I seem to have made a habit of buying my Samsung Galaxy phones the way folks reputedly watch Star Trek movies: I only get the odd ones. I started with the no number, since it wasn’t a line yet. Then the S3, and now the S5. However, it’s not necessarily because I think the odd numbered ones are better; it’s just because that’s the point in the release cycle that my phone plan runs out and I can get a ‘free’ new phone.
So why am I talking about the S6? Because I have something to say about it.
There are several things that led me to an Android phone in the beginning. One of the first was my experience with iTunes on a PC: it nearly killed it. This was back with the iPod, so it may have improved by the time of the first Galaxy S, but I wasn’t about to find out – just in case.
Second, it seemed I could play around more with Android than with the iDevices. It was more open to poking around in the guts. I also remember the ‘squee’ moment I had when I saw the Linux kernel version it was running. Yes, I am that sad.
Two other things that attracted me were being able to add extra storage in the form of an SD card or similar and the fact that I could remove/replace the battery – as I was used to with the old Nokias that I relied on at the time.
So while the S6 is still Android, and has the advantages I saw then, the last two are the real sticking points for me. The Galaxy S range has usually sucked when it comes to adding storage. You can do it, but you have to open the case to actually achieve it – there’s no external slot. The S6 has removed that disadvantage by removing the ability to add storage at all. A very clean solution.
The other change is the removable battery is now immovable. No more carrying spares, swapping one out for a larger one, or even replacing an unhappy one yourself. This makes me unhappy.
Otherwise, it looks pretty, and apparently feels good in the hand. The specs of their own quad core processor, 3Gb of memory and the like make it look like a reasonable successor to the S5 – though we really are in ‘baby steps’ territory with the technology now.
But pretty as it is, and with a nicer screen, and better CPUs, they’ve taken away two practical aspects that I prefer to have. So, no S6 for me.
That, and my contract isn’t finished yet.