Galaxy S6 Edge Looks a Certainty and Gear VR Rumors Surface
With Apple recently posting literally the largest profit of any company in the history of recorded business, there is a certain pressure on its most obvious rival Samsung to respond to this monumental success. Fortunately for Samsung, the Korean manufacturer will get the opportunity to ‘strike’ first in the 2015 market when the Galaxy S6 is released to an expectant public.
Although Samsung continues to keep quiet on the release date for this flagship smartphone, the overwhelming likelihood is that it will be unveiled during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. This showcase of the latest and greatest in mobile technology is taking place between March 2 and 5, and in common with its approach in 2014, Samsung is expected to exhibit the latest in the Galaxy S range.
Q4 earnings encouraging
With this date little more than a month away, there has been plenty of news seeping through in recent days regarding what we can expect from the Galaxy S6. Samsung recently revealed its Q4 earnings report, and although it wasn’t able to match Apple in the profit department, there was encouraging news regarding its worldwide smartphone sales. Both companies shifted around 75 million smartphones during the three-month period, and although this isn’t a peak figure for Samsung, it is nonetheless creditable.
But one item of interest which came out of this report was a suggestion that the Galaxy S6 would be ditching Samsung’s traditional polycarbonate plastic materials for something altogether more metallic. This is hardly a surprising notion, and indeed ValueWalk has reported on this presumed build aspect of the Galaxy S6 series previously. But we now have some official indication that the plasticky design which the Galaxy S series has been criticized for, could be something to be consigned to the past.
The Korean technology company had previously utilized a largely metallic design for the Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge phablets, and the recent announcement of the A3, A5 and A7 handsets indicated the first time Samsung has confirmed a device with an entirely metal exterior. This is very much in line with rumors which have been mooted previously which suggest that the Galaxy S6 will ultimately feature a metal and glass body, placing it in a similar category to Sony’s Xperia Z3 flagship device.
Samsung to streamline
In addition to this implication, Samsung has also revealed that it intends to release less handsets and tablet models over the next few years. The company had previously publicly acknowledged that its mobile strategy hadn’t been ideal over the last year or so, and this certainly seems like a sensible decision which will enable Samsung to be more streamlined and focused in its approach in the coming years.
Although it will still be several weeks until we get our first glimpse of the Galaxy S6, leaked images are circulating on the Internet which purport to be photos of the upcoming Samsung flagship. Sources closer to Samsung claim that the images are merely renders of how the Galaxy S6 will look when it is revealed, but that there is also some accuracy in the way the pictures display the layout of the device. According to these images, the Galaxy S6 will feature side buttons.
Meanwhile, the Korean media has been reporting extensively on comments from Samsung’s head of IR, Robert Yi, which the Korean Corporation will be releasing an “innovative premium handset” with a “special function”. Yi wasn’t forthcoming about what the special function was, when we are likely to see this device, or indeed any other meaningful details, but it does present a tantalizing glimpse into the near future.
Recent smartphone releases from both Samsung and Apple have perhaps been a little underwhelming. Certainly both corporations have been criticized for producing devices that were unambitious in their scope, and which failed to wow consumers with any significant new features. At this point in time, the evolution of the smartphone has to some degree reached a glass ceiling, with even the world’s biggest manufacturers struggling to make the sort of quantum leaps in technology which were feasible earlier in the lifecycles of their devices. But a recent rumor about the Galaxy S6 suggests that Samsung may be about to include at least one innovative function when the flagship smartphone is released.
Gear VR hook up
Samsung has recently been promoting its Gear VR headset, most notably at the Sundance Film Festival. Although the Gear VR has been well received critically, an obvious bugbear of the device, and a barrier to its mainstream acceptance and utilization, has been the fact that it is only compatible with the Galaxy Note 4 phablet.
Well, recent reports suggest that Samsung will include in the portfolio of features related to the Galaxy S6 the ability to hook it up with the Gear VR. Sources which suggest this aren’t exactly the most solid in the world, with no names being attached to them, but it is certainly something that Samsung could headline when the Galaxy S6 is released, and it would also appear to make commercial sense for its virtual reality business.
A possible stumbling block for this notion is the fact that reports regarding the Galaxy S6 have suggested thus far that it will feature a 5.2-inch display. According to the technology currently in place for Samsung’s virtual reality system, this would mean that the device is presently too small to be hooked up to it. But screen size is something which can vary in final devices from rumors which reach the media, and of all elements of a smartphone, it is arguably one that can be left up to the very last minute before a decision is made.
Vodafone Galaxy S6 Edge Leak
Analysts have suggested for some time that Samsung may release at least one version of the Galaxy S6 that is based around its by now trademark curved screen technology. And this possibility was magnified by a major leak from Vodafone Netherlands, which apparently left visible code for a mysterious ‘Samsung Galaxy S Edge’. It appears that another consumer electronics cat has slipped out of the bag…
