Samsung unpacks Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge

GS6_1
Samsung’s taken the wrapper off the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Samsung Galaxy S5 Edge.
“This is an exciting day. No more internet rumours.”
That’s how Samsung’s JK Shin opened the reveal of the new Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge smartphones, the two premium handsets that’ll presumably see Samsung through until they launch the Note 5 and/or Note 5 edge.

Galaxy S6 may be significantly less blurry in real life.
Galaxy S6 may be significantly less blurry in real life.

As widely tipped, Samsung’s dropped its plastic styling for a metal finish across its two new phones, the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. They’re both phones with 5.1 inch Super AMOLED Quad HD, 577ppi displays, 16 Megapixel rear cameras, 3GB of RAM and Octa core processors, along with Gorilla Glass 4 screens. It’ll handle rapid charging — according to Samsung 10 minutes charging will handle up to four hours of actual usage — as well as wireless WPC/PMA charging.

Meanwhile, not being satisfied with a single edge on the Note 4 Edge, the Samsung S6 Edge has an edged display on both sides of the phone. Like the Note 4 Edge, one side gives you get an information display that shows off the same kinds of apps, while the secondary side allows quick contacts access at the moment, along with glowing specific colours when a contact is calling you. Samsung will apparently roll out additional features further down the track.
Samsung also announced Samsung Pay, an initiative that, as per Samsung, will allow you to use your Samsung phone “anywhere that accepts credit cards, debit cards or NFC.”
Again, it’ll be interesting to see adoption in Australia, with Samsung at this stage only talking up Korean and US rollouts.
There will also be a new “Innovator” edition version of the Gear VR headset that will work with both new S6 models.
In joining the all-metal race, Samsung’s had to make a few compromises. Gone is the rear plastic shell that made the battery accessible. Equally gone is any trace of microSD card expansion. That’s an annoying loss, given that several other metal body Android handsets have been able to manage including a MicroSD card tray into their build. They’ll come in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB variants, although it’s not a given we’ll see all those sizes in Australia. It also appears that it’s lost its waterproofing in the transition from the 5S, which is a big loss.
No word as yet as to local availability, but I’m hoping to get some hands-on time with both phones shortly. Stay tuned.
Update: Samsung Australia’s issued the following statement from Prasad Gokhale, Vice President – IT & Mobile- Samsung Electronics Australia:
“I’m very excited to confirm that the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge will be arriving in Australia shortly. The new devices integrate some of Samsung’s newest cutting edge technology to help make the lives of Australians more efficient every day. I look forward to sharing more information closer to the launch date.”
Alex Kidman travelled to Barcelona as a guest of HTC

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