2015 will see the release of many mobile devices, but there will be no bigger than offerings from Apple and Samsung. The next generation iPhone model, the iPhone 7, will dominate the latter months of the year, while fans of mobile technology will relish the appearance of the Galaxy S6 earlier in the year. Both Apple and Samsung will be keen to produce something outstanding with what are essentially their flagship devices.
Galaxy S6
Although the Galaxy S6 will likely appear during the Mobile World Congress in March, it is still early days for Samsung to announce any specs. But there are already plenty of rumors building regarding what we can expect from this next generation Samsung handset.
Galaxy S6 – Curved Touchscreen
It seems a virtual racing certainty that the Galaxy S6 will feature a curved touchscreen. With even Apple purportedly considering this technology for the next generation iPhone, the pioneer of curved displays will surely be looking to include them in all of its mobile devices.
Galaxy S6 – Memory and storage
Early indications regarding the Galaxy S6 suggest that it will come complete with 4GB of RAM. This would be an upgrade over the Galaxy S5, which would also seem to be achievable from a production cost perspective. In terms of storage, there haven’t been any murmurings yet that Samsung will look to increase the storage capacity of the device over 128GB, even though it is rumored that there may be a 256GB iPhone in the next generation.
Galaxy S6 – Camera
Samsung has been keen on promoting the capabilities of cameras in its recent mobile devices, and made this a central part of the presentation which announced the release of the Galaxy S5. So this trend will probably be kept up with the Galaxy S6, and we might see the Korean manufacturer included a 20-megapixels snapper in this handset.
Galaxy S6 – Processor and resolution
Screenshots have been leaked which suggests that the Galaxy S6 will feature a 5.5-inch display capable of 2,560 x 1,440 (QHD) resolution. There have been reports which suggest that Samsung has been experiencing issues with the 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, but this is still likely to be central to the device in Western markets. East Asian nations may see a Galaxy S6 featuring a 64-bit octa-core Exynos processor.
It is also thought that the Galaxy S6 will possess a 5-megapixel front-facing camera, and will run Android 5.0 Lollipop, although there is still time for the Android version to be updated before the expected release date of the device.
Galaxy S6 – Release date
Samsung announced the Galaxy S5 at the 2014 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, and this seems a likely setting for the unveiling of the Galaxy S6. The Mobile World Congress takes place in March 2015, slightly later than the same event this year, which could suggest that we will see a somewhat altered release data as opposed to the April 11 date of the Galaxy S5. Friday, April 17 or one week later on April 24, may be when we will first be able to get our hands on the Galaxy S6.
Price
Samsung is not in a strong position to charge a premium for this device, and need sales to be as high as possible. So we will likely see a price freeze from the previous version of the device.
iPhone 7
Apple’s flagship mobile will arrive later in the year, but such is the anticipation any Apple device generates that the speculation and rumors regarding the iPhone 7 have already begun in earnest.
Design
No-one is quite sure whether this will be a significant regeneration of the iPhone project, or merely an upgrade from the iPhone 6. What has been rumored for sometime is that durable Sapphire Glass will play a part in the construction of the device, ant this could finally come to fruition with the iPhone 7.
Memory and storage
Rumors already abound that the Apple iPhone 7 will introduce a 256GB version; the largest iPhone in terms of storage thus far. This will be the only way that Apple can improve on the iPhone’s existing storage capacity.
Camera
The camera in the Apple iPhone 6 was praised for its quality in both photograph and video capturing, despite its relatively lowly specs. But Apple may be looking to significantly upgrade the raw data related to the iPhone 7 camera, with some sources suggesting that its megapixel rating might more than double to 21-megapixels.
This would seem to be a massive and somewhat implausible jump, but Apple will certainly increase the quality of the rear-facing lens included in the device, possibly to at least 16-megapixels. Recent reports have also suggested that Apple will concentrate on producing a world-class front-facing camera, and market the iPhone 7 as being the planet’s best device for taking selfies. A 5GB front-facing snapper has been mooted.
Processor and resolution
A new A9 chipset will be included in the iPhone 7, and this is already reportedly under development. According to reports published by ETNews, Apple will be utilizing a new 14-nanometre FinFET technology for the chips included in this handset. It is proposed that the new chip will be 20 percent more powerful than the previous A8 chip, while requiring 35 percent less power. Qualcomm will be recruited to provide the iPhone 7 processor.
Release date
It is much tougher to read Apple’s intentions in this department than Samsung, as given its market leading position, the corporation very much follows its own path in terms of release schedule. However, another late Q3 release is likely, although depending on how ambitious the device is this date could be put back until October. Certainly Apple will want to have this handset out in plenty of time for the key Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons.
Price
Apple significantly increased the price of the iPhone when it released the iPhone 6, and this would suggest that a price freeze is likely when the next iPhone generation rolls around.
