Samsung says that the S6 launch will beginning April 10 on selected carriers. I expect that Sprint postpaid customers will get first crack at the S6, with the Boost version showing up a bit later. If history is any guide, Boost got its S5 on May 19, 2014, 38 days after Sprint. As for the price, I expect the Boost's S6 will cost the same $599.99 as its S5 did when it was first released.
Should you get the S6? Personally I would never pay $600 for a phone but if you are the type who is willing to pay top dollar for the latest and greatest, here's some things about the S6 that look better than S5 at least on paper:
- The S6 is thinner, 6.8 mm vs 8.1 mm, and lighter, 138g vs 145g
- The S6 has an aluminum body, the s5 is plastic
- Both phones have 5.1 inch screens, but the S6 has a higher 1440 x 2560 px resolution than the S5's 1080 x 1930 px
- Both have 16 MP main cameras but the S6 gets a 5 MP front facing camera vs the S5's 2.1 MP
- The S6 uses a new Samsung made 14 nm Exynos Octa eight core 2.1 Ghz 64 bit processor. The S5 runs a 28 nm four core 2.5 Ghz 32 bit Qualcomn Snapdragon 801. The S6 should be faster.
- The S6 has 128 GB of internal storage, the S5 32 GB
- The S5 is is IP67 water and dust resistant, meaning it can survive 30 minutes in 1 meter deep water, the S6 makes no claims of water or dust resistance.
- The S5 has a user replaceable battery and a micro SD card slot, the S6 has neither.
- The S5 has a bigger battery, 2800 mAh vs 2550 mAh, but the 14 nm processor should have lower power consumption so the S6 will probably actually have better battery life.
Related: Prepaid Operator Profile: Boost Mobile
Dennis, I think you have a type on the last paragraph... first sentence "I see the S5 as a slight evolutionary improvement over the S5."
ReplyDeleteCorrected, thanks.
DeleteI'm not the op, but it still has a typo.
DeleteBetter now?
Delete$59. moto e lte 4g sprint prepaid bestbuy.com will see in a few days if i get the $20. reward bonus points for being a member
Delete$600 is a lot of money... Especially if you cannot unlock it in a year to work with GSM.
ReplyDeleteSprint now domestic unlocks android devices made after mid february this year. You can actually use a Sprint Boost or Virgin Mobile iPhone 5s 5c 6 or 6 plus unlocked on AT&T and T-mobile now. For Boost and Sprint you must have had the phone active 1 full year.
DeleteWhat's the max you would pay for a phone? And for which one?
ReplyDeleteUp to $200 for a factory refurbished or new prior generation flagship like the LG G2, Moto X or Nexus 4.
DeleteOf those three which is the best?
DeleteBest ... at what? Fitting in your pocket? Nexus 4. Connecting to LTE network? G2/X. Customizable hardware? X. Editor's choice? G2. Stock Android? Nexus 4. Best processor? X. Most onboard flash? G2. Cheapest phone you actually have a chance of finding in stock these days (Nexus 4 are very old)? X.
DeleteWhat do you want to do with a phone?
Don't forget a bout the new Asus Zenfone 2 coming rolling out as we speak. Slated for the U.S. in April. Amazingly low price/s for very good-to-flagship phone specs depending on which variant you buy. This phone replaces the OnePlus as the new clear King of best smartphone value. It makes the Moto G look WAY overpriced.
DeleteOFFICIAL ZENFONE 2 PRICES
Asus Zenfone 2 (ZE500CL) 5.0" 720p, 1.8 GHz, 2GB (no NFC) $157.88 US
Asus Zenfone 2 (ZE550ML) 5.5" 720p, 1.8 GHz, 2GB (NFC) $189.52 US
Asus Zenfone 2 (ZE551ML) 5.5" 1080p, 1.8 GHz, 2GB (NFC) $221.16 US
Asus Zenfone 2 (ZE550ML) 5.5" 1080p, 2.3 GHz, 4GB (NFC) $284.44 US
Those are the official prices in Taiwan. The phone hasn't been released in the US yet.
DeleteWhoa whoa whoa... no user-replaceable battery and no SD card support? What kind of back-step anti-consumer Apple-esque iCrap garbage is this?!! Good info! Definitely staying away from this, especially considering I'm still using my Samsung Galaxy S 3.
ReplyDeleteSame here!
DeleteSamsung has turned the Galaxy S series into the iPhone, which will make more people turn to their competitors like LG or HTC. The Nexus 6 also looks like a better choice than the S6.
