Interesting post on the lack of microSD slot and non-removable battery:
http://phandroid.com/2015/08/13/samsung-galaxy-note-5-s6-edge-plus-micro-sd-card-slot-removable-battery-nope/#comment-2192283174
"It's so frustrating to read comments on this topic around the internet. So many people just don't get it. They have misconceptions about why these features are important. So instead of replying to each confused post in this thread, let's just consolidate all the points:
Response #1: "32GB/64GB/128GB should be more than enough space".
First of all, maybe it's enough space FOR YOU. That doesn't mean it is for the other user. Secondly, maybe what the user needs now will be different from what they need in the future, and this can't always be predicted. How nice it is to be able to install more storage cheaply without having to buy a new phone. And lastly, it's much, MUCH cheaper to get a 64GB phone then a 64GB MicroSD card at market prices than to get a 128GB phone, paying whatever Samsung feels like charging for flash storage.
But lastly, one of the biggest points and benefits of the MicroSD card is NOT that it provides MORE storage, but that it provides REMOVABLE storage that can survive a device failure. Smashed screen? Water damage? Phone just randomly kick the bucket and doesn't turn on any more? All the data you kept backed-up on the SD card is still safe. I do a complete, automatic nightly backup every night to my SD card... and this backup has saved me across multiple smartphones, multiple times per phone, including the most-recent time in February which forced my upgrade to the S5. Each time, I just moved my SD card to the new phone, restored my complete backup, and I was right back where I left off.
Response #2:"Just use the cloud if you need more space"
This is an insulting, ill-informed non-answer. In this age of data caps and significantly LESS than 100% wireless coverage, depending on "the cloud" for your backups or data overflow storage is ridiculous and unreasonable. Not all of us stay confined in a tiny little bubble around an urban oasis. Most of the world is NOT cities, and we spend a significant amount of time with weak or even no wireless service. Should I be unable to access my files, media, data, etc as well as be unable to make my backups every time I have no signal? It's simply not an option. Secondly, with the data caps on all plans you would eat through this quick in no time, especially in the case of full phone backups (how long is YOUR data-capped plan going to survive backing up that 64GB phone?). And finally, "cloud" storage is EXPENSIVE. A few places will give you maybe 5GB free, but if you want more than that then you pay through the nose PER YEAR. My 64GB MicroSD card was a one-time cost and is accessible regardless of wireless coverage.
Response #3: "The battery lasts plenty long enough"
For YOU perhaps. Good for you, nice to hear you're one of those light phone users. Those of us who are heavy users don't have the same experience (and if you say that you're a "heavy" user and it lasts a whole day, then actually, no, you're NOT a heavy user). In a typical heavy-use day for me, my phone is dead well before 5pm. If it's a REALLY heavy and long day for ME, I might even need to swap in a THIRD battery before I ultimately go to bed in the evening. And if I'm away from charging sources for a long time, those spare batteries come in real handy.
But also... it's not just about not being able to last through the day. It's also about the fact that batteries wear down over time. In about 2 years, your lithium-ion battery holds a fraction of the original "full" charge it did when new. Or perhaps it has been exhausted entirely. Why be forced into replacing an otherwise perfectly-good phone for the sake of a $10 battery that should be user-replaceable? This anti-consumer planned obsolescence is why I went with Android instead of iPhone in the first place. Now Samsung seems to think it's cool to screw over users like Apple does.
Response #4: "Just carry an external battery pack"
That's just ridiculous. I don't want to be tethered to a huge lithium brick any more than I want to be tethered to a wall outlet. Compare that with just quickly swapping in a fresh, charged battery then getting on with my day without any wires. It's not a reasonable alternative and does not allow one to continue to be functional.
Response #5: "Samsung couldn't make a thin/premium phone and still have a removable battery and/or MicroSD slot"
This has been proven wrong over and over and over, not only by other phone manufacturers but Samsung themselves. The S5 was only 8.1mm thick and had both a removable battery AND a MicroSD card slot. Hell, the Samsung Captivate had a REMOVABLE metal back. Anyone who really cares that the S6 is a "whopping" 1.3mm thinner than the S5 is just an OCD thickness chaser. We've long ago crossed the threshold where "thinner" doesn't make the phone "better"... it makes it more delicate and less able to hold reasonable internals and features. Besides, Samsung is a huge, talented company with massive resources... if anyone could figure it out, they could. Their line about not being "able" to while still providing thinness or premium is just a marketing excuse that unfortunately far too many Samsung-apologist fanboys just lap up without question.
Response #6 "SD Cards are slow"
Answer: don't buy crap SD cards. There are plenty of fast MicroSD cards out there, including the ones I buy. Are they AS fast as internal storage? No. Does it matter? No, things still load up wicked fast. Is it worth it for the safe, removable, expandable storage (see the last part of #1 above)? Hell yes. Stop chasing meaningless speed specs like some OCD junkie and instead look at the benefits granted by this feature.
And finally, and perhaps most-important of all: If for YOU a removable battery and MicroSD slot are of no use, then no one is making you use them when they're present on your phone. You didn't use them on your previous phones? Fantastic for you, you got on just fine. Meanwhile, the option WAS there for all those people for whom these features WERE CRITICAL. But with the features gone in the S6, now those users are stuck without the option..."
