iPhone 6 -> galaxy s6 edge: some thoughts

[slackerinabox]

I recently upgraded from an iPhone 6 to a galaxy s6 edge, and thought I'd share my thoughts for anyone considering doing the same. I'm not really much on writing wordy reviews, so apologies for getting right to it without much romance.

Build / ergonomics: Impressive improvements on the s6 edge over prior samsungs. I'd say hand feel is pretty top notch. Button placement is a little weird because it's so similar (but not exact) to the iPhone that I stumble when buttons aren't exactly where they "should" be. I'll get used to this, but I also turn the thing off more often than not because the power button's too easy to press when gripping the phone.

Weird usability issue - the touch screen doesn't feel as precise when I use the phone left handed - touches don't register I'd say 1/4th of the time. I *think* my palm may be hitting the left edge causing double taps?

Screen: Samsung, by a million miles. The s6 edge may have the richest, brightest, most detailed screen I've seen on a device, ever. I never thought the iphone 6's screen was mediocre, but my wife's Iphone 6 just looks dull in comparison now. I spent like an hour last night just watching 4k youtube trailers.

Battery life: Atrocious, assuming you use your phone. Just listening to spotify and playing candy crush brings my battery life down from 100% to 70ish% after an hour and change commute, there's no way I'd make it a whole day based on my fairly pedestrian usage. I have to pick up more qi chargers to adjust to the crappy battery life. I also now carry around a usb battery back up thingie. I thought my iPhone 6 had crappy battery life but it would last me a day without a problem (I expected more), it just seems like this generation's about performance, not longevity. Also, I'm kinda annoyed that my qi charger needs to be placed just right, and can lose contact over night - woke up to a dead phone because of this, thank god I don't rely on the alarm to wake up. I'm going to try going from a $15 qi pad to a more robust one.

Camera: I was most excited about the camera, and I'm a little taken aback by how blurry my indoor pics have been (since they're of moving children). I suppose if I took pictures of still objects I'd be fine, or maybe I'm not doing it right? My iPhone didn't have a motion blur problem, and side by side the white balance on my wife's iPhone is more accurate. I like that the camera is endlessly tweakable, and do hope to master the camera in time. I'm really thinking this is a case of me being a shitty photographer and not the camera sucking, online reviews all find the opposite to what I find.

Sound: Weirdly, bluetooth audio volume's really low compared to my iPhone. Kinda really annoyed by this (my daily beater jabra moves will need to be retired - playback is too low to compensate for NYC street noise now, it was fine on my iPHone), but it's compensated by excellent headphone jack out sound quality. Also, the software sound tweaks actually work really well - I really enjoy the tube amp effect. The bottom firing internal speaker is also quite loud.

Another weird quirk - interference with my bluetooth speaker set (even when not connected). Annoying at night. Seems like a problem from 1994, my iPhone never caused interference with any radios.

Accessories: I kinda miss apple's walled garden when it comes to accessories. It seems like, without a certification process, accessories are really hit or miss. My qi charger has been flaky, my spiegen case mushy around the buttons, and I'd honestly pay the premiums for higher quality, certified gear. Samsgung's first party stuff is stupid expensive, $60 for a case! But I'd pay $30 for a case if I knew it were perfect (endorsed by the manufacturer). Now I may have to order a few and test them out, because amazon reviews are misleading and mostly useless.

Overall I don't regret anything - the screen is awesome and there's great potential. But it's not a massive evolution over the iPhone 6. My wife planned on demoing my edge before upgrading and now insists on keeping her iPhone. The things I appreciate (screen, sound quality) don't mean much to her, and the flaws (battery life mainly) greatly outweigh the positive in her situation. I personally don't mind the usb battery, but I do hope a software update helps the situation.

 

[drbrock]

I knew the battery life claims were garbage.

Sounds like most Samsung Devices. Excellent Camera and Screen but poor battery life. As much as I would love to have an amazing screen I can't give up the incredible battery life of the iphone 6+.

Congrats on the new phone!

 

[Red Storm]

I knew the battery life claims were garbage.

Sounds like most Samsung Devices. Excellent Camera and Screen but poor battery life. As much as I would love to have an amazing screen I can't give up the incredible battery life of the iphone 6+.

Congrats on the new phone!

Note 4 = great screen and excellent battery life.

 

[slackerinabox]

I knew the battery life claims were garbage.

Sounds like most Samsung Devices. Excellent Camera and Screen but poor battery life. As much as I would love to have an amazing screen I can't give up the incredible battery life of the iphone 6+.

Congrats on the new phone!

I sadly had a feeling that something had to give when pushing so many beautiful pixels on such a stunning screen. It really is stunning! But if I were away from a plug (say my former life a a real estate agent) then the battery life would be completely unacceptable. It also does get hot, something that worries me too...

