Friday, 20 March 2015
Sunday, 8 March 2015
Samsung unveils Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge with glass body, wireless charging at MWC 2015
Samsung unveiled their latest flagship phones — the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge yesterday at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. And this time round, they are focusing on not just the specs but also the design. The Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge have a metal frame and a glass body both on the front and back.
The Samsung Galaxy S6 is 6.8 mm thin and weighs 138g, while the Samsung Galaxy Edge is 7.0mm and weighs 132g.
In terms of specs, the Samsung Galaxy S6 sports a 5.1 Quad HD Super AMOLOED display with 2560 X 1440 resolution which comes to a very high 577ppi pixel density. The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge also sports a 5.1 Quad HD Super AMOLED but with dual edge display. Both use Corning Gorilla Glass 4 for protection.
The devices are powered by Samsung’s Exynos 7 Octa-core processor which contain two quad-core processor clocked at 2.1 GHz and 1.5GHz respectively. The smartphones have 3GB RAM.
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge in this product image.
“With the all new Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge, Samsung is offering what’s next in mobility, along with a new standard to drive the global mobile agenda,” said JK Shin, CEO and Head of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung.
Samsung Galaxy S6 also comes with a new Quick Launch feature give users direct access to the camera from any screen in approximate 0.7 seconds by double clicking the home key button, says the company.
The Samsung Galaxy S6 in this press image.
The Galaxy S6 has a 2,550mAh battery, while the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge has a 2,600mAh battery. Both support universal wireless charging. Samsung also claims that they support incredibly fast wired charging (around 1.5 times faster than the Galaxy S5) providing about 4 hours of usage after only 10 minutes of charging.
The devices will be available in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB storage variants.
In terms of connectivity, the devices support LTE Cat.6 (300/50Mbps), WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz), HT80 MIMO(2×2) 620Mbps, Bluetooth v4.1, USB 2.0, NFC and an IR Remote.
At the same event, the company also announced a new protected mobile payment called Samsung Pay, similar to Apple Pay. Samsung claims its service is compatible with more locations (Read Apple) than any other competitor. Protected by Samsung KNOX, fingerprint scanning and advanced tokenisation, Samsung Pay works with both NFC and MST technology.
Additional features include Ultra Power Saving Mode, Download Booster, S Health 4.0, Smart Manager, Microsoft Apps (OneDrive 115GB for 2 years, OneNote), S Finder and S Voice. The devices are available in White Pearl, Black Sapphire, Gold Platinum, Blue Topaz (Galaxy S6 only) and Green Emerald (Galaxy S6 edge only).
The Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge will be available globally starting from 10 April. No information has been provided on pricing.
Samsung to HTC: At MWC, everyone wants to challenge Apple’s iPhone 6
Several big Asian phone companies launched new high-end smartphones and other wireless gizmos on Sunday, hoping to challenge US giant Apple in a big year for wireless gadgets.
Samsung, fellow South Korean firm LG and hip Chinese maker HTC timed their smartphone launches to grab the attention on the eve of the Mobile World Congress, the world’s biggest telecoms trade fair, in Barcelona, Spain.
In a head-on challenge to Apple’s popular iPhone 6 which was released last year, Samsung came out fighting on Sunday with the Galaxy S6, a smartphone with a touchscreen that curves around the edges and has a wireless charger. It also presented the larger S6 Edge, a “phablet” somewhere between a tablet and a phone in size.
LG unveiled a new top-line phone with a curved back to sit snugly in the palm, the LG Flex 2, as well as a range of four new mid-range smartphones and two new luxury internet-connected watches.
At a noisy stage presentation before a crowd of hundreds, HTC chief executive Peter Chou meanwhile presented the HTC One M9, with a grey metallic handset moulded from a single piece of aluminium.
HTC also revealed a new connected “fitness band” body-monitoring bracelet and a virtual reality headset that it said it hoped to sell commercially by the end of the year.
Apple as usual was staying away from the Barcelona show but was reported to be preparing a coup with the launch next month of its new Apple Watch, reflecting a major trend in wearable gadgets this year.
The chief executive of Samsung’s mobile division, JK Shin, said the company aimed to set “a new standard to drive the global mobile agenda”, claiming his phones had the fastest processers and most high-performance cameras on the market.
Samsung is the world’s biggest seller of smartphones but saw its world market share fall last year from 34 percent to 20 percent, according to a report by tech consultancy IDC.
