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The Apple and Samsung battle has been going on for years… in their marketing jargon, in the legal system, and in the court of public opinion. The two juggernauts constantly try to one-up each other yet aren’t afraid to borrow good ideas, a combination that has helped speed innovation and bring the best-of-the-best to consumers. So has the Galaxy S6 borrowed anything from Apple and the latest iPhone 6?
The Galaxy S6 is a huge diversion from previous Samsung devices, implementing a fixed position battery that cannot be removed which also means there is no expandable storage. The plastic is gone in favor of premium metal. The device is one solid piece of awesome. It’s probably the best device Samsung has ever made, but even the Sammiest of Samsung fanboys would have a hard time denying that one particular Galaxy S6 feature looks particularly iPhone-ish.
The three phones shown above (from top to bottom):
- iPhone 6
- Samsung Galaxy S6
- Samsung Galaxy S5
It’s pretty clear that in the move from the Galaxy S5 to the iPhone 6, Samsung agreed that Apple was doing some things right in terms of component placement and design. I’m not sure I even have to explain… but just to briefly summarize.
- Samsung moved the headphone jack from the top of the phone to the bottom of the phone, mirroring the iPhone 6
- Samsung did away with their waterproofing so there is no longer a cover to the MicroUSB port
- The speaker was moved from the rear of the device to the bottom, mirroring the iPhone 6
- The speaker “grill” holes look very similarly circular
I’m sure this will be argued endlessly, until of course the iPhone 7 or Galaxy S7 or next DilemmaGate arrives. Perhaps we’re throwing fuel on the fire, but hey, we think it’s an interesting observation and one worthy of discussing. Regardless, after playing with the Galaxy S6 for several hours now, it’s easily one of the most beautiful phones – and maybe the best phone – I’ve ever used in my life. I’ll let Apple and Samsung figure out on what merit that came to be.
What do you think about these similar design choices? Is Samsung getting risky? Are the companies artificially inflating a Jay-Z vs. Nas style feud that helps both of their art grow exponentially? Did I just date myself and are you still even reading this?
I’m sure you’ll let me know all that and more in the comments below.
No mention of how the iPhone 6 looks very similar to the HTC One (M8)?
Probably because that was done when the Iphone 6 came out. Is anything mentioned above also characteristics of the M8?
I guess my point is that it’s now widely accepted that there are certain things that make for a good looking, premium phone. These things include a gorgeous screen, unibody metal display etc.
Samsung got panned for not having a metal body on the S5, now they fix this for the S6 they are accused of copying Apple despite other manufacturers adopting similar forms.
The article screens of the sort of clickbait we’re all getting sick of after these announcements. Why pointlessly try to pit Samsung and Apple against each other like this?
Well no one is pitting them against each other, they’re actually competing directly with each other, so I think it’s unfair to call it clickbait. Plus Apple has been accusing Samsung of copping, and Samsung continues to deny it. I do agree with your larger point.
Microsd charger you say? SanDisk really does have some impressive new tech
What the fcuk is a Micro SD charger?
This product from 2008?
http://www.itechnews.net/2008/04/10/usb-smart-cable-charger-microsd-card-reader-combo/
Nice one :) isn’t that a Micro USB adapter though? I dont think a Micro SD charger is being invented yet or needed.
It was pretty much the only thing that came up. Another option would be a OTG cable/hub+built in charger port. Other then that I don’t know what a MicroSD Charger would even be.
I’m not surprised. The iPhone is still the single most sold phone under one name despite any 5 after its title, Sammy took note of what all their costumers “seem” to want in the design of their smartphone and implemented that design. If they’re lucky, screw the fact that Samsung makes a more powerful phone yearly, people my just mistake the S6 for a iPhone. Sells are sells no matter how you get them.
So.. no removable battery, no sdcard. Sounds like a Nexus Device.
How about we compare the S6 with the Nexus 6. (instead of comparing with iPhone)
They look nothing alike in terms of physical appearance.
