iPhone 6 -> galaxy s6 edge: some thoughts

[hellfire88]

Thanks slackerinthebox for the feedback. Your comments on the camera were especially useful for me. My wife uses an iPhone 6 simple because the camera is the best we've seen for taking indoor pictures of moving kids (I bought her a nice superzoom point-and-shoot camera but she refuses to use it). Every other smartphone we've tested takes blurry pics when the kid moves (LG G3, Galaxy S5, OnePlus One, Note 4, etc.)

She strongly prefers Android though so we were going to switch her to the Galaxy S6 based on the good reviews of the camera. I guess most reviewers take pictures of stationary targets? I guess she'll have to stick with the iPhone 6 for now.

 

[slackerinabox]

Thanks slackerinthebox for the feedback. Your comments on the camera were especially useful for me. My wife uses an iPhone 6 simple because the camera is the best we've seen for taking indoor pictures of moving kids (I bought her a nice superzoom point-and-shoot camera but she refuses to use it). Every other smartphone we've tested takes blurry pics when the kid moves (LG G3, Galaxy S5, OnePlus One, Note 4, etc.)

She strongly prefers Android though so we were going to switch her to the Galaxy S6 based on the good reviews of the camera. I guess most reviewers take pictures of stationary targets? I guess she'll have to stick with the iPhone 6 for now.

Glad to help! I do think I'll figure this camera out. The interface is kinda clunky - either a stripped down (similar to ios) mode or a pro mode with way too many options, I'd like a happy middle ground, such as scene modes (fast action, etc.).

 

[QueBert]

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

I have an M7 ugh, if I hadn't owned the Nexus 4 before it I wouldn't have believed a phone could have such piss poor battery life. I'd be charging my phone a 2nd time every day before I left work. But next to the Nexus it had fantastic battery life, I guess it's all in perspective lol.

 

[rcpratt]

I do have a similar issue on my Note Edge where if your palm is touching the edge, touch-sensitivity on the main screen seems a little off -- especially when typing.

 

[Achtung!]

Thanks slackerinthebox for the feedback. Your comments on the camera were especially useful for me. My wife uses an iPhone 6 simple because the camera is the best we've seen for taking indoor pictures of moving kids (I bought her a nice superzoom point-and-shoot camera but she refuses to use it). Every other smartphone we've tested takes blurry pics when the kid moves (LG G3, Galaxy S5, OnePlus One, Note 4, etc.)

She strongly prefers Android though so we were going to switch her to the Galaxy S6 based on the good reviews of the camera. I guess most reviewers take pictures of stationary targets? I guess she'll have to stick with the iPhone 6 for now.

I upgraded from the iPhone 6 to the Galaxy S6 and the Quad-HD display and 16MP OIS camera with DSLR functionality were the biggest upgrades for me.

For example, my iPhone 6 sometimes produced dull looking photos.

The Galaxy S6's camera definitely produces photos with higher image quality (IQ).

The iPhone 6's camera is still one of the best, but the Galaxy S6's camera is definitely superior. Even better than the iPhone 6 Plus' camera.

Galaxy S6's camera = has both OIS and DSLR functionality.
iPhone 6's camera = no OIS, no DSLR functionality.
iPhone 6 Plus' camera = has OIS, no DSLR functionality.

 

[SAWYER]

"and the Quad-HD display and 16MP OIS camera with DSLR functionality "

lol, are you are pr person? That seriously sounds like something from promotional material

 

[openwheel]

"and the Quad-HD display and 16MP OIS camera with DSLR functionality "

lol, are you are pr person? That seriously sounds like something from promotional material

:thumbsdown: They are just simple specification terms. This is Anandtech, not your local newspaper. The actual review on Anandtech goes into way more detail.

 

[slackerinabox]

I upgraded from the iPhone 6 to the Galaxy S6 and the Quad-HD display and 16MP OIS camera with DSLR functionality were the biggest upgrades for me.

For example, my iPhone 6 sometimes produced dull looking photos.

The Galaxy S6's camera definitely produces photos with higher image quality (IQ).

The iPhone 6's camera is still one of the best, but the Galaxy S6's camera is definitely superior. Even better than the iPhone 6 Plus' camera.

Galaxy S6's camera = has both OIS and DSLR functionality.
iPhone 6's camera = no OIS, no DSLR functionality.
iPhone 6 Plus' camera = has OIS, no DSLR functionality.

