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Confused between Xperia Z5 & Galaxy S6

Hi all
As said in title , I just sold my LG G4 after repairing it (its screen got damaged by water )
Now I'm confused between buying the Z5 / S6 . My budget is quite limited so I can't go for the Z5 premium or s6 edge+
In my country the Xperia Z5 costs arround 120$ more than the Galaxy S6 .
Note that what really matters for me is the Camera quality , Perfomance and the battey .
I really like the design of Z5 , besides it's waterproof . But the S6 has a much sharper and better display .
and the exynos CPU of S6 is much better than SD810 which has a bad reputation because of heating issues .
What do you guys suggest to me ?
And what are the the avaliable models of the Z5 , because where I live I found some have the E6633 Model which is I think Dual sim
and what are the diffrences between those models ?

I had first the S6 for 4 months and now the Z5.
The camera quality of the S6 is definetly better in my eyes if were talking about taking pictures.
With videos i would say the Z5 is better because the videos are not shacking that much.
So the Z5 camera is not really bad but since most people are usually taking more pictures i would prefer the S6 if that's your most important feature.
With the latest .200 firmware update i think the Z5 doesn't heat up that much anymore.
It's still waterproofed and has a nice design without an outstanding camera module.
In my eyes the battery life of the S6 and the Z5 are pretty equal. That's at least what i noticed.
And about differences of the models... yes there exists a dual sim Z5 but i'm not sure if it exists in every country.
I guess the differences are not spectacular besides the second sim tray hehe
hope i could help you a little

Save yourself some money and just get the S6.
Thats what I plan to do, Z5 isnt worth its price tag imo.

Please do not listen to the typical the galaxy s6 has a better camera talk because this simply is not true!
I have owned both and i will tell you right now why the Xperia Z5 is the better phone for you.
1) Camera Resolution, Xperia Z5 can take 20.7mp pictures in 16:9 mode, Galaxy S6 can only take 15.9mp pictures in 16:9 mode
2.A)Camera Quality, Xperia Z5 takes photos with incredible color fidelity and much sharper photos, by comparison the galaxy s6 photos look a bit blurry
2.B) With Xperia Z5 you get the same camera experience as all other costumers that bought the Xperia Z5, with Galaxy S6 you are in a lottery to get a worse or a better camera, Some Galaxy S6 has IsoCell Camera Sensor which is the Old Gen Galaxy S5 Camera Sensor or if youre lucky you get the Sony IMX 240 Camera Sensor, both are good, but sony_imx_240 is better.
2.C) Has dedicated camera button allowing you to focus and take the picture.
2.D) Oh and i forgot something very important, Camera API 2 in galaxy s6 is very buggy even with android 5.1.1, Its so buggy infact that it is currently useless and unusuable.
3) Sony Xperia Z5 may have a cpu that is a bit weaker, but its noway "much" slower as people think, the phone does not suffer from overheating because Sony installed a special cooling system to keep the phone cool all the times, therefor throttling in general scenario cases (gaming, playing videos, etc...) does not occur in this phone.
4)The Xperia Z5 has a GPU that is a bit more powerfull than the Galaxy S6, it also supports special directX11 instructions set that the Galaxy S6 doesnt, for example Xperia Z5 can process hardware tesselation (yes by that i mean the thing you find in games like Grid or Colin Mcrae Dirt 2,3 etc...)
5)With the Xperia Z5 you have Radio, with Galaxy S6 you dont
6)With Xperia Z5 you have SD Card Support up to 200GB, Galaxy S6 has no SD Card Support.
7) Xperia Z5 has a better battery than Galaxy S6 (Galaxy S6 battery is only 2550mah)
8)With Galaxy S6 screen quality you are in a lottery to get a bad screen (screen with pink tint on it) and probably not all stores will allow you to return your phone because of the pink tint, Samsung will not swap it either because they consider it "normal" when it clearly isnt.
9) If you have a defective lens and you need to send it to samsung for repairs, Samsung may ignore your defective lens and pretend its normal and within "quality standards", which is not the case as some users complained in the galaxy s6 section of this forum.
Pros of Galaxy S6
1)You get a Remote Controled IR blaster which will allow you to control your TV, DVD and PowerBox.
2)You get an amazing OLED Screen instead of an LCD IPS Screen by Xperia Z5, there are drawbacks to oled screen, for example the OLED Screen can produce the best contrast ratio you can possibly think of, but the 2560*1440 resolution is not an RGB Matrix, its an interpolated color matrix, so the resolution is actually lower than the 2560*1440, if you are not carefull and you leave your phone screen on for a long time showing the same picture over and over again you can burn the screen and youll end up with shadow pixels that are no longer there, theres no way to fix this issue as its a natural degradation issue caused by CRT and OLEDs, LCD do not have this issue, still, overall the image quality of an OLED screen is unrivaled by any LCD screen no matter how much it costs, no matter who makes it, LCD screens are limited by their own technology when it comes to color fidelity, pixel response time and contrast ratio, things that OLED surpass by an unmeasurable margin Example: a good LCD screen has a contrast ratio of 1250:1, an OLED screen has unmeasurable contrast ratio (Over 1.000.000:1), an LCD screen (TFT screen which is worse image quality than an IPS screen) has around 2ms response time, a proper OLED screen has 0.01ms response time, resulting in less blurriness when playing fps games where camera moves alot.
3)You can set a lower screen resolution for any game you want to increase fps performance of said game, Xperia Z5 does not have this ability, altough the 1080p beying a lower resolution is a more or less good balance so it only needs said ability for like 2 or 3 games
4)You have heart rate sensor, oxigen blood level sensor and walking footstep sensor, frankly i dont use them much but they are an addition and a great bonus to some.
5)Galaxy S6 has a very good post processing resulting in little noise across the entire picture, but this makes all photos loose sharpness, something that the Xperia Z5 avoids by ignoring luminance noise and only post processing the chroma noise, so its a subjective taste, no camera is better than the other as galaxy s6 has its strengths and weakness and xperia z5 camera has its strengths and weakness.
6)Has OIS which works decently enough, altough in video mode Xperia Z5 has a much better video stabilization than Galaxy S6, Xperia Z5 has no OIS, so photos will have to be taken with a more steady hand.
So if you really want an impressive camera, i would go for the Xperia Z5, Galaxy S6 has an excelent camera but it doesnt really stand out as innovative or simply awesome with nothing to match it, LG G4 is a very good competitor (camera wise) to the Galaxy S6, Xperia Z5 camera is unique, its Wide angle lens is excelent and no other phone comes close to it because of its unique specifications, ill tell you right now im more impressed with the Xperia Z5 camera than with the Galaxy S6 camera.