Glad that I still get my microSD and waterproofing with my Sony.
they forgot to add “everything” in the header of the article
I think you meant Micro USB charger not Micro SD charger
I don’t see that term in the article at all. I do see Samsung did away with their waterproofing so there is no longer a cover to the MicroUSB port as a bullet bpoint but I do not see the term Micro SD charger anywhere
They obviously changed it then
i am done with everything samsung – i used to love these devices…company has lost it
http://www.slashgear.com/samsung-galaxy-s-5-or-note-4-curved-glass-patent-appears-02310692/
So I did type a a response to this article but the phandroid app decided it would delete it and only post the link below……phantastic :/
Anyway just wanted to say I really don’t mind the design and the SD and Battery changes aren’t a deal breaker. Is it the same as the i6 design wise? Did they copy? I don’t really think so. Interesting how the i6 gets ridiculed for a short time that it looked like HTCs offering (m7 at the time) and then gets completely forgotten and praised for its design. To be honest, and I’m not defending Samsung or saying they were first, But I vaguely remember seeing leaked patent for designs that were quick very similar to the S6. The below link shows a design patent for a curved screen phone, design wise its pretty close to an S6 edge. This patent was Dec 2013 and reported the following month. I can’t find the leaked patent for the S6-esque device, but i know it’s out there. Dare i say Samsung knew what path they were going to take with the design!? Guess it will only help them in the case of a lawsuit should apple decide to strike and claim copy cat!
http://www.slashgear.com/samsung-galaxy-s-5-or-note-4-curved-glass-patent-appears-02310692/
Samsung had the headphone on the bottom for a while, moving it to the top was a mistake imo.
You forgot to add:
– No removable battery, for the first time EVER
– No microSDXC slot, for the first time EVER
– A ridiculous glass back, like the old iphone
Samsung is dead to me.
Nexus FTW
Not when its missing 2 of those same points lol
The Nexus 4 has the same 3 points. -_-
I still love that phone, but by the gods the battery really suck.
but at least Nexus won’t have Touchwiz bloat…
Very low hanging fruit with that.
Hopefully the S6 is a huge fail, and they will think twice about screwing with the Note line.
I don’t think so. It will be a huge success.
doubt it. They’ve been losing revenue and profit for a year now. Now they’ll offer no better features than Xiaomi or Huawei… this ain’t going to be a huge success. they ain’t Apple.
Huge success? Are you high man?
Time will tell…
God I’m praying they don’t touch those features on the Note 5. PLEASE, PLEASE don’t remove these things on the Note 5!
I disagree. I think those are just A vs B choices. You could have glass or plastic. You could have removeable or not. It’s black or white. With the DESIGN however you could go infinite ways… and Samsung clearly chose a design and placement of elements that mirrored the iPhone quite closely.
“The plastic is gone in favor of premium metal” I realise the author is not an engineer but Aluminium is by far the cheapest and most abundant metal on the planet. Titanium or even stainless steel could be considered premium but certainly not the material used to make millions of coke cans every day. It does look nice though, until you bend or scratch it
Hell, the plastic they used is literally the exact same class of “premium” material as aluminum anyway.
Apple likes to pretend their devices are premium, but no. This is freaking premium: http://www.gresso.com/landing/regal/en/
Handcrafted titanium and gold.
Thats a nice Phone! Price from £3k
Well, ya know… Titanium is still pretty damn pricey. Gotta pay for the good stuff.
Of course, with phones, you gotta pay for the mediocre stuff masquerading as the good stuff too. Man, phone prices suck.
Out of curiosity I bought a 6.5 inch chinese knockoff from HK for £30. I am not going to use it but If it works I will be delighted :) I think the high end expensive market will cool in the near future. There are too many producers of excellent phones coming on stream
I think Xiaomi would have a good market here in the US, if they would just get over here. I bet a lot of people would like MIUI as well, provided it came with the Play Store. Gotta have them apps, after all.
Still, though… if I had enough money that $3,000 was a pittance, I would buy one of those phones. Not the one with gold on it, because tacky, but the regular style ones. That black titanium does look good.