“There’s a risk Samsung’s 2015 flagship devices are insufficient for the company to regain brand leadership among consumers and businesses looking for high-end smartphone experiences,” said Thomas Husson, an analyst at another consultancy, Forrester, in a note after Sunday’s launch. “Samsung’s lack of software DNA will still prevent it from delivering truly differentiated service experiences like Apple does.”
Also present at the congress were two of the world’s other biggest-selling smartphone makers, Chinese companies Huawei and Xiaomi. Joining in the rush for big launches on the eve of the trade fair, Huawei unveiled its first “smartwatch”, a round luxury design that, like LG’s, can display incoming call and message alerts.
The companies refused to cite consumer prices for the new products. Top-end smartphones typically cost several hundred dollars (euros).
AFP
MWC 2015: HTC One M9 vs Samsung Galaxy S6, a tech specs comparison
Samsung and HTC have launched their new flagships for the year 2015 and we take a look at the specs comparison between the two smartphones, the Galaxy S6 and the HTC One M9.
Design, Screen size: For Samsung, this is one flagship that has won praise from critics from a design perspective. It looks like Samsung has finally bid farewell to plastic in construction of its flagship phones, after years of criticism. With the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, Samsung has given us a unibody-metal design with a glass front and rear. Sadly, the battery is no longer removable in the S6. It’s also a slimmer smartphone at 6.8 mm thickness (the Galaxy S5 was 8.1 mm thick) and weighs lighter at 138 g, while the S5 has weighed 145g.
Where the HTC One M9 smartphone goes, it follows the same design style as the earlier M8 and frankly you can’t tell how the two are any different. It has the same metal unibody design that was started by the HTC One series in 2013, although in this case, HTC has added dual-tone silver and rose gold finish along with mirror-polished gold sides. It’s a beautiful looking phone no doubt, but we’re not sure if this polish will help the M9 stand out in an already over-crowded market.
Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge on display at MWC 2015.
The Samsung Galaxy S6 outdoes the HTC One M9 in terms of screen resolution. While HTC One M9 sticks with a 5-inch full HD display along with a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution at 441 ppi, Samsung Galaxy S6 has a 5.1-inch Quad HD Super AMOLOED display with 2560 X 1440 resolution which comes to a very high 577ppi pixel density. Both smartphones have Corning Gorilla Glass 4 for protection.
In terms of design and screen, Samsung has certainly outdone itself and the HTC One M9 doesn’t really stand out.
Processor, Storage, RAM: The HTC One M9 is powered by a 64-bit octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor and comes with 3GB of RAM. It has an internal storage of 32GB which can be further expanded upto 128GB via microSD card.
On the other, Samsung’s Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge are powered by the Exynos 7 Octa-core processor which contains two quad-core processors clocked at 2.1 GHz and 1.5GHz respectively. The smartphones have 3GB RAM as well.
Samsung has introduced the world’s first 14 namometer mobile processor with a 64-bit platform, and these phones have a new LPDDR4 memory system and UFS 2.0 flash memory which the company claims, will provide higher performance and enhanced memory speed with lower power consumption. LPDDR4 is the latest memory system with higher internal fetch size and external transfer speed. There’s no mention of a Galaxy S6 with a Snapdragon SoC.
In terms of storage space, the Galaxy S6 will be available 32GB, 64GB and 128GB storage variants (like the Apple iPhone) but sadly there will be no microSD slot, unlike the HTC smartphone.
The HTC One M9
Samsung has the edge for now in terms of processing power as compared to the HTC One M9 given that it has launched introduced a 14 nm chip and a new LPDDR4 memory system.
Battery, Connectivity: The Samsung Galaxy S6 has a 2,550mAh battery, while the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge has a 2,600mAh battery. Both support universal wireless charging. Samsung also claims that they support incredibly fast wired charging (around 1.5 times faster than the Galaxy S5) providing about 4 hours of usage after only 10 minutes of charging.
In case of HTC, the battery is also non-removable and is a Li-Polymer 2840 mAh capacity one.
HTC’s smartphone doesn’t support wireless charging unlike the Galaxy S6 which is a shame. Where battery is concerned, it should be noted that we can only say more once details are released on how long each smartphone is expected to last, perhaps when the first reviews start coming in.
In terms of connectivity, the HTC One M9 has Bluetooth 4.1 with aptX, Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, HTC Connect, for wirelessly streaming media from the phone to compatible multi-room audio system, NFC and Micro-USB. This also supports 4G LTE bands including LTE TDD bands 38, 40, 41. LTE TDD means the phone will support LTE in India as well.
