Introduction

Do we have a good one for you today – the new Samsung Galaxy S6 does battle against its sibling, the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge.  Both devices are equally spec’d except for a few minor details and $100 separates the price, with the Galaxy S6 Edge coming in a little more expensive.

Both smartphones are new from the ground up, yet are unmistakably Samsung Galaxy S series devices.  Gone is all of the plastic, as well as the removable battery and memory expansion slot – a little upsetting to some users – but Samsung had a good reason for the changes.  The only thing that bothers me is why neither device is waterproof like the Xperia series from Sony…no removable battery, no external slot…should equate to waterproofing.

The new Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge have a full metal inside, made from aircraft grade aluminum with Gorilla glass 4 on the front and the back with the metal frame holding it all together.  It is well built, sturdy and premium looking from any angle and add to that the curved display on the Galaxy S6 Edge and you have one nice looking device that will turn heads and have people asking you what kind of smartphone are you using.  I will go into the specification detail under the Samsung Galaxy S6 and then under the Galaxy S6 Edge I will only note the few differences.

Please take a deliberate look at the detailed Specifications Comparison chart below and here you will see just how these two great devices stack up against one another – click on the “View Full Comparison” link at the end of the chart to expand the details.  After that, we will look at each individual device in greater detail and point out some of its pros and cons.  From all of this information, we will try to determine the winner based on specs and execution of design and functions.

Samsung Galaxy S6

The Samsung Galaxy S6 is a device that Samsung desperately needed after last year’s less than stellar release and subsequent sale of the Galaxy S5.  Samsung’s revenues and profits went down several quarters in a row and they lost valuable sales domination around the globe – something Samsung was certainly not used to experiencing.  From all the new materials to the new specifications and to the sum of all its parts, the new Galaxy S6 appears to be receiving a warm reception.

The 5.1-inch display is Samsung’s own Super AMOLED with a Quad HD (QHD) resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels and 577 pixels-per-inch (PPI).  When it comes to processing power, Samsung made another bold move and put aside the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor to use their 64-bit Exynos 7420 octa-core with four cores clocked at 1.5GHz and four cores clocked at 2.1GHz and a Mali-T760 GPU.  Samsung put in 3GB of their new DDR4 RAM that is much faster than the DDR3 RAM currently being used by other manufacturers.  Another bold move was to use their new UFS 2.0 Flash memory that is so fast that Samsung had to do away with allowing a microSD card that is so much slower it would have created problems and slowed down the device.  The Galaxy S6 can be purchased in 32GB, 64GB or 128GB configurations, with each level adding about $100 to the price tag.

The new camera should give you great shots – some are claiming better than the iPhone.  The Galaxy S6 uses a Sony 16MP sensor for the main camera and adds to that autofocus, LED flash, OIS, a large, f/1.9 aperture, ISOCELL technology and Live HDR giving you the ability to take great low-light pictures.  The speed has been increased to less than a second to have the camera ready to take a picture.  The front-facing camera (FFC) is a full 5MP with the same large f/1.9 aperture, Live HDR and a 120-degree wide angle lens for group selfies or video chats, even in low-light conditions.

The Galaxy S6 has all of the usual dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, NFC, IR Blaster, and a microUSB v2.0 port for charging and data transfer.  It also has heart rate and oxygen saturation sensors, active noise cancellation with dedicated mic, built-in wireless charging, an improved speaker (much louder/clearer) mounted on the bottom of the device and a 2550mAh battery.  The new Samsung battery can be charged for up to four hours of usage in only 10 minutes!

The new Galaxy S6 also includes a much improved fingerprint scanner, or we should say sensor.  No more needing to swipe your finger over the home button, just press on it and go.  The new devices also come with Samsung Pay and PayPal built-in and ready to use.  It comes in White Pearl, Black Sapphire, Gold Platinum and an exclusive Blue Topaz.  It will cost you about $250 on a two-year contract and about $700 off-contract and will be available April 10.

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge

The new Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is everything the Galaxy S6 is plus a little bit more.  Inside it has a slightly larger 2600mAh battery, compared to the 2550mAh in the Galaxy S6 and that is about the biggest internal difference in specifications.

The BIG difference is on the outside with the display – both the right and left sides are curved down.  This gives the entire device a very cool look, but more importantly allows the user to easily swipe from the left to center or right to center, as your finger glides smoothly onto the display.  You can also set up your five favorite contacts with color coding and select the different notifications you want to see.  If one of those contacts texts, emails or calls you and the phone is facing downward, a colored light corresponding to the contact glows along the edge.  You can send the call to voicemail or turn off the notification by pressing on the sensor on the back of the device for two seconds.  You can also set up the time and date to show, use it as a nightstand clock and alarm and more.

The Galaxy S6 Edge will cost about $100 more than the Galaxy S6 and it comes in the same White Pearl, Black Sapphire, and Gold Platinum, and has its own exclusive Green Emerald color and will be available April 10.

…And The Winner Is…

Summary

Picking an outright winner of this comparison is tough, but I went with the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, simply because it is so awesome looking and different from any other flagship on the market.  Yes, it will cost you $100 more than the normally aspirated Galaxy S6, but the Galaxy S6 Edge just kicks butt.

Both of these devices are formidable, and have terrific specifications all around – identical specs and features except in two places mentioned above.  The first area of difference is the Galaxy S6 Edge has a slightly larger 2600mAh battery versus the 2550mAh battery in the Galaxy S6, but that certainly is not enough to persuade anybody.  The second area of difference is the curved edges (left and right) of the display where you can have several cool functions occur.  Is this a ‘break-the-bank’ type reason for getting the Galaxy S6 Edge over the Galaxy S6 – certainly not, but it is sure a cool reason.

If money is a real object, then pick yourself up the Galaxy S6 and you will not be disappointed, but if you have the extra $100, then pick up the Galaxy S6 Edge and look cool anytime your phone is out of your pocket.  Most of us need as much ‘cool’ as we can get.