ValueWalk outlines the latest murmurings regarding this flagship Samsung device
The Samsung Galaxy S6 will be the most important smartphone release for the Korean company for many years. Not only is this the flagship device of Samsung, but there are two other key issues for the corporation to address. Firstly, the Galaxy S5 was not particularly well received, even if it performed creditably in sales terms, owing to the fact that this design was not exactly universally praised. Many viewed the Galaxy S5 as simply an upgrade of the Galaxy S4, with little original functionality and new features to attract anything other than Android aficionados.
Secondly, Samsung has experienced, if not an annus horribilis, a pretty disappointing twelve months. Samsung began 2014 bullish about its fortunes, and publicly spoke of its intention to displace Apple as the world’s premier manufacturer and seller of mobile devices. It would be fair to say that this certainly didn’t come to fruition, as after a share price slump early in the year, Apple got back on track with some outstanding sales figures and ultimately reached a world record market capitalization.
Meanwhile, Samsung had to concede that its profits had slumped by 60 percent, and the hierarchy of the company even went as far as to admit that the corporation had not adequately responded to market conditions with its recent range of devices.
Galaxy S6 key for Samsung
But far from being a damage limitation exercise, the new Galaxy S6 is viewed as a smartphone which can really get Samsung back on track. This is very much the flagship smartphone of the Samsung range, and one that the Korean electronics giant expects to compete directly with Apple’s market-leading iPhone series. With the last Galaxy S5 model having been proffered a lukewarm reception, Samsung may decide to go for broke with the new device and produce something as revolutionary as possible, as opposed to the mere spec upgrade which the Galaxy S5 represented.
With the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on the horizon, there is no shortage of information now seeping out about this forthcoming smartphone. Firstly, there has been a leaked photograph in the last 48 hours which purports to be of the Galaxy S6, while casing for the device also features in the photographs. One of the two cases has been manufactured by a popular Korean accessory brand by the name of Verus.
Based on these photographs, the design of the Galaxy S6 seems to much more closely resemble the extremely successful Galaxy Note 4 than the previous iteration of the Galaxy S series. This is perhaps not particularly surprising given the criticism that Samsung has already fielded for the design of the Galaxy S5, and reports have been circulating for quite some time that the Korean corporation would focus on a metallic design when the Galaxy S5 was released.
From a technical perspective, the primarily plasticky look which the Galaxy S5 sported is not necessarily inferior. There is no particular reason that metal is a better protective substance than plastic. However, from an appearance point-of-view, the metallic look of the Galaxy Note 4 has certainly been considered preferable by critics and consumers alike.
Galaxy S6 Edge?
An interesting aspect to note from these images is that the Galaxy S6 in question does not feature a curved screen. This is significant as this has been a long since rumored aspect of this new smartphone. However, too much shouldn’t be read in this, as firstly this might not actually be a legitimate photograph, and secondly it is probable that Samsung will release both curved screen and flat display versions of the Galaxy S6 when it does hit the stores.
Another interesting murmuring is that Samsung’s own TouchWiz UI interface may be about to receive a major overhaul. According to Sam Mobile, the default keyboard setting in the new Samsung Galaxy S6 will appear as a mix between the keyboard on the Galaxy Tab S and the iOS keyboard.
It has also been reported that users are not able to select between 4×4, 4×5 and 5×5 icon layouts for the app drawer, while Samsung has chosen to implement a more colorful design for its applications. The app drawer will also apparently no longer support endless cycling through the list of apps, which means that it will be impossible to immediately flick from the last page of a document to the first. This perhaps seems like a slightly strange decision, but it is also worth noting that the music application included in the Galaxy S6 will allegedly run in full-screen mode at all times.
Android devices can sometimes be criticized for the existence of bloatware, and the Galaxy S series has certainly been no exception to this rule. The amount of pre-installed software included in the Galaxy S series has ensured that Samsung has received criticism in this department, and it would seem a wise move for the corporation to cut down on this significantly. According to recent reports, this is precisely what Samsung has planned for the Galaxy S6, although some requisite applications such as Microsoft Office Mobile, and Skype will be built in as standard.
Galaxy S6 camera
Aside from this, Samsung has also recently implied that the Galaxy S6 will include one of the best cameras ever to be fitted in a smartphone. A lengthy post on its ‘Samsung Tomorrow’ blog makes the bold assertion that “the future of cameras is in a Samsung Galaxy smartphone”, and emphasizes its credentials in this arena.
With Apple allegedly working on a dual-lens camera for the iPhone 7 which is of professional standard, this would seem to make sense for Samsung. Although the blog does not specifically mention the Galaxy S6 camera, it is strongly implied that this flagship smartphone will feature outstanding photograph taking capability.
It certainly looks as if Samsung is looking to release something truly outstanding with the Galaxy S6, and we won’t have too much longer to wait to find out precisely what it has in store for us.