Samsung Galaxy S6 and the S6 Edge during the launch event. Reuters
Samsung Galaxy S6 supports LTE Cat 6 (300 Mbps download / 50 Mbps upload), WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz), HT80 MIMO(2×2) 620Mbps, Bluetooth v4.1, USB 2.0, NFC and an IR Remote. It’s not clear if the smartphone will be an LTE one in India too.
Camera: With HTC One M9, the company has finally gone with the big megapixel number at least for the rear camera. HTC One M9 has a 20MP rear-camera along with a sapphire cover lens and an Ultrapixel front-facing camera with BSI sensor. The camera also shoots movies in 4K resolution. The front-camera resolution has not been specified by HTC but we’re guessing like other Ultrapixel cameras its at 4 megapixels. The HTC camera has a host of features in the software side as well like allowing editing, filters, skin correction, etc., which frankly isn’t anything new. The HTC One gallery will now allow users to sort their images according to year, data, location, etc, similar to what Apple already offers.
The Samsung Galaxy S6 has a 16MP rear camera along with a 5MP front facing camera. Some of the other features on the camera include Tracking AF, Auto Real-time HDR (Front & Rear), f/1.9 aperture, Low Light Video (Front & Rear), High Clear Zoom, IR Detect White Balance, Virtual Shot, Slow Motion video, Pro Mode and Selective Focus.
Although it may seem like the HTC One M9 has an edge over the Samsung Galaxy S6 / S6 Edge, in terms of a higher megapixel count camera, we all know that a higher MP number does not translate into a better camera. Both the phones are offering a lot of features alongside the rear cameras. We can only tell which one is better after putting the cameras through their paces. For now, both phones offer impressive camera specs and features on paper.
Other features: Both devices run on the latest Android 5.0 Lollipop with Samsung and HTC’s own UI on them. The HTC One M9 has the HTC Sense 7, which the company claims makes the smartphone highly customisable with themes and more intelligent BlinkFeed (HTC’s much mocked version of Flipboard) and so on.
But Samsung it seems has learnt that TouchWiz UI isn’t perhaps the best thing that it was adding to its smartphone. According to this BGR report,”Android Lollipop shines through much more clearly on the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge than Android has on earlier phones, and Samsung said it reduced the number of features by 40% in its latest software.”
Let’s face it, BlinkFeed and HTC Sense haven’t impressed users, and themes isn’t anything new. For Samsung to have realised that S6 doesn’t need too much of TouchWiz is quite a big step, unlike the HTC One M9.
Samsung also announced new protected mobile payment called Samsung Pay, similar to Apple Pay.
Samsung claims its service is compatible with more locations than any other competitor (a clear taunt at Apple Pay). Protected by Samsung KNOX, fingerprint scanning and advanced tokenisation, Samsung Pay works with both NFC and MST technology. How Samsung Pay does remains to be seen, given that not too many Samsung software-based features have taken off in a big way.
HTC One M9 will be available in Silver, Pink, Gold and gun-mental Grey. Pricing and availability remains unclear for now. The Samsung Galaxy S6 will come in White Pearl, Black Sapphire, Gold Platinum, Blue Topaz (Galaxy S6 only) and Green Emerald (Galaxy S6 edge only) and will start rolling out from 10 April. Again we have no information on the pricing.
Conclusion: For now the Samsung Galaxy S6 looks like a fresh take from the company, with less bloatware and a better design. The HTC One M9 seems to be boring, despite its beautiful design, which definitely won’t help the struggling smartphone maker.
MWC 2015: HTC launches Grip, its first wearable fitness tracker with curved display
HTC has stepped into the wearable world with its long-time rumoured device. Instead of an Android Wear-based smartwatch, the company has announced a new fitness tracker dubbed Grip. It is a result of HTC’s partnership with the company Under Armour.
HTC claims that its new tracker is for serious athletes. Under Armour’s UA Record system will be tracking the runs and workouts. “With a matte black finish, colorful interior band, and curved display, the Grip looks a hybrid of Nike’s FuelBand 2 and the Microsoft Band,” points out TheVerge. The wearable band comes with five sensors that track your workouts. It comes with integrated GPs to capture distance, pace and calories burned, which are then synced with your dmartphone once you get home.
