The Galaxy S6’s software will reportedly drop all pre-installed Samsung apps, offer Microsoft apps

BY Evan Selleck

Published 13 Feb 2015

Galaxy S6 Metal chassis

The Galaxy S6 isn’t official quite yet, but with the reveal set right around the corner, the hype train is starting to roll a bit faster.

Now, thanks to a report published by SamMobile, a few more details regarding the upcoming flagship have surfaced. Specifically, what type of changes that the manufacturer is insisting on with the software, or TouchWiz. It has already been reported on that Samsung is allegedly streamlining their proprietary software so much that ti’s more in line with a Nexus handset, rather than a traditional Samsung-branded smartphone. Indeed. reports that Samsung would remove all of its proprietary apps from the device have now been reiterated, suggesting that Samsung is looking to tone things done this time around.

However, while the removal of stock bloatware is one thing, Samsung is apparently going to include some apps right out of the box. According to the report, Samsung will be showcasing Microsoft apps on the Galaxy S6, including OneNote, Word and others. Microsoft’s been putting a big focus on its mobile apps as of late, so getting them pre-installed on one of the most popular devices of 2015 is probably a good idea.

Coincidentally, Samsung and Microsoft ended months of battling in the court system regarding Android royalties, so this could have indeed been tied to that decision in one way way or another.

A few other key details from the original report:

    • Samsung’s default keyboard app supposedly looks more like a mix between the keyboard on the Galaxy Tab S and the iOS keyboard.
    • More theming options are available
    • All Samsung’s apps are more colorful
    • You can select between 4×4, 4×5 and 5×5 icon layouts for the app drawer
    • The app drawer no longer supports endless cycling through the list of apps (meaning you can’t go back from the last page to the first without going back through the previous pages).
    • The music app still runs in full-screen mode at all times
    • The dialer app looks “green as grass”, or that’s what we were told.

Samsung making these changes is probably welcomed, but until the final product is unveiled, holding off judgment is probably a good idea.

[via SamMobile]