<div>Samsung Electronics has had one of the most difficult years in its history since it went into the mobile business. Its profits from the mobile business have plummeted a staggering 64 per cent year on year. Yet, a confident-looking J.K. Shin, head of the mobile division, announced the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge, Samsung’s new flagships for 2015.</div><div> </div><div>Assisted by a couple of colleagues, he showcased the two power packed smartphones that the company hopes will reverse the slide seen over 2014. The presentation itself, at the annual Unpacked event held just before the Mobile World Congress kicked off at Barcelona, thankfully didn’t go over the top with theatrics as has happened previously. Instead, it sought to dazzle on the strength of the new products. There was still very much an Apple preoccupation and an aggressive insistence that Samsung designed with a purpose, but it was all to the point – these phones are the most powerful in the world today.</div><div> </div><div><strong>Don’t Complain About Design</strong></div><div>In the past, people have detested Samsung’s use of plastic, faux leather and other design tricks that fell short of making the phone truly desirable in looks. Recently, they began shedding the plastic and bringing in metal, such as on the Galaxy Alpha and the Note 4. But with the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, they’ve actually used Gorilla Glass 4 on both sides of the phone. Thought to be very tough and durable, the casing also looks premium now. The S6 Edge particularly looks amazing because both sides have a spill-over screen similar to that seen on the Note Edge. The phones come in various “shimmering” colours and have been described as “sophisticated” by those who have their hands on the devices. There are many cases and accessories already designed for the S6 phones, including a special one that covers the entire screen in front but shows notifications etc.</div><div> </div><div>The ghost of the iPhone is, however, still present in Samsung’s new smartphones.</div><div> </div><div><strong>Double-Edged Dynamo</strong></div><div>The edged screens flowing over the sides of the second S6 do have a purpose. They improve the grip, according to Samsung, they make for a much more immersive viewing experience, and they can be customized for context. A feature showed how the edges would be made to glow a specified colour when a favourite contact was calling. Anyone who had the phone face down or covered would still be able to tell from a distance who was calling from the colour leaking out of the sides. The design includes many other clever touches and features such as being able to touch the heart rate sensor to trigger off a set message to a contact who was calling, when it wasn’t possible to take the call. Favourite contacts are also on the lock screen for quicker than ever access.</div><div> </div><div>Samsung apparently had to use 800 degrees Celcius to heat the glass and curve it for the S6 Edge, and the company is proud of its world-first – a truly curved screen with functions assigned to the curves.</div><div> </div><div><strong>Maxing Out On Hardware</strong></div><div>Screens have always been Samsung’s forte and the S6s have 5.1-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED displays with a staggering pixel density of 577ppi. As vivid as ever, the screens are sharper than the human eye can really differentiate. There’s better daylight visibility now. To power it is Samsung’s own 64-bit octacore Exynos 7420 processor with 3GB of RAM. There are a few changes to things that Samsung users have come to expect though. The 2550 mAh battery is no longer removeable and Samsung says this is because they’re now confident that it won’t need to be removed. There’s fast and wireless charging support. A mere 10 minutes of charging can give 4 hours of talking, if one needs it. There’s also no slot for a micro-SD card. But 32, 64 and 128GB storage variants will be available. It is uncertain whether this will be the case in India.</div><div> </div><div><strong>F1.9 Lenses On Both Sides</strong></div><div>Both front and rear cameras have f1.9 lenses and are 16 and 5 megapixels. There’s optical image stabilization and live HDR, which is another world first. The cameras are said to work very well in low light and have modes for both casual and professional photographers. They’ve also made the camera faster, with object tracking auto focus and have assigned the phone’s home button to trigger the camera even from a locked screen when pressed twice quickly.</div><div> </div><div><strong>Many Software Tweaks</strong></div><div>Users have often complained about Samsung’s heavy interface but they claim to have removed all lag and stutter, streamlined performance, and even colour coded apps on top of Android Lollipop. Only on long-term usage will one really be able to assess whether the toning down and lightening of Touchwiz has really made a difference to the experience of using the Galaxy flagships. Meanwhile Samsung is touting the security features of the S6 phones and making a specific mention of them being easy for use in the enterprise where IT managers can easily configure to suit their systems. Security is also said to be tightly built in. "All you have to do is turn it on," said Samsung executives.</div><div> </div><div><strong>A Payment System Like Apple’s</strong></div><div>Samsung’s answer to Apple’s “Apple Pay” is of course, Samsung Pay. This mobile wallet feature will work with NFC, magnetic strip and fingerprints to enable paying for products and services with supporting vendors. The process of using is said to be easy and secure.</div><div> </div><div>Another year, another flagship – two, actually. But Samsung no longer has that one rival, Apple, to deal with. A host of Chinese companies, including the rapidly growing Xiaomi, are to be contended with if Samsung is to retain any of its dominance in the smartphone market.</div>
BW Reporters
Mala Bhargava has been writing on technology well before the advent of internet in Indians and before CDs made their way into computers. Mala writes on technology, social media, startups and fitness. A trained psychologist, she claims that her understanding of psychology helps her understand the human side of technology.
