might feel it hotter outside but the internal temperature status are pretty much within limits.
Benchmark
| App | Result |
| Quadrant | 37492 |
| Antutu (64 bit) | 65829 |
| Vellamo | Metal (2433) Multi core (2349) Browser (4837) |
| Nenamark 2 | 59.5 fps |
| Multi Touch | 10 point |
Gaming
I played Asphalt 8, looking at the benchmark score you might have already guessed about the gaming performance. Yes it is very smooth at the highest visual quality level. You can play many high end games and there is plenty of storage space.
Camera
The next best thing about the Samsung Galaxy S6 is the camera. There is a 16MP AF camera on the rear with LED flash support and a 5MP camera on the front with wide selfie support.
The camera is with a 1.9 aperture lens, focusing is fast and low light shots turn out really great. You can shoot 4K videos for up to 5 minutes. The camera app is loaded with many cool features including auto HDR, AF tracking (track subject and auto focus it even when it is moving), pro mode (manual control), virtual shot and Slow / fast motion videos.
When shooting slow motion videos the sound is also recorded and speed is reduced to sync with the slow motion video. Check the slow motion videos I shot using the S6, at the end of the review.
You can shoot wide selfies using front camera. Check the sample images and videos at the end of this article.
When the screen is off and phone in standby mode, double press the dedicated button to switch on the screen with the camera app loaded instantly.
Others
This smartphones supports 4G, 3G, 2G, Wi-Fi, NFC with touch & pay ( I am not sure if that works in India), GPS and IR. Speaker sound and in call sound are loud and clear.
There is heart rate sensor and 360 degree touch type finger print scanner (dedicated navigation button doubles up as finger print scanner). For finger print recognition, just place your finger on the dedicated button and lift it up, recognition is very fast and accurate. You can use the S-Health app to monitor your physical activities.
Battery
There is 2550 mAh built in battery with wireless and fast charge support. Battery backup is decent about 3 to 5 hours of continuous usage (moderate to heavy).
| Task | Time | Battery drop (%) (max temp) |
| Running Benchmark apps | 16 minutes | 6% (36) |
| 4K video playback with Wi-Fi on + full brightness | 36 minutes | 12% (34) |
| Asphalt 8 Game Play | 22 minutes | 10% (38) |
| Wall Charge | 1 hour 29 minutes | 10% to 100% |
| Wireless Charge | 2 hours 45 minutes | 6% to 100% |
Verdict
The Galaxy S6 is a premium handset with a tough built quality and loaded with host of high end features. It’s single SIM with 4G support, powerful performance, excellent camera, unique features and decent battery backup.
S6 is a premium handset worth the price.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (decimal limitations in the Rating box below).
Samsung Galaxy S6 (32GB) is available for Rs. 44,399.
Image Gallery
Samsung Qi wireless charger
S6 Rear camera sample
S6 Front camera sample
Samsung Galaxy S6 video review