TheWarKeeper said:
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The 810 simply put cannot be tamed by just putting in a heat pipe. The phone does throttle and hence why they've done other things to combat how quickly it heats up. Every phone will throttle, some faster than others and the Z5 does throttle. And thus the GPU might be more "powerful" but your likely to get better performance on the S6 because it doesn't throttle as quickly or aggressively as many 810 phones. Qualcomm **** the bed this year and they know it and so does everyone else.

King p1n said:
The 810 simply put cannot be tamed by just putting in a heat pipe. The phone does throttle and hence why they've done other things to combat how quickly it heats up. Every phone will throttle, some faster than others and the Z5 does throttle. And thus the GPU might be more "powerful" but your likely to get better performance on the S6 because it doesn't throttle as quickly or aggressively as many 810 phones. Qualcomm **** the bed this year and they know it and so does everyone else.
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The Xperia Z5 810 snapdragon chipset is a second generation chipset, it is not the same like in HTC One M9, it doesnt have a heat pipe it has 2 joint heat pipes and it does NOT throttle, ive played it with all graphics on max on dead effect 2 and even nova, and never ive seen it throttle or raise absurd temperatures.
Only Xperia Z5 Compact throttles because it has a weaker cooling system.

Me too I hesitated between the Z5, the S6 and the Moto X Pure (Quickly ditched it because of the SD808). In the end I picked the Z5 for a simple but very good reason: Its firmware is almost stock. I remembered my Note 3 and Note 4, and I decided I didn't want to deal with Touchwiz anymore.
But in the end, the Z5 and the S6 are both excellent flagship phones. You can't go wrong.

TheWarKeeper said:
The Xperia Z5 810 snapdragon chipset is a second generation chipset, it is not the same like in HTC One M9, it doesnt have a heat pipe it has 2 joint heat pipes and it does NOT throttle, ive played it with all graphics on max on dead effect 2 and even nova, and never ive seen it throttle or raise absurd temperatures.
Only Xperia Z5 Compact throttles because it has a weaker cooling system.
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ALL snapdragon 810 phones use the v2.1 as per qualcomm have basically said 2.1 was an update to the chip driver's.
Furthermore it has 2 heat pipes I'm fully aware and yes it does and will throttle, as ALL phone's do especially the 810. Even the S6 will throttle and just not as quickly.

King p1n said:
ALL snapdragon 810 phones use the v2.1 as per qualcomm have basically said 2.1 was an update to the chip driver's.
Furthermore it has 2 heat pipes I'm fully aware and yes it does and will throttle, as ALL phone's do especially the 810. Even the S6 will throttle and just not as quickly.
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Ok, now you are confusing driver version with hardware revision version, the drivers are different in those SoCs in order to accomodate the chip newer revision regardless if the drivers have the same version number.
Furthermore the v2.1 has slightly improved performance compared to v2.0.
Heres more info regarding this chip: http://www.anandtech.com/show/9388/comparing-snapdragon-810-v2-and-v21
Even they state that the chip throttling is improved, and as ive said, playing Dead Trigger 2 with all on max and Nova, AND Relic Run Tomb Raider resulted in no throttling.
Now about the throttling system, you can throttle pretty much anything if you push it that way, you can even throttle a watercooled intel i7-3820 or a gfx card like HD7970 if you push it hard enough with some silly benchmark tests. Infact some AMD Cards had throttle implemented because of the some exagerated burn gfx benchmark applications in order to save various components like VRM from such stupid tests.
All in all, nor Galaxy S6 nor Xperia Z5 throttle when gaming under normal conditions even with the hardest games out there, Xperia Z5 S810 V2.1 is well tamed and temperature are not that hot.
If it is ok with you, i would like to not hijack this thread for such a silly matter when Sony clearly did a great job taming the S810 perfectly in balance, we can further discuss this in PM as this will be my last post about this specific debate in this thread.
Cheers.

You can search for my post history regarding S6 vs. Z5. I moved to the Z5 from the S6 as soon as I could get it. Zero regrets. I absolutely hated the S6. Most frustrating phone I've ever owned.