Hey there Samsung marketing intern! Just send me a pm plus a paypal donation, and I'll edit my post to reflect just how superior samsung's "dslr functionality" is.. 😉

I like the camera, it just does a bad job indoors with moving objects (and the white balance seems off).

 

[QueBert]

LULZ at "DSLR Functionality"

no, it's a cell phone, not even close to a DSLR. I have a 3rd party camera app on my 6+ where I can fine tune White Balance and about 20 other things. But I'm not for a second going to talk about my phone having DSLR functionality to anyone.

 

[slackerinabox]

LULZ at "DSLR Functionality"

no, it's a cell phone, not even close to a DSLR. I have a 3rd party camera app on my 6+ where I can fine tune White Balance and about 20 other things. But I'm not for a second going to talk about my phone having DSLR functionality to anyone.

Yeah, I'm less impressed with the camera everyday. I feel that the pro mode is needlessly confusing, and the shutter speed on the auto mode set to let in tons of light but also ends up blurry more often than acceptable. No where near DSLR quality, no where near a decent big chip point and shoot

Video's also got some jelly vision going on. meh, I"m less and less in love with the phone everyday.

Latest quirks:
1. Bluetooth reconnect doesn't take no for an answer (if a device tries to automatically reconnect and you don't grant access, it'll ask again in 30 seconds - super annoying)
2. Phone gets uncomfortably hot while charging.
3. Battery life is still awful - today I tested it without even using it during my commute. Just sitting in my pocket for an hour and 15 minutes = 10-13% discharge
4. It's kinda annoying that I get a PSA on dangerous volume levels and have to hit OK everytime I raise volume over a certain level
5. The included ring tones are super tacky, very asian soap opera melodramatic. I just want a damn ring, ring.
6. The edge is now pretty obviously a gimmick, I haven't used the sideswipe features at all
7. The rub to activate sometimes works and sometimes doesn't
8. Sometimes I turn the phone on from sleep and it goes right back to sleep
9. Finger scanning used to work perfectly, now it's taking 3 or 4 attempts on average (though sometimes it's perfect) - I thought they finally got this right but it's still buggy (reminds me of the iphone 5s scanner that was temperamental, not the iphone 6 which worked more often than not on the first try)

I'm being petty, but why can't they just get it right already?

 

[Applesexual]

Yeah, I'm less impressed with the camera everyday. I feel that the pro mode is needlessly confusing, and the shutter speed on the auto mode set to let in tons of light but also ends up blurry more often than acceptable. No where near DSLR quality, no where near a decent big chip point and shoot

Video's also got some jelly vision going on. meh, I"m less and less in love with the phone everyday.

Latest quirks:
1. Bluetooth reconnect doesn't take no for an answer (if a device tries to automatically reconnect and you don't grant access, it'll ask again in 30 seconds - super annoying)
2. Phone gets uncomfortably hot while charging.
3. Battery life is still awful - today I tested it without even using it during my commute. Just sitting in my pocket for an hour and 15 minutes = 10-13% discharge
4. It's kinda annoying that I get a PSA on dangerous volume levels and have to hit OK everytime I raise volume over a certain level
5. The included ring tones are super tacky, very asian soap opera melodramatic. I just want a damn ring, ring.
6. The edge is now pretty obviously a gimmick, I haven't used the sideswipe features at all
7. The rub to activate sometimes works and sometimes doesn't
8. Sometimes I turn the phone on from sleep and it goes right back to sleep
9. Finger scanning used to work perfectly, now it's taking 3 or 4 attempts on average (though sometimes it's perfect) - I thought they finally got this right but it's still buggy (reminds me of the iphone 5s scanner that was temperamental, not the iphone 6 which worked more often than not on the first try)

I'm being petty, but why can't they just get it right already?

Because no phone is perfect.
I mean, I love my iPhone 6 so much, but even that has issues. Its biggest problem is that it looks so sexy, especially the bitten apple logo on the back that I've jacked-off on it plenty of times. So many Applesexuals have done the same and the white excrement slid under our screens, distorting the colors of the display.
Sometimes, I wish Apple would make an uglier device so that we Applesexuals don't fall in love with our devices.

Ugh, now that I'm talking about it, I want to jack-off on my iPhone 6 again. Be right back...

 

[slackerinabox]

Because no phone is perfect.
I mean, I love my iPhone 6 so much, but even that has issues. Its biggest problem is that it looks so sexy, especially the bitten apple logo on the back that I've jacked-off on it plenty of times. So many Applesexuals have done the same and the white excrement slid under our screens, distorting the colors of the display.
Sometimes, I wish Apple would make an uglier device so that we Applesexuals don't fall in love with our devices.

