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When it comes to smartphones one of the increasingly important features of the phone is battery life. This isn’t the case for every single consumer but it is fast becoming a major core focus when customers are considering their next device. With that being said, Samsung has always tried to focus on giving consumers a good experience with battery life, whether it be offering them the capability to swap out batteries to keep going, all made possible by the removable back and removable battery features, or with the Galaxy S5 last year and its power saving features which could take a user through 24 hours of use on just 10% of the battery thanks to ultra power saving mode.
This year things are a little bit different with the battery as Samsung has made some big changes to the batteries on the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge, which sport a 2,550mAh battery and 2,600mAh battery respectively. First and foremost, this plays into the overall design Samsung has given both of these devices. Both the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge feature a non-removable glass back, which in turn also means a non-removable battery. With this being the case, users no longer have the ability to swap out the battery for a fully charged one if their battery power is running low. This has long been a strong argument for loyal Samsung fans as to why they loved the Galaxy S line of devices compared to some other phones. There is a reason for this though according to Samsung, and it’s centered around the fact that they feel this is the best battery experience for consumers yet. They stated in their Unpacked event today that they have long passed up the opportunities to use a non-removable back and battery design because they didn’t feel they had things where they wanted them. With the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge, they believe they have a device that can offer a great enough battery life that customers don’t need to swap out batteries.
This in part has to do with Samsung giving the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge the ability to get up to four hours of battery life in just 10 minutes. This is Samsung’s quick charge capability. Samsung of course has still implemented the power saving modes and features, so users can turn those on at any point if they feel the need, but the ability to charge the battery for 10 minutes and receive a substantial battery power return is pretty huge, so Samsung’s decision of a non-removable battery is understandable. Users can charge the phone for up to half an hour and get 12 hours of battery life, which is very little time for the amount of battery life that is given to the user.
Charging no longer needs to take a couple of hours to get the battery power users need. Another major change is that Samsung has finally built wireless charging into their device. Both the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge support wireless charging on the two major wireless charging standards of WPC and PMA, so charging is even easier than before, no cords needed. If users are worried about compatibility with existing Qi wireless chargers, they shouldn’t be, as both devices will support all existing Qi wireless chargers from the get go. Meaning if users already have a Qi wireless charger they own, the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge will be able to use them right out of the box without issue. Is Samsung’s take on the battery going to cut it this time around? That will be a decision that has to be made individually by the user, but with the few improvements they made we don’t see it being an issue. Real world experience is a different thing of course.