HTC GRIP is the smart fitness tracker for the serious athlete. #HTCOneLife #MWC15 pic.twitter.com/i6C0oc54qW
— HTC (@htc) March 1, 2015 It is compatible with both Android and iOS. One can receive call notifications, view and respond to messages, or just skip to the next song directly from the tracker, allowing you to stay connected with your smartphone even during workouts.The contoured soft-touch band is waterproof with IP57 rating, which means you can use it underwater up to 1 metre for 30 minutes. It also comes with a ‘multi-sport mode’ that can track activities like running and cycling, and simultaneously offering advice from fitness experts while you workout.
The HTC Grip will be available in two colors – Deep Teal and Lime. For the right fit, it will be available in three sizes. The Grip will hit store shelves in Spring for $199. HTC has also announced its new flagship smartphone One M9 at the MWC 2015.
MWC 2015: HTC One M9 launched with 20MP rear camera, Android Lollipop
HTC’s flagship phone, the HTC One 9 was launched at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, yesterday. Like the HTC One M8, the M9 follows the same design style and theme, but the biggest change in the phone is the camera.
The HTC One M9 has an all-metal unibody design which is highlighted by dual-tone silver and rose gold finish along with mirror-polished gold sides.
The HTC One 9 smartphone has a 5-inch full HD display along with a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution at 441 ppi. HTC has added in Corning Gorilla Glass 4 for protection. It is powered with a 64-bit octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor and comes with 3GB of RAM. It has an internal storage of 32GB which can be further expanded upto 128GB via microSD card.
The smartphone runs on HTC’s Sense 7 skin on the Android 5.0 Lollipop.
The camera has seen the biggest upgrade with HTC ditching the Ultrapixel at least in the rear camera. It has a 20MP rear-camera along with a sapphire cover lens and an Ultrapixel front-facing camera with BSI sensor. The camera also shoots movies in 4K resolution.
The sensors included are Ambient Light Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Accelerometer, Compass Sensor, Gyro Sensor and Magnetic Sensor.
The smartphone will support a Nano SIM card and in terms of connectivity, the device has Bluetooth 4.1 with aptX, Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, HTC Connect, for wirelessly streaming media from the phone to compatible multi-room audio system, NFC and Micro-USB.
The HTC One 9 packs in a non-removable Li-Po 2840 mAh battery with dimensions of 144.6 x 69.7 x 9.61 mm and weighs 157g. It will be available in Silver, Pink, Gold and gun-mental Grey. Pricing and availability remains unclear for now.
Samsung Galaxy S6: 10 Things you should know about Samsung’s new flagship
Samsung has finally pulled the wraps off its highly anticipated Galaxy S6. As the rumours suggested, we have two new models – Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. With the new models, Samsung has taken a quantum leap in design and given their phones a complete makeover. This isn’t just plastic now; it’s metal and glass and it looks good.
Successor to the S5, the Galaxy S6 doesn’t feature a curved display, but Samsung has spruced up user experience with some nifty upgrades. If you’ve missed on your dose of the Unpacked event at the MWC, then here’s a quick look at what you need to know about the new Samsung flagship.
Design – A premium-looking device is finally here
For years, everyone has been complaining about how Samsung’s premium S series is built with cheap materials. But falling sales have forced Samsung to give user feedback some serious thought. Finally, the not-so-plush looking leather back is replaced with glass and the sides are built using metal, just like the Note 4. It now looks premium and more durable.
Display – Gets a thumbs up, again
Samsung gets it right with the display again. The new Galaxy S6 features a 5.1-inch 2K display, which means a whopping 2560 x 1440 pixels. The pixel density goes up to 572ppi, which is way higher than the 326ppi seen in the iPhone 6. Needless to say, its an AMOLED display.
Camera – Bump up in performance
Though Samsung has maintained the same 16MP sensor seen in the Galaxy Note 4, it does get a useful update. Samsung now employs faster lens that has never been seen in the previous models. The Galaxy S6 comes with an f/1.9 lens. This would mean a bigger aperture. The device is now capable of capturing more light, and eventually one will get better photos. This also means good low light photography. In fact, Samsung employs the same f/1.9 lens for the 5MP front-facing camera too.
Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge default wallpapers!
Processor – Goes ahead with ExynosThis time around, Samsung has decided to go ahead with its own Exynos chip (Though, India always got the Exynos variant). The new Exynos comes with the much-talked about 14 nanometre (nm) architecture for efficient performance. however, it also plans some Qualcomm Snapdragon variants of the Galaxy S6. For now, expect Samsung’s Exynos 7 Octa-core processor which contain two quad-core processor clocked at 2.1 GHz and 1.5GHz respectively, coupled with 3GB RAM.
