NEW YORK: Samsung has renovated Galaxy S6 smartphone in two major areas: design and picture quality.
Samsung improves its camera technology in last fall’s Galaxy Note 4, and the camera is even better in the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge announced Sunday. More importantly, the new phones have a more stylish design.
The phones will start selling in April, at prices not yet determined.
DESIGN
For years, Samsung phones have had removable backs made of plastic that allowed for battery replacement, but made the phones look cheap. The main S6 model feels boxy. More recent iPhones have smoother, curved edges. The S6 Edge curves on the left and right sides to create side displays, so it feels better.
CAMERA
The Note 4 camera was excellent for producing images rich in colour. However, the colours sometimes felt unnatural, especially with indoor shots. The S6 phones seek to fix that by using their infrared sensors (normally used for heart rate tracking) to better detect and adjust for specific lighting conditions. This sounds promising.
The S6 phones also sport better focus, borrowing technology from Samsung’s stand-alone NX1 camera. You already can focus on a person by touching that part of the screen. But if the person walks away, the focus is off. With the new technology, the focal point moves with the person. One handy feature: Double tap the home button anytime to open the camera app quickly, so you don’t miss shots.
BATTERY
You can no longer replace the battery with a spare, but there’s fast-changing technology to get you from zero to 50 percent in a half-hour. With wireless charging, you can place the phone on a special mat to charge it. No cords needed. This will be handy when coffee shops and restaurants start making these mats available.
SIDE DISPLAYS
The S6 Edge model has curved sides, similar to last fall’s Note Edge phone. The S6 Edge improves on the Note by having the display curve over both the left and right sides. The Note Edge’s side display was on the right only, making some features awkward for lefties.
With the S6 Edge, you can assign colours to important contacts such as red for your spouse. With the phone face down, the side will flash red when a call from your spouse comes in. You can decide without rudely lifting the phone whether you really need to take that call.
