The S4 Active was so much more presentable. with the S6 they went with big upper and lower bezels and the added bulk here makes things a lot worse.At least if they had solar on the back, getting really bored waiting for such phones. If they went this far and killed it as a mainstream device, they could have at least added some functionality that fits the target market.
You could probably fit a 500 mW solar panel on the back of the phone. It'd take about 3 days in direct sunlight to fully charge ... if the phone was off.
Does this really need the digital camouflage back?
At least this has the water protection that the S6 lost. The large battery is appealing too. Still probably not enough to upgrade from my S4, until that finally breaks.
I agree. The larger battery, a big of ruggidizing, and the water resistance are nice toss-ins that makes me think I'd get the Active over the mainstream S6. Still waiting for an "Alpha" or Note that has an SD card slot though....
Mil-STD-810G includes 502.5 which tests for low temperature.There are three cold test environments:
Basic Cold covers most of Europe; Northern contiguous US; Coastal Canada (up to -31C). Cold covers Canada, Alaska (excluding the interior); Greenland (excluding the “cold pole”); Northern Scandinavia; Northern Asia (some areas). Severe Cold covers the Interior of Alaska; Yukon (Canada); Interior of Northern Islands; Greenland ice cap; Northern Asia and specifies a single temperature of -51 deg C. http://www.chassis-plans.com/blog/mil-std-810g-par...
Isn't IP68 rated for full water protection? Since IPx7 is rated for 30 minutes in 1 meter of water, IPx8 should be in 3 meters of water infinitely right?
This is the only version of the S6 I'd consider... and it's a VERY appealing option. The main things I care about in a phone are a long life battery, water/shock resistance, tap on/off (G4 likely will get my vote for this feature alone), and a good camera.
Every mid to high end phone can text/run basic apps and web blazingly fast now. It's the little things that matter more imo.
Agreed, I care more about ergonomics and peripheral stuff at this point than performance or even things like display quality. Camera doesn't even make the list for me since I have nicer cameras I use much more often...
Battery life, wireless charging, weather resistance, and even things like the ability to customize it (leather or different color backs, Moto Maker, etc) ALL matter more to me.
Outside of battery life tho, those things can be pretty subjective and not everyone will care about ALL of them. I think the market could benefit from more focused models rather than almost arbitrary high end vs mid range vs w/e disparities tho.
At least this Active has flagship specs so it doesn't make any sacrifices... Unlike previous ones.
Is there actually an outdoor/military usage case that calls for three physical buttons in situations where capacitive wouldn't work? I mean, it's not like you can get much done with just home/back/app switch and no touch, tho I guess it could potentially make quick searches easier (only need one button for that tho).
Intuitively you would think physical buttons would actually make LESS sense on a rugged model, one more thing that can break down and one more body gap to seal, yet a lot of rugged phones have these. Just trying to figure out the logic here... Or is it just Samsung holding steadfast to their buttons like some sorta design identity?
You are right Impulses, those buttons create an additional point of failure on the phone. However, they allow you to answer/make calls in the case the digitizer (screen) gets broken. The buttons are (well, at least should be) on a separate circuit that offers an additional layer of fallback in both aftershock and high/low temperature conditions that make touch screen interaction quite impossible (people in the North Pole don't wear "touch screen gloves" typically. Additionally, you don't require visual contact to answer or hang up, this is also very important under many circumstances not seen by the common consumer. And let's forget the "voice" assistant, noise is usually part of the equation.
These phones are rarely chosen by their owners but rather decided at a higher "level" (I am typically one of those people who has to decide which phone a large number of other people will be equipped with while on research expeditions).
Sx Active models are historically nice and tough but not excellent. The S6 Active is a joke: no sdcard port and no removable battery feels like it was designed by Silicon Valley nerds rather than by people who actually work in the outs. I wouldn't stand a chance showing this to my management and I'd probably get fired. Well, it gives you the idea :)
Um, how do your answer/make calls with the home/back/app switcher buttons? Is there a special setting in TouchWiz that lets you enable answering calls with those buttons?
Plus if that's the sole benefit, why not just map the to the volume down button or something like that? It's not like you could get much more done with a button than the single usage case you mentioned.
Meant to say map the call answer function to the volume etc button... I guess mapping end call would be tougher since you definitely don't want that on the volume buttons, maybe the power one but that could interfere with regular functionality... Still doesn't explain the jump from one physical button up front to three tho.