RAM
The new Galaxy S6 has employed the super-fast LPDDR4 RAM. The large 3GB of the could help the device run without too many lags. Along with the new Exynos chip, it could also help deal better with the TouchWiz.
TouchWiz
Yes, Samsung’s Galaxy S6 will retain the TouchWiz UI. However, it is believed to be less cluttered. based on Android 5.0 Lollipop, it is now streamlined for quick and better usage. The company hasn’t bid goodbye to S Voice or S Finder, but you will find the rumoured new entrants like Microsoft’s OneDrive and OneNote.
Wireless charging
The Galaxy S6 has ditched the replaceable battery found in the Galaxy S5, but now allows you to charge the smartphone wirelessly. It supports WPC and PMA wireless charging using Samsung’s own charging pad. On using a traditional microUSB cable, Samsung promises to get 50 percent battery capacity in a half hour. It comes fitted with a 2,550mAh battery.
No swappable battery
With the introduction of improved wireless charging on the Galaxy S6, the company also decided to fit in a non-removable battery. A change that most users may not like.
No Expandable storage
The company’s minimum storage capacity model is upgraded from 16GB to 32GB. In a not-so-consumer-friendly move, Samsung has also pulled out support for microSD card slot. It has been a feature that set Samsung phones apart from the iPhone. We hope Samsung has compensated well for the removal of these features.
Wireless payments
Finally, Samsung rolls out its own mobile payments to take on Apple Pay. For now its will be launched with the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, but it will support others Samsung phones in the future. It will let you use your debit/credit cards and pay for goods using your smartphones. It will use NFC as well as a technology called Magnetic Secure Transmission. So, vendors won’t need to upgrade their existing payment systems to support Samsung Pay.
Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge default wallpapers!
Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge default wallpapers!
Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge default wallpapers!
y S6 Edge default wallpapers!
Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge default wallpapers!
Apple releases first public beta for OS X Yosemite 10.10.3; includes new Photos app
Apple has released their first-ever public beta update for OS X Yosemite 10.10.3, labelled as build 14D87, the same as the second 10.10.3 beta for developers which had released approximately a week ago.
According to a report by 9to5mac, the new release includes iCloud-based Photos application for Mac PCs, new Emojis across the system along with a simpler way to login into Google accounts for profiles with two-factor authentication enabled.
This public beta is available on the Mac App Store Software Update tab but only for registered beta users. An earlier report had said that the public beta program for iOS will be limited to 100,000 people to maintain a higher level of exclusivity.
We had noted earlier that Apple plans to release the first public beta of iOS 8.3 via the existing AppleSeed program in mid-March. This will be followed by iOS 8.4 which will include Apple’s new streaming music service. As of now, the iOS 8.3 beta available for developers adds features like wireless CarPlay support, Siri improvements and an updated Emoji keyboard. iOS 8.2 on the other hand, will not enter the public beta.
Incidentally iOS 9 is rumoured to focus on stability, optimisations and not just feature additions. iOS 9 will be first shown during Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June (WWDC) and released in September for the public after the new iPhones come out.
After three years, Apple dethrones Samsung from top spot in Q4, 2014
iPhone maker Apple has dethroned Samsung from the top spot on the global smartphone tally, a position that the Korean electronics giant had strongly held for over three years, research firm Gartner today said.
For the entire year, however, Samsung firmly held on to the top slot. According to Gartner, the US-based firm captured a 20.4 per cent share (74.83 million units shipped) of the global smartphone market, which saw over 367.48 million units being shipped in the October-December 2014 quarter.
Samsung, which had a 24.4 per cent share in the third quarter of 2014, saw its share declining to 19.9 per cent in the last quarter of the year with shipment of 73.03 million smartphones.
“Samsung’s performance in the smartphone market deteriorated further in the fourth quarter of 2014, when it lost nearly 10 percentage points in market share,” Gartner Principal Research Analyst Anshul Gupta said.
Samsung continues to struggle to control its falling smartphone share, which was at its highest in the third quarter of 2013 at 29.5 per cent, he added. “This downward trend shows that Samsung’s share of profitable premium smartphone users has come under significant pressure,” Gupta said.