Eh premium materials but design is too tacky
Without the gold, it doesn’t look bad. Pretty rectangular, but titanium isn’t as easy to form and mold as aluminum.
I knew it was a poor man’s iPhone but damn that is a blatant rip-off!
Don’t they cost pretty much the same? The Edge will probably be more like a rich-man’s iPhone.
So Samsung fans often used to buy the Galaxy S devices for the removable back, the SD slot and the tough plastic design, while other people often comprised on the durability and being able to swap batteries and memory by purchasing phones which use materials like glass or metal on the back and sides which crack and dent more easily and also mean you can’t open the back. However, from these phones you then got nicer aesthetics and generally better software as a result.
The S6 seems to have gunned for the best of both worlds and ended up with the worst of each. Now we have a fairly ugly phone (the front still looks bad in my opinion) with easy to damage materials, no removable battery or SD card slot and shitty software.
Who was this for again? :P
most blatant iPhone rip off – no SD card, no removable battery.
Haha that’s funny
So any device that does away with SD Card slot and removable battert rip off the iPhone? I guess Motorola, the entire Nexus series and the Galaxy S6 rips-off the iPhone.
Yup, pretty much. Copying the crappy features of iPhone to be same as iSheep.
Your argument is absurd. The majority of Android devices no longer have MicroSD Card slots, since Google started the trend when they removed the feature from Nexus devices and got rid of the ability to move apps to SD.
Google stopped using SD Card slots in Nexus devices because pictures and apps stored on the SD Card caused slow device performance, not to be like Apple.
You’re absurd. LG has SD card, Sony has SD card, HTC has SD card. Xiaomi has SD card, Huawei has SD card. Majority don’t have SD card? Why are you trolling? If you don’t want to have cheap storage, fine, why the heck are you so bent on removing easy storage options from other consumers?
Maybe you shouldn’t even use a smartphone…because most people don’t need one. So why don’t you get rid of your smartphone?
iphone or ativ S?
Here’s a list of features the Apple loyalist should hope Apple steals from Samsung
-14nm chip architecture
-UFS 2.0, which puts the S6 closer to laptop SSD memory.
-Higher than 750p? resolution
-True Multitasking
-Download Booster
-MST technology for their Apple Pay which will bring usability up substantially by not relying on NFC.
-Wireless charging standard. (Both technologies)
-More than 1 gig of ram
-OIS to not just the “big” IPhone
-Curved screen
-Wireless charging standard. (Both technologies)
-OIS to not just the “big” IPhone
for sure.. and make a 16MPcam too!
Samsung should have brush the bottom like they did on the sides and all this talk would be no where to found.
I still can’t believe that Samsung couldn’t figure out how to include a sd card on the S6. I can deal with a non removable battery but skimping on the sd card not so much. I see LG and HTC picking up sales if they continue with their sd card support. Hopefully they get the message and decided to include the sd card port on the Note 5.
The original M7 didn’t have removable storage. It wasn’t until HTC took a second stab at a metal unibody design that they got the sd card. With Samsung going with the faster UFS storage it will be interesting to see if they will put the sd card in future models.
I hear what you’re saying but they had an entire year to figure it out. The Galaxy A5 have a unibody and it has a sd card slot, so why kill that feature on the flagship device?
You would think that such high end phones would have stereo speakers by now.
I always liked the thought of removable batteries, but never did I have to replace one nor really have a reason to remove it. My 32gb Nexus 5 has a speaker on the bottom, no micro SD expansion, no removable battery… So I don’t see why it wouldn’t work for me. I’ve missed the amoled screen display badly. I know the down sides of amoled screens but those are things that only start to affect it 5 years or so l from use which I would totally have a new phone by then anyway. I think if I go Sammy, I’ll be getting the green edge model!
You don’t even have to be a battery-swapping road warrior maniac to benefit from removable batteries. If you keep your phone for 2 years or you sell it, the Li-ion battery you’re stuck with will have degraded by a significant amount depending on how many charge cycles it’s gone through. I bought new batteries for all my old Samsung phones after 1 year and/or at resale time to increase value.
