Well, there it is. Goodbye replaceable battery and expandable memory, hello metallic body and (we think) water resistance. The Galaxy S series has been one of the major driving forces in the Android world for the best part of five years. In an industry that was only kickstarted around 2007 with the infamous iPhone, the S series has been with us for most of it. But will Galaxy S6 be the smartphone of our dreams, or will it destroy the series?
Late last year, Samsung announced that its Galaxy S5 sales had been lower than expected, and that big changes were lying ahead for the the next generation of the device.
The Galaxy S6 will come with a metal-unibody and non-removable battery. This revelation has been met with dismay from the Android community. For some members, the lack of a removable battery pack is enough to put them off picking up the Galaxy S6 alone.
Not just that, but rumors are also circulating that the Galaxy S6 will only come in 64 GB and 128 GB versions, and will not feature expandable storage via SD-Card.
The problem is that these set of features, for some, represent part of reason why they chose the Galaxy S series in the first place: beautiful hardware and a wealth of options.
Naturally people are disappointed with these revelations. But let’s not get carried away. A removable battery is only necessary as long as battery life isn’t up to snuff, right? I know a spare is handy, but we don’t even know how efficient the Galaxy S6 battery is going to be, yet. Maybe it’s too early to start complaining.
The same can be said for expandable storage. How much more space does a person need than 128 GB in 2015? The standard Galaxy S6 model is said to start at 64 GB, which is already more than the base models of most other smartphones (including flagships). There are also plenty of options for expansion aside from SD-Cards these days, from portable Micro-USB sticks, to The Cloud. (Google+ can basically hold all of your photos alone).
As far as I can see, the problem that people have is that nobody asked for metal at the cost of functionality. I presume most of the people who are keeping up to date on the latest Galaxy S6 news are interested in the product for more than just how it looks or feels. And so far, Samsung has taken functionality away at a cost of “premium feel” (which for myself and many others, is not high on the priority list for devices).
But one of the major problems Samsung is facing is that the Galaxy S5 didn’t look great and it didn’t sell well. We at AndroidPIT have always talked about our fondness of the Galaxy S5 in terms of functionality (read our original Galaxy S5 review here). But what choice does Samsung have? Last year it made a cracking smartphone that nobody liked because it looked like a donkey’s ass. (Remember, the S5 didn’t sell well despite expandable storage and a removable battery.)
I’m not going to jump on the Samsung bashing train this time. Not yet anyway. I use expandable storage, I’ve used replacement batteries, but only where the original hardware has not been sufficient, and so far nothing has been confirmed about the Galaxy S6 innards. I also think Samsung might have learned some lessons from the all-style-no-substance, quickly abandonedGalaxy Alpha, and what we currently consider as the best Android phone in the world, the Galaxy Note 4.
We know what's been taken away from the Galaxy S series, but we don't yet know what the Galaxy S6 is going to add. What if Samsung is making a device that says, “hey, I'm awesome already.” What if Samsung is just making a smartphone that you purchase, and it doesn’t need to be accessorized and rooted and “fixed”? Now that really would be a revolution...
What do you think? Is the Galaxy S6 going to be the best thing to ever happen to the Galaxy S series? Or will it ruin it beyond repair? Let us know in the comments below!
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