Plus I would think in an outdoors/rugged environment most people would answer calls with a Bluetooth or wired headset... I'm a tropical island dweller but I've always worn a headset when I've taken my phone while skiing. I mean, that's even what soldiers do isn't it? Not sure what I'm missing here...
There was a reddit somewhere that Samsung would see the error in their ways with the 6 series phone and bring back the SD Reader for the Active line. I was hoping that would be the case, since it's much easier to pull a card out and move it to a new phone body when the end user drops it into cup of coffee or a blue room....and wants me to rescue the entire 2 year long job's gallery of pictures rather than saying "Sorry, it's toast"
Construction people seem to be especially hard on smartphones.
Can't imagine switching from the devil I know (Sprint), to the legendary, and horrific customer disservice of AT&T just for this. It amazes me that $am$ung would cut out 2/3+ of it's market making this device exclusive to AT&T. Not that $am$ung gives much thought to its customer base;
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WorldWithoutMadness - Monday, June 8, 2015 - link
Paragraph 1. The last sentence is cut off. I'll finish it'I've organized a massive party for the chickens who crossed the road.'
Brandon Chester - Monday, June 8, 2015 - link
Sorry about that. There's a bit of a scramble right now with Samsung launching a device on the day of WWDC.jjj - Monday, June 8, 2015 - link
The S4 Active was so much more presentable. with the S6 they went with big upper and lower bezels and the added bulk here makes things a lot worse.At least if they had solar on the back, getting really bored waiting for such phones. If they went this far and killed it as a mainstream device, they could have at least added some functionality that fits the target market.protomech - Monday, June 8, 2015 - link
You could probably fit a 500 mW solar panel on the back of the phone. It'd take about 3 days in direct sunlight to fully charge ... if the phone was off.Ammaross - Monday, June 8, 2015 - link
But it worked for my pocket calculator in high school! OMG it's SOLAR!</sarcasm>
Kracer - Monday, June 8, 2015 - link
Will it be available internationally?psychobriggsy - Monday, June 8, 2015 - link
Does this really need the digital camouflage back?At least this has the water protection that the S6 lost. The large battery is appealing too. Still probably not enough to upgrade from my S4, until that finally breaks.
Ammaross - Monday, June 8, 2015 - link
I agree. The larger battery, a big of ruggidizing, and the water resistance are nice toss-ins that makes me think I'd get the Active over the mainstream S6. Still waiting for an "Alpha" or Note that has an SD card slot though....Laxaa - Monday, June 8, 2015 - link
It's certainly not a looker, but that extra battery capacity is sure nice to have.whiteiphoneproblems - Monday, June 8, 2015 - link
If I still used Samsung, and was on AT&T, I would probably get this phone.danbob999 - Monday, June 8, 2015 - link
What about temperature?I can't believe they still make phones which are not rated to operate below 0C. "Active" must not include any winter sport.
spectralsarah - Monday, June 8, 2015 - link
"...meets the Mil-STD-810G standard for resistance to pressure, temperature, humidity, shocks and vibrations."K_Space - Monday, June 8, 2015 - link
Mil-STD-810G includes 502.5 which tests for low temperature.There are three cold test environments:Basic Cold covers most of Europe; Northern contiguous US; Coastal Canada (up to -31C). Cold covers Canada, Alaska (excluding the interior); Greenland (excluding the “cold pole”); Northern Scandinavia; Northern Asia (some areas). Severe Cold covers the Interior of Alaska; Yukon (Canada); Interior of Northern Islands; Greenland ice cap; Northern Asia and specifies a single temperature of -51 deg C. http://www.chassis-plans.com/blog/mil-std-810g-par...
RaichuPls - Monday, June 8, 2015 - link
Isn't IP68 rated for full water protection? Since IPx7 is rated for 30 minutes in 1 meter of water, IPx8 should be in 3 meters of water infinitely right?frenchy_2001 - Monday, June 8, 2015 - link
You would be correct.According to wikipedia, the first digit is dust resistance and the second water:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_Code
Dust level 6 is "Dust tight",
Water level 8 is continuous immersion up to 3m.
