Customer Ratings & Reviews

Needed a new phone and this is the best one on the market

I have been an android user since smart phones came out and was looking forward to this new phone. It had several issues including dropped calls, freezing, failing to auto focus on close up photos. I ended up returning the phone and switching to the iPhone 6 plus which I love.

It's a okay phone a little to much for me really nice

40 days after purchase and the screen is dead. Best Buy Geeks squad says that the Geek Squad protection plan will have us a new phone HOPEFULLY in 5-7 days. This is totally unacceptable. I'm not happy with Samsung and really disappointed with the Geek Squad.

Rather than jumping straight to the review of the VZ Samsung Galaxy S6, I felt it would be more prudent to discuss the features that were important to me on the phone I upgraded from. Additionally, I will be providing some background on myself as this may be of importance to those looking to upgrade to the Galaxy S6 since I am generally considered to be a Subject Matter Expert (SME) when it comes to computer technology as well as smart phones. I won’t be going too in depth into the technical specifications of my prior and current phones as those can be obtained directly from Samsung’s website. So, my previous phone was the Samsung Galaxy S4 16GB with the Black body. With this phone, I had purchased a 16GB Class 10 MicroSD memory card capable of 35Mbps (Megabits per second) data transfer rate. I also purchased a Speck CandyShell Grip Samsung Galaxy S4 Case - White/Black and a ZAGG InvisibleShield Glass for Samsung Galaxy S4. This phone was on a Verizon 15GB data plan and when at home, would be connected via WiFi to a cable internet connection with a confirmed 90Mbps download/20Mbps upload data rate. The Galaxy S4 phone was used to navigate to job sites for my contractor work, to pull up technical information for my work and personal needs and for online gaming (Game of War most recently). The phone had also received the most recent Android OS upgrade to 5.01 (Lollipop). The phone worked reliably for the past 2 years I owned it with minimal issues (no dropped calls, clear voice quality, fast internet browsing, bright clear screen, rare reboot required to clear RAM). The last 6 months of ownership of this phone however, brought about an annoying flickering on the screen that presented after about 5 minutes of the display being on, and only then when the phone was in Auto-Brightness mode or Power Save mode. If those modes were turned off, the issue did not present. So overall, a very functional and enjoyable device to own for the expected lifetime of the typical smartphone. However, as new technologies are developed, so do the capabilities of smartphones, and thus is the reason why I upgraded to the Samsung Galaxy S6 64GB Black Sapphire. Before purchasing the S6, I carefully reviewed all of the specifications and reviews available on this new phone for weeks. There were some significant concerns with some of the changes that occurred between the S4 and S6 models, two of which are talked about frequently, non-removable battery and external storage being eliminated. However, there were also some positives to this new model such as increased RAM (3GB on S4 vs. 4GB on S6) which allows apps to run more quickly, an entirely new processor (most phone manufacturers just raise the processor clock setting which stresses the processor more and speeds its failure in successive phone models) and vastly improved camera capability. Like I stated above though, I won’t be going super in depth into technical specifications. If you really want to compare them, you can check out www.samsung.com Following will be my direct review of the Samsung Galaxy S6 on the Verizon network. I purchased this phone on December 5, 2015. The Samsung Galaxy S6 upon first being activated in my local Best Buy immediately started downloading the most current firmware (Android) upgrades and updates. While this is often the case, I would have hoped that Samsung and Verizon would have programmed the native OS to prompt to approve or wait to download using the cellular data plan, but this was a minor issue with the 15GB plan. For those who have a more modest data plan, say less than 4GB for the month, this could potentially cause an issue where you run out of data when the upgrades/updates are several GB in size. In terms of the upgrade/update process which takes place Over The Air (OTA) and the installation process that follows it, the time delay for functional use to be restored to the user was minimal in comparison to what was experienced on my S4 (about 30% faster than S4). Once the upgrade had completed, I began by adding my Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and Samsung accounts to my phone. This went smoothly until I got to the Facebook and LinkedIn accounts, which when you select the type of account to add, the phone briefly hesitates and then acts as if you haven’t made a selection. Despite numerous attempts to add the account, both on 4G LTE (5 bars strength) and my WiFi (802.11ac WPA2 128-bit encrypted 90Mbps/20Mbps) at home, I still haven’t had any success with getting these accounts added. For most of society who are more social media fans (or fanatics), this is a critical issue that needs to be addressed. For someone who is only a casual or non-facebooker, this may not be more than a slight inconvenience requiring visiting Facebook on the browser app. After my accounts were setup, I was able to begin getting all my apps and user data transferred over. Now, this used to be something that you would have to wait sometimes hours for the retail store’s one or two proprietary cellphone data transfer machines to become available and then wait again for it to finish transferring your data to the new phone. Thankfully, because both of my phones were Samsung and both were smartphones, I was able to download and install the “Samsung Smart Switch” app on both phones. I then launch the app on both phones, selected “Sender” on the S4 and “Receiver” on the S6. Tap the “Next” button and confirm what data to transfer. I wanted all data transferred, so I tapped on “Start” and let the app get to work. Two important things to note about this app though is that it works over WiFi Direct (turn on your WiFi) and that if you have files in a “Private” folder, the Samsung app won’t transfer them. So at this point, I am about a week into using my new Galaxy S6 and it has provided me Google Navigation, Chrome internet browsing, text message, music playback and online gameplay. Overall, the phone is very responsive and has not required a reboot since the last VZ update. I did notice after the fact there instead of a Menu soft button to the left of the Home button, there is now a Screen Tabs button. The Screen Tabs button will bring up all running apps so you can quickly switch to any running app or close all apps to conserve battery and improve phone responsiveness. However, the lack of a Menu button also has a detrimental effect in that the millions of Android apps that were programmed to only allow certain functions to be accessed via the Menu button now require re-coding, and additionally in some cases (like in the Honeywell Total Connect 2.0 app), a phantom menu icon will float on the screen. You can often move the phantom icon, and it will look like a menu button, but it will not respond to taps/tap-hold/double-tap or any other interaction. As for the removable battery, this was initially a significant concern as my wife and I previously experienced an issue where her newly purchased Motorola phone froze while on a call with me. Since her phone had a non-removable battery, she was unable to power off the phone to end the call. Even after I ended the call on my phone, her phone continued to force the line to remain active. This necessitated a call to Verizon Support to force the line to close, ending the call, by suspending her account temporarily. When talking to a Mobile Manager at Best Buy, we were informed there was a new function added to the S6 to address that potential issue where you can press and hold the volume down and power buttons together to force a power off of the phone. So I figured this is now a non-issue. Regarding the lack of external storage, I am still more than a little irritated by Samsung’s decision to copy the horrible design of the iPhone by eliminating this on the Galaxy and Note series phones. To me, this appears to be nothing more than a blatant effort to raise the profit margins of their phones by forcing consumers to purchase upgraded models of their desired phone in lieu of purchasing a memory card. As many have stated since this development was made public, this can cause serious headaches as there are a large number of consumers who relied upon the expandable storage to bring their full library of music and movies on extended trips. Now, because this feature is eliminated, they are forced to either pay hundreds more for the larger 128GB version of this phone or just accept they can’t bring their full library with them. So here’s the bottom line on the S6: Is it a phone I would recommend upgrading to from a Galaxy S4 or similar phone? Yes and No. There are some critical changes to the hardware and software interface which could cause major struggles. If these changes don’t bother you, then absolutely go for this phone upgrade and never worry about having to look back. How does this phone rate compared to the nearest competitor, the iPhone6? My wife switched from the Samsung Note3 and is liking the iPhone6 a lot more, but is the iPhone6 more capable. Based on the numerous comparisons my wife and I were making when checking our phones out the first day, I would have to say that the Samsung Galaxy S6 wins this round. This is based on numerous factors, none of which are subject to personal perception. The S6 just has vastly superior hardware capability compared to the iPhone6. Will my wife return her iPhone6 to get the Samsung Galaxy S6? Maybe…Maybe not. Samsung disappointed her from day one with the Note3 and for the past 3 years, so she is reluctant. If she ends up having issues on her iPhone6 though like she did with a new iPhone5S a year ago, she might just get the S6 as she already stated the S6 is definitely her other first pick.