Sell S6 Flat, Go Z5 Premium or wait for Marshmallow?

Hii Folks!
So I just got back from our local mall and took a test drive of the New Z5 Premium. I'm stoked. From the fingerprint unlock to the Camera Test, amazing. Its fast too. I was trying to stress the device by multitasking really fast, flawless. I'm now having a dilemma if I'll sell my S6 and go Z5P. Oooorrrr, wait for Marshmallow then decide whether to throw in the towel. No bashing please. Thanks!

I have S6 and am having trouble with my cell reception. Keep losing network pretty randomly now in dodgy network areas where my sony Z3 holds on pretty well! Ive used my friend's Z5P and it is a good phone with solid network and better battery. But I think camera and screen are debatable between S6 and Z5P. I'm also looking to replace my S6 due to the network issue and sony Z5/Z5P are my top choices at present. But I might wait for S7 for a couple of months.

I think maybe wait till marshmallow drops. Many beta users have reported that the fingerprint sensor speed and recognition has improved in the marshmallow update.

Dpk1 said:
I have S6 and am having trouble with my cell reception. Keep losing network pretty randomly now in dodgy network areas where my sony Z3 holds on pretty well! Ive used my friend's Z5P and it is a good phone with solid network and better battery. But I think camera and screen are debatable between S6 and Z5P. I'm also looking to replace my S6 due to the network issue and sony Z5/Z5P are my top choices at present. But I might wait for S7 for a couple of months.
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I didn't had the chance to compare the ZP5's camera with my S6. But from what I can say is when I took a little bit of mixed shots and the zoomed it, there are minimal noise. It feels detailed.

Jhayzt said:
I didn't had the chance to compare the ZP5's camera with my S6. But from what I can say is when I took a little bit of mixed shots and the zoomed it, there are minimal noise. It feels detailed.
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http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=64808179&postcount=1013
I got both S6 and Z5c(the cam on Z5/Z5c/Z5P is same). The only good from Z5 camera is more accurate WB and auto exposure. The Z5 focus much improved over Z1~Z3 but I'll call it still slightly worse than IP5s, not as good as advertised while S6 focus is decent to the level near my friend's IP6(I've friends who own IP5s and IP6). The S6 OIS is unbeatable, I could take 100/200iso at low-light/indoor easy but on Z5 I've to pick 400iso to reduce handshake.
Z5 got good software video stabilization but it hurts so much the FOV and degraded the video quality. With software video stabilization enabled you hardly record a long video bcoz it will push the cpu to limit and overheat easy. S6 video stabilization may not as well as Sony but you can record video in long length with full FOV, the FHD/4K quality on S6 is also much better.
Battery on SD810 is quite power draining no doubt worse than Exynos 7420. Mine Z5c got best battery life in entire Z5 line but it looks like no better than S6 in my experiences, might be a bit better but not very noticeable. If you think S6 is power hungry, the fact is Z5P will just more worse. One reason is Z5P screen is dark, max brightness is like half of Z5/Z5c/S6 so you always need to tune up a bit the brightness and wasted extra power. The 4K panel isn't mature yet.
The fingerprint sensor faster than S6 but once the power button gets dirty the recognition speed become slower than S6. So, the S6 isn't fastest but more stable overall.
All and All. It's hard to make a conclusion bcoz all I can feel is the current Sony build are still beta, gonna wait 6.0 to release the camera power on Z5. Expected major upgrade of camera API and improved battery when 6.0 hits Z5. I'll say wait 6.0 to arrive on S6 and Z5P and check the result clearly. If you have free time, waiting for S7 is a even better choice.

I would give MM a chance on the S6
Like M...N said there are reports of more effective and usable fingerprint sensor support.
- Renolz

I actually sold my 8months old S6 (64gb) and got myself a new Xperia Z5 (dual) black. As stated earlier my S6 had a lot of network connectivity issues which got worse with time, got repaired but to no use. I was bit unsure about how good the camera would be on Z5 as there are mixed reviews.
My quick review of Z5 compared to S6 (after 2 days use):
- Better battery backup: my Z5 is at 67% after a full days use (charged fully at 10 am), while my S6 used to be at 4-5% by this time and had to charge it at least once daily (sometimes twice daily). 3g data on all the time with some voice calls, chrome browsing, whatsapp etc. Only using one sim in Z5.
- Camera: IMO the daylight pics on Z5 (23mp manual mode) are better overall than S6 (sony sensor). The pics are sharper overall with vibrant colors but slightly noisier compared to softer (less noisier) dull looking pics on the S6. The night pics are comparable on both but S6 auto mode does way better job than sony's. You actually need to know the manual mode on the Xperia very well as to get good results in poor light (which are comparable to or sometimes even better than S6). Also the camera app is faster and easier to use on the S6 compared to Z5. But, to me (a long time sony user) its a non issue. Mind it there are faulty units with lots of lens blurring and all (as apparent from reviews online) with Z5 in particular, so you need to keep that in mind. Mine doesn't have any such issue.
- Screen and touch response: Samoled vs Ips lcd. Both have their pros and cons. I like the touch response on the Z5 better though. Auto brightness works better on Z5.
- Network connectivity: Much better on the Z5 IMO.
- UI: Z5 has cleaner UI which is seamless. Samsung UI felt a bit laggy at times but both phones are pretty snappy.
P.S - I'm really happy with my purchase overall! Sony's camera app needs work for sure, which I'm confident will be done in coming updates. Samsung needs to improve upon its battery backup and UI IMO.

