Samsung Galaxy S6

Samsung Galaxy S6, Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ are Androidsmartphones manufactured and marketed by Samsung Electronics. The S6 line serves as a successor to the Galaxy S5. The S6 and S6 Edge smartphones were officially unveiled in the first "Samsung Unpacked 2015" event at Mobile World Congress on 1 March 2015, while the bigger S6 Edge+ was officially unveiled together with the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 in the second "Samsung Unpacked 2015" event at New York on 13 August 2015. Alongside the S6, Samsung also unveiled the S6 Edge (and later on the bigger S6 Edge+), a variant whose screen is wrapped along the sides of the device; the curvature is usable for several additional features. The Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge were released on 10 April 2015 in 20 countries while the S6 Edge+ was released on 21 August 2015 in 20 countries. ^[5]

Although the overall design of the Galaxy S6 still features some similarities to prior models, the construction of the device itself was revamped, with a metal unibody frame and glass backing instead of plastic. The devices also introduced an improved camera, a streamlined user interface, support for both major wireless charging standards, and support for a mobile payments platform that allows the device to emulate the magnetic strip from a credit card. The S6 features other hardware improvements as well, including a 1440p display, a new in-house system-on-chip that utilizes a 14 nm FinFET manufacturing process, and an improved fingerprint scanner.

The Galaxy S6, S6 Edge and S6 Edge+ received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised the devices' upgraded build quality over prior models, along with improvements to their displays, performance, camera, and other changes. However, Samsung's decision to remove the ability to expand their storage or remove the battery was panned as being potentially alienating to power users, and the S6 Edge was also panned for not making enough use of its curved display to justify its increased cost over the standard Samsung Galaxy S6 which resulted into the release of the bigger S6 Edge+ later on

Development

Rumours surrounding the Galaxy S5's successor began to surface in January 2015, it was reported that Samsung would be using an in-house Exynos system-on-chip rather than the Qualcomm Snapdragon810 on the S6 due to concerns surrounding overheating.^[6][7] Later that month, Qualcomm affirmed in an earnings report that its products would not be included in "[a] large customer's flagship device".^[6] Fellow competitor LG Electronics disputed the allegations surrounding the 810; although demo units of the 810-equipped LG G Flex 2 at Consumer Electronics Show experienced signs of possible overheating, the company emphasized that they were pre-release models.^[6][7]

In early-February 2015, Bloomberg News reported that the S6 was to have a metal body, and was to be produced in a normal version, and a version with a screen curved along the left and right sides of the device, similarly to the Galaxy Note Edge.^[8] The S6's design was officially teased in a promotional webpage released by T-Mobile US on 22 February 2015, which showed a curved body and carried the tagline "Six Appeal".^[9]

Samsung officially unveiled the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge during the first Samsung Unpacked 2015 event at Mobile World Congress on 1 March 2015, for a release on 10 April 2015 in 20 countries.^[5] In an effort to improve its market share in Japan, the S6 and S6 Edge are marketed solely under the Galaxy brand, with references to Samsung downplayed from the device itself.^[10][11] The same efforts were done with the release of the Galaxy S6 Edge+ together with the Galaxy Note 5 during the second Samsung Unpacked 2015 event at New York on 13 August 2015.

The Galaxy S6 models are designed to address criticisms and feedback received from prior models, and target the majority of users; during its unveiling, Samsung stated that it had placed a particular focus on design, its camera, and wireless charging. As part of these goals, a number of features and capabilities seen on the Galaxy S5 were removed, such as its waterproofing and USB 3.0 port.^[12] The S6's new design approach is the culmination of a shift in practices that began with 2014's Galaxy Alpha, which was the first Galaxy smartphone to feature metal as part of its construction. A new reflective coating was designed in-house to give the devices' backings a "jewel-like" appearance.^[13][14]

The device's software was also simplified; a Samsung representative stated that 40% of the features inTouchWiz were removed or streamlined in comparison to the S5.^[5][14][15] Additionally, the Galaxy S6's battery is no longer user-replaceable; Samsung had been a major holdout from the trend against removable batteries, but argued that due to the S6's fast AC charging and its support of both major wireless charging standards, it no longer needs to provide the ability for users to remove and replace the battery