Introduction
Do we have a good one for you today – the completely redesigned Samsung Galaxy S6 goes up against the new LG V10 from LG. We have the battle of the metal and glass Galaxy S6 and the stainless steel LG V10. Both devices have a solid build and a premium look and feel – which one you find most attractive is a personal matter. The LG V10 is certainly more solid and should be able to handle a drop better than the more fragile Galaxy S6, even though it has a solid metal edge along the outside to act as a ‘cushion.’ The LG V10 has a silicone Dura Guard clad body for a superior grip.
The Galaxy S6 and the LG V10 do have a few things in common – starting with displays greater than 5-inches, both have a QHD resolution, both offer a 64GB model, both have excellent 16MP main cameras and 5MP front-facing camera (FFC)…the LG V10 has two of them for special effects.
Both the Galaxy S6 and LG V10 have their speaker on the bottom of the device and they both have fingerprint sensors. Both batteries offer a rapid charge feature, they both have the usual suspects – Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, NFC capabilities, a built-in IR Blaster and a microUSB port for charging, and data transfer.
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.
Specifications
Samsung Galaxy S6
The redesigned Galaxy S6 was a shock to the ‘S series’ followers – while retaining its basic physical look, Samsung went with a strong metal frame and all glass design, which makes it look great, but somewhat fragile. The new design was well-received by the critics, however, sales were still lower than Samsung had hoped to achieve, although some of that may be because Samsung also did away with their traditional removable battery and expandable memory slot.
The Galaxy S6 sports a 5.1-inch QHD Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels and 577 pixels-per-inch (PPI.) This goes up against the 5.7-inch QHD LCD display on the LG V10 with 515 PPI. The Galaxy S6 uses the 64-bit Exynos 7420 octa-core processor with four cores clocked at 1.5 GHz and four cores clocked at 2.1 GHz. This goes up against the Snapdragon 808 hexa-core processor used in the LG V10. The Galaxy S6 packs 3GB of faster DDR4 RAM with 32GB, 64GB or 128GB of faster USF 2.0 internal memory with no expansion available. The LG V10 comes with 4GB of DDR3 RAM and 64GB of internal memory with expansion via a microSD card.
The Galaxy S6 uses a 13MP main camera with large 1.12µm pixels, f/1.9 aperture, autofocus and an LED flash and OIS. It has a 5MP FFC for selfies and video chats. This goes up against a 16MP sensor on the LG V10 and dual 5MP FFCs. The Galaxy S6 has a smaller 2550mAh non-removable battery while the LG V10 has a larger 3000mAh removable battery. Both devices should make it through a full day, both devices have rapid charge capabilities and the Galaxy S6 has built-in wireless charging.
The Galaxy S6 comes with a fingerprint sensor, as does the LG V10. Android 6.0, the newest Android OS Marshmallow, should be arriving this month. With Marshmallow, you will be able to use the fingerprint sensor to authorize mobile payments using Android Pay, along with Samsung Pay. There is a single speaker found on the bottom of the device and it comes equipped with a heart rate monitor and oxygen sensor. Its wireless charging can handle either the Qi or the PMA formats. It will come in White Pearl, Black Sapphire, Gold Platinum and an exclusive Blue Topaz depending where you purchase the Galaxy S6. It will cost you about $575 for the 32GB model and $675 for the 64GB model.
LG V10
LG introduced a new flagship, the LG V10, which is a strong departure from their main LG G4 flagship series and one has to ask LG why the G4 and the V10. It is a beautiful smartphone sculpted from stainless steel and adds a silicone backing that is great for gripping the device as well as protecting the device from drops. It has two 5MP FFCs, and it has a small, independent display sitting ‘above’ the 5.7-inch main display that operates independently. Let’s take a closer look at the new LG V10 and see just how it stacks up against the new Samsung Galaxy S6.
Borrowing from the Galaxy Edge design with two displays – the main one and then the curved display off to the right – the LG V10 also has two displays, only the second one resides on the top of the first. The V10’s main display is a 5.7-inch IPS Quantum QHD with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels and 515 PPI. The secondary display has a resolution of 1040 x 160 pixels that ‘sits’ above the top area of the main display and it is also 515 PPI. The secondary display can be ‘on’ while the main display is off and used to show notifications, the weather, the time/date, app shortcuts and more. This goes up against the 5.1-inch Super AMOLED display on the Galaxy S6 with 577 PPI. LG bypassed the Snapdragon 810 and chose the 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 hexa-core processor with four cores clocked at 1.44 GHz and dual cores clocked at 1.82 GHz as the brains for the V10. This goes up against the 64-bit Exynos octa-core processor in the Galaxy S6. The V10 is packing 4GB of DDR3 RAM versus the Galaxy S6 with 3GB of DDR4 RAM. The LG V10 has only one option – 64GB of internal memory, but has a microSD card slot to expand another 128GB. The Galaxy S6 gives you three options – 32GB, 64GB or 128GB of their new, faster USF 2.0 memory- with no means to expand.
The main camera areas should be very competitive if the LG V10 lives up to its LG G4 heritage. The LG V10 uses a 16MP sensor with laser autofocus, a large f/1.8 aperture, OIS and an LED flash – the same, great camera found on the LG G4. The Galaxy S6 also uses a 16MP sensor with a large 1.12 µm pixel size, a f/1.9 aperture, autofocus, LED flash and OIS. The LG V10 uses a dual 5MP FFC to add a wider field and more depth to the traditional selfie or video chat. Many devices can do this through software manipulation, but the V10 can do it at the time you take your picture. The Galaxy S6 has the more traditional single 5MP FFC. The LG V10 uses a removable 3000mAh battery, while the Galaxy S6 has a smaller 2550mAh non-removable battery and both have a means for fast charging their batteries.
The LG V10 includes a fingerprint sensor and coupled with NFC will allow the V10 to approve mobile payments once the V10 gets its Android 6.0 Marshmallow update. The LG V10 has a speaker on the bottom of the device, includes Hi-Fi circuitry for improved sound through the headphones and they even threw in an FM radio. The available colors are Space Black, Luxe White, Modern Beige, Ocean Blue and Opal Blue. It is available now on Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile and priced approximately $675.
…And The Winner Is…
Summary
The winner of this comparison is tough for me to select, but I am picking the LG V10 – only because it does have a couple more options going in its favor. The toughness of the stainless steel and the grip of the silicone backing are hard to pass up. While I prefer AMOLED displays, I like larger displays even better and the extra display is a great idea and something many people may actually use. It has a larger and removable battery that offers quick charge. The V10 may not have quite the processor of the S6, it does offer a means to increase the internal memory from 64GB. It has a great main camera and a duo camera for the FFC. LG even included Hi-Fi DAC sound when listening over headsets or ear buds.
The Galaxy S6 has the Super AMOLED display, has a faster processor, and offers Samsung Pay and built-in wireless charging. But it has less RAM, a smaller non-removable battery, and no means to expand the internal storage and a more fragile design. Both devices are certainly winners, but with both devices costing the same price (comparing 64GB), I have to give the nod to the LG V10 for design, expansion and user friendliness.
[socialpoll id=”2325421″]