As this question is in your mind, I'm pretty sure you'll not be satisfied with the S6 again! Why wait? Sell it and get yourself a new Z5, but make sure you'll accept its minor deficiencies.
No offence, but if you're not satisfied with your phone, get another which will make you happier

If you need people to convince you to stay with galaxy s6, you've already made up your mind. Go with Z5, because you're always going to find a flaw with galaxy series.

Z5 pros: Custom roms, better battery life, better camera, micro SD slot, better sound quality, more open for devs (unlocking/relocking bootloader, releasing source codes etc.)
S6 cons: no stable custom roms due to Exynos + Knox tripping = no guarantee outside EU and quite bad battery life compared to G4/Z5 or any other comparable high-end phone released in 2015.
The s6 is only acceptable because of its design, no other stuff makes this phone worth it. An iPhone would probably even be a better choice than the S6. But if you especially dont care about custom roms and just look at hardware specs than just go with that Z5 premium or wait for the Galaxy S7.

In reality, it is impossible to run the 28nm octa-core SD810 Z5 with a full day usage and still got 67% battery left. I think it will need a Z3c with KitKat rom to do that.
If you just trying to get best SOT out with super light use and tune the screen to real dark, it is achievable though. Indeed, I'm a S6 light user mostly and my S6 always got 6~7hrs SOT as well. Such a campaign doesn't reflect real world performance for most people. There are many complaints from medium to heavy users from Z5/Z5c/Z5p on XDA and talk sonymobile forum about battery life.
I always prefer color reproduction from Sony. S6 used a heavy noise reduction and a bit dull but there are just too much noises on Sony. Speaking to the details, both of my IMX240 and ISOCell performs better than my Z5c day and night. It is strange that your S6 IMX240 photo not as sharp as Z5, in my experiences the IMX240 is just too sharp and I even want it to be lower. Me any my friend got a Z5c, mine is absolutely perfect without blur while my friend one got slightly blur so clearly no problem on my camera.
Both got pros and cons on auto brightness and touch responsive. Z5 auto brightness is too bright while S6 is a bit dark but overall I prefer S6. S6 got faster touch responsive while power saving disabled and some lag when power saving on. Z5 is more consistency on this part with or without Stamina on.
Actually, S6 got way more custom roms and kernels but sure no AOSP/CM. S6 got knox trip but Sony also has DRM key and TA partition.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s6/samsung-galaxy-s-6--s-6-edge-unified-development/cyanogenmod-13-galaxy-s6-t3269984
EDIT: I just found that CM13 is available now on S6

Fullmetal Jun said:
As this question is in your mind, I'm pretty sure you'll not be satisfied with the S6 again! Why wait? Sell it and get yourself a new Z5, but make sure you'll accept its minor deficiencies.
No offence, but if you're not satisfied with your phone, get another which will make you happier
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the most accurate reply for this question :good:

Quintz said:
Z5 pros: Custom roms, better battery life, better camera, micro SD slot, better sound quality, more open for devs (unlocking/relocking bootloader, releasing source codes etc.)
S6 cons: no stable custom roms due to Exynos + Knox tripping = no guarantee outside EU and quite bad battery life compared to G4/Z5 or any other comparable high-end phone released in 2015.
The s6 is only acceptable because of its design, no other stuff makes this phone worth it. An iPhone would probably even be a better choice than the S6. But if you especially dont care about custom roms and just look at hardware specs than just go with that Z5 premium or wait for the Galaxy S7.
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the camera on the S6 is better.....better screen, design....and TW is miles ahead and better than sony's UI...it looks outdated....so you're wrong....the only reason to get the Z5 over the s6 are water proofing, and battery, some people would like an sd card also.....but still the S6 is better...can't deny that....and an iphone 6 is better? give me one thing the iphone does better....

abdelha said:
the camera on the S6 is better.....better screen, design....and TW is miles ahead and better than sony's UI...it looks outdated....so you're wrong....the only reason to get the Z5 over the s6 are water proofing, and battery, some people would like an sd card also.....but still the S6 is better...can't deny that....and an iphone 6 is better? give me one thing the iphone does better....
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How are these statements you are giving supposed to be contra-arguments when I havent mentioned anything about it. I did say that the S6 design is better. Also I havent mentioned anything about stock roms, I was referring to custom roms, i.e. Cynogenmod, slimroms etc. Also screen is debatable, the Z5 premium has a 4k screen with alot more ppi and sharpness,while the s6 qhd could be more colorful.
Regarding iPhone 6s:
https://mobile.twitter.com/arter97_dev/status/681054354153971712
https://mobile.twitter.com/arter97_dev/status/680299853801365504
https://mobile.twitter.com/arter97_dev/status/641752688728764416
Here we can see that the iPhone 6s A9 chip beats the Exynos 7420 in single core performance, which is most noticeable in real world comparison. Also iOS will always will be more in harmony with its own device than android and X brand phone. Ofcourse I wouldnt pick an iPhone because I like using cynogenmod etc. myself, therefore the z5 premium is a better choice than the galaxy s6. But id choose an iPhone above an exynos device any day..

