I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm calling it now: the Galaxy S6 is the top contender for Phone of the Year. Why?

Extremely battery efficient; Posh metal and glass chassis; Stellar camera performance; especially in low-light

There's still a bit of bloatware to contend with

Yes. The Galaxy S6 is fantastic. With great performance, premium design (finally!), and a camera that just screams, it's one of the best Android phones out there. It's a solid buy for anyone looking for a premium, solid, not-ginormous Android device.

For years, I've called upon Samsung to create a premium-caliber flagship phone that demonstrates focus, taste and restraint . With the Galaxy S6, the company has at long last delivered.

Sleek and attractive design; premium materials; outstanding display; exceptional camera; easy-to-use fingerprint sensor; decent speaker; solid performance; useful software features like ability to view multiple apps on-screen simultaneously and Easy Mode for novices; includes both wireless charging...

Subpar battery life; glass construction can be slippery and fragile; lacks removable battery and SD card slot present on previous models; user interface less polished and attractive than Google's core Android Lollipop OS; awkward hybrid button configuration

Click-click. Tap. The very best thing about the Samsung Galaxy S6 isn't the new design or the gorgeous high-res screen. (Those are nice, though.) It's the fact that no matter what you're doing, no matter where you are on the phone, all you have to do is click twice on the Home button and you're...

Gorgeous, sleek design; The screen is so high-res it's ridiculous; The best camera this side of the iPhone 6, and you can launch it in an instant; Fast, powerful hardware everywhere you look

Still too much TouchWiz; The phone can feel a little slick in your hands; A lot of bloatware---but at least you can remove it

The Samsung Galaxy S6 is a phone that the brand should rightly be proud of, and it clearly is. Why else would you release the same phone again but with curved edges in the snappily-named Galaxy S6 Edge?

Great camera; Strong design; Excellent audio

A little pricey; Battery not great

Now that Apple is finally making big phones , and even the cheapest Android phones feel nice , we all expect more from Samsung - and rightly so. A flagship phone has to be great or it's going to get laughed out of the room.

Beautiful design; Excellent camera; Incredible screen; Beautiful design; Excellent camera; Incredible screen

Average battery life; Software still needs work; No removable battery; expandable memory; Average battery life; Software still needs work; Curved screen mostly a gimmick

The Samsung Galaxy S6 is a stellar Android handset that is easily one of the best phones ever made. It's the most expensive-feeling Samsung phone we've used, and it doesn't throw away any of the elements we've come to love - aside from the card slot, which we'll be mourning for a while.

This camera is good enough to deserve it's own video! Check out the 4K video above to see some sample videos and stills taken with the Galaxy S6 camera.

Featuring a reworked design that houses a wealth of innovative hardware and software features, the Galaxy S6 is the best Android smartphone currently available

Sharp display; strong security; fast performance; great camera; decent battery life

Expensive; lack of microSD card

Forget the iPhone 6 , the Samsung Galaxy S6 is here. Or that's what the South Korean gadget giant wants you to think anyway. This is Samsung's lead Android phone for 2015. If it doesn't sell 50 bazillion or more, the money men will not be pleased.

Until now, Samsung has made almost exclusively plastic phones; Pay £500 and you'd still end up with a phone that feels a bit cheap; Not so with the Galaxy S6; Its front and back are Gorilla Glass 4, the sides aluminium; 100 per cent premium stuff.

Samsung is out to wring as much money from the Galaxy S6 as possible; The key strategy here is to take out the memory card slot so that if you want enough storage for plenty of music and films, you'll have to upgrade to either the 64GB or 128GB model; And they don't come cheap.