Advertisement

Here's your first look at Samsung's new phones: the Galaxy S 6 and Galaxy S 6 Edge

samsung galaxy s 6 edge
samsung galaxy s 6 edge

Business Insider The Samsung Galaxy S 6 Edge has a curved screen. Samsung is starting from scratch.

Over the past four years, the company's flagship Galaxy S phones have sported the best displays and most powerful chips in the industry, but all of that was wrapped in cheap-feeling plastic casings. Meanwhile, Apple, HTC, and Xiaomi have been pumping out gorgeous phones made out of premium materials.

That will change in April when Samsung launches the Galaxy S 6, its new flagship phone announced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. The Galaxy S 6 is made entirely of metal and glass and will come in two variations: the standard Galaxy S 6 and the Galaxy S 6 Edge, which has a curved screen.

Samsung started designing the Galaxy S 6 from the ground up about a year ago under a program it called Project Zero. Whereas recent Galaxy models were designed with the previous model in mind, the Galaxy S 6 is entirely new. Samsung even abandoned some of its earlier principles to highlight the design of the Galaxy S 6. It's not waterproof. You can't swap out the battery. And there's no slot to insert extra memory.

Samsung Galaxy S 6
Samsung Galaxy S 6

Business Insider

Both models do all the same stuff, except the Galaxy S 6 edge has a few extras. It lets you swipe over from the curved portion of the screen to view a list of your favorite contacts and get alerts when you have a missed call or text from one of them. Other than that, Samsung says the curved screen doesn't serve any function other than to look good. (It will also be more expensive, but Samsung has not said how much either phone will cost.)

GalaxyS6EdgeNotificationsOfficial.JPG
GalaxyS6EdgeNotificationsOfficial.JPG

Lisa Eadicicco The Galaxy S 6 Edge lets you peek at missed calls from your favorite contacts. The Galaxy S 6 will come in a variety of shimmery colors — white, black, gold, blue, and dark green. Samsung used a special process to make the glass shift colors when viewed at different angles, and an aluminum frame around the edge holds it all together.

GalaxyS6EdgeOfficialColors
GalaxyS6EdgeOfficialColors

Lisa Eadicicco/ Business Insider The Galaxy S 6 will come in a variety of colors. Besides the physical design, Samsung has cleaned up its software too. The phone isn't bogged down with a bunch of unnecessary features and extras. The new version of Samsung's TouchWiz skin for Android is cleaner and easier to navigate. All the basic apps like email, calendar, and music have a new look. Plus, the phone will ship with some of Microsoft's Android apps like OneNote, OneDrive, and Skype.

On the hardware side, Samsung improved the phone's 16-megapixel camera with optical image stabilization and some software features like one that lets you track a moving subject and remain focused on it. The phone also includes a special plug that helps it charge faster than normal, up to 50% in 25 minutes. Samsung also included wireless charging for the first time. It works with standard wireless chargers, or you can buy Samsung's charger, which looks kind of cool:

GalaxyS6ChargingOfficial
GalaxyS6ChargingOfficial

Lisa Eadicicco The Galaxy S 6 will work with standard wireless chargers. Samsung also improved the fingerprint sensor embedded in the home button. Last year's model required you to swipe your finger across the button just right to unlock the device. The Galaxy S 6's sensor is more like the Touch ID sensor on the iPhone, which means you can place your finger on the button in any orientation and it will register. In our tests the Galaxy S 6 fingerprint sensor worked just as well as the one on the iPhone.

The new fingerprint sensor also enables Samsung's new mobile payments platform Samsung Pay, which will launch this summer. Visa and MasterCard have already signed up as partners, and Samsung says it is in discussions with credit cards and banks like Bank of America and American Express to bring them on board in time for launch.

GalaxyS6OfficialHomeButton.JPG
GalaxyS6OfficialHomeButton.JPG

Lisa Eadicicco Samsung Pay will have one key advantage over Apple Pay: It will work with regular magnetic credit-card readers, which in theory means it will be compatible with far more retailers' payment terminals. Apple Pay works only if the retailer has a special near-field-communication payment pad. (Samsung Pay will also support NFC.)

The magnetic card reader technology is powered by LoopPay, a startup Samsung bought a few weeks ago. Samsung Pay, however, is for making purchases only in physical stores — you can't use it to make purchases online or through shopping apps as you can with Apple Pay.

Now comes the hard part. Samsung has been struggling to compete at the high end of the smartphone market as new companies emerged that make phones that are just as good but that cost half as much. So far, Samsung phones haven't been able to differentiate themselves enough to justify their extra cost. The hope this time seems to be that a premium design will do the trick.

The Galaxy S 6 and Galaxy S 6 Edge go on sale on April 10 on all the major carriers. The phone will come in 32 GB, 64 GB, or 128 GB options for storage. Pricing will vary by carrier.

NOW WATCH: Why Samsung's most gorgeous Galaxy phones yet will leave you with mixed feelings



More From Business Insider