Quintz said:
How are these statements you are giving supposed to be contra-arguments when I havent mentioned anything about it. I did say that the S6 design is better. Also I havent mentioned anything about stock roms, I was referring to custom roms, i.e. Cynogenmod, slimroms etc. Also screen is debatable, the Z5 premium has a 4k screen with alot more ppi and sharpness,while the s6 qhd could be more colorful.
Here we can see that the iPhone 6s A9 chip beats the Exynos 7420 in single core performance, which is most noticeable in real world comparison. Also iOS will always will be more in harmony with its own device than android and X brand phone. Ofcourse I wouldnt pick an iPhone because I like using cynogenmod etc. myself, therefore the z5 premium is a better choice than the galaxy s6. But id choose an iPhone above an exynos device any day..
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first of all, in your comment you said iphone 6 and not 6s...second...CPU isn't everything, screen, camera, battery....so even if the 6s is a bit faster it falls in all other aspects.....

abdelha said:
first of all, in your comment you said iphone 6 and not 6s...second...CPU isn't everything, screen, camera, battery....so even if the 6s is a bit faster it falls in all other aspects.....
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I didnt mention the iPhone 6, you should know this since you quoted me. Anyway doesnt matter. Battery wise the iPhone is quite good compared to android phones, because iOS is harmonized to the hardware used (something android lacks). Check http://www.anandtech.com/show/9686/the-apple-iphone-6s-and-iphone-6s-plus-review/8
According to this test it beats the s6 battery usage, but not charging time.
Also a reason why the lower MaH battery lasts longer is because it isn't packed with an unecessary qhd screen (nowdays gimmicks sell better than innovation). Retina, 4k etc screens are good enough and yes you see a difference if you put it next to the s6, but in real world you dont compare screens all day.
And camera wise id pick the s6.
All with all, I am not here to promote the iPhone, but I just want to make a statement how bad the exynos s6 device is compared to other (android) phones. The only things that matter nowday are battery life, performance, camera,functionality (this aspect is taken less in consideration by non xda users ) and design. All screens on high end phones look quite good.

Quintz said:
I didnt mention the iPhone 6, you should know this since you quoted me. Anyway doesnt matter. Battery wise the iPhone is quite good compared to android phones, because iOS is harmonized to the hardware used (something android lacks). Check According to this test it beats the s6 battery usage, but not charging time.
Also a reason why the lower MaH battery lasts longer is because it isn't packed with an unecessary qhd screen (nowdays gimmicks sell better than innovation). Retina, 4k etc screens are good enough and yes you see a difference if you put it next to the s6, but in real world you dont compare screens all day.
And camera wise id pick the s6.
All with all, I am not here to promote the iPhone, but I just want to make a statement how bad the exynos s6 device is compared to other (android) phones. The only things that matter nowday are battery life, performance, camera,functionality (this aspect is taken less in consideration by non xda users ) and design. All screens on high end phones look quite good.
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it's a bit confusing, you saying that the S6 with exynos is bad compared to other androids!...and you're wrong, it's the best cpu for androids, and in multi core it's the best in the world...my s6 is 9 months old and it doesn't lag....so if you're getting lag then it's either you have a defect phone or i don't know....the S6 fly through anything i do....and it and the NOTE 5 are the fastest android devices.....the ram management is bad but the speed is just great...it's faster than the nexus 6p....just so you know....

abdelha said:
it's a bit confusing, you saying that the S6 with exynos is bad compared to other androids!...and you're wrong, it's the best cpu for androids, and in multi core it's the best in the world...my s6 is 9 months old and it doesn't lag....so if you're getting lag then it's either you have a defect phone or i don't know....the S6 fly through anything i do....and it and the NOTE 5 are the fastest android devices.....the ram management is bad but the speed is just great...it's faster than the nexus 6p....just so you know....
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Click to collapse
No I yet again need to say this but I didnt mention lag. And yes the exynos chip is the best for android, but the sacrifice you need to make (no stable custom roms) is quite high. Anyway enjoy your phone, take care.

I sold a Z5 to come back to this phone. The premium is simply an oversized and ugly version of the Z5.
The only good thing on the Z5 is the fingerprint sensor.
Real world use, the Z5 camera is absolutely awful, daylight and low light is blown away by S6, it distorts pictures, and has no stabilisation in low light so motion blur even when you keep very still. Battery life is awful (4hrs SOT), the screen is not sharp enough, the phone is laggy, runs very very hot, and is NOT water resistant, speakers get wrecked after any contact with water, permanently.
The only good thing on the Z5 is the fingerprint sensor.
Aside from some very small skips (not lag) in settings menu, the S6 runs smooth and fast and battery life is 5hours SOT, camera is unbeatable. Very glad I got an S6 again.
On a side note, I have an Iphone 6 for work, unfortunately, and its far from lag free and smooth. It is buggy and battery life is mediocre at best although it does charge fast. Camera is useless.

