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The release of the Galaxy S6 back in 2015 marked a change in direction for the company after lower than expected Galaxy S5 sales. The GS6 was the first Samsung phone that truly focused on design, but that was then and this is now. The Galaxy S6 is old news, so phones from that generation are losing update support. Samsung's way of telling you to buy a new phone?
In the last month, both Sprint and Verizon have updated their Galaxy S6 and S6 edge units to Android 7.0 Nougat. These are some of the last phones to receive the 7.0 update, but hey, they're two-year old Samsung carrier devices. Now, AT&T is sending Nougat out to the Galaxy S6 (SM-G920A), Galaxy S6 edge (SM-G925A), and its exclusive Galaxy S6 active (SM-G890A).
About nine months ago, Rootjunky managed to bypass the factory reset protection (FRP) on Samsung devices simply by inserting an OTG drive into the phone and installing an app. Then, two months later, he found a vulnerability on LG phones; this time, he circumvented FRP by using talkback settings to open a browser, downloading an APK that opened settings, adding a new user, switching back to the main account, and then resetting without FRP. However, this new exploit for Samsung phones might be the most ingenious yet.
There are certain things you have to expect when buying a phone on AT&T. For example, updates are going to take longer than other carriers (even Verizon as of late), and that's even more true when the device is a bespoke piece of hardware for the carrier. The Samsung Galaxy S6 Active is such a device, made exclusively for AT&T. It has just now received the Android Marshmallow (6.0.1) update, which includes WiFi calling.
A hockey puck is made of about six ounces of hardened rubber. It's hard to put a dent in one, and it has to be, because after a few games anything weaker would look like the "after" images at the NHTSA testing facility. A smartphone is made of plastic, metal, glass, and various bits of circuit board and other electronics, none of which is designed to be smacked repeatedly by sticks and ice. Unless you have a "ruggedized" model like Samsung's various Active phones, of course.
Many of us would consider the Galaxy S6 a significantly prettier phone than prior iterations. It's thin, sleek, shiny, and slippery. Thing is, none of these characteristics are particularly appealing when you're climbing mountains or constructing oil rigs. Most manufacturers would say, "Tough luck, stick it in a case." But Samsung isn't like other smartphone makers. This company cannot turn down the chance to produce another piece of hardware, no matter how slight the change may seem.
If you're a Samsung phone owner hoping to play with the manufacturer's custom-made game recording app, you might just be able to today. Game Recorder+ has been updated to work with a few new devices, plus improved compatibility for new Android 5.1 builds and better performance.
Some of you abuse your phones. You know who you are. You're the folks who are willing to fundamentally change the look, feel, and size of your phone by cramming it into an OtterBox case. A number of you have what few would dispute as a legitimate reason (you work in construction, work as a crash test dummy's stunt double—that sort of thing), while others just feel clumsy enough that their phones can't possibly survive the number of times they will fall against carpet and concrete. Either way, you're the type of person who may want to pick up a Galaxy S6 Active, which is now available from AT&T.
Well, this looks familiar. AT&T has finally acknowledged that the Galaxy S6 Active is a thing, and it's going to be selling it very soon. The GS6 Active does indeed look like the previously leaked images with the camo pattern on the back and physical buttons on the bottom. It looks like a bit of a cross between a Galaxy S5 and S6.