How Samsung broke the Galaxy S6 in order to compete with the iPhone

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Introduction
There's no doubt that the Samsung Galaxy S series of smartphones were the best Android handsets available, with the Galaxy S5 being the king of the hill. But the more I look at Samsung's new Galaxy S6, the more I think the company broke a winning design in order to compete with Apple's iPhone.
The Galaxy S6 might be a more modern handset, but it's debatable as to whether it is a better design.
Let's take a look at what you'll lose if you switch from the Galaxy S5 to the Galaxy S6.
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Published: March 3, 2015 -- 13:38 GMT (05:38 PST)
Photo by: Apple/Samsung

Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
Substituting plastic for glass
Put an iPhone 6 and a Galaxy S5 side by side and they are like chalk and cheese. One is thin, sleek, glossy, beautiful, and fragile, while the other is chunky, plastic, rather utilitarian, and robust.
Now do the same, but this time replacing the Galaxy S5 for the new Galaxy S6. Now both the handsets are thin, sleek, glossy, beautiful, and very fragile.
I've seen Galaxy S5 handsets fall onto hard surfaces, skid for long distances across concrete, and even get slammed in car doors and driven over and survive pretty much unscathed. I seriously doubt that the Galaxy S6 will be able to do the same.
Gorilla Glass is strong, but at the end of the day, glass is glass.
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Published: March 3, 2015 -- 13:38 GMT (05:38 PST)
Photo by: iFixit

Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
No more expandable storage
If you're used to augmenting the internal storage in your Galaxy S handset with a spare microSD card then I have bad news for you. There is no microSD card slot on the Galaxy S6.
The Galaxy S5 could take a 128GB microSD card.
Gone is the convenience of being able to load documents and movies and whatnot onto a storage card to take with you on the road. Now everything you want to do with your handset eats into your precious (and expensive) storage.
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Published: March 3, 2015 -- 13:38 GMT (05:38 PST)
Photo by: iFixit

Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
No more waterproofing
While the Galaxy S5 wasn't something you could take scuba diving, the gaskets and seals did offer a level of waterproofing that most handsets can't offer.
Here's a video of the Galaxy S5 being put through its paces.
Alas, in the name of making the Galaxy S6 thin and light, those gaskets and seals are gone. So don't try what you see in that video on your new Galaxy S6.
See also:
Published: March 3, 2015 -- 13:38 GMT (05:38 PST)
Photo by: iFixit

Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
No more removable battery
Finally, let us take a few moments to pay our respects to the removable battery feature. While few carry a spare battery around with them these days, having the option was nice, and when the handset was a few years old, you could quickly and easily (not to mention cheaply) swap out the battery to bring its charge capacity up to full.
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Published: March 3, 2015 -- 13:38 GMT (05:38 PST)
Photo by: iFixit

Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

2 of 5 NEXT PREV

The Galaxy S6 might be a more modern handset, and it might look more like the iPhone, but it's debatable as to whether it's a better design than the Galaxy S5.

Substituting plastic for glass

Put an iPhone 6 and a Galaxy S5 side by side and they are like chalk and cheese. One is thin, sleek, glossy, beautiful, and fragile, while the other is chunky, plastic, rather utilitarian, and robust.

Now do the same, but this time replacing the Galaxy S5 for the new Galaxy S6. Now both the handsets are thin, sleek, glossy, beautiful, and very fragile.

I've seen Galaxy S5 handsets fall onto hard surfaces, skid for long distances across concrete, and even get slammed in car doors and driven over and survive pretty much unscathed. I seriously doubt that the Galaxy S6 will be able to do the same.

Gorilla Glass is strong, but at the end of the day, glass is glass.

See also:

Published: March 3, 2015 -- 13:38 GMT (05:38 PST)

Caption by: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

2 of 5 NEXT PREV

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How Samsung broke the Galaxy S6 in order to compete with the iPhone

Introduction

Substituting plastic for glass

No more expandable storage

No more waterproofing

No more removable battery

Substituting plastic for glass

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