TheEndHK said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=64808179&postcount=1013
I got both S6 and Z5c(the cam on Z5/Z5c/Z5P is same). The only good from Z5 camera is more accurate WB and auto exposure. The Z5 focus much improved over Z1~Z3 but I'll call it still slightly worse than IP5s, not as good as advertised while S6 focus is decent to the level near my friend's IP6(I've friends who own IP5s and IP6). The S6 OIS is unbeatable, I could take 100/200iso at low-light/indoor easy but on Z5 I've to pick 400iso to reduce handshake.
Z5 got good software video stabilization but it hurts so much the FOV and degraded the video quality. With software video stabilization enabled you hardly record a long video bcoz it will push the cpu to limit and overheat easy. S6 video stabilization may not as well as Sony but you can record video in long length with full FOV, the FHD/4K quality on S6 is also much better.
Battery on SD810 is quite power draining no doubt worse than Exynos 7420. Mine Z5c got best battery life in entire Z5 line but it looks like no better than S6 in my experiences, might be a bit better but not very noticeable. If you think S6 is power hungry, the fact is Z5P will just more worse. One reason is Z5P screen is dark, max brightness is like half of Z5/Z5c/S6 so you always need to tune up a bit the brightness and wasted extra power. The 4K panel isn't mature yet.
The fingerprint sensor faster than S6 but once the power button gets dirty the recognition speed become slower than S6. So, the S6 isn't fastest but more stable overall.
All and All. It's hard to make a conclusion bcoz all I can feel is the current Sony build are still beta, gonna wait 6.0 to release the camera power on Z5. Expected major upgrade of camera API and improved battery when 6.0 hits Z5. I'll say wait 6.0 to arrive on S6 and Z5P and check the result clearly. If you have free time, waiting for S7 is a even better choice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The question I have for you is, none of my third party apps can auto focus the s6 rear camera. Only the official camera app and HwTest app can. Do you have any experience with this?

Does S6 worth as an upgrade to LG G2

Hello i am considering getting a S6 in order to replace my 2 years old LG G2 and i am really concerned if it can be considered as a worthy upgrade (can not go to S7 due to its price to be honest).
I am currently pretty happy with G2 (do not care about the camera) due to its battery since i am using the transportation means for more than 2 hours everyday. My needs are music streaming (4g) calls, emails, some games (candycrush at most) etc.
At the moment since i am out of the house at 7 am and back at 10pm, i return with 10-15% of the battery left.
Any advice would be appreciated.

Of course what are you waiting for , it's definitely worth. But to be honest to only thing the LG G2 is better at compared to the S6 is battery life.

Thank you, but the question is to what extend. Assuming that i need 80-85% of LG's battery during MY day, will S6's battery will be able to come through?

differece is not big in performance , i have two mobiels and i know this
but s6 is , except battery more powerfull
change not is necessary , my opinion

If battery is your main concern and don't care about camera at all, I don't suggest to S6. Use your G2 for one more year and get S7 later it got bigger battery, microSD, 4GB ram and waterproof.
Screen is S6 a bit better but to be honest G2 got one of the best screen even better than G3 and G4. Design is S6 better without doubt and camera way better but I don't think you will take it into consideration. S6 also got Gear VR which is fun if you like 3D gaming but again I don't think you need it.

There is a big difference in performance , better camera , fingerprint scanner and all sammy features , Quad HD amoled screen...etc. As i said before the only thing the G2 is better at is battery life.

Soufiansky said:
There is a big difference in performance , better camera , fingerprint scanner and all sammy features , Quad HD amoled screen...etc. As i said before the only thing the G2 is better at is battery life.
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Click to collapse
Indeed he is just a light user(music streaming (4g) calls, emails, some games (candycrush at most)) .... SD800 is enough.

TheEndHK said:
Indeed he is just a light user(music streaming (4g) calls, emails, some games (candycrush at most)) .... SD800 is enough.
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Click to collapse
Yeah if he's a light user S800 will do the job very well.

cdrov said:
Thank you, but the question is to what extend. Assuming that i need 80-85% of LG's battery during MY day, will S6's battery will be able to come through?
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Click to collapse
My S6 is still running 5.1.1 but after reading the comments of MM on this board, it seems 6.0.1 deliver good battery, I think it's possible to reach 80% of G2 or at least achievable when you enable power saving mode.

Thank you guys, i'll stick with g2 for some time and i will probably get a galaxy tab s2 that i was wishing for some time now .... Thank you for your suggestions

Upgrade to Galaxy S7 (from Nexus device)

Hello, everyone.
I have a Nexus 5X. The phone is good, but when I bought I was expecting a better battery life and perfomance (before Nexus 5X, I had a Galaxy S6). Now I wonder if it worth the upgrade: sell my N5X and buy a Galaxy S7 (flat).
Is the Galaxy S7 flat really better then Galaxy S6/Nexus 5X? I mean, battery, perfomance, etc?
Would I have to do several tweaks to get 5h SoT or I can reach that full stock with moderate use (Chrome browsing, Whatsapp and Facebook)?
Whay are the pros and cons of this beautiful phone?
About updates: will Galaxy S7 receive Android O?
Thanks in advance, I appreciate your help.
Best Regards.

AG22 said:
Hello, everyone.
I have a Nexus 5X. The phone is good, but when I bought I was expecting a better battery life and perfomance (before Nexus 5X, I had a Galaxy S6). Now I wonder if it worth the upgrade: sell my N5X and buy a Galaxy S7 (flat).
Is the Galaxy S7 flat really better then Galaxy S6/Nexus 5X? I mean, battery, perfomance, etc?
Would I have to do several tweaks to get 5h SoT or I can reach that full stock with moderate use (Chrome browsing, Whatsapp and Facebook)?
Whay are the pros and cons of this beautiful phone?
About updates: will Galaxy S7 receive Android O?
Thanks in advance, I appreciate your help.
Best Regards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Coming from the Nexus 5X here are the Pros and Cons of getting the S7 Flat
First, I would recommend you get the Exynos Variant. Don't waste your time on the Snapdragon Variant as the bootloader is locked, and the Exynos Variant was proven to be more battery friendly on multiple tests ( Source: GSM Arena )
Pros
--> Better Battery Life, 3000mAh
--> Amazing Display ( 2k vs 1080p of Nexus 5X ) not to mention its Amoled so colors really look punchy and blacks are real deep
--> Fluid and fast
--> Camera is one of the best I've used and If I'm not mistaken the best right now in its league
--> Device feels premium and solid when you hold it
--> Monthly Software Updates
Cons
--> Speaker sounds horrible, very flat sound even with Viper4Android and other Audio Mods
--> Without case, device feels slippery as the back is made out of glass
--> Non-removable battery
--> Snapdragon Variant has locked bootloader ( which you can't unlock )
--> Price
TL;DR - It's a really great phone, and the difference coming from the Nexus 5X is really noticeable. I recommend you get the S7 Exynos, its worth every dollar.