I don’t like the headphones on the bottom myself, as I carry my phone ion a holster and headphones on top is more convenient *for me*. But, I am the minority, so I adapt I guess
The covered MicroUSB was on the S5 only. The port on my Galaxy S4 is also uncovered.
Speaker on the bottonm will be nice for streaming, as it will be pointed closer to wear the person viewing is. As to ‘The speaker “grill” holes look very similarly circular’. That’s kind of a “Well, no duh” statement. Square holes introduce weaknesses at the corners. Theres only so many shapes left after ruling out hard corners, and only 1 if them is affordably produced using existing tools.
I will miss having an SD Card slot, but to be perfectly honest, I don’t really use the one in my S4 except as an on-device backup.
I’m the opposite, the top headphone socket is the only thing I don’t like about my N6 after coming from a bottom placed socket on the GNex (Samsung made so it’s not like it’s the first time they’ve done it!).
Why put the S5 in a case? It detracts from your point.
This is one feature I don’t care as much about. My Nexus 5 had a bottom speaker and it is fine. My Galaxy Nexus had the bottom headphone jack and it got in the way of my car mount.
I’m just still mad about the SD card and non-removable battery, which is why I got my S5 in the first place. Maybe my preference will change, but they did take a couple of good things from iPhone. Too bad they didn’t put the speaker up front..
I will be honest… I see the similarities… However I also see the differences…Samsung has the antenna bands curving around the bottom frame.. Instead bof one row if big speaker holes…they have two rows of smaller ones(which will help with keeping out dust)..Mic is on different sides…the Galaxy’s Sides are nowhere near as curved as the iPhone’s…And lastly the Iphone’s glass is raised…while Sammy’s is flushed….
Exactly and has some similarities of the edge design and alpha which the alpha came out before the iPhone 6 you could say apple copied them just rounded the aluminum band omg its so similar lol
Yeah or Apple copied the M7/M8.
Haha ya that too
I wouldn’t really call those features. They have made phones with the headphone jack on the bottom before apple ever did.
You forgot to mention that the S6 also has a screen, camera, on/off switch and volume rocker… An article for an article’s sake. As others have said, nothing here hasn’t been done before on other Samsungs. Hardly ‘worthy of discussion’ unless you’re trolling for hits… Oh, wait…
There is more then one way to make a phone of glass and metal. Name another phone company that has the same design like this, then you would know why he wrote this article.
Sony has done it. Xperia Z, Z2, Z3, and I think there was another company out there that has done it as well.
The Z is nothing like the S6 and iPhone. The the design language of the Z is more boxes the the curve of the S6 and iPhone.
Just answering your question pal. That was your question or argument, right?
Yes, I don’t know if you we’re say the Z series look similar to the iPhone? Because it does not.
Their border has plastic running through it
Ah, the old “rectangles belong to Apple” argument.
You are the only one saying this. The N4 had a glass back and it design was uniquely theirs. The Z for Sony had a glass back and it look nothing like Apple. You just make yourself look more dumb.
I have a question if you had a glass front and back how would you design the aluminum border? Would you make it rounded or squared off sharp edges?
I would do both round edge slightly where it meet the screen and flat the side to give it a more square look.
See I would make the sides rounded iv had hard egde a little squared off phones and holding them for a while does become uncomfortable but even with that design it would still be similar and consider you a copy cat of some phone the problem is people don’t realize their is only so much design that can go into a phone right now and if they are all using the same material they are bound to look similar
I see where the two juggernauts of the phone world would want to battle it out on the same field. However, if I recall correctly the reason Sammy went for the headphone jack on the top in the first place was to differentiate itself from the iPhone all together. Now they are going against everything they originally set out to do. I feel that companies like LG, HTC, Motorolla (Lenovo), and the like will be “the next big thing.” That is if they don’t totally betray the whole point difference of Android and IOS. Plus these companies don’t put a bunch of bloat crap on their devices either where Sammy and iCrack do.