Ugh, now that I'm talking about it, I want to jack-off on my iPhone 6 again. Be right back...

Ha, ok I deserved that- all devices have flaws at launch, the potential truly is there. I wouldn't recommend it yet, my wife would get pissed if I convinced her to upgrade her iPhone for something that dies at 2pm and seems to have bluetooth issues (my hunch is that it goes to sleep and takes an annoying amount of time to reconnecy ).. it's just not there yet. But it's sexy and nifty. And that screen's the hotness.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I'm being petty, but why can't they just get it right already?

That is why Android nerds have a love-hate relationship with Samsung. They get so damn close.

I will also say that some of your items (like the volume warning) is why Android hacking is so popular.

 

[dawheat]

Ha, ok I deserved that- all devices have flaws at launch, the potential truly is there. I wouldn't recommend it yet, my wife would get pissed if I convinced her to upgrade her iPhone for something that dies at 2pm and seems to have bluetooth issues (my hunch is that it goes to sleep and takes an annoying amount of time to reconnecy ).. it's just not there yet. But it's sexy and nifty. And that screen's the hotness.

Mind posting a screenshot of your battery page so we can see what's draining your battery? It sounds like something is keeping it from sleeping as no Android phone on KK onor newer has drained that much when not in use. Whether it's my S4, Note 3, Note 4, etc - I drain a couple % an hour at most.

I did have some issues with some indexing service killing my battery a couple times, but I found the app that was causing the issue.

If you haven't, you can also find great resources at XDA with your specific version.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s6

Lastly a couple things people seem to have tried with some success is:
- Turn off location services history (Settings -> Location)
- Disable Samsung push notifications

Its a little annoying, but a little legwork should result in better battery life.

 

[shabby]

"and the Quad-HD display and 16MP OIS camera with DSLR functionality "

lol, are you are pr person? That seriously sounds like something from promotional material

That was probably a typo, im sure he meant to say RED Digital Cinema functionality...

 

[slackerinabox]

Mind posting a screenshot of your battery page so we can see what's draining your battery? It sounds like something is keeping it from sleeping as no Android phone on KK onor newer has drained that much when not in use. Whether it's my S4, Note 3, Note 4, etc - I drain a couple % an hour at most.

I did have some issues with some indexing service killing my battery a couple times, but I found the app that was causing the issue.

If you haven't, you can also find great resources at XDA with your specific version.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s6

Lastly a couple things people seem to have tried with some success is:
- Turn off location services history (Settings -> Location)
- Disable Samsung push notifications

Its a little annoying, but a little legwork should result in better battery life.

Sigh, I hate dealing with this stuff - have kids and famiky, just need a phone that's not high maintenance but I'll live until this iPhone 6s plus. It's not a hobby, it's a phkone. And I hate the keyboard, 2 steps behind what b I was used tk.

Ok, battery stats:
15% apx 1h36m remaining
7h 35m on battery
Cell standby 37%
Android 15%
Screen 15%

Android os 7%
Spotify 2%

I barely used my phone tkday. Life plummets when I play solitaire or candy crush

 

[abj13]

Sigh, I hate dealing with this stuff - have kids and famiky, just need a phone that's not high maintenance but I'll live until this iPhone 6s plus. It's not a hobby, it's a phkone. And I hate the keyboard, 2 steps behind what b I was used tk.

Ok, battery stats:
15% apx 1h36m remaining
7h 35m on battery
Cell standby 37%
Android 15%
Screen 15%

Android os 7%
Spotify 2%

I barely used my phone tkday. Life plummets when I play solitaire or candy crush

You definitely are not having an expected battery life as others having been reporting on XDA. That's not your fault, but something screwy with your phone. Having Cell standby at 37% on only 7.5 hrs of the phone being on is really suggestive of some weird battery drain going on.

Check out some of the battery screenshots from XDA, people who are getting results that match up with Anandtech's review (S6 ~ S5 in battery duration), they aren't having cell stand by percentages anywhere near your phone: http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s6/general/battery-life-discussion-t3033385/page122, and they are certainly not having their batteries drained down to 15% in 7.5 hrs (unless the screen is on the entire time).

