Galaxy S6’s improved fingerprint scanner lets you log into websites with one touch [VIDEO]

The Samsung Galaxy S6 features improved finger scanning hardware that gives us something functionally identical to Apple’s highly-touted Touch ID, but its software-side enhancements build a case for the S6 as the benchmark for fingerprint authentication. Take for example the newly added ability to login to your favorite websites with just the touch of your finger.

While not a full-fledged password manager, Samsung’s finger scanner now sports the ability to securely store login credentials for use in the phone’s web browser. Find the site you want to login to, scan your finger, and the phone’s software will autofill the form. No more typing in usernames or fumbling over your super secure passwords (they are super secure, right?).

The first time you log into a site, the Galaxy S6 will ask you if you want to store the credentials and use the finger scanner to authenticate website sign ins in the future (provided you have already set up the fingerprint reader). You’ll have to do this individually at first for each login, so you can choose which sites require authentication.

While Apple has done a lot to improve the Touch ID experience and open it up to third-party developers, it has been slow to roll out core functionality in the same way that Samsung has with their Galaxy line. Before, we could say Samsung’s hardware lagged behind, but now it seems Apple may be the one with some catching up to do.

It is technically possible to replace the Samsung Galaxy S6’s battery

With great advancements in design come great sacrifices that must be made. For the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, those sacrifices had to be made in areas of expandable storage and user-replaceable batteries.

The latter shortcoming is causing a few of you to steer far clear of Samsung’s latest darling, but what if we told you it actually is possible to access and replace the Samsung Galaxy S6’s battery? Samsung even has a section detailing how to do it buried at the bottom of the device’s user manual we uncovered last week (which you can dive into right now over at AndroidForums.com).

 

But there’s a big catch — these instructions aren’t meant for you. Samsung left the goods in there for repair technicians who might need a refresher on how to get skin deep. In fact, we have it on good authority that Samsung will use new versions of the manual that completely omit this section altogether.

What the instructions don’t mention is that there’s a big slab of glass stopping you from simply prying the back cover off. Getting through said glass is likely to require a heat gun and some fine-toothed tools to get it off cleanly and without a break.

Even if you do manage to get it off, getting it back on cleanly is another story. One screw-up and you could find yourself covered in shards of glass or a very messy-looking back plate not worthy of being called “beautiful.” Samsung’s big warning about your warranty being voided through unauthorized repairs should be reason enough to shy away from giving it a go yourself.

Long story short, if you aren’t professionally trained to make delicate smartphone repairs then you shouldn’t even try to replace your own battery. Let Samsung’s repair technicians handle that should you ever need some fresh lithium inside your Samsung Galaxy S6, or if you can’t handle not being able to gain easy access to the battery compartment you can simply choose to go with a different smartphone altogether.

Samsung touts the Galaxy S6’s fast and wireless charging features in latest ad

You should have already heard about the Samsung Galaxy S6’s great charging capabilities by reading our review, but in case you haven’t Samsung has a cool new ad showing you just how great their new charging features are.

The company talks up the device’s ability to serve up enough juice to last 15 hours in nearly 15 minutes thanks to its fast charging, as well as the ability to charge the device wirelessly with nearly any charging pad without the need for extra accessories. They even show off Ultra Power-Saving Mode, a limited software form that scales back on processing power, displays apps in greyscale and other tricks in order to squeeze as much time as it can out of however much life your battery has left.

All of that is important for the device’s user experience. As noted in our Samsung Galaxy S6 review, battery life on the Samsung Galaxy S6 isn’t terrible, but it isn’t the greatest either. It’s a good thing that Samsung made the charging experience effortless and blissful in the absence of advancement in core battery technology, we’d say. Be sure to check out Samsung’s full video above.

Watch the Galaxy S6’s image stabilization take the iPhone out to the shed [VIDEO]

If you think optical image stabilization (OIS) is a gimmick that exists merely to allow manufacturers to hype up their latest smartphone camera, you need to watch this video. A simple demo put together by Samsung demonstrates exactly what OIS does and why it is actually quite useful in helping you take the best photos possible.

We slid in an iPhone 6 for comparison. It lacks OIS altogether (you need to pony up for the iPhone 6 Plus to get that feature). We’ll let the results speak for themselves.

For more on how the cameras of the Galaxy S6 and iPhone 6 stack up, see our full comparison post.

A group of robbers tried to hijack a truck full of Samsung Galaxy S6’s

Samsung makes popular devices. How popular? So popular that people will do anything to get them, including hijack an entire truck.

On April 1st in India a group of robbers hijacked a truck that they believed to be full of Samsung Galaxy S6 devices. The truck contents were valued at over million. The robbers disabled the GPS unit in the truck to get away without being tracked. It would have been a perfect plan except for one thing: the truck was not full of Samsung Galaxy S6’s.

The truck was indeed carrying million worth of Samsung devices, but these devices were motherboards and integrated circuits for smartphones. They could have used the loot to build their own Samsung Galaxy S6 or Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, but that’s it. The India Express reports that the four robbers, who have since been detained, did expect the truck to be full of phones. Oops.

So, kids, if you’re looking to hijack a truck you might want to make sure it’s carrying the right stuff. It would also be a good idea to not hijack a truck to begin with.

[via SamMobile]

Samsung Galaxy S6’s Fast Charge vs a skydiver: Who’s faster? [VIDEO]

Samsung’s latest promo video for the Samsung Galaxy S6 once again showcases the device’s fast charging feature, but they put a nice little spin on this one. They wanted to find out which was faster: the Samsung Galaxy S6 getting 4 hours of battery life or professional skydiver Yves “Jetman” Rossy making a 40 kilometer dive (about 24 miles).

The answer: fast charge, of course. Jetman still made impressive speed in getting to the ground, but it wasn’t quite enough to beat the Samsung Galaxy S6 to the battery capacity that helps get you 4 hours of talk time (around 20-22% last we’ve checked).

Keep this suff in mind the next time you have some awesome daredevil stunt to perform and your phone is dead and you somehow have the ability to charge it while you’re off getting your Evil Knievel on. You can check out the full race from star to finish from multiple angles right here, or take a look at the quick 2 minute recap above.