Samsung Galaxy S6 Release Date: 13 Things to Expect

With a Samsung Galaxy S6 launch date all but confirmed for early March, we want to take a look at what prospective Galaxy S6 buyers can from the highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy S6 release date.

Throughout the first two months of the year, Samsung Galaxy S6 rumors have teased consumers all over the world. We’ve seen alleged Samsung Galaxy S6 specs leak. We’ve seen supposed Galaxy S6 design details emerge. We’ve seen the Galaxy S6 release date rumored. Many of these rumors have been very specific and some of them have begun to firm up ahead of the Galaxy S6 launch date.

The Samsung Galaxy S6 launch date is all but confirmed for an Unpacked event in Barcelona, Spain on March 1st. Samsung saves its Unpacked events for big smartphone launches and the Galaxy S6 is about as big as it gets. If you had any doubt, take a look at the teasers Samsung’s posting on its Samsung Mobile Twitter account. It’s clear that the Galaxy S6 is on the way.

We’ve seen a ton of Galaxy S6 details leak and Galaxy S6 release date rumors point to an early arrival. Samsung still hasn’t confirmed a date but that announcement should be coming sooner rather than later.

In the buildup to the Samsung Galaxy S6 launch date, we’ve been taking a look at its most important details and making some predictions of our own. Recently, we offered up our expectations compared to a few different phones including the iPhone 6 and Galaxy S5. Today, we want to take a look at what we expect from the Galaxy S6 release date, or, the day that Samsung releases it onto shelves.

Galaxy S6 Release Date Announcement on March 1st

The Samsung Galaxy S6 launch date is all but confirmed to be March 1st, the same day that Samsung’s scheduled to host an Unpacked event in Barcelona at Mobile World Congress 2015. It is there that we expect to see the Galaxy S6 debut on stage and it’s there that we expect to see the first official Galaxy S6 release date details.

Samsung’s shows always include release date information and with so much riding on the Galaxy S6 and rumors pointing to an early arrival, we expect to hear all about the Galaxy S6 release date on that day. We’re likely see a few rumors and new details emerge ahead of March 1st but we expect the first concrete and specific information to arrive on March 1st.

Galaxy S6 Release Date

Samsung Galaxy S6 release date rumors say that it will be coming two to three weeks earlier than usual. Samsung’s last two Galaxy S smartphones, the Galaxy S5 and Galaxy S4, both arrived in mid-April. So, if these rumors are spot on, we’d expect it to arrive in early April or late March.

New Galaxy S6 release date rumors suggest that Samsung Mobile employees have vacation dates blocked from March 22nd to March 30th and April 19th to April 27th. That seems to put the first Galaxy S6 release date somewhere in late March which, aligns with the rumors. We’re expecting a Galaxy S6 release a few weeks after the announcement.

We would not be surprised if Samsung targeted late March for its initial release date and early-to-mid April for other Galaxy S6 release dates. Where there is a lot of smoke, there’s a lot of fire and everything is pointing at March or April.

Galaxy S6 Edge Release Date Later

Note that two blacked out windows. We expect one of those to be for the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, the curved Galaxy S variant that’s rumored to be coming alongside the regular model. Samsung’s Galaxy Note Edge arrived about a month after the Galaxy Note 4 and we expect to see something similar here as Samsung’s supply chain works to produce millions of Galaxy S6 models to meet demand.

Staggered Galaxy S6 Release Date

We don’t expect every single Galaxy S6 release date to fall on the same day. We expect Samsung to take an approach that it, Apple and other manufacturers have used throughout the years. That approach is a staggered release.

What this means is that we expect some countries to get the device earlier than others. Samsung typically likes to focus on high impact markets like the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, China, India, Russia, and Korea. Smaller markets that aren’t as lucrative typically come later. We expect the Galaxy S6 to land in well over 100 regions and we would expect Samsung to get the device out over the course of a month or two.

U.S. Galaxy S6 Release Dates Similar

In the United States, we expect carriers to offer similar release dates. While some carriers used to get their goods out weeks ahead of their rivals, we’ve seen a shift to more compact release dates for Android smartphones. Especially for flagships like the Galaxy S6.

We expect U.S. carriers to cluster around a date or perhaps a single week for their Galaxy S6 release dates. AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, and Verizon are all rumored to be Galaxy S6 carriers and we expect them to be among the first to get Samsung’s new smartphone.

Smaller Carriers to Be Late

If you’re looking to buy the Galaxy S6 on a smaller carrier like MetroPCS or Cricket, expect them to release the Galaxy S6 a few days, or even weeks, after the major carriers. We expect Samsung to focus on its biggest customers before turning its attention to pre-paid and regional carriers. We do, however, expect smaller carriers to confirm their plans in and around the same time as major carriers.We just expect them to be late to the party.

Retailers

You should expect the Galaxy S6 to land at several different retailers in the United States including Amazon and Best Buy. Best Buy and Samsung have a close partnership and we would not be surprised if Samsung offered some kind of unique experience inside of its Samsung shops inside Best Buy stores. Some early hands-on time perhaps?

Point is, you should expect to be able to buy the Galaxy S6 in places other than carrier stores, kiosks or carrier online stores. Keep an eye out because Samsung typically announces this information on day one.

Galaxy S6 Pre-Orders

We’d expect carriers and some retailers (Best Buy) to take Galaxy S6 pre-orders ahead of the Galaxy S6 release date. This is a huge flagship release and it’s certainly worthy. We may not see every single carrier or every single retailer offer a pre-order but we’d expect there to be a way to put in your name, or cash, for a Galaxy S6 ahead of its release.

Few Problems

Don’t expect the same kind of nonsense that typically happens during Apple iPhone pre-orders. We don’t expect carrier sites to break under the heavy load of pre-orders. You should be able to show up when pre-orders start and get a device. We’d be surprised if carriers and retailers completely sold out of the Galaxy S6.

This will be Samsung’s first metal flagship so we could see some stock strains but we don’t expect to see anything like we saw when Apple released the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

Earlier Deliveries

U.S. carriers like to reward people who pre-order their Android smartphones. Those who pre-order typically gain access their device a day or two ahead of the actual release date. If there are Galaxy S6 pre-orders, and we expect there to be, we expect this to be one of the perks that comes with the early order process. Its happened time and time again and we don’t see any reason why a carrier like AT&T or T-Mobile would stop the practice now.

No Lines

If you’re thinking about buying the Galaxy S6 on its release date but you want to go into a store before buying, you should be able to head into a physical retail location without waiting in line. Android phones, while popular, have never brought in the type of crowd that loves to wait in line on day one to buy. Stores might be a little busier than usual but we don’t expect to see Apple-style lines outside retailers and carrier stores.

Galaxy S6 Accessories

Expect Galaxy S6 accessories to be available in-stores on day one though we’d expect the selection to be fairly sparse, at least at the beginning. Same goes for online orders. More often than not, we see accessories for flagship smartphones, the good accessories not the cheap stuff, arrive a few weeks or even a few months after release.

Samsung in particular is known for releasing its official accessories weeks after a device’s initial release date. We expect to see a number of official accessories from Samsung make their debut on March 1st and we’d be surprised if all of them joined the Galaxy S6 on its release date. The Galaxy S6 is expected to have a solid accessory ecosystem but it will need time to grow.

Limited Colors

The Galaxy S6 is expected to come in four colors. We don’t expect all four of those colors to be available on all carriers and in all stores right from the get-go. Samsung’s color options are always limited and often, they are exclusive to a carrier or retailer.

We hope that we’re wrong but at this point, given its history, we’d expect two options to start with the other color options trickling out later in the year.