MobileTechTalk The Samsung Galaxy S6 brings with it a glossy beautiful design; something consumers have been asking for a long time. It can comfortably sit at the same table as the HTC Ones and iPhones of the world in the aesthetics category. Samsung has been well-known for tinkering with its software value add in recent yeah, so what’s new in their latest flagship. Here’s our Top 5 Cool Samsung Galaxy S6 Features.
At 5! – Fingerprint Scanner
Samsung implemented a Fingerprint scanner on the Galaxy S5 in order to compete with its competitors (namely Apple). Its implementation was widely ridiculed due to the awkward movement and registration failure. With the Galaxy S5, swiping your chosen fingerprint a number of times was required in order to register the fingerprint, and then, ironically enough, sometimes a similar number of swipes would be required to allow the unlocking of the device, such was the hit ratio. With the Samsung Galaxy S6 however, all that has changed. Samsung opted for a “press & hold” process this time. The fingerprint scanner is once again built into the “home” button, and actioning the security bypass from screen off involves pressing and holding the button for approximately 0.5 secs. The result is almost flawless registration each and every time it’s used. Now using fingerprints to unlock the device, and control other applications with SSO is a doddle.
At 4! – Selfie Shot Gestures
Samsung have implemented a new method of taking selfies for their large user base, to accompany its 5MP front facing camera deployment. Previous smartphones have had shutter buttons on the screens enabling users to press the shutter button and occasionally succumbing to a shudder caused by the touch of the screen or the physical button press. Samsung’s Galaxy S6 implementation provides some protection from this. Simply raise the phone, and wave one of your fingers holding the device across the heart rate sensor on the back to take the selfie! The instructions suggest a touch, however in our experience a gentle wag of a finger works just the same. Furthermore, a setting in the camera application itself allows a hand gesture to tell the phone you’re ready for the selfie to be taken. The shot is then taken after a short 2 second countdown. Both are very practical features!
At 3! – Customised Quick Toggles & Quick Settings
This is nothing new, but we love the simplistic deployment this time around. Simply edit the quick toggles you want to see on the first screen upon bringing the notification panel down. Then, choose the 5 other toggles you want to be able to swipe across to get to from the Quick Toggle edit screen. That’s it – easy as that. Other devices deliver the same functionality however we like the simplistic approach to Samsung delivers here (and in its previous phones). Samsung extends the ability to get to areas of the system speedily with Quick Settings also. Within the settings menu there are literally hundreds of individual settings toggles, actions and radio buttons, and it can get a little confusing at times where the ones you’re after actually live. Samsung has implemented Quick Settings to alleviate this. By choosing those settings you use most often, they are available from the settings menu, up front at the top of the screen, each time the menu is entered. A nice touch and goes some way to improve what has perennially been a cluttered settings UI from Samsung.
At 2! – Download Booster
The name says it all here. Download booster is a feature that allows both the Wi-Fi network the device is connected to, and an LTE connected mobile network to operate as a bonded connection and download those files, films and games much quicker using the power of both connections. Neat eh? When toggled, this setting will kick in for files over 30MB in size and a notification panel will be displayed to show the progress of the file download.
At 1! – Camera Launch
Using the aforementioned home button, Samsung has included a neat trick to get you shooting those pictures as fast as possible. From screen off (or on), double clicking the home button will have the camera launched and ready to take shots in the time it would normally take to display the lock screen. From our experience this is much faster than Motorola’s “twist/shake” found on the Droid Turbo, as well as HTC’s “volume down” gesture. With a camera like the 16MP shooter on the Galaxy S6, it’s important to be able to use it as fast as possible to capture those ever evolving moments.
What other tips and tricks have you found? Let us know in the comments below.