What carrier are you on? There's already a big thread about AT&T and the standby battery drain: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=60090270&postcount=22

 

[dawheat]

Sigh, I hate dealing with this stuff - have kids and famiky, just need a phone that's not high maintenance but I'll live until this iPhone 6s plus. It's not a hobby, it's a phkone. And I hate the keyboard, 2 steps behind what b I was used tk.

Ok, battery stats:
15% apx 1h36m remaining
7h 35m on battery
Cell standby 37%
Android 15%
Screen 15%

Android os 7%
Spotify 2%

I barely used my phone tkday. Life plummets when I play solitaire or candy crush

Totally feel you. The good news I suppose is that the standby issue should be fixable by your carrier in an update and your battery life could go up by a third. From day 1, my Note 4 (and Note 3 before it) probably never had cell standby go over 5% usage in a entire day.

 

[slackerinabox]

Check out some of the battery screenshots from XDA, people who are getting results that match up with Anandtech's review (S6 ~ S5 in battery duration), they aren't having cell stand by percentages anywhere near your phone: http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s6/general/battery-life-discussion-t3033385/page122, and they are certainly not having their batteries drained down to 15% in 7.5 hrs (unless the screen is on the entire time).

To be honest, I think Samsung fans are so into their choice that they manipulate the reality of their situation to make them feel better about their purchase. Meaning, they forgive a lot more than a casual user like myself would (after some googling I see that my bluetooth issues existed going back to the s4, as an example, but most users just ignore it I guess). I guess it's the same with the iPhone - fanboys are forgiving of issues.. But it wouldn't surprise me if samsung fans (or samsungs pr department) posted face battery benchmarks to "PROVE" that the battery life is exceptional. It is not. The phone, quirks aside, is pretty damn snazzy - but power sipping it's not. Though I'm not returning it, let's hope an update gives me 1 day including my commute without dying.

What carrier are you on? There's already a big thread about AT&T and the standby battery drain: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=60090270&postcount=22

T-mobile. I do see it searching for signal all the time. My iphone, when in a bad reception spot (subway, certain rooms in my house) didn't seem to ping the carrier looking for a signal nearly as often. I'm thinking that's the issue.

 

[compcons]

I dont have an S6 but my s4 and S5 blew my iphone 5 out of the water for battery life. I see most iphones with mophie cases (and cracked screens?) to get throughbthe day at work but that's just conjecture. Your expeeience seems like an outlier. As far as battery drain goes, you will have to invest a little bit of time turning off apps that you don't use at all. Between google and samsung allowing carriers to dictate the experience and the carrier bloat ware, you will find a lot of apps that you don't want. The upside is you can remove or disable a lot of junk. It's a very small investment of time and you should end up with a much better experience. Keep in mind that you don't need to use Google ecosystem at all. It's about choice and flexibility. Some of Google services are battery hogs (music for one) and should be disabled. I personally do everything that I can with amazon (prime music and video, amazon mom player with all my ripped music in their cloud).

As far as updates go, just like apple, google/Samsung will fix things and break new ones. You will likely need to disable stuff again after the update. The pro though is you usually only get broken stuff once a year compared to dot fixes that happen every few months.

 

[slackerinabox]

I dont have an S6 but my s4 and S5 blew my iphone 5 out of the water for battery life. I see most iphones with mophie cases (and cracked screens?) to get throughbthe day at work but that's just conjecture. Your expeeience seems like an outlier. As far as battery drain goes, you will have to invest a little bit of time turning off apps that you don't use at all. Between google and samsung allowing carriers to dictate the experience and the carrier bloat ware, you will find a lot of apps that you don't want. The upside is you can remove or disable a lot of junk. It's a very small investment of time and you should end up with a much better experience. Keep in mind that you don't need to use Google ecosystem at all. It's about choice and flexibility. Some of Google services are battery hogs (music for one) and should be disabled. I personally do everything that I can with amazon (prime music and video, amazon mom player with all my ripped music in their cloud).

As far as updates go, just like apple, google/Samsung will fix things and break new ones. You will likely need to disable stuff again after the update. The pro though is you usually only get broken stuff once a year compared to dot fixes that happen every few months.

Will do, disabled a bunch of stuff last night and woke up with 23% charge (damn inductive charger flaky again, I'm not blaming the phone). Didn't realize I can disable google services, will do that as well.

 

[Ichinisan]

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.

