Galaxy S6 Launch Guide: Everything You Need to Know

The new Samsung Galaxy S6 isn't just a smartphone sequel, it's a rebirth. Samsung's newly-released flagship sports an eye-opening glass-and-metal design that's a far cry from its plastic predecessors, a gorgeous quad HD display and one of the best cameras on any smartphone. If you're on the fence about picking up the Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge, or want to make the most out of the one you just got, here's all of our coverage of the new Android phone to beat.

Galaxy S6 Edge Review

In our full review of the Galaxy S6 Edge, Editor-in-Chief Mark Spoonauer praised the smartphone's speedy camera and performance, and deemed the device's metal, curved-display design even more attractive than that of the iPhone 6. Read on to find why we call the S6 Edge the "sexiest smartphone yet."

Galaxy S6 Review

If curves aren't your thing, you can check out Online Editorial Director Avram Piltch's review of the equally excellent Galaxy S6. If you can live without the Edge's dual-curved display, the standard S6 still has everything that makes its more premium brother great, including a welcoming user interface, stunning quad HD display and best-in-class camera.

Galaxy S6 vs. iPhone 6

This showdown was inevitable. We put the Galaxy S6 and iPhone 6 through two rigorous face-offs: one to determine which phone takes better pictures, and another to decide which of the two is truly the best overall smartphone on the market.

Galaxy S6 Tips

Have you already taken the plunge and scored a Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge for yourself? Here are our tips for getting the most out of the new handset.

Must-Play Galaxy S6 Games

If you want to put the Galaxy S6's speedy octa-core processor and rich quad HD display to good use, we've compiled seven of the most graphically intense Android games that are worth showing off on the new smartphone.

Mike Andronico is an Associate Editor at Tom's Guide. Follow Mike @MikeAndronico. Follow us@TomsGuide, onFacebook and on Google+.

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Mike Andronico is Senior Writer at CNNUnderscored. He was formerly Managing Editor at Tom's Guide, where he wrote extensively on gaming, as well as running the show on the news front. When not at work, you can usually catch him playing Street Fighter, devouring Twitch streams and trying to convince people that Hawkeye is the best Avenger.

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11 Comments Comment from the forums

hst101rox

Too bad it's not water resistant, no replaceable battery without Ifixing it and no SD card slot like it's predecessor has.
Reply
drapacioli

Nope, basically every change aside from the higher res screen made the s6 WORSE than the phone I already have. The buttons are placed awkwardly on the right side, the microSD slot is gone so I have to pay more for the phone to get the same storage I had in my S4, the removable battery is gone, and the Sprint version doesn't let you talk and surf at the same time because they removed one of the radios. The S5 seems like more of an upgrade to me.

I guess I'm just going to get a Note 4 when my contract is up and keep it until another good phone with a removable battery and microSD slot comes out.
Reply
soldier44

Its a nice phone just looked at it locally but Stupid decision leaving out removable battery and no sd card.
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Caffeinecarl

All I need to know is that it doesn't have an SD slot, you can't change your battery, it's not waterproof, and it no longer has USB 3.0... I don't care how "pretty" or "sleek" it is... Samsung needs to change their slogan to "beauty over brains"
Reply
house70

I am OK with the fixed storage, because I have options (32-64-128).
But, that battery... I think Samsung underestimated the power consumption of a QHD display.
Oh, well. There will be a SGS7. Besides, there are plenty other Android-based phones out there, no reason to limit ourselves to one device.
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eltoro

Too bad it's not water resistant, no replaceable battery without Ifixing it and no SD card slot like it's predecessor has.

Considering everything, it's still currently the best phone in the market.
Reply
kawininjazx

I would rather have a plastic phone and a removable battery and SD card, I put it in a case anyway.
Reply
Goodspike

My S4 is about 18-20 months old, and daily battery life was getting to be a problem. Where when the phone was new it would seldom go below 50% it was getting to always reach only 20%. I thought maybe it was some of the apps I use, but I tried getting a new battery. I'm only three days in, so that's too early to be certain, but it is three days where again I'm only going down to about 50% battery.

The sites I've been reading indicate that Li-on batteries lose about 20% of their life after about 500 cycles. That's about where I am in my life of the old battery. If the length of life of the new battery does turn out to be significantly better than the old battery, that would be all the proof I need that I never want to buy a phone without a removable battery (which is something I've never done).
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oxxfatelostxxo

Nope, basically every change aside from the higher res screen made the s6 WORSE than the phone I already have. The buttons are placed awkwardly on the right side, the microSD slot is gone so I have to pay more for the phone to get the same storage I had in my S4, the removable battery is gone, and the Sprint version doesn't let you talk and surf at the same time because they removed one of the radios. The S5 seems like more of an upgrade to me.

I guess I'm just going to get a Note 4 when my contract is up and keep it until another good phone with a removable battery and microSD slot comes out.

well lets see. If you had to replace any battery in a phone then you obviously got a bad battery or shit design. My last phone was a iphone 4 and I just upgraded it to a s6. so 4 years on the same battery and it holds a charge almost as long as when it was new.

A sd card is really a niche market overall. sure they are cheap cards but for a reason.. they are slow. And more for people that don't ever clear stuff off their phone... Do you really need 30 movies and 25 games on your phone... prob not. Put photos in dropbox or even just link to your home computer if you don't trust other servers.

Downside is its not waterproof like previous versions, but I can live with it. I don't really have a issue with the buttons, but everyone is different.

To others as far as consumptions. I havnt had much time to tinker with it but playing galaxy on fire HD for about 45min I lost about 14% battery. Id say that's decent for battery life.
Reply
Goodspike

well lets see. If you had to replace any battery in a phone then you obviously got a bad battery or shit design. My last phone was a iphone 4 and I just upgraded it to a s6. so 4 years on the same battery and it holds a charge almost as long as when it was new.

A sd card is really a niche market overall. sure they are cheap cards but for a reason.. they are slow.

No way was your iPhone battery as good after four years as when new. More likely your iPhone just had poor battery life when you bought it, so you didn't notice it getting worse. But the life of a battery can be affected by many things besides just defective product, including heat. But let's assume it is a defective battery. Is that possibility a reason to not want a battery to be easily removable?

And the speed of the microSD card is your best argument? Do you think they are too slow to play MP3 files, or retrieve photo or video files? My microSD card has allowed me to save it's cost about every 2-3 months because I can get by with a smaller data plan because I don't need to stream as much music.

If you want to buy hardware that doesn't offer a choice, that's your choice, and obviously something you're used to having come from the Apple environment. Most people not suffering from Stockholm Syndrome like choice.
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