The Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge have finally hit the U.S. shelves, but owners of the smartphones may be getting a raw deal.
Why? Major network operators in the country such as Verizon Wireless, Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile have removed some features that were originally promised by Samsung such as the pre-loaded Microsoft apps. That's right. Users of the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge will not be able to access all the features and pre-loaded apps on their smartphones as the carriers have made some tweaks.
The removal of the features such as Smart Manager, Simple Sharing and Download Booster was first noticed by Reddit users who reported the issue at the Reddit's /r/GalaxyS6 community. The users noticed that the carriers had removed the apps from their variant of the Samsung smartphones.
The list of the features and apps that the major network operators have removed from the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge are as follows:
Verizon
Verizon has not only axed the Smart Manager, which enables better battery and storage use, but also the Microsoft apps which come pre-loaded in the Galaxy S6. So basically, if you purchase the Verizon variant of the Galaxy S6 you will not get Skype, OneNote, OneDrive, and Office Mobile as pre-loaded apps.
However, the Verizon variant of the Galaxy S6 packs in the Simple Share feature that makes file sharing of large files easier and Download Booster, which uses LTE data and Wi-Fi simultaneously to offer faster speed.
AT&T
AT&T has done away with the Download Booster and Simple Sharing features. The carrier has also removed Smart Manager and Microsoft pre-loaded apps.
T-Mobile
T-Mobile has limited a user's ability to remove Quick Connect and the S-Finder features from the dropdown menu. T-Mobile users can't disable the capacitive lights, which is possible in the AT&T variant of the Galaxy S6. Apart from these, it seems that the carrier has not made many other tweaks.
T-Mobile's variant of the smartphone gives one access to the pre-loaded Microsoft apps.
Sprint
Like AT&T, Sprint too has done away with the Download Booster. The carrier has also disabled Wi-Fi calling by default. However, the same can be enabled in the settings. Sprint's variant of the smartphone gives one access to the pre-loaded Microsoft apps.
A Verizon spokesperson has revealed that while the carrier has removed the Microsoft apps, the same can be downloaded via the Google Play Store. However, users who want to download Smart Manager cannot do so as it is not available on the Play Store yet.