I think my wife will use her jump upgrade to get a 6+. I'm pretty happy with my galaxy. I think, psychologically, I was annoyed that moving from the iphone 5 to the 6 felt like a just a minor bump to me that I didn't have that new toy phase with it. The galaxy s 6 edge does feel like something new and shiny, so I appreciate that regardless of the flaws. They maybe should have put a beefier battery in there though.

 

[lopri]

Which carrier?

I've thought Android battery tanks in comparison to iPhones during stand-by, not during active use. In any case it sucks immensely that you have to charge it multiple times a day. I am not sure if that would be acceptable for me. Sometimes battery life improves after a few days so I would keep an eye on it.

 

[slackerinabox]

Which carrier?

I've thought Android battery tanks in comparison to iPhones during stand-by, not during active use. In any case it sucks immensely that you have to charge it multiple times a day. I am not sure if that would be acceptable for me. Sometimes battery life improves after a few days so I would keep an eye on it.

t-mobile, with wifi calling turned on (which I know hurts the battery life, my iPhone had the feature turned on as well).

Yes, I'm hoping some conditioning will help it. I also found a cool qi wireless usb battery pack that I may order, just so I appear a little less nerdy with all the wires

 

[gorcorps]

Note 4 = great screen and excellent battery life.

I'd say great screen and passable battery life. It's better than the smaller Samsung phones but I still don't always get a full day on the weekends when I'm using it a lot.

 

[lopri]

Another weird quirk - interference with my bluetooth speaker set (even when not connected). Annoying at night. Seems like a problem from 1994, my iPhone never caused interference with any radios.

What is the symptom like?

 

[slackerinabox]

What is the symptom like?

A low buzzing rumble. It's annoying because it sounds like the phone is vibrating so the instinct is to grab the phone and check for notifications.

 

[lopri]

So the phone spontaneously makes sounds (or vibrates) when it's near the speakers, even though the phone is not connected to them?!

 

[Artdeco]

The podcasts I've been listening to say they're getting 4 hours out of the Edge, that really sucks

 

[slackerinabox]

So the phone spontaneously makes sounds (or vibrates) when it's near the speakers, even though the phone is not connected to them?!

Sorry, the buzzing is coming from the bluetooth speaker (not the phone), when the phone is within a foot or so of the speaker. Our bluetooth speaker (fluance, a pretty decent one not a cheapie) is on my nightstand and my phone/qi charger is right next to it (and gets power from the speaker's usb port). I could turn off bluetooth as a test but my pebble watch requires bluetooth so I tend to leave bluetooth on 24/7. Oh, another quick aside - pebble notifications are way off! Nearly instant on my old iPhone (5-10 seconds after my iPhone dings my watch vibrates), and now quite long - about 30 seconds on android. That's long enough to miss calls if I'm a room away from my phone.

Re: the buzzing - it disappears when the phone is on airplane mode, but I have elderly parents and need to get calls at night. It's not a constant buzzing, I don't mean to blow it out of proportion - it's just often enough that I think it may be a notification buzz

 

[slackerinabox]

The podcasts I've been listening to say they're getting 4 hours out of the Edge, that really sucks

That might be accurate, the thing plummets when I'm using the network and watching a video (say netflix/youtube).

 

[openwheel]

sad to hear the mediocre battery life of S6. That's a shame if they went backwards with battery life. Even though the phone is slim and sexy, I wouldn't mind a bulkier phone with bigger battery. However, D@MN!!! The Edge is one sexy phone.

The biggest reason I have a Note 3 is the battery life which is incredible (rooted). However, "battery life" is loosely defined by all especially Android users. It all depends on the apps you install and overall setup of the phone. I've gotten great battery life from phones that many claim to be poor.... so I would say YMMV when it comes to battery life. Hopefully the S6 has the potential to be tailored to sip power.

In the mean time I am checking used market for the Edge.

 

[Imported]

I got that CHOE 3 coil qi charger.. miles better than the Duracell powermat I also have. Planning on picking up another.

My battery life hasn't been horrible. Up at 5:30AM today, 9AM now and its at 81%. Hour or Google Music while at the gym, maybe 20 minutes of gaming and 20 minutes of YouTube so far.

 

[slackerinabox]

sad to hear the mediocre battery life of S6. That's a shame if they went backwards with battery life. Even though the phone is slim and sexy, I wouldn't mind a bulkier phone with bigger battery. However, D@MN!!! The Edge is one sexy phone.

The biggest reason I have a Note 3 is the battery life which is incredible (rooted). However, "battery life" is loosely defined by all especially Android users. It all depends on the apps you install and overall setup of the phone. I've gotten great battery life from phones that many claim to be poor.... so I would say YMMV when it comes to battery life. Hopefully the S6 has the potential to be tailored to sip power.