Gartner Research Director Roberta Cozza said while Apple dominated the premium phone market and Chinese vendors are increasingly offering quality hardware at lower prices, Samsung can secure more loyalty and longer-term differentiation at the high end of the market through a solid ecosystem of apps, content and services.
However, the Korean major stayed firm as the largest smartphone vendor for the year 2014 shipping over 307.5 million smartphones (24.7 per cent share) compared to Apple, which shipped 191.4 million units and had 15.4 per cent share.
In 2014, total smartphone shipment totalled 1.2 billion units, up 28.4 per cent from 2013 and represented two-thirds of global mobile phone sales. Lenovo (along with Motorola sales) had a 6.6 per cent share, followed by Huawei (5.5 per cent) and Xiaomi (5.1 per cent) in October-December 2014 quarter.
Chinese vendors like Huawei and Xiaomi are continuing to improve their sales in China and other overseas markets, increasing their share in the mid to low-end smartphone market. “Chinese vendors are no longer followers. They are producing higher quality devices with appealing new hardware features that can rival the more established players in the mobile phone market,” Cozza said.
Brand building and marketing will be key activities in deciding which Chinese vendors can secure a foothold in mature markets, she added.
PTI
Apple iPhone 6 vs Samsung Galaxy S6 vs HTC One M9: Here’s how the flagships stack up
With the Mobile World Congress underway, all major smartphone makers barring Apple and Sony (this year) have something to show off. Samsung released two flagship devices – the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge. While the Galaxy S6 Edge will be a newer variant of the Note Edge, it is the Galaxy S6 that is a phone that comes with a lot of expectations specially since Samsung had a terrible last year in terms of profits, at a time when Apple made record profits.
The comparison between the Samsung Galaxy S6 and the Apple iPhone 6 is but natural. We also addded the HTC One M9 to the mix as it also offers the best from HTC. Let us see how all three of them compare against each other.
Display and Dimensions
In terms of display, the Samsung Galaxy S6 clearly seems to have an edge. Having a 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution on a 5.1-inch display gives it a staggering pixel density of 576ppi. The iPhone 6 at 327ppi and the HTC One M9 at 440ppi looks less in comparison. But to be fair, after 300ppi, the human eye cannot really distinguish between individual pixels. Sure, the Super AMOLED display will ensure a high contrast and sharp display, the iPhone 6’s display isn’t bad either. All three phones come with the best glass protection out there, but the iPhone 6 manages to stay the lightest.
Platform
All three devices will come with the latest operating systems and while the Samsung Galaxy S6 will come with its TouchWiz UI, initial reports point out the fact that Samsung hasn’t gone overboard with the skinning. HTC has added in the options to customise the look of your phone with the Themes feature in the Sense UI 7.0. In terms of clarity, the Apple iOS 8 may still have en edge, but we can tell about the user experience only after testing the Samsung and HTC devices. In terms of processing power, the Samsung Galaxy S6 and HTC One M9 look impressive with their latest octa-core processors and the iPhone 6 looks puny with its dual-core processor. But just taking that yardstick and calling the iPhone 6 a poor performer would be foolish. We have seen in our review how responsive the Apple iPhone 6 is despite not having the higher numbers in terms of processor cores or the RAM. The real test will be to see how power efficient the octa-core phones will turn out as compared to the iPhone 6 which has ample battery life. With the Galaxy S6, Samsung will for the first time offer a flagship device without a removable back or a microSD card slot. This may not be to everyone’s liking. But thanks to the stripped down TouchWiz UI, one can expect more user available space with the various SKUs of Samsung Galaxy S6. HTC One M9 has kept the storage card option open. In terms of processing speeds too, it is at par with the Galaxy S6, but we will have to run benchmarks to see how the HTC One M9 handles various tasks and games.
Camera
Camera is one area which has increased in importance over the years. We had tested the Apple iPhone 6’s camera and were thoroughly impressed with the output and the various creative things we could do with it such as slow motion video, hyperlapse video and so on. Samsung Note 4 and Galaxy S5 had higher MP count cameras, but they weren’t as impressive as the iPhone 6. So just going by the megapixel count here does not do justice to either of the phones. Although 4K recording feature as well as optical image stabilization will surely give the Samsung Galaxy S6 an edge over the other two phones.
Communications / Sensors / Battery
Price points
Samsung released its European pricing for the Galaxy S6: 32GB for 699 Euros (approximately Rs 48,400) and 64GB for 799 euros (approximately Rs 55,300) while price for the 128GB variant isn’t out yet. The Apple iPhone 6 comes with these price points: 16GB for Rs 49,000; 64GB for Rs 59,900 and 128GB for Rs 70,000. Pricing for the HTC One M9 isn’t out yet.
