In just over two days from now, Samsung will unveil its latest flagship — the Galaxy S6 — thereby ending a series of leaks and rumors surrounding the handset since the last two months.
The positive part about these leaks is that we already know quite a bit about the Samsung Galaxy S6 and its edge-display sibling, the Galaxy S6 Edge. Yes, just like the Galaxy Note 4 and the Note Edge, Samsung is going to launch a variant of the Galaxy S6 with an Edge display.
Below we round up all the rumors about the Galaxy S6 into three different categories to see what we really know about the device: Confirmed, Ambiguous and Unknown.
Confirmed
Galaxy S6 & Galaxy S6 Edge: Many reports had initially claimed that Samsung will be launching two variants of its flagship handset at MWC: the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge, with the latter featuring an Edge display on both sides.
Another report from SamMobile reiterated the same thing, but further added that the curve on the display will be less pronounced. But the existence of the Galaxy S6 Edge was confirmed earlier this week, when both the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge appeared side-by-side in a leaked photo.
Glass and Metal construction: We have heard numerous times over the last few years that Samsung will be switching to a metal unibody design for its next Galaxy device. However, five iterations of the Galaxy S passed by, but Samsung stuck to using plastic on its flagship handsets.
This time around though, the dwindling profit and sales of its smartphone division, and the massive popularity of the new iPhones, have forced Samsung to final ditch plastic in favor of a glass and metal design on the Galaxy S6. However, if the leaked images of the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge from earlier this week were anything to go by, Samsung will still be sticking to the same design that it has used on its Galaxy S lineup over the years, though with rounded corners to aid ergonomics.
Chipset: Samsung has always launched the Galaxy S and its Galaxy Note devices in two variants: one powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon variant and another one with its own Exynos processor. However, the company has always sold the Snapdragon powered variant of the Galaxy S in key markets of the world.
This time around though, Samsung has ditched Qualcomm’s next-generation Snapdragon 810 chipset in favor of its own Exynos processor. Multiple reports from last month claimed that the Snapdragon 810 chipset is facing overheating issues, which has forced Samsung to drop the chipset from its Galaxy S6. This report was then then confirmed by Qualcomm in its financial outlook for 2015 report from earlier this month, which mentioned that a very “large customer” has opted out from using the Snapdragon 810 inside its upcoming flagship handset.
Fingerprint sensor: Samsung will finally be dropping its swipe-based fingerprint sensor as seen on the Galaxy S5 and the Note 4 with a touch-based one on the Galaxy S6. It is, however, unclear if the touch-based sensor will work as smoothly as Touch ID on Apple’s iOS devices.
Ambiguous
Removable battery and microSD card slot: One of the key advantages that Samsung’s flagship devices have offered its competition is the presence of a microSD card slot and a removable battery. However, this time around, it looks like the metal and glass construction of the device has forced Samsung to drop these two features from its upcoming flagships.
Leaks and various reports about the Galaxy S6 have been mum on whether the handset will come with a microSD card slot and removable battery or not, but the source who leaked the handsets earlier this week claimed that his units of the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge did lack these features. He did, however, state that it is possible that Samsung might add them back in the retail variant.
Camera: Samsung flagship devices have always had great cameras, though their low-light performance and camera experience have always been poor and sub-par.
Various rumors have indicated that the Galaxy S6 will come with either a 16MP Sony sensor or 20MP Samsung made sensor. However, as of now, it is not yet known which camera sensor Samsung will ultimately go with on the Galaxy S6. Whatever the case might be though, looking at how Samsung has teased the Galaxy S6’s camera earlier this month, the expectations sure are high from it.
Display size: While it is pretty much known that the Galaxy S6 will come with a Quad HD resolution Super AMOLED display, the exact size of the display still remains a mystery. Various rumors have pegged the display of the handset to be 5-inches big, but it is unusual for an OEM to reduce the size of the display of its upcoming flagship handset compared to its predecessor.
TouchWiz: Samsung has always been criticized for filling its high-end Galaxy devices with bloatware, and unnecessarily adding new features to TouchWiz. This time around though, rumors and report indicate that Samsung has finally realized its mistake, and plans on optimizing TouchWiz to make it as smooth as a Nexus device. Additionally, another report from earlier this week claims that Samsung will only be preloading its upcoming flagship with two bloatware apps.
Unknown
Samsung Pay: We have heard quite a bit about Samsung launching an Apple Pay competitor with the launch of the Galaxy S6. The rumors were given further credence when the Korean giant purchased a mobile payment firm — LoopPay — earlier this month. However, we have not heard much about Samsung Pay, and considering that Samsung only recently acquired Loop Pay, my guess is that its unlikely that the company will launch Samsung Pay with the Galaxy S6 at MWC.
Waterproof: One of the highlights of the Galaxy S5 was its water and dust proof design, but it is not yet clear if Samsung has managed to retain the IP67 certification on the Galaxy S6 as well.
Battery capacity: The exact battery capacity of the Galaxy S6 remains unknown for now, though one rumor did suggest at the handset coming with a 2600mAh battery. It is, however, more or less confirmed that the handset will not feature a removable battery.
What are your expectations from the Galaxy S6? Will you be disappointed if it does not have a waterproof design, and comes with the same battery capacity as the Galaxy S5?
