Samsung Galaxy S6 Vs S6 Edge: A Detailed Comparison

Display

The stand out difference and biggest talking point about the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge is visual: Galaxy S6 - 5.1-inch has a flat panel, 2560 x 1440 pixels, Super AMOLED display while the Galaxy S6 Edge flaunts a 5.1-inch curved panel, 2560 x 1440 pixels, Super AMOLED display.
It also means the handset is the first to have no bezel on either side and this makes it slightly thinner than the Galaxy S6 as well. Aside from the curves, both the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge have identical main screens and, as expected, they step up to native 2k panels from the 1080p resolution.

Design

Firstly the risk of damage to the backs (despite the use of Corning GLW +0.94%'s Gorilla Glass 4) which rarely occurred with the removable plastic backs of previous Galaxy phones. Secondly, the backs are no longer removable which means the end of the Galaxy S line's long history of swappable batteries and micro SD expansion slots. Thirdly Samsung has also confirmed neither the Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge will be waterproof.

Battery Life

• Galaxy S6 - 2550 mAh
• Galaxy S6 Edge - 2600 mAh

On paper loyal Samsung fans will be in for a shock: both new models have smaller capacity batteries than their predecessor, the Galaxy S5 (2800 mAh). The good news is Samsung boasts that the move to its own Exynos 7420 chipset (more below) is 35% more efficient as is its heavily optimised new version of TouchWiz. Of some compensation is quick charging (up to 4 hours use from a 10 minute charge) and built-in wireless charging which is compliant with both Qi and PMW

Performance

Both the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge share the same Samsung Exynos chipset, breaking from Qualcomm QCOM +0.2% as its primary supplier for the first time since the Galaxy S2. Android apps these days are primarily coded around Qualcomm compatibility it has led to a number of major apps failing to work without patches. Samsung assures this will not be a problem.

• Exynos 7420 - CPU: quad-core 21.GHz and 1.5GHz CPUs; GPU: Mali-T760

Storage

Both devices is supported by a meaty 3GB RAM and 32/64/128GB as internal storage options. Elsewhere the logical step to 3GB of RAM is welcome while increased internal storage options may passify those saddened by the loss of the micro SD slot, but don't count on it.

Operating System

Credit to Samsung: having addressed build quality concerns, it has also focused on cutting out ongoing problem: the bloat and inefficiency of TouchWiz. Samsung's new pay service, aptly titled ‘Samsung Pay' will get the main nods, but only time will tell if it can match up to Apple Pay or Google's own impending revamp of Wallet. Samsung claims it will work with NFC compatible registers, plus Magnetic Secure Transmission technology. Just S Voice and S Health will be installed by default alongside Facebook, WhatsApp, Skype and Microsoft One Note and OneDrive.

Camera

Samsung has noticeably stepped up its game with both the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge sporting the same new sensor. Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge flaunts Sony 16 megapixel sensor, F1.9, optical image stabilization, LED flash, 4K video. Front facing 5MP camera, 1080p video.

Price And Availabity

Given that so much is even with the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge I expect the overwhelming response would be that the slicker design of the S6 Edge would see it win out in users affections. Unfortunately that is unlikely to bear out in sales due to one major factor: price.

Samsung Galaxy S6: 32GB (Rs. 48,333), 64GB (Rs. 55,248), 128GB (Rs. 62,163)
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge: 32GB (Rs. 58706), 64GB (Rs. 65,620), 128GB (Rs. 72,535)