At the Samsung Unpacked event today, Samsung unveiled the new Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge model. The new models have the features that we expected and then some, including the higher performance processor built on a 14nm die size, a QHD 5.1-inch AMOLED screen and a choice of memory capacities of 32 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB. However, the S6 and its sister S6 Edge have a number of important fundamental changes compared with previous Samsung Galaxy models. The S6 is the first Galaxy flagship smartphone that does without the MicroSD memory slot and has a fixed battery, rather than a replaceable one.
At the Unpacked event today, Samsung said that the reason why they had always included a replaceable battery is because they were not prepared to compromise on battery life, but with the new S6 they believe that they have finally produced a smartphone where the customer does not need to worry about battery life. The reason for the improved battery life is because of efficiency improvements under the skin, including that new processor technology and the highly efficient storage chip. The device has a large internal capacity battery together with the fastest charging technology across the industry: Samsung claim that ten minutes on the charger will provide four hours of typical use. The device also comes with dual wireless charging standard, including Qi charging. Samsung have since confirmed that the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge will support all Qi chargers available in the market today right out of the box.
Wireless charging has yet to make a significant impact in the market, which is perhaps because neither Samsung nor Apple have included the technology into their flagship models – until now. One of the reasons why manufacturers have been slow to include wireless charging standards is because of the fighting between the various standards groups and nobody wants to back the “losing” technology should one standard come out ahead. Samsung have circumvented this issue by making the S6 capable of supporting multi-mode wireless charging. And we have seen some changes within the industry with cafes, restaurants, coffee shops and even automobile manufacturers offering Qi charging. We’ve also seen today how IKEA are launching a new range of Qi charger-enabled furniture and accessories in April. Are you looking forward to the Samsung Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge? If so, will you be using the wireless charging function on the S6? Or do you have a device that already supports wireless charging? If so, how many wireless chargers do you own? If you have not yet used a wireless charger, why is this? Let us know in the comments below.