I miss my iphone. Texting is hard. Web pages just close. Takes forever to load. Pandora won't work. Phone doesn't know when to use WiFi and when to use cellular.

I love Samsung products but this phone must go back to the drawing board. I am very disappointed with this phone!

Screen, camera, and performance are spectacular. Only real complaints are battery life and random reboots. Definitely recommended.

has a lot of issues phone locks up returns to previous page

this phone is awesome i think its better than the s7

This is by far the best phone I've ever owned. Wireless charging is something you can't live without once you use the feature. It's just so convenient! And the phone has a phenomenal camera. I could go on and on about all the great features, but simply put, this is one sensational phone everyone would enjoy. Highly recommended!

Bright screen, excellent battery life, and intuitive layout. Camera takes excellent pictures as well. I've had this phone for the past several months, and I have absolutely no complaints.

Phone looks great, but that is about it. With regular social media and email usage, my battery won't even last 12 hours. When wanting to make a call, it takes an average of 2-3 seconds for your dial pad to even show up. Durability is good. I've got a glass screen protector and a rubber case. Dropped it several times, and no damage. My protector did just shatter a bit, but no damage to the actual screen. Thanks Zagg for that one! I moved to this phone from a Note 2. My Note 2 I would charge about only twice a week, with just as much usage. My S6 I have to charge before the end of the day, and I don't use it as much to try and save battery life. I've done all the recommended settings, and fixes I could find. Not impressed. I'll move back to the Note Edge most likely. The Notes have a much larger battery life. So... If you are a high user, I would not recommend this phone.

Its a really sleek classy phone' It freezes up from time to time but only for a few secs' The battery drains quickly (I do not have many apps installed: just the basics)

Got my phone about 2 weeks now and i love it...upgraded from a 4 and it was the best wait of my life for a phone. great features

Excellent performance. Only complaint is the battery life seems kinda lousy.

I bought this phone as a father's day gift for my dad. He had always complained about not being able to see the screen of his phone in the sunlight. This phone did not disappoint! Also, call volume is very good, and the phone looks and feels of high quality. Only complaint is that there is no micro SD card slot. Maybe on the S7!

I purchased the Galaxy S6 a few days ago. I moved from a Apple iphone. The move was seamless, everything on my iphone transferred with no issues. The only area my iphone excelled when compared to the S6 is the voice quality. I wish the quality was better. Its only average at best with a hiss in the background.

I upgraded from Galaxy S4. What a difference. Enjoy new features. Great charging battery (Fast). I enjoy Samsung products. The quality is good

I upgraded to this phone from the Samsung Galaxy s5 in hopes the battery life would be better. The battery life is horrible on this phone and I will be returning it to the store.