Conclusion
As can be seen from the charts above, the Samsung Galaxy S6 and HTC One M9 seem to offer more in terms of number of features and higher specifications. The Apple iPhone 6 has had a great run and by the time the Galaxy S6 and the One M9 will start selling, the iPhone 6 will already have completed over 6 months in existence. Also the Sony Xperia Z4 is expected to come out in April, so one will also have to take that phone into consideration. In terms of performance, both the new releases should have their basics in place and offer speedy performances. But how fast as compared to the iPhone 6 can only be talked about after testing those devices.
In terms of design, the Samsung Galaxy S6 has certainly come up with something impressive and will surely be at par with the iPhone 6 thanks to the metallic unibody design. The HTC One M9 hasn’t really improved on the design of the One M8, so that can be off-putting for a lot of potential buyers.
Pricing of the devices will be a major game changer. Going by the price points of the HTC Desire 820 and Desire EYE, it seems like HTC will price the One M9 competitively as well. Samsung Galaxy S6 will easily cross Rs 50,000 as that has been its initial pricing for most of its flagship devices. But if Samsung can offer a more competitive price point for the metal body phone, it can be a game changing flagship for it, unlike the Galaxy S5 which was disappointing.
First Look: Galaxy S6, S6 Edge are Samsung’s most impressive smartphones till date
Samsung’s new Galaxy smartphones improve in two major areas: design and picture quality. Samsung ramped up its camera technology in last fall’s Galaxy Note 4, and the camera is even better in the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge announced. More importantly, the new phones have a more stylish design.
I had less than 90 minutes to try out the new phones in controlled settings, so it’s too early for a definitive assessment. But I’m impressed with what I’ve seen so far. The phones will start selling in April, at prices not yet determined.
DESIGN
For years, Samsung phones have had removable backs made of plastic. That allowed for battery replacement, but made the phones look cheap. I’m glad to see the metal frame and glass back in the new phones. The phones are lighter than before, even with metal.
The main S6 model feels boxy in my hands. More recent iPhones have smoother, curved edges. The S6 Edge curves on the left and right sides to create side displays, so it feels better. But boxy or not, I prefer Samsung’s new design over its old models.
CAMERA
The Note 4 camera was excellent for producing images rich in color. However, the colors sometimes felt unnatural, especially with indoor shots. The S6 phones seek to fix that by using their infrared sensors (normally used for heart rate tracking) to better detect and adjust for specific lighting conditions. This sounds promising.
The S6 phones also sport better focus, borrowing technology from Samsung’s stand-alone NX1 camera. You already can focus on a person by touching that part of the screen. But if the person walks away, the focus is off. With the new technology, the focal point moves with the person. It worked in my limited tests, though the subjects were still blurry because of poor lighting conditions. I may get better results outdoors.
One handy feature: Double tap the home button anytime to open the camera app quickly, so you don’t miss shots.
BATTERY
You can no longer replace the battery with a spare, but there’s fast-charging technology to get you from zero to 50 percent in a half-hour. Although I didn’t get to test this with the S6 phones, a similar feature worked well on the Note 4.
With wireless charging, you can place the phone on a special mat to charge it. No cords needed. This will be handy when coffee shops and restaurants start making these mats available. Until then, I don’t mind the cord, especially as wireless charging is slower.
SIDE DISPLAYS
The S6 Edge model has curved sides, similar to last fall’s Note Edge phone. The S6 Edge improves on the Note by having the display curve over both the left and right sides. The Note Edge’s side display was on the right only, making some features awkward for lefties.
With the S6 Edge, you can assign colors to important contacts — such as red for your spouse. With the phone face down, the side will flash red when a call from your spouse comes in. You can decide without rudely lifting the phone whether you really need to take that call.
MOBILE PAY
When it launches this summer in the U.S. and South Korea, Samsung Pay will let people pay with a tap at retail stores. The service promises to work at more places than Apple Pay because it has backup technology that replicates the magnetic-strip signals on plastic cards. However, based on Samsung’s descriptions, Samsung Pay will require a few more steps than Apple Pay at checkout.
OTHER “TOUCHES”
The S6 phones have improved fingerprint sensors. Before, you had to swipe down on the home button; the phone wouldn’t unlock if you didn’t swipe correctly. Now, you simply touch the home button, just as you do on iPhones. The fingerprint ID will authorize mobile payments too.
