Photos: Samsung Galaxy S6 in Gold Platinum

The Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge have been released in three new colours in Australia. Both of the smartphones are available in Gold Platinum, the S6 Edge can be purchased in Green Emerald, while Blue Topaz is reserved for the S6 alone. Here, we go hands on with the former. The following captions have been lifted from our detailed first impressions article.
Samsung started from scratch with the new smartphones. During development Samsung employees referred to it as ‘Project Zero’.
Both the Galaxy S6 and the S6 Edge are based on the same display; a 5.1-inch AMOLED panel that has a resolution of 2560x1440 and a density of 577 pixels-per-inch. The quality of the screen has prompted Samsung to partner with Oculus on virtual reality headsets designed specifically for the S6 range.
The smartphone is built on a metal chassis and has a back coated in Gorilla Glass 4. The executive vice president of Samsung’s mobile division, Young Hee Lee, said the metal is 50 per cent stronger than that of the competition. “My first language may not be engineering,” Lee began, “but I do know this stuff will not bend.” That was the first of many quips made at Apple’s expense.
Admittedly some features had to be sacrificed. Both Galaxys lack expandable storage, removable batteries and waterproofing credentials. Then again, so do most of the smartphones on the market.
Raw numbers impress. There’s an octa-core processor comprised of 2.1GHz and 1.5GHz quad-core CPUs, 3GB of DDR4 RAM and options of 32GB, 64GB and 128GB of storage.
Powering this hardware are fast-charge batteries that can gain four hours of charge after being plugged in for ten minutes. Alternatively an in-built charging pad — compatible with WPC and PMA standards — can replenish the smartphone wirelessly.
Cameras all around have been upgraded with the rear camera being 16 megapixels and the front jumping up to 5 megapixels. Both cameras have an aperture of f/1.9 for improved low-light performance, while the rear camera can be booted from any screen in 0.7 seconds and gains optical image stabilisation.
One of the most important upgrades made to Samsung’s next-generation flagships concerns the software. Samsung has simplified TouchWiz and leaned more on the design introduced by Lollipop. The Android 5.0 operating system feels less convoluted and significantly more refined. Other tweaks involve a finger scanner that no longer requires a swipe, and a payment system that will be released in the US and Korea first.

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