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See how the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge evolved

We put the metal and glass S6 and S6 Edge next to the S3, S4 and S5 to see how Samsung's design choices have changed over time.

Luke Westaway Senior editor
Luke Westaway is a senior editor at CNET and writer/ presenter of Adventures in Tech, a thrilling gadget show produced in our London office. Luke's focus is on keeping you in the loop with a mix of video, features, expert opinion and analysis.
Luke Westaway
2 min read

Watch this: Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge design compared with S5, S4 and S3

If you're one of the horde of smartphone fans baying for Samsung to ditch its reliance on creaky plastic, your protests have been heard -- with the all-new Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge , Samsung has abandoned its traditional plastic construction in favour of sleek, solid metal and glass.

To see how different the new models are, we've put the new S6 and S6 Edge alongside their forebears -- the Galaxy S3, S4 and S5 -- all of which embodied the plastic-is-fantastic ethos that Samsung has just gleefully abandoned. Hit play in the video above to see all five phones next to each other, then click through the photos below.

Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge meet their predecessors

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The S6 and S6 Edge are a significant departure for Samsung, both in terms of materials and its philosophical approach to smartphone building. For the first time in years, Samsung will be peddling flagship phones that, as a result of their gleaming, stylish redesign, lack both a removable battery and the power to expand on-board storage using a microSD card.

Does metal and glass make a difference?

So is Samsung's trade-off worthwhile? Well, for me, there is a noticeable difference holding the S6 in one hand and the S5 in the other. The metal and glass deployed in the S6's construction gave the device a solid feel that's tough to match with flexible plastic.

Of course, toying around with a device at a trade show is very different from using a phone every day. In the full review, we'll be looking at whether the S6's lack of expandable storage and removable battery is a fair trade, and we'll also be interested to see how durable the glass S6 proves to be in the hands of millions of accident-prone tech fans. Stay tuned, and be sure to check out more of our coverage from Mobile World Congress.