There are only a few hours until the release of the Samsung Galaxy S6, and leaks about this exciting forthcoming smartphone continue to flood in. The latest news about this flagship device of the Korean manufacturer provides some possible photographs of the device, with further details about availability, pricing and the hotly anticipated wireless charging facility.
Galaxy S6 photos leaked
The German website Allaboutsamsung has published four photographs which purport to be of the Galaxy S6, and which feature a brushed metal frame. It also appears that the front and back panelling of the handset is glass-coated. This is in line with information released previously, or at least hinted at, by the Norwegian division of Samsung.
Although the long awaited Galaxy S6 Edge device was missing from these photographs, there is enough interesting detail about the standard Galaxy S6 to get tongues wagging. Among the features visible in the photographs is a protruding rear camera, and a corner design which is similar to the curved approach favored by the iPhone 6. The Galaxy S6 will, of course, be slated to compete with the Apple flagship handset when it is released in the next few weeks.
Images also suggest that Samsung has not included a micro-SD card slot with this device, and also the battery does not seem to be removable. According to the source close to the German website which leaked these images, the device in question is a pre-production AT&T model.
Galaxy S6 pricing
Aside from these intriguing images, a source has also spoken to the Ars Technica website and spilled the beans on the pricing for the Galaxy S6. The source in question is reportedly from a UK-based carrier company, and suggests that there will be 32 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB variants of the Galaxy S6. The photographs which have emerged in the last 24 hours imply that this will all be internal memory.
According to the information emanating from this British company, the 32 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB versions of the Galaxy S6 will retail at €749 ($840), €849 ($950) and €949 ($1,065) respectively. The source also suggests that the Galaxy S6 Edge will retail at €100 more per storage model, which often translates directly into dollars in the US market.
Galaxy S6 Edge issues
It has also been suggested that the Galaxy S6 Edge may be dogged by availability issues. It is thought that a relatively low yield of the dual-curved displays which are utilized in this device may cause problems initially upon release. The source also reports that the Galaxy S6 Edge features a unique display technology, and that the number of units allocated to the Galaxy S6 Edge variant will be equal to one-third of the total Galaxy S6 quotient. This represent a pretty significant figure, and possibly something of a gamble.
An FCC document has also been revealed which suggests that the wireless charging Technology which has been strongly linked with the Galaxy S6 will indeed come to fruition. There have been numerous hints about this previously, and the technology has been strongly predicted by the analyst community. Now an FCC document shows the model number of the accessory as EP-PG920I.
Aside from the latest rumours and leaks, enough information has now been pieced together to give an extremely strong impression of what the Galaxy S6 will look like when it is unveiled in Barcelona on Sunday. Samsung has chosen the notable venue of the Mobile World Congress to take the lid off its latest flagship device, but given the diligent work of Samsung followers, there probably won’t be too many surprises when we finally become acquainted with this device.
Galaxy S6 display
The display technology utilized in the Galaxy S6 will, of course, be its trademark Super AMOLED. This is largely expected to be a quad HD resolution screen, but there continues to be some disagreement over the size of this display. Estimates have ranged from 5-inches to 5.5-inches, but the precedent set by previous Samsung devices suggests that the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge will have exceptional display quality.
Galaxy S6 processor
Overheating issues with the Snapdragon 810 have incited Samsung to shun Qualcomm in favor of its own Exynos 7420 chip in 90 percent of Samsung Galaxy S6 handsets at launch. This is a bold step for the corporation, but if it pays off then it could be a commercially successful one for Samsung in the long-term. Previously, Samsung has produced Galaxy S devices with an Exynos chip for the East Asian marketplace, so it will be intriguing to see how this plays out on a wider scale, if indeed this is officially confirmed on March 1 when the S6 is unveiled.
Galaxy S6 memory and storage
The storage included in the Galaxy S6 has been pretty much confirmed by leaks in the last 24 hours, so it seems a certainty that we will see 32 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB versions of this mobile. The consensus of opinion is also that Samsung will arm the Galaxy S6 with 3 GB of internal RAM. Micro-SD functionality had been expected, but this seems to have been contradicted by leaked images. Of course, it is possible that these images are illegitimate, in which case Samsung may enable the 128 GB version of the smartphone to be significantly upgraded externally.
Galaxy S6 Camera
The most recent reports on the Galaxy S6 camera suggest that it will be a 21-megapixel device. Even if this isn’t 100 percent accurate, we can be pretty certain that it is in the right ballpark, as other guesses tend to suggest that this will be a 20-megapixel snapper. Either of these figures would be a logical upgrade from the 16-megapixel lens which featured in the Galaxy S5. Pretty much all sources agree that there will be a 5-megapixel front-facing camera also included in the Galaxy S6.
So a formidable Galaxy S6 handset is taking shape, and all rumors will be confirmed or otherwise just days from now…