As we approach the end of the year, it’s time to start casting our eyes forward to 2015 and the phones we can expect from the major Android OEMs. Samsung’s almost certainly going to be releasing a Galaxy S6, and if SamMobile is to be believed then there’ll a few interesting changes on offer.
Earlier this month, SamMobile claimed that an internal codename of “Project Zero” pointed to Samsung’s intention to design the Galaxy S6 from scratch with “an entirely new vision”. Samsung’s said to be focusing on adopting new trends quicker. The Galaxy S6’s body might share more in common with the metallic Galaxy Alpha than it does the Galaxy S5.
Unsurprisingly, we’re looking at a QHD screen, although the specific size of the screen is apparently yet to be decided. SamMobile is also reporting that we’ll see a variant of the S6 with a curved display, the “Galaxy S6 Edge”. While the company has dabbled in curved screens with questionable results in the past, an “Edge” moniker could imply that Samsung intends to bring the Note Edge’s curved “edge display” feature to the main Galaxy S line.
Specs Evolution
There’s said to be either a 16MP camera with Optical Image Stabilisation (as seen on the Note 4) or a 20MP unit without OIS on offer, with a 5MP front camera. After seeing what OIS can achieve on the Nexus 5 and Note 4, I’m really hoping they stick with the OIS. Storage is said to be offered in 32, 64 and 128GB denominations, although if past performance is anything to go by we’ll only see the base model (in this case, 32GB) in Australia. That Micro SD card might get less of a workout.
Finally, there seems to be a bit of Exynos-Snapdragon jostling going on for the coveted spot of providing the S6’s chipset and modem. For the main change here, we’ll be looking at a 64bit processor to drive Lollipop, and it’ll be either the Exynos 7420 or Snapdragon 810. There’s not really any reason to assume markets that have seen Qualcomm variants of Samsung handsets in recent years will see Exynos versions in 2015.
These are all well and good in terms of evolutionary changes – it’s what we expect to see year-on-year. For “Project Zero” to actually deliver a re-envisioned Samsung flagship though, I’d like to see Samsung adopt some new trends on the software side of things. TouchWiz – almost always the focus of criticism in any Samsung review for the last couple of years – currently bears little in common with Lollipop’s Material Design, so I’m hoping for a serious update to Samsung’s Android customisations. The exact form that might take is open to interpretation, but I think the way forward should be pretty obvious from what some other manufacturers are doing.
What would you like to see in the Galaxy S6? Tell us in the comments!