ReplyDeleteAnon: I was finding myself to be a Samsung "fanboy", and would have considered the S6 if it improved either improved on every aspect of the S5 or at least didn't go backwards.
DeleteThe S6? No. It is significantly diminished. And what do we gain? A better selfie camera, and a slightly faster processor. That's about it.
I would have not considered LG, HTC, or Nexus before. Now I will, gladly.
The new S6 with the latest enhancements is better than the S5, but $600 is just another attempt at Samsung / Boost Mobile to rip-off android users. Android handsets are getting better (build quality, hardware specs, etc), but these items are supposed to be getting cheaper over time.
ReplyDeleteConsumers saw the same thing with desktop computers, than laptops and smartphones (mobile computers) by Samsung should follow the same pattern. I cannot believe Samsung is still trying to justify their overpriced products.
The S6 is coming to Metro PCS as well, they announced it the same day Samsung announced the phone.
ReplyDeleteSeems like a step backwards. The battery life on the S5 is already pretty bad, if they S6 is more efficient with energy use, why did they do the blunder of making the battery weaker so that the S6 battery life will likely still be terrible?
ReplyDelete"Samsung has turned the Galaxy S series into the iPhone,"
I loved the S3 and S5 because they were better than the iPhone. Not liking it that they have diminished the S6 to be like the Apple product.
Samsung has stepped away from its leadership role in Android phones.
I don't think the Galaxy S6 128GB variant will make it to Boost Mobile. But I could be wrong.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the S6 Edge may entice people, but I don't see the S6 really saving them. I do have the NOTE 4 now since I got approved for $0 down and it's a fantastic device still (yes I still have my Moto X 2014).
If this is the route Samsung is going then I already know I will not be getting the Note 5. I decided to get the Note 4 over the iPhone 6+ because of the 128GB microSD card that I got for christmas.
Sorry Samsung, but the iPhone 6S+ will be the Next Big Thing I want and a day one purchase from me. However I will pay off my Note 4 early and keep it.
"I decided to get the Note 4 over the iPhone 6+ because of the 128GB microSD card that I got for christmas"
DeleteWelcome to the Apple philosophy of pay more. get less. The "incapabality" of not being able to use MicroSD card has been copied from Cupertino.
"If this is the route Samsung is going then I already know I will not be getting the ..." is how I see it now too. and has been the universal reaction of everyone I have talked to. I know of not one person interested in the new Samsung models.
I also think of the friend with an S4, who broke her charger port. To get the phone powered, she has to pop out the battery and charge in an external charger. Easy to do. With a less capable phone like the S6, she can't.
Check the benchmarks on the Qualcomm 801 and the Exynos. I think you will be surprised how much better the 'old' 801 performed. The Exynos only has four primary cores, the other four cores are much slower and use an outdated ARM design.
ReplyDeleteI would much prefer to have last year's Qualcomm processor than this year's Exynos processor. Qualcomm makes far better processors.
Just for fun you might be interested in doing a Google search on Samsung cheating on benchmark tests. Here are my search terms: Samsung Exynos processor benchmarks test cheat OR optimize OR rigged
$600 for a phone that will be locked to Boost makes no sense.
ReplyDeleteAnyone have experience with Blu phones? Just thinking of alternatives to Samsung in the future. These look good feature-wise, and the company/etc look "legit" too.
DeleteBoost mobile now allows unlocks as does Sprint and Virgin mobile. iPhones mainly have to see what the new Android devices this year allow and which bands they support.
DeleteBlu has made junk in the past but their new devices at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona looked much better. I would wait for the reviews on their new devices.
ReplyDeleteI looked at their offerings on Wal-mart. I liked the size and price, but the screen resolutions were definitely sub-par. I was looking at "Blu" clones of S3 and S4 (looks-wise anyway) that had half the resolution.
Delete@Dennis Bournique: I too was thinking the same thing about the phone price. The LG G2, S3,S4 and Motorola LUGE from Verizon would be phones I'd look at. Plus you can find S4's around $200 Verizon if you look hard enough. Now I'd really like a Note 3 if my Note 2 goes out. I love my Note 2 as its great video and especially good sound for monitoring my Internet Radio Station. $600 for a phone I can buy a nice Laptop, Desktop, Part 15 FM Transmitter and some nice DJ stuff for my station for that. I don't need the latest phone, just one that does what I need for monitoring my station and watching movies occasionally when away and bored.
ReplyDeletethe S6 is trying badly to be an iphone. would rather get a real iphone if this is what Sammy is doing now.
ReplyDeleteor just get a cheap S6 lookalike clone with a mtk octa core cpu from china that does android phones the right way with removable battery and sd card slot.