Samsung Galaxy S6 (Verizon Wireless)

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Pros Gorgeous new design. Fastest processor and highest-quality display you can get on an Android phone.

Cons No expandable memory. Bottom Line The Galaxy S6 puts Samsung back on top with the best screen, processor, and body design of any Android-powered phone.

By Eugene Kim

Inside and out, the revitalized Galaxy S6 puts its predecessor to shame and injects a much-needed sense of excitement back into Samsung's flagship line. It's arguably the first worthwhile major Android smartphone of the year, pushing ahead of the competition with improvements to core features like display quality, camera performance, and design. The S6 ($199.99 with contract) earns our Editors' Choice award on Verizon Wireless.

We've already reviewed the Galaxy S6 on T-Mobile, so head over to that review for a full rundown on design, features, and performance. For this review, we'll focus on the carrier software load and network performance.

Call Quality and Network Performance
The Galaxy S6 supports the full array of Verizon's wireless spectrum, from 3G CDMA to 4G LTE, along with GSM networks for global roaming. Call quality was great in my tests, with strong volume and natural tones in the earpiece. Transmissions through the mic were very clear, too, and noise cancellation effectively dampened moderate street noise. Samsung brought back the audio tuning feature, which you can use to adjust the tone to your liking—keep in mind, this impacts both call quality and media audio quality. The S6 also supports Verizon's HD Voice and video calling features.

Editors' Note: The slideshow below is of the T-Mobile Galaxy S6, which is physically identical to the Verizon model.

Last year's Galaxy S5 and Note 4 earned top marks for their superb wireless network performance. Network performance is still strong for the S6, despite its new metal build, which is typically less friendly to wireless transmissions. In side-by-side tests with an iPhone 6 on Verizon, the S6 came out on top by an average of 2.5Mbps down and 1.04Mbps up. That's not exactly huge, but on a particularly rough day for Verizon's network, the S6 delivered an average of 5Mbps down versus the iPhone 6's 3Mbps down, which you'd likely notice in regular use. Unlike the T-Mobile model, Verizon's S6 does not support Samsung's Download Booster feature, which combines LTE and Wi-Fi for more reliable connectivity.

See How We Test Cell Phones

In a battery rundown test, where we streamed a YouTube video over LTE with screen brightness set to max, the S6 lasted 7 hours, 13 minutes. That's on par with the results we saw on the T-Mobile model, which lasted 7 hours, 48 minutes, and a lot better than the iPhone 6's 4 hours, 33 minutes in the same test.

Software and Conclusions
Samsung slimmed down its software load this year—of the 32GB of internal storage, a respectable 23.24GB is available out of the box. Preloads remain quite heavy, though, with over 20 apps I'd consider non-essential to most users. Our test unit came with Samsung apps like Milk Music and S Health, Verizon apps like VZ Navigator and NFL Mobile, and third-party apps like the Amazon App Store and Candy Crush Soda. Thankfully, you can uninstall most of the third-party apps, but Verizon's mostly useless apps can only be disabled. On top of that, Verizon continues to push its own Message+ SMS and MMS app over the standard Google or Samsung options. You can change the default messaging app, of course, but that's another unnecessary step. Also, like the T-Mobile model, the Verizon S6 also does not have Samsung Pay installed at launch.

After a down year for the Galaxy S line, Samsung recaptures its Android dominance with the Galaxy S6. It outpaces the HTC One M9, and while we've yet to see the LG G4 or a successor to the Motorola Moto X, I suspect the S6 will still manage to hold its own. It's the best Android smartphone available right now, going toe-to-toe with the iPhone 6 like few other Android smartphones can, making it our Editors' Choice on Verizon Wireless. 

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