Maybe differentiating themselves from Apple in this way doesn’t make sense to the user experience? After all, the jack on top means the phone comes out of the pocket upside down. This is exactly how Apple use their ‘design’ (often just expensively patented common sense that anyone with a shred of intelligence would do) to control and limit innovation in their favour. One could argue ‘well, that’s business’ but maybe the user is the one that ultimately suffers. But there’s really no point arguing with either Apple OR Android fans, as they’re emotionally dedicated to (and financially invested in) their cause. I’d include myself in that…
I’ve had HTC and Sammy and love em both. Can’t go Apple if only because I don’t want to have to buy iEVERYTHING, but I really do appreciate several Apple features, especially the Camera…
The most iPhone-ish feature of the Galaxy S6 = price
Basically all non-Chinese developed smartphones cost roughly the same as, or more than, the iPhone. This isn’t new.
I heard the M9 was gonna be $649.00, with expandable memory. That’s much more affordable in my mind…
On contract, which so many people go with, I don’t think it will matter much. People will buy what they want, within the price range they can afford.
If it’s the diff between $200 up front or $400, I would guess it would matter, but loads have shelled out for the Iphone 6 Plus, so I get what you’re saying.
If you don’t want to pay the price, wait for it to drop then?
HELLO! The biggest reason they dumped the SD card in my opinion. It let them copy Apples price structure, the most desirable “feature”!
Was this really worth calling “project zero” Samsung?
I wonder when someone will finally put Rezence wireless charging into their device.
This:
http://www.phonearena.com/news/Wireless-charging-standards-Qi-Powermat-A4WP-what-does-it-all-mean-and-who-will-prevail_id57371
Looks like the VHS/Betamax battle all over again.
I dunno, it is more like VHS and DVD? They are very different tech. Magnetic induction vs magnetic resonance.
The similarities of these devices are enumerable. If you guys can’t see it you have a serious case of denial. No other android phone looks even remotely like the iphone and the GS6 is nearly identical. P.S. not a fan of the iPhone just stating the obvious.
How about this, is it similar with iphone 6?
Its shape sure.But notice the headphone jack on top, not on the bottom like the GS6 and Iphone6. The placement of buttons ports and speaker grill are all the same.
Removable battery was the main reason I stuck with Sammy. If it’s all the same now, at least when I get an iPhone it’ll always have the latest OS.
There are plenty of brands with removable batteries. Sammy leaving it shouldn’t mean giving up altogether.
I have a note 4 and love and use most of the extra features on it. No other manufacturer have yet to match what the note series can do. I also take advantage of the sd card slot and removable battery. Going to another manufacturer with less feature is not an option for me. I’m hoping that future note series will keep the sd card slot and removable battery.
Note 4 is too large for my use case. Being an S5 user for almost a year has not changed my bias. I actually still prefer the form factor of my s2 skyrocket. Which also is a sore spot with me… If the galaxy s is supposed to be the flagship, why do they keep putting superior hardware in the notes?
Please give examples @jlit99
Of the top of my head, there’s the LG G3 and Huawei Honor 6.
If you care about latest OS I would say Nexus or HTC. Or as you said, if you want to leave then obviously the iPhone is your only choice.
I’m more peeved about the SD card then the battery. I never run out of juice on my S5. I would go with the M9, but the idiots didn’t put in Optical Image Stabilization, proving once again that they just don’t get what makes a great camera. Gonna see if I can hold out til next year…won’t be easy, my upgrade itch is really bugging me!
Let’s just hope the note 5 retains the SD slot and removable battery
Samsung copied the curved screen from the iphone 8…retroactively of course.
Pretty much sums up popular perception.
So this is a real article or a satire..?
Must be satire, unless the writer is a complete idiot. I’m going to go with the latter.
Get ready for the inevitable lawsuit when Apple tries to claim they invented circular holes.
LOL!
