Samsung last week launched two new phones in the galaxy series – the 4g enabled Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. The phones are available for sale across the country in all authorized dealer outlets, Safaricom shops, and of course Samsung brand stores. Safaricom will be giving 1.5GB data for every purchase.
Airtel too is offering data plans to clients who purchase the phones from select Airtel shops and partner outlets countrywide, whereby they get either 3GB data for 3 months or 4GB data for 4 months for the Samsung S6 flat 32GB and S6 Edge 64GB respectively. The phone price ranges are between Kshs.75,000/- and Kshs.95,000/- depending on the type and storage size.
The models which have been described with terms such as most innovative and most re-defined have indeed come with some seriously impressive features, a few of which are described in this article.
Both the front (5mp) and rear (16mp) cameras boast high resolution sensors as well as F1.9 lenses, a combination that produces the most superior image quality on a smartphone. The cameras are built to let in 60% more light than their competition and predecessors, making the phones perfect for taking photos even in poor lighting. The automatic settings are impressive enough for every day photographers but for people better at or needing more game in photography, there is a host of more advanced options to choose from in the pro-mode.
The camera will launch in 0.7 seconds and this you do by simply pressing the home button twice. This feature will work even when the phone is locked or when the screen is off. We all know that impromptu ‘Kodak moments’ make the best photos and this feature ensures that you never miss those. This is a feature that you can opt out of on the settings menu but unless you habitually double press your home button my mistake, I personally don’t see the need to have it off.
Another constant headache that Samsung has pretty much realistically eliminated with the coming of Galaxy S6 and S6 edge is battery life. For example, it will only take 10 minutes of charging to give you upto 4 hours of normal use. So if you have only 10 minutes to grab a coffee before a meeting, you have enough time to save yourself from dealing with a dying gadget. Furthermore, the battery guzzlers that are the processor and display are now designed to use battery more efficiently, giving users more battery saving.
With the Galaxy S6, Samsung has finally done away with the plastic-ish casings that have for years given their otherwise high end phones a look not commensurate with the high performance and high prices of their devices. The company for instance has also realized that people do not necessarily swim with their phones and seem to have traded such impressive but ultimately not so useful perks for more quality software and hardware options.
The Galaxy S6 Edge is unapologetically cooler and more visually appealing than its flat sibling the S6. Nothing blonde about its cuteness though, it is almost exactly the same as the galaxy S6 in terms of specs, build, camera, performance, and display, except it tapers off slightly and beautifully outwards on each vertical edge, blending seamlessly into the sides or the phone. Samsung had introduced this tapering off design last year in the note4 edge but the screen only curved to one side, giving the device an odd lopsided look. The S6 edges are not just cool though, you can assign them more practical work by using them to place shortcuts to features like text messages and other favourites. Alternatively you can just let them sit around and look cute and use your shortcuts on the main phone menu.
The Galaxy S6 Edge is more expensive by a shot and its upto the consumers to decide whether to part with additional money for the visual or sex appeal if you may, and features to which they still have access to whether or not they pay the extra for it. In terms of everyday use of the phone though, there is no huge life changing advantage in how you use the S6 Edge phone as compared to its flat screen sibling Galaxy S6.
In a near fool proof safety feature, both Galaxy S6 and S6 edge use fingerprint scanning for quick authentication. Other than superior device and data safety that comes with fingerprint recognition, this feature will come in particularly handy when Samsung pay comes around. Samsung pay is a payment system where users will be able to pay using their phones at any outlet that they would normally use their magnetic/chip enabled cards – credit cards, and debit cards. This may take time to get here though unfortunately. Samsung is ready for Samsung pay but our local systems are not.
Customers get free covers with the purchase of any of the two phones.
