There is no doubt that the Samsung Galaxy S6 will be a massive smartphone release next year. Not merely for those consumers who will be eagerly awaiting it, but also for Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:0059935) itself.
After a pretty dismal 2014 overall, the Korean manufacturer can barely afford another failure. Its recent devices haven’t gone down as well with consumers as the corporation would have hoped for, and its bullish talk earlier in 2014, that it would displace Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in due course as the world’s largest seller of mobile devices, now appears a mite fanciful.
But the fact remains that Samsung is clearly the major rival to Apple, and it continues to produce some very high quality smartphones and phablets. The Galaxy S series has been something of a flagship for Samsung, being in recent years the most obvious competitor to the iPhone series, and Samsung will be looking to reinvigorate this critical product line with the release of the Galaxy S6 next year.
Galaxy S6 Edge to be shelved?
One device which was rumoured to form part of the Samsung portfolio however may not see the light of day. There are conflicting reports regarding the purported Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge; a presumed smartphone variantswhich would feature a curved screen akin to that of the Galaxy Note Edge.
But sources close to SamMobile now claim that the Galaxy S6 Edge may not be released after all. Insiders at Samsung state that there is some form of curved screen variant currently in development at the Korean electronics giant, but that it is unlikely to be ready for the Galaxy S6 release date, which is presumed to be at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in March 2015.
This might be a disappointment to fans of the Galaxy Note Edge who had hoped for a similar version of the Galaxy S6. However, the production deadlines involved may simply be too stiff for Samsung given that they will only have a few months to work on this before the device would have to potentially go into production.
So if there isn’t to be a curved screen model of the Galaxy S6 then Samsung will instead be forced to significantly increase the capabilities of the device over its Galaxy S5 predecessor. In line with this, there are already many rumors emerging regarding what Samsung might decide to include in the Galaxy S6 in order to make it stand out from the crowd.
Huge hi-res display
The first of these is that Samsung will increase the screen quality of the Galaxy S6 over that of its predecessor. This is a pretty significant rumor given that the Galaxy S5 had a screen that was almost universally praised. Indeed, Samsung has pretty much made a living out of producing mobile devices that have exceptional display quality; it is rapidly becoming a trademark of the Korean corporation.
So the display in the Galaxy S6 could well be around 5.5-inches; significantly larger than the screen in the Galaxy S5. Leaked specifications from a benchmark test also suggest that the smartphone will feature a Quad HD screen, with a 2,560 x 1,440 resolution. This would put pressure on Apple which has yet to release a smartphone-sized device with even an HD display. It would also put the Galaxy S6 potentially up against the LG G3 smartphone as the device with the best screen on the market.
New Qualcomm processor
A new high resolution display will necessitate more processing power, and thus Samsung is certain to beef up the capabilities of the Galaxy S6 in this department. The same benchmark statistics which provided gossip regarding the Galaxy S6 display also suggest that the handset will come complete with an octa–core processor.
There is still some debate over this regarding what will be released for the Western market, as Samsung has routinely adopted a policy of releasing Galaxy S devices with differing processors in Western and East Asian marketplaces.
Metallic design
If Samsung has been lauded for display quality, the same thing unfortunately cannot be said about the design parameters of Galaxy devices. The last range of Galaxy models was a step in the right direction, but the company certainly hasn’t seriously rivaled Apple in terms of producing mobile devices that create street buzz and lend the brand fashion cachet.
Thus, the Galaxy S6 is likely to feature a significantly different design from previous models, and central to this will be a new metallic-centric body. The plasticky feel of previous Galaxy S phones will be ditched, and instead Samsung will deliver a metallic smartphone intended to appeal to fashion-conscious consumers.
Camera upgrade
Samsung has placed the capabilities of its mobile device cameras at the centre of its mobile devices in recent years, and with the release of the Galaxy S5 the corporation was keen to emphasize and focus on the quality of photographs that it produced. But the Korean manufacturer will not rest on its laurels, and a significant upgrade to the Galaxy S6 camera is highly likely.
This could see a jump to a 20-megapixel snapper, which would puts the Galaxy S6 in a strong position to compete with any smartphone on the market, most notably Sony’s current Xperia Z handsets.
Gold standard
Apple has almost taunted other smartphone manufacturers with its range of super-luxurious gold iPhones. But rumors suggest that Samsung is likely to follow suit with the Galaxy S6 and produce a gold variant of the smartphone. Whether this is just pie in the sky or will actually come to fruition remains to be seen, but certainly iPhone variants of this nature have generated publicity for Apple.
Release date
Finally, the release date for the Samsung Galaxy S6 has been presumed to be unveiled at the Mobile world Congress. But rumors suggesting delays are inherent in the current range of Qualcomm processes could push this date back. The Galaxy S6 may well be worth waiting for, but we might have to wait longer than we initially expected.