As someone who has to help others quite often with the transition from iphone to android. I have to give Samsung credit for keeping most of the muscle memory intensive things in similar positioning. Also grateful they choose not to integrate a silence switch. Sometimes imitating a good design is not a bad thing.
omg omg omg the new s6 edge is here!
Whatttt i didn’t even know that the middle phone was a Samsung looked like a iphone 6plus
So samsung ditched usb 3.0 also?
Lest we forget…
Lest we forget how it actually was…
Well you obviously forgot.
http://www.theverge.com/2012/7/31/3209913/apple-iphone-ipad-prototypes-new-samsung-trial-pictures
http://www.itproportal.com/2012/01/02/first-apple-iphone-prototype-designed-1983/
lol @ fandroids trying to argue what everyone knows. Android OEMs copied Apple.
And Apple copied both Windows and Android as well, what is your point? The entire industry “copies” the rest of the industry.
To say otherwise is pure ignorance.
Negative, The very concept of touch screen Android was copied after iOS.
http://www.cnet.com/news/pre-iphone-android-envisioned-with-no-touch-screen-support/
“Touch screen’s will not be supported” – Google, July 2006
All other arguments are null and void after that basic fact.
…
Ok then. Gonna point out, first of all, that the iPhone was not even remotely the first capacitive touchscreen device. It was just the first one to sell well.
Just ignore iMessage, iCloud, third party keyboards, notification panel, widgets, the AppStore, Siri, QuickType, Spotlight, “cards” style interface for “multitasking”, multitasking in the first place, the UI design, actionable notifications, “slide to unlock”….
All copied. As I said, everyone copies everyone. I can show you think in WebOS that were copied from elsewhere, in Android, in Windows Phone, in Windows Mobile, in iOS, in PalmOS, in Blackberry OS…
They all do it. Get used to it and stop being a ridiculous fanboy, good lord.
Never said iPhone was the first touch screen device so I dont know why youre going off on that tangent.
Never said iOS didnt copy Android either. All I said was Android copied iOS with the very concept of becoming a touch screen OS after iOS came out.
You are the one off on a tangent, anyway. The whole comment was about Samsung supposedly copying Apple’s design. It had nothing to do with the origins of Android.
And not that it matters.
Wait, so Google copied Apple because their early, pre-release concept device that was never even released didn’t support a touch screen? So are you saying that Apple copied the touch screen from Palm, HTC, Samsung, and others who had touch screens pre-iPhone?
I had Windows Mobile devices well before the iPhone was even announced, and with SPB Mobile shell, I already had swipe navigation, an icon-based layout, and a bunch of other features that were similar to what I saw on the iPhone.
Everybody copies someone. To say that Android is a complete ripoff of iOS is as ridiculous as it is to say that iOS is a complete ripoff of SPB Mobile Shell.
Touch Screen Android was copied from the first touch screen device. the same way Apple copied the iPhone touch screen from the first touch screen device. Both android and iphone copied touchscreen from the CREATOR of the first touch screen device. they BOTH copied…
Also lol @ excluding the original galaxy S from your chart. Nice try but wont fool anyone.
Because I made the chart?
Oh wait, Samsung themselves did and it was a part of their defense.
Dont post half ass sources then.
Your point is irrelevant anyway. The original Galaxy S was in line with their existing designs, just an evolution of them.
It shows, quite clearly, that while Samsung took a few design cues from Apple, so did Apple take design cues from Samsung and others.
I don’t think it matters when, at the end, they all look like mini TV’s or computer monitors. Should we be upset that Apple copied the design of LCD TV’s?
I’ve seen early Android and other phones that the first iPhone was a direct copy of. Jobs was the ultimate thief and spin artist. Apple deserves credit for Respinning these and creating a design and build that has been exceptional, but they are hardly the sole creators of it.
How about this one?
Haha, that is pretty funny.
to be honest history of hardware doesnt matter when the interface looks like it was made by Tonka
is this a copy of iphone too?
http://m.9gag.com/gag/ao0ew6A
I rest my case