Samsung also streamlined the software interface. Currently, the menu of additional options is accessed by tapping on the three vertical dots on the top right. Why three vertical dots? Who knows? That’s been replaced with the word “MORE.”
Little touches like these will help make the phones more accessible to customers.
Associated Press
Micromax launches Canvas Fire 4 at Rs 6,999 to compete with new Moto E
Soon after Motorola announced the new Moto E priced at Rs 6,999, Micromax is out with a competitor at a similar price dubbed Canvas Fire 4.
Just like the Moto E, it will sport a 4.5-inch display, but with lower FWVGA resolution. Micromax has added a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for further protection. The device will run Android’s latest iteration – 5.0 Lollipop.
Under the hood, it is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core processor coupled with 1GB RAM. On the camera front, the Canvas Fire 4 comes with an 8MP rear snapper and a 2MP front-facing camera. The Moto E has retained the 5MP rear snapper, but it has been improved from a ‘fixed focus’ to ‘auto-focus’. Micromax has included dual front speakers and Cirrus Logic Wolfsam Stereo DAC audio output.
There is no word on the onboard storage, but it will support expandable memory slot up to 32GB. The Canvas Fire 4 will also come with several pre-installed apps including Newshunt, Paytm, Snapdeal, Saavn, Clean Master and Quikr. A 2000mAh battery completes the package, promising standby time of 300 hours.
Priced at Rs 6,999, the Canvas Fire 4 is expected to be available through online retail stores soon.
Samsung Galaxy S6, HTC One M9 and more: The top 6 smartphones at MWC
Mobile World Congress 2015, which opened in Barcelona this Monday, March 2 in the presence of King Felipe VI, has already seen the presentation of several new smartphones, including the highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy S6 and HTC One M9.
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge in this product image.
1. Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge
Due to launch in 20 countries on April 10, the South Korean giant’s latest flagship phone will be available in two versions: the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge. The latter model is the world’s first smartphone with curved screens across both the right and left edges. Samsung claims the S6 will be sturdier than its predecessors thanks to its special metal case, but the battery is no longer removable and there is no microSD memory card slot. Pricing details have yet to be officially announced.
2. HTC One M9
As usual, HTC has placed the emphasis on styling with its new One, which has an aluminum monobloc design with accents in steel grey, silver or gold. 4G+ ready (up to 450Mbps according to the manufacturer), the One M9 runs the latest version of Android under HTC’s customizable Sense 7 skin, which uses location data to adapt to the needs of the user with contextual widgets. The HTC One M9 will be available from April 2015.
3. ZTE Grand S3
The Chinese manufacturer ZTE came to Barcelona with the first smartphone equipped with the EyePrint ID technology, which allows the user to lock or unlock the device simply by looking into its scanner. Already available in China, the 5.5-inch Android KitKat (4.4) smartphone is due to launch in Europe and the US at the end of 2015.
4. Huawei MediaPad X2
Though it chose to turn the spotlight primarily on its new smartwatch, Huawei also presented a remarkable new smartphone in Barcelona. The MediaPad X2 is a phablet with a 7-inch screen (1200x1920px) and a thickness of just 7mm. Also 4G+ compatible, the new device runs Android with Huawei’s EMUI layer. Pricing and availability details are unannounced.
Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
The Japanese manufacturer took advantage of MWC to reveal its new mid-range smartphone, which it claims is waterproof and has a battery life of up to two days. The Xperia M4 Aqua comes with Android Lollipop and is the brand’s first device equipped with the octacore Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor. Its “smart” 13MP camera is said to be capable of detecting up to 52 different types of scenes. The smartphone will go on sale in Europe this June.
Microsoft Lumia 640
Rather than unveiling a new premium smartphone in Barcelona, the American company chose to introduce a more affordable device compatible with its forthcoming multi-platform operating system. Available in two versions — the 5-inch Lumia 640 and the 5.7-inch Lumia 640 XL — the new smartphone packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor clocked at 1.2GHz and 8GB of (expandable) storage. To be delivered with Windows Phone 8.1, the new Lumia terminals will be updated to Windows 10 after its release. Due to ship this spring in both a 4G version and a more affordable 3G version, the Lumia 640 and 640 XL will be available starting at €139 (around $155) and €189 (around $212) respectively, plus tax.
AFP
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