That's strange. Bluetooth audio is a digital stream, so the volume level should really be applied by the output device. When I adjust the volume of a Bluetooth-connected iPhone, it's typically adjusting the volume of the output device by sending volume +/- commands to it. That said, I've definitely had audio devices with terrible Bluetooth implementations where there's basically two volume levels. For example: A Monster-brand A2DP rechargeable speaker I picked up for a couple dollars from a thrift store. I can max-out the Bluetooth volume, then I still have to use to volume buttons on the speaker to increase the volume over that. When I use the volume buttons on the speaker, I do not see the volume level adjustment reflected on my iPhone. Bad engineering on the part of Monster.

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.

Did you switch from a CDMA phone service to a GSM service?

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.

On my Incipio NGP cases (basically TPU) for iPad mini and iPhone 6 Plus, I used a razor blade to cut tiny parallel slits on either side of the volume and lock buttons. That greatly increased the tactile feel and the modification is invisible.

 

[abj13]

To be honest, I think Samsung fans are so into their choice that they manipulate the reality of their situation to make them feel better about their purchase. Meaning, they forgive a lot more than a casual user like myself would (after some googling I see that my bluetooth issues existed going back to the s4, as an example, but most users just ignore it I guess). I guess it's the same with the iPhone - fanboys are forgiving of issues.. But it wouldn't surprise me if samsung fans (or samsungs pr department) posted face battery benchmarks to "PROVE" that the battery life is exceptional. It is not. The phone, quirks aside, is pretty damn snazzy - but power sipping it's not. Though I'm not returning it, let's hope an update gives me 1 day including my commute without dying.

True. From what I've seen, getting 4-5 hours of screen-on-time, or easily 1-2 days worth of standby time is the expectation for S6 series. The people who are getting 6+ hours of SOT always make me wonder too. For some, that's enough. For others, that's disappointing. In comparison to all other phones out there, that battery life is pretty average.

But your battery usage data suggests you aren't getting anywhere close to that, and definitely sounds like your phone is crapping out over the search for signal (or a rogue app is complicating the issue). Seems like its AT&T and T-Mobile who have the biggest issue with this.

 

[slackerinabox]

That's strange. Bluetooth audio is a digital stream, so the volume level should really be applied by the output device. When I adjust the volume of a Bluetooth-connected iPhone, it's typically adjusting the volume of the output device by sending volume +/- commands to it. That said, I've definitely had audio devices with terrible Bluetooth implementations where there's basically two volume levels. For example: A Monster-brand A2DP rechargeable speaker I picked up for a couple dollars from a thrift store. I can max-out the Bluetooth volume, then I still have to use to volume buttons on the speaker to increase the volume over that. When I use the volume buttons on the speaker, I do not see the volume level adjustment reflected on my iPhone. Bad engineering on the part of Monster.

I always thought bluetooth was digital (sounds the same across sources) but that's not the case. Bluetooth out on my kindle hd is equally awful, but I'm forgiving because I paid $99 for that. This is only really noticeable to me on headphones, I rarely reach anywhere near 50% of the max potential on my home bluetooth speakers. On headphones I need to often go 100% to compensate for subway rumbling. I'm not sure how much apt x has to do with anything, the iphone doesn't support it (but plays louder).

Did you switch from a CDMA phone service to a GSM service?

Nope, tmobile iphone to tmobile samsung. I won't pretend that my iphone 6 had amazing battery life, but it got me through a day.

On my Incipio NGP cases (basically TPU) for iPad mini and iPhone 6 Plus, I used a razor blade to cut tiny parallel slits on either side of the volume and lock buttons. That greatly increased the tactile feel and the modification is invisible.

Smart - I'lll give it a try. But, after the impressive walnut cracking demo with the samsung, I may just go without a case. It's a really sexy phone, and I probably won't keep it much longer than 6 months since the iPhone 6s will be out by then (jump allows me an upgrade every 6 months)

 

[slackerinabox]

True. From what I've seen, getting 4-5 hours of screen-on-time, or easily 1-2 days worth of standby time is the expectation for S6 series. The people who are getting 6+ hours of SOT always make me wonder too. For some, that's enough. For others, that's disappointing. In comparison to all other phones out there, that battery life is pretty average.

But your battery usage data suggests you aren't getting anywhere close to that, and definitely sounds like your phone is crapping out over the search for signal (or a rogue app is complicating the issue). Seems like its AT&T and T-Mobile who have the biggest issue with this.

I wouldn't be surprised if fanboys put their phones in airplane mode to faux show off very impressive, brag worthy battery life...or the verizon galaxy s 6 just has much better battery life, completely possible I suppose.