Revontheus said:
Coming from the Nexus 5X here are the Pros and Cons of getting the S7 Flat
First, I would recommend you get the Exynos Variant. Don't waste your time on the Snapdragon Variant as the bootloader is locked, and the Exynos Variant was proven to be more battery friendly on multiple tests ( Source: GSM Arena )
Pros
--> Better Battery Life, 3000mAh
--> Amazing Display ( 2k vs 1080p of Nexus 5X ) not to mention its Amoled so colors really look punchy and blacks are real deep
--> Fluid and fast
--> Camera is one of the best I've used and If I'm not mistaken the best right now in its league
--> Device feels premium and solid when you hold it
--> Monthly Software Updates
Cons
--> Speaker sounds horrible, very flat sound even with Viper4Android and other Audio Mods
--> Without case, device feels slippery as the back is made out of glass
--> Non-removable battery
--> Snapdragon Variant has locked bootloader ( which you can't unlock )
--> Price
TL;DR - It's a really great phone, and the difference coming from the Nexus 5X is really noticeable. I recommend you get the S7 Exynos, its worth every dollar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you!
About cons you mencioned:
1- Nexus 5X's speaker are not that good as well, but it's not crucial...
2- I always use a case, even on my old iPhone 5S, my old G S6 and now on Nexus 5X
3- My other option would be iPhone 6S, which is also non-removable (like my Nexus 5X )
4- I'll try to find the Exysnos version
So the battery is really noticeable if compared to Nexus 5X and my old Galaxy S6, right?
Screen and perfomance I know, it's fantastic!
Again, I appreciate your time.
Regards

AG22 said:
Thank you!
About cons you mencioned:
1- Nexus 5X's speaker are not that good as well, but it's not crucial...
2- I always use a case, even on my old iPhone 5S, my old G S6 and now on Nexus 5X
3- My other option would be iPhone 6S, which is also non-removable (like my Nexus 5X )
4- I'll try to find the Exysnos version
So the battery is really noticeable if compared to Nexus 5X and my old Galaxy S6, right?
Screen and perfomance I know, it's fantastic!
Again, I appreciate your time.
Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I come from the Z3 Compact which if you do some research has phenomenal battery life ( Around 101h based on GSM Arena's Test ). The S7 has solid battery life, I use it mostly to browse the net and watch anime via MX Player and I get around 30-40% at the end of the day. Your usage patterns might vary but it will comfortably get you through the day.
Please don't get the Snapdragon Version, the Exynos S7 is far better compared to the Snapdragon in terms of efficiency, multitasking and battery life. The Snapdragon Version excels in Single Core Benchmarks and the GPU is slightly more powerful on paper. On real life usage, tests have shown a difference of 1-2 Fps in games which is really not that significant ( GSM Arena Tests )
You might have a hard time looking for a screen protector as the S7 has 2.5D Glass which means the sides are slightly curved, due to this, there aren't any tempered glass that covers the whole display. Although protective films with Self-healing tech such as Armorsuit's offering is case friendly. Most screen covers get pushed by the case therefore causing bubbles, but Armorsuit and IQ Shield are AFAIK case friendly.
Goodluck and I hope you enjoy your new device!

Revontheus said:
Yes, I come from the Z3 Compact which if you do some research has phenomenal battery life ( Around 101h based on GSM Arena's Test ). The S7 has solid battery life, I use it mostly to browse the net and watch anime via MX Player and I get around 30-40% at the end of the day. Your usage patterns might vary but it will comfortably get you through the day.
Please don't get the Snapdragon Version, the Exynos S7 is far better compared to the Snapdragon in terms of efficiency, multitasking and battery life. The Snapdragon Version excels in Single Core Benchmarks and the GPU is slightly more powerful on paper. On real life usage, tests have shown a difference of 1-2 Fps in games which is really not that significant ( GSM Arena Tests )
You might have a hard time looking for a screen protector as the S7 has 2.5D Glass which means the sides are slightly curved, due to this, there aren't any tempered glass that covers the whole display. Although protective films with Self-healing tech such as Armorsuit's offering is case friendly. Most screen covers get pushed by the case therefore causing bubbles, but Armorsuit and IQ Shield are AFAIK case friendly.
Goodluck and I hope you enjoy your new device!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess here in Brazil, the version that is sold is the Exynos version.
Thank you for the tips.
Best Regards

AG22 said:
I guess here in Brazil, the version that is sold is the Exynos version.
Thank you for the tips.
Best Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My pleasure, everyone should have the right to experience this great device

[Discussion] Who's going for the plus variant ?