So, ATT seems to be contradicting themselves here...
shadarlo - Monday, June 8, 2015 - link
This is the only version of the S6 I'd consider... and it's a VERY appealing option. The main things I care about in a phone are a long life battery, water/shock resistance, tap on/off (G4 likely will get my vote for this feature alone), and a good camera.Every mid to high end phone can text/run basic apps and web blazingly fast now. It's the little things that matter more imo.
Impulses - Monday, June 8, 2015 - link
Agreed, I care more about ergonomics and peripheral stuff at this point than performance or even things like display quality. Camera doesn't even make the list for me since I have nicer cameras I use much more often...Battery life, wireless charging, weather resistance, and even things like the ability to customize it (leather or different color backs, Moto Maker, etc) ALL matter more to me.
Outside of battery life tho, those things can be pretty subjective and not everyone will care about ALL of them. I think the market could benefit from more focused models rather than almost arbitrary high end vs mid range vs w/e disparities tho.
At least this Active has flagship specs so it doesn't make any sacrifices... Unlike previous ones.
Impulses - Monday, June 8, 2015 - link
Is there actually an outdoor/military usage case that calls for three physical buttons in situations where capacitive wouldn't work? I mean, it's not like you can get much done with just home/back/app switch and no touch, tho I guess it could potentially make quick searches easier (only need one button for that tho).Intuitively you would think physical buttons would actually make LESS sense on a rugged model, one more thing that can break down and one more body gap to seal, yet a lot of rugged phones have these. Just trying to figure out the logic here... Or is it just Samsung holding steadfast to their buttons like some sorta design identity?
0xDeadbeef - Monday, June 8, 2015 - link
You are right Impulses, those buttons create an additional point of failure on the phone. However, they allow you to answer/make calls in the case the digitizer (screen) gets broken. The buttons are (well, at least should be) on a separate circuit that offers an additional layer of fallback in both aftershock and high/low temperature conditions that make touch screen interaction quite impossible (people in the North Pole don't wear "touch screen gloves" typically. Additionally, you don't require visual contact to answer or hang up, this is also very important under many circumstances not seen by the common consumer. And let's forget the "voice" assistant, noise is usually part of the equation.These phones are rarely chosen by their owners but rather decided at a higher "level" (I am typically one of those people who has to decide which phone a large number of other people will be equipped with while on research expeditions).
Sx Active models are historically nice and tough but not excellent. The S6 Active is a joke: no sdcard port and no removable battery feels like it was designed by Silicon Valley nerds rather than by people who actually work in the outs. I wouldn't stand a chance showing this to my management and I'd probably get fired. Well, it gives you the idea :)
Impulses - Monday, June 8, 2015 - link
Um, how do your answer/make calls with the home/back/app switcher buttons? Is there a special setting in TouchWiz that lets you enable answering calls with those buttons?Plus if that's the sole benefit, why not just map the to the volume down button or something like that? It's not like you could get much more done with a button than the single usage case you mentioned.
Still doesn't seem to make any sense to me...
Impulses - Monday, June 8, 2015 - link
Meant to say map the call answer function to the volume etc button... I guess mapping end call would be tougher since you definitely don't want that on the volume buttons, maybe the power one but that could interfere with regular functionality... Still doesn't explain the jump from one physical button up front to three tho.Impulses - Monday, June 8, 2015 - link
Plus I would think in an outdoors/rugged environment most people would answer calls with a Bluetooth or wired headset... I'm a tropical island dweller but I've always worn a headset when I've taken my phone while skiing. I mean, that's even what soldiers do isn't it? Not sure what I'm missing here...dmattingly23 - Monday, June 8, 2015 - link
There was a reddit somewhere that Samsung would see the error in their ways with the 6 series phone and bring back the SD Reader for the Active line. I was hoping that would be the case, since it's much easier to pull a card out and move it to a new phone body when the end user drops it into cup of coffee or a blue room....and wants me to rescue the entire 2 year long job's gallery of pictures rather than saying "Sorry, it's toast"Construction people seem to be especially hard on smartphones.
CabbyZ - Tuesday, June 9, 2015 - link
Can't imagine switching from the devil I know (Sprint), to the legendary, and horrific customer disservice of AT&T just for this. It amazes me that $am$ung would cut out 2/3+ of it's market making this device exclusive to AT&T. Not that $am$ung gives much thought to its customer base;testbug00 - Tuesday, June 9, 2015 - link
It's like Samsung finally made a version of the s6 that's decent (battery life wise).And not having a glass back helps also :)