I had to do a double take when I saw the New Galaxy S6 Edge and realised it was not an iPhone 6. It was definitely worth a closer look to investigate if the iPhone 6 has finally got a contender to bounce off.
First stop was the guys at Tech Crunch who always offer a comprehensive and hands on review . The most obvious change is the look and feel. Gone has the plastic body and screen with a nicely machined full metal jacket and shatter proof glass as a replacement.
The iPhone 6 is very similar and, it could be said, has inspired the design with almost identical weight, size and overall look and feel in the Galaxy S6. You can still recognize the Samsung styling, the Edge has the curved screen first seen in the Galaxy S4, and you get that groovy little “no cable” charger.
In fact, new models including the Edge have no wires inside the body at all. For the less tech aware of us, this means less work for the components. That means less of a power draw, improving battery life.
The design makes the Galaxy S6 more desirable overall with improved quality and finish. This new level of quality will definitely appeal to the customer that may be considering the iPhone 6.
Die hard Samsung Galaxy fans may be a little unsettled as the Galaxy S6 Edge has an unreachable battery, and the SD card slot has also gone.
The loss of the plastic and the improved engineering lift the Galaxy S6 and Edge models out of the mix and and sits them alongside its heavyweight competitor the iPhone 6. The software is not particularly enhanced but the improved screen, internal tech, and overall feel make the device feel intuitively better.
The split screen function allows for two apps to run simultaneously, and you can also shrink apps to the size you want and leave them open in the corner of the screen, like a dial pad or calculator which is kinda neat.
The layout of settings and accessibility to the Android apps is much improved although, again, it definitely has a similar feel and functionality to the iPhone’s operating system.
The Galaxy range are not exactly the poor relative of the iPhone and have a decent segment of the market, however they have never been techno chic. They have been the work horses of the business world and a lower cost, high-function option.
These two upgrades might just give Samsung a new entry point into the market that has been the domain of Apple and the iPhone range of handsets.
[Image Credit/Samsung]