The leaky, old internet has offered a glimpse at the insides of Samsung's next Galaxy flagship, but reveals nothing to get excited about.
Benchmarking site AnTuTu published test results from a device identifying as the Galaxy S6 (or SM-G925F in Samsung speak) and a French phone blog was fast enough to record the information before it was removed from the benchmark’s database.
The info gathered sounds exactly like you’d expect the Galaxy S6 to sound. An Octo-core Samsung processor, 3GB RAM, a 20-megapixel camera and a 2K-resolution screen, like we saw recently in the Galaxy Note 4.
But, as the phone-buying public becomes increasingly wary of numbers and tech jargon, the sum of these parts amounts to very little indeed. Samsung is going to need to do better than ratchet up the specs in its devices, and it knows it.
A recent survey by UK site Uswitch found that 89% of Britons would be more likely to buy a phone if had better battery life than other phones. Nearly 30% said their top consideration when buying a phone is ‘ease of use’.
This is just one survey, but it reflects what many people we speak with say about their phones, too. Value for money also rates very highly in the conversations we have.
Samsung’s most recently-released phones fail on almost all of these considerations. Next to an iPhone, a Galaxy phone tends to require some education before many users feel comfortable. Even then, a lot of folk never learn some of the best and easiest ways to use them.
Samsung devices aren’t the worst for battery life, but they are also far from the best. And we know that it is the screen that chews through the most juice. Increasing the pixel count is the surest way to have a negative impact of battery life. These screen panels are also more expensive, giving plenty of other brands wiggle room to significantly undercut Samsung on price.
It’s time for a major change of direction for Samsung. Continuing its success relies on the company listening to its customers and responding with products that they actually want and need. No more eye-tracking junk, no more useless heart-rate monitors and S-Voice software no one ever uses. What we see in these benchmark results doesn't fill me with confidence for Samsung next year.
Joseph Hanlon
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