Six Surprises From the Samsung Galaxy S6 Launch

So, a lot of the details about the Samsung Galaxy S6 had leaked out, making us wonder whether it made sense to even show up to the press conference.

But, just in case Samsung had something particularly surprising — or particularly offensive — up its sleeve, we decided to show up.

1. Ease of use — for journalists

The first surprise was that Samsung dispensed with its usual process of making the event as painful as possible for reporters. Typically you wait for over an hour to get let in to a second holding room where you are packed tightly with other sweaty journalists, many of whom have monopods, backpacks and other weaponry.

This year they let reporters go directly in to the auditorium, where they even had little desks (albeit a tad wobbly) along with Ethernet cables.

But you don’t care about that. Here are the things that were surprising about the product itself:

2. Microsoft is there

Microsoft apps are indeed preloaded on the Galaxy S6, including Skype, OneNote and OneDrive.

3. Snappy camera, front and back

Samsung added a bunch of photo tricks to the new S6, including a new camera app that can launch in less than a second. Both the 5-megapixel front and 16-megapixel rear cameras are designed for low light with an f1.9 lens.

Samsung showed photos and videos on the S6 that were significantly clearer than those shot with an iPhone 6.

4. Charging options

Samsung says it can charge in half the time as an iPhone 6, getting four hours of battery charge in just 10 minutes of being plugged in. It also has built-in support for both major wireless charging standards, a first. On the downside, it is the first Galaxy to have a non-removable battery.

5. Women!

Not only did Samsung not offend women with its presentation, it featured two of its female leaders prominently in the presentation. Alongside CEO JK Shin were both marketing executive Younghee Lee and Hyun Yuel Lee, a former Boston University professor who joined Samsung last year.

6. The bottom of the Galaxy S6 is exactly like the iPhone

Okay, photos of this had already leaked, but I am shocked that Samsung is really still this brazen after so many rounds in court with Apple.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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