Yes, the battery life is deal killing to most. I'll confess, I quit my job and have been home half of the week and taking small business workshops the other half. For bumming around the house, the s 6 is the best personal device imaginable. The internal IR blaster is great for channel surfing, browsing is quite a joy, sound quality awesome if I want to listen on more critical headphones... If I get a few more qi chargers I think I'll be set as I move room to room chasing my kids around.

It's not ideal for active people away from a plug. In class my phone's almost always charging - I feel kinda dorky (charging brick, usb wires, tiny school desks) but my phone would be dead by 3 pm with only about 2 hours of heavy use. That's what's frustrating, my definition of "heavy use" is pretty lame - I don't play intense 3d games (candy crush is still my jam), I just listen to music browse the web casually and play puzzles. I don't even watch videos on my phone on a daily basis.

I also don't like the effort involved. From task killers to battery managers, I kinda just wished the battery just worked. But I'm remaining open minded, the iPhone 6 had first month jitters too that were worked out in updates, fingers crossed.

 

[slackerinabox]

I got that CHOE 3 coil qi charger.. miles better than the Duracell powermat I also have. Planning on picking up another.

My battery life hasn't been horrible. Up at 5:30AM today, 9AM now and its at 81%. Hour or Google Music while at the gym, maybe 20 minutes of gaming and 20 minutes of YouTube so far.

Yeah, I could see how I could massage similar battery life, it's all about the screen I think. I set it to auto brightness, but do have it on for a solid hour when commuting (playing games) while also playing music. Still, on the iPhone that would equal a maybe 10% loss in power, we're looking at nearly 30% on the galaxy s 6.

edit - awesome, I'm ordering a nokia qi charger - will try the Choe if the nokia sucks ($22 refurb, I'm cheap)

 

[Commodus]

Where do you have the autobrightness preference set? I have mine a couple of ticks down from center, which probably helps. A lot of folks tend to run their phone displays brighter than necessary, especially indoors.

 

[slackerinabox]

Where do you have the autobrightness preference set? I have mine a couple of ticks down from center, which probably helps. A lot of folks tend to run their phone displays brighter than necessary, especially indoors.

I didn't realize auto wasn't true auto, I set it as you suggested - let's see. Though what I love about the screen is it's vivid brightness, sucks that you have to run it at 1/3rd it's potential brightness.

 

[Imported]

Yeah, I could see how I could massage similar battery life, it's all about the screen I think. I set it to auto brightness, but do have it on for a solid hour when commuting (playing games) while also playing music. Still, on the iPhone that would equal a maybe 10% loss in power, we're looking at nearly 30% on the galaxy s 6.

edit - awesome, I'm ordering a nokia qi charger - will try the Choe if the nokia sucks ($22 refurb, I'm cheap)

The Choetech is about $27 and there's a $4 promo code floating out there. http://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Char...F8&qid=1429723059&sr=8-1&keywords=choetech+qi

Works through any case I've used so far (Spigen, Ringke and Diztronic TPU).

I did disable the enhanced LTE and automatic connect to AT&T hotspots on mine to help with battery.

 

[openwheel]

I also don't like the effort involved. From task killers to battery managers, I kinda just wished the battery just worked. But I'm remaining open minded, the iPhone 6 had first month jitters too that were worked out in updates, fingers crossed.

Task killer and battery managers are for people who are doing it wrong. I simply freeze apps and make sure apps don't go rogue and nothing is sucking power in background that shouldn't be. It's a one time setup for every factory reset. However, I use minimal apps and very organized. I consider 20 apps in a phone as "too much", 15 as "hard to manage" and 5-10 as manageable.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Get a three coil Qi charger stand OP. That will fix your problem.

 

[QueBert]

I got that CHOE 3 coil qi charger.. miles better than the Duracell powermat I also have. Planning on picking up another.

My battery life hasn't been horrible. Up at 5:30AM today, 9AM now and its at 81%. Hour or Google Music while at the gym, maybe 20 minutes of gaming and 20 minutes of YouTube so far.

Assuming the Google Music at the gym the screen was off pretty much the entire time? Sounds like pretty horrible battery life to me.

 

[Imported]

Assuming the Google Music at the gym the screen was off pretty much the entire time? Sounds like pretty horrible battery life to me.

Screen off yes. Coming from an aging M7.. its better. I'd be at 85% just after the gym.

 

[dawheat]

Assuming the Google Music at the gym the screen was off pretty much the entire time? Sounds like pretty horrible battery life to me.

40 minutes minimum on-screen (gaming, Youtube), so closer to probably an hour SOT. Doesn't sound that bad to me - trends out to close to 5 hours SOT which most phones don't hit unless indoors and on wifi only.

Battery life certainly doesn't sound great, but seems pretty average.

OP - one thing I've noticed with all Android phones is that battery life can be pretty wonky the first several days. I don't know whether it's stuff indexing, downloading, etc. But a few days in (and a few reboots), things tend to settle down.