Also which device you currently own and are you planning to upgrade for the new Samsung's flagship ?

I will be preordering the plus.
Spent the last year suffering through an Alcatel Idol 4S.
I know, self inflicted wound.

Currently S8+. Going to get S9+. Thought about waiting for Note 9, but the updates to the camera and ram seem sufficient for me.

Upgrading from S7 Edge to the S9+

i just ordered s9plus yesterday on clove !
now, using s8.
but i worry about galaxy X...

Have an OP5T and I'm planning to order the S9+.
Just holding off a little bit as I want to see more about it when in use.

Going from S8+ to S9+ the camera and ram and speaker upgrade is all I missed on the S8.

Sold my S8+, using a OnePlus 5 temporarily.
Will be pre-ordering the S9+ as soon as pre-orders are open in Pakistan, which is on the 2nd of March.

Currently S8 and I've pre ordered S9+
Camera main reason, but also screen size as I end up watching a lot of video on my phone.

Ordered an S9+ yesterday. Currently on an S8 - mostly upgrading for the better camera and larger screen (for books, etc.).
Considered holding off for the X, but I'm expecting the price to make the S9+ look cheap!

I have the Note8 and will be getting the S9+.

I'm confused about getting the normal or the plus version.
I had a Pixel 2 XL and now I'm with a U11+; this would be my first Samsung ever, but I'm a little bit worried about the battery life, which in most threads I have read is kind of average.
Size is also weird, feel like the normal version is small and the plus is too large, not used to this new 18.5:9 ratio.
I don't care much about the dual camera, because the normal version gets also most of the good things.
Any advice would be more than welcome.
:fingers-crossed:

Ordering the S9+ for myself. Most likely will order the S9 for the wife (not a power user) so it should be sufficient for her

Proudly S7 Edge owner and now Pre-Ordered the S9+ and waiting for it to be delivered (hard time )

Galaxo60 said:
I'm confused about getting the normal or the plus version.
I had a Pixel 2 XL and now I'm with a U11+; this would be my first Samsung ever, but I'm a little bit worried about the battery life, which in most threads I have read is kind of average.
Size is also weird, feel like the normal version is small and the plus is too large, not used to this new 18.5:9 ratio.
I don't care much about the dual camera, because the normal version gets also most of the good things.
Any advice would be more than welcome.
:fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I originally struggled with the same question when the S8 and S8 plus came out. I finally purchased the S8 plus and in the end was glad I did. I have no questions now, I have ordered the S9 plus from Clove yesterday and am eager to get it. The size difference is really not that great between the two phones - and the benefit of 2GB more of ram and the Dual Camera make it all worth while. There is HUGE difference between a single camera and a dual camera. I have the note 8 too and the difference in cameras and options is significant. My advice is to go for the S9 Plus, you won't be dissapointed.

Going for S9+
Currently on S7.

Geekser said:
I originally struggled with the same question when the S8 and S8 plus came out. I finally purchased the S8 plus and in the end was glad I did. I have no questions now, I have ordered the S9 plus from Clove yesterday and am eager to get it. The size difference is really not that great between the two phones - and the benefit of 2GB more of ram and the Dual Camera make it all worth while. There is HUGE difference between a single camera and a dual camera. I have the note 8 too and the difference in cameras and options is significant. My advice is to go for the S9 Plus, you won't be dissapointed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What about the battery?, in most of the threads I see average consumptions.
I'm not a heavy user, actually, any $100 could do the job for me, but I buy flagships because I rely on the phone's camera a lot by not having a DSLR or any other kind of camera outside the phone.
I'm just a little bit worried about the battery because Samsung has fame of not giving the best results. People starts with 5-6 SOT and they end doing half after a couple of months.

Galaxo60 said:
What about the battery?, in most of the threads I see average consumptions.
I'm not a heavy user, actually, any $100 could do the job for me, but I buy flagships because I rely on the phone's camera a lot by not having a DSLR or any other kind of camera outside the phone.
I'm just a little bit worried about the battery because Samsung has fame of not giving the best results. People starts with 5-6 SOT and they end doing half after a couple of months.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I can't comment on the S9plus battery because I don't have it yet - but I can say that with every Samsung phone that has been released, the battery has been better than the phone I had previously. I have the S8 Plus and the Note 8 (the note 8's battery is the same that is going in the S9plus) I can't give you a screen on time because I don't ever look - but I know I am very pleased with how it performs and I have never had an issue. I also expect the S9 plus to do even better than the Note 8 because of the improved processors and chips they are using, which will run much more efficiently. Honestly, I would suggest that you stop worrying - and jump in - the water's just fine.

Rasherr said:
Proudly S7 Edge owner and now Pre-Ordered the S9+ and waiting for it to be delivered (hard time )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I own an S7 flat too but i'm keeping mine :fingers-crossed:

Galaxo60 said:
What about the battery?, in most of the threads I see average consumptions.
I'm not a heavy user, actually, any $100 could do the job for me, but I buy flagships because I rely on the phone's camera a lot by not having a DSLR or any other kind of camera outside the phone.
I'm just a little bit worried about the battery because Samsung has fame of not giving the best results. People starts with 5-6 SOT and they end doing half after a couple of months.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I had my S8+, I was regularly getting 7h of SOT for the 6-7 months that I had the first one. Then on my second S8+, same results. Pretty good battery life on the plus models.