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The Samsung Galaxy S5 is the flagship for the year 2014 from the South Korean company and while it wasn’t exactly a flop, it didn’t do too well with consumers either. Samsung vowed that the Galaxy S6, aka Project Zero will be a huge improvement compared to the Galaxy S5 and it will benefit from a complete overhaul, hence the Project Zero code-name. The Galaxy S6 release date is set for March 1st, when Samsung will be hosting a Galaxy Unpacked event during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Hopes are high about the upcoming flagship and everybody is thinking that it will be something truly innovative, just as Samsung promised.
If the Galaxy S6 wants to become more popular than its predecessor, it will have to offer up a lot of new features, a better UI and a more acceptable price. The Galaxy S5 came with a plastic chassis, sluggish TouchWiz and features that few actually found useful in the end, all that for a price over $700 unlocked, depending on the store. That’s probably the reason why the popularity of the Samsung flagship didn’t reach as high as in previous years. The Galaxy S6 is promised to be a completely new device, redesigned and with a metal chassis. While we don’t have a lot of official information to go by, we’re wondering if the Galaxy S6 will be able to outdo the Galaxy S5.
Design and Display
Latest rumors about the Galaxy S6 depict its design as something very similar to what we’ve seen on the iPhone 6 or the iPhone 6 Plus. Leaked photos of the device actually show the Galaxy S6 chassis, made out of metal, and it definitely looks just like Apple’s most recent flagships’ design. Many would be disappointed to see that, as they are no doubt expecting something unique, not a copied Apple design. What we know for sure is that the Galaxy S6 design will be made up of metal, something many users were asking for for a couple of years now. A sturdy smartphone without a band-aid back panel and faux chrome finish that chips off in a few weeks would be the ideal choice on the part of the South Korean company. A metal design would definitely be better than what the Galaxy S5 has to boast with.
The Galaxy S6 might come in two different variants, one with either one hanging edge display or two hanging edge displays and another device with no hanging display. The Galaxy S6 Edge should be the smaller and improved equivalent of the Galaxy Note Edge, and rumors say it will be a limited edition device. Samsung sold about 650 thousand Galaxy Note Edge units around the world wince its launch at IFA Berlin, so you might say that there is definitely a market for that kind of phone. The metal chassis should persists on the Galaxy S6 Edge, too. We are not sure if IP certification will be included in the upcoming flagship, but a hunch tells us Samsung wouldn’t skip that feature.
The Galaxy S5 comes with a 5.1 inch FHD display with a 1080*1920 resolution that adds up to 432 ppi pixel density. The Super AMOLED panel is very high-quality and gives accurate color reproduction, awesome brightness, crispness, outdoor visibility and viewing angles. We expect no less of the Galaxy S6, that’s for sure. One thing Samsung always gets right is the display, as seen on the Galaxy Note 4. The Note 4 comes with a massive 5.7 inch QHD Super AMOLED display, yet it still manages to boast with great battery life. The Galaxy S6 will have to do just that, as rumor has it that the handset will come with the same 5.1 inch display, but with a QHD resolution of 1440*2560, which adds up to a staggering 587 ppi pixel density. Even though many would say that such a high resolution display isn’t warranted and would drain the battery, we suppose Samsung will slap a bit battery unit into the phone.
Hardware and Software
The Galaxy S5 comes with a Snapdragon 801 CPU clocked at 2.5 GHz, backed up by 2 GB RAM and either 16 or 32 GB expandable internal storage. The handset’s performance is pretty neat, although TouchWiz will make things harder and more difficult for users. Overall, the performance of the Galaxy S5 is on par with other flagships, but after a few weeks of use, you will come to notice that Samsung’s UI is slowing things down. TouchWiz is also too cartoonish for most tastes and the color combinations within the schemes aren’t exactly ideal, making the interface look a bit kitchy. Getting Android 5.0 Lollipop helped, but you still get a heavily skinned OS that might bother performance.
The Galaxy S6 will come with a Snapdragon 810 CPU, 64 bit, massive processing power, fast charging and the likes. You’ll probably get either 3 or 4 GB RAM, a microSD card slot and internal memory between 32 and even 128 GB. The Snapdragon 810 CPU runs wonderfully on the LG G Flex 2, so we expect it to do the same on the Galaxy S6. What’s more is that Samsung is allegedly trying to decide between a revamped version of TouchWiz, flattened and simplified and Iconic UX, a newer skin from the company supposedly in the works. While we don’t know how far Samsung is willing to go in terms of proprietary UI and bloatware, we do know that Android 5.0 Lollipop will be out of the box alongside the Galaxy S6, which is neat.
Camera and features
The Galaxy S5 comes with a pretty neat 16 MP camera on the rear, complete with phase detection autofocus and an LED flash. The front camera on the device measures 2 MP. The rear camera is pretty beefy and speedy, although there is room for improvement. The camera software is feature-packed and most reviews say that the Galaxy S5 handles itself pretty well when it comes to low-light conditions and video recording. It isn’t the ideal device for photography, but it is among the top 20 smartphones in terms of camera.
The Galaxy S6 will most likely come with an upgraded camera, most likely a 20 MP shooter on the rear, complete with dual-tone LED flash, optical image stabilization, phase detection autofocus and some say even optical zoom, although that seems unlikely. The front camera should also be upgraded to at least a 5 MP camera with a wide-angle lens, so that selfie-enthusiast can have some serious fun with the Galaxy S6.
Last year’s Samsung flagship comes with a heart rate sensor, fingerprint sensor, IP certification, fast charging, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, LTE and an infrared port. That means that we expect to see all these features in the Galaxy S6, too, new and improved. Rumors say the Galaxy S6 will also benefit from built-in wireless charging, although users are pretty content with having cases for that in case they want the feature. A more disappointing change that is said to come in the Galaxy S6 is a non-removable battery, which certainly won’t sit well with smartphone enthusiasts. Also, rumors say that Samsung might be working on its own mobile payment system which would be launched alongside the Galaxy S6, so we’re curious to find out if that’s true.
Conclusion
Overall, the Galaxy S6 should be much improved compared to the Galaxy S6. There are features that users will be embracing in the mix, such as the upgraded camera and processor, but the QHD screen and non-removable battery might not sit well with Samsung fans. There are many out there who like to switch out batteries when they are depleted, and Samsung is allegedly planning to take away that feature. Also, the rumored mobile payment system from the company would also be a late blooming addition, as Apple Pay has already kicked off and there are already many other options out there. We’re not sure how many users would appreciate the added feature. Would you? By the way, would you prefer a QHD display or an FHD one?
