Samsung Galaxy S6 Release: 10 Things the U.S. Can Expect

As Samsung Galaxy S6 release date rumors continue to narrow, consumers in the United States are starting to take Samsung’s Next Big Thing seriously. With a launch date heavily rumored for MWC 2015 in March, it’s time that we started to take a closer look at one of the biggest smartphones releases of the year. We’ve been getting tons of questions about our opinion on the U.S. release and today, we want to take a look at what we expect from the U.S. Galaxy S6 release.

Every year, Samsung releases a brand new Galaxy S smartphone. And every year, the device is put under the microscope. This year, Samsung’s rumored to have a big update in store for consumers around the world including here in the United States where the Galaxy S5 reigns as one of the top Android smartphone options.

Samsung Galaxy S6 rumors have started flying around teasing consumers with everything from the Galaxy S6 specs, the Galaxy S6 launch date and even the Galaxy S6 release date. Samsung, for its part, has yet to announce or confirm anything. Doesn’t matter. Rumors will do most of the talking for it ahead of its release.

We know that the Galaxy S6 will likely be a powerful smartphone. Galaxy S smartphones always are. So the big questions that many consumers have pertain to the launch date and the Galaxy S6 release date. They want to know when they can get their hands on an AT&T Galaxy S6 or a Verizon Galaxy S6. Hard to blame them.

While we don’t have all of the answers, we do have some opinions on the matter and today we want to take a look at what we expect from the Samsung Galaxy S6 release inside the United States.

These are our own predictions, based on years and years of covering Samsung’s Galaxy S and Galaxy Note launches and releases, and our goal is to help set some basic expectations for prospective Galaxy S6 buyers in the U.S.

Galaxy S6 Release Date Confirmed at Launch

Samsung’s Galaxy S6 event isn’t confirmed yet but expect the company to use an event to confirm the Galaxy S6. It always uses a big stage to announce its biggest products and we expect nothing different here. We’d expect invites to go out in February if Samsung really is planning to make a move during the month of March.

Now assuming Samsung does use a launch event, and we’d be shocked if it didn’t, that’s where we’ll likely see the first Galaxy S6 release date confirmation. Samsung’s gotten into a habit of confirming specific release date details at its events to keep its customer base happy and that’s exactly what we expect to happen on stage at the inevitable Unpacked event.

Expect it to outline a release window for the Galaxy S6 and expect U.S. carriers to throw their support behind the Galaxy S6 release. We will almost certainly see the big five confirm plans to carry the device on launch day. This is a popular smartphone series and carriers crave attention so we have doubt that they’ll be on point on launch day.

We would not expect carriers to pony up specific Galaxy S6 release dates right off the bat, especially with other devices expected to touch down in close proximity. We would expect those release date confirmations to emerge days or at the most, weeks after the announcement date.

Sign Up Pages Ahead of Release

Expect U.S. carriers to trumpet the return of the Galaxy S with splash pages and sign up pages teasing consumers ahead of the release. If you’re not familiar with the term “sign up page”, it’s where you can input you email address to learn about official Galaxy S6 details, directly from the carrier itself. These sign up pages might not benefit hardcore smartphone enthusiasts who read about devices on a daily basis but they do help to keep casual customers informed.

Carriers almost always release these sign up pages ahead of the actual release dates. Sometimes they include very specific information about the release, most times they are vague. Whatever the case, expect U.S. carriers to continue to offer up these pages to early adopters.

Major U.S. Carriers First

We expect the Samsung Galaxy S6 release in the United States to look a lot like previous Galaxy S releases in the United States. If you’re not familiar with how it typically works, here’s a reminder.

The major U.S. carriers should get the first Samsung Galaxy S6 release dates. They typically come about a month after Samsung announces a device though Galaxy S6 release date rumors point to an earlier release, perhaps two to three weeks early. Major U.S. carriers are typically among the first to get flagship devices because the United States is a key battleground.

Smaller pre-paid and regional carriers have closed the gap between their release dates and the ones from major carriers but you should still expect carriers like C Spire and Cricket to be behind the curve when it comes to timing. It should only be a matter of days or at the most weeks before we see smaller carriers get the Galaxy S6.

Release Dates Close to One Another

Samsung hasn’t gone full Apple yet, there are still gaps between its release dates, but it has become more common to see U.S. carriers release flagship Galaxy smartphone models on the same day.

We expect major U.S. carriers to release the Galaxy S6 within a few days of one another. At the most, we could see a gap of a couple of weeks but we don’t think you’re going to see a repeat of what we saw with the Verizon Galaxy S4. There’s too much competition these days.

Expect the major U.S. Galaxy S6 release dates to cluster around one another.

Widespread Availability

This is a Samsung Galaxy S smartphone that we’re talking about here and that means that there is a very good chance that it will emerge in a number of big name retailers. Amazon, Best Buy and Walmart are a few that come to mind though we would expect a much larger assortment of U.S. retailers to take the Galaxy S6 bait.

Big name devices always deliver big time releases and we don’t think there will be a shortage of options when it comes to the Galaxy S6. Look for the usual suspects to have it on display in the days after its launch.

Very Few Deals

Now here is where we think the Galaxy S6 could differ from some of the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note models before it. In the past, Galaxy S smartphones used to see solid day one discounts at retailers like Amazon. That just hasn’t been the case as of late. Galaxy Note 4 deals, for instance, have been scarce in the weeks after its release.

We would not be surprised if Samsung offered some bundles or some free apps and storage but we would not expect Galaxy S6 deals to be rampant right at the beginning. Especially if the device is the big step forward that it’s rumored to be. If demand is there, and it could be if Samsung goes through with some of these massive changes, there’s going to be less incentive for carriers and retailers to drop the price tag.

An Exclusive

Samsung is well known for offering exclusives to carriers and retailers. The exclusives usually center around the color of the device and we wouldn’t be surprised if we saw something similar happen here with the Galaxy S6. We also wouldn’t be surprised if a U.S. carrier wound up with an exclusive Galaxy S6 variant. Maybe a Galaxy S6 Active.

We’re hoping that we’re wrong here but history is on our side. We almost always see some U.S. carrier or retailer get something special in the days after the initial release and it wouldn’t shock us if history repeated itself.

Tons of Galaxy S6 Accessories

You should expect the usual avalanche of Galaxy S accessories to emerge alongside the Galaxy S6. We’ve already seen rumors point in that direction. It will happen. The Galaxy S series is popular and accessory makers like making accessories for popular smartphones. Just look at the iPhone accessory ecosystem. It’s even better than the Galaxy S’.

Galaxy S6 Variants

Samsung loves to stamp the Galaxy S name onto other devices. Last year, for example, we had the Galaxy S5 Active, the Galaxy S5 Sport, and the Galaxy S5 mini. Samsung loves to offer different models with different features at different price points.

Galaxy S6 rumors hint at a Galaxy S6 Edge, a device with a bent display on both sides as opposed to the one found on the Galaxy Note Edge. Galaxy S6 Edge rumors have been prevalent so there is reason to believe that there could be at least one Galaxy S6 variant on the way. We’d be surprised if that was the only one.

A New Wearable

Reports suggest that Samsung is working on a round smartwatch and that it will arrive at MWC, probably alongside the Galaxy S6. With an Apple Watch on the way, it’s going to need as much attention as it can get.

The rumors look credible and it’s clear that Samsung is invested heavily into the wearable sector. We’d expect the watch to arrive with the Galaxy S6 and get released within the same window. It’s clear that Samsung wants to get something out to challenge the Apple Watch in the first half of the year and we’re guessing that this rumored device is it.