Samsung Galaxy S6 Release: 10 Things to Know This Week

The Samsung Galaxy S6 release continues to heat up as we approach the month of March and Mobile World Congress 2015. In the past week alone, we’ve seen reports hint at a number of new details including possible information about the elusive Galaxy S6 release date. Today, we take a look at what you need to know, right now, about the upcoming Galaxy S6 release.

In January, the Samsung Galaxy S6 rumor mill started to churn at a high rate of speed. What started as whispers quickly turned into a symphony of potential Galaxy S6 specs, Galaxy S6 launch details, and more.

As the weeks have gone on, we’ve slowly started to see the Galaxy S6 rumor cycle mature to the point that some of the device’s features are now all but confirmed ahead of launch.

We’ve see an absolute flurry of Galaxy S6 release information arrive this week and today, we want to help outline the most important bits of information to come out of the rumor mill. We consider these the most credible Galaxy S6 release rumors and they are the things that you should know about as we push deeper into the month of February towards Samsung’s March 1st Unpacked event in Barcelona, Spain.

Samsung Galaxy S6 Launch Date

Let’s start with the Samsung Galaxy S6 launch date, the date on which Samsung will announce the Galaxy S6. Earlier this month, Samsung sent out invites for an Unpacked event that’s set for March 1st at MWC 2015 in Barcelona, Spain. The company’s invite, which can be seen above, did not outline what’s on tap for the show though it’s becoming clear that this event is for the Samsung Galaxy S6.

Galaxy S6 launch date rumors have all pointed to an arrival at MWC. Most recently, a report from Bloomberg suggests that Samsung will indeed be announcing the new Galaxy S6 on stage during its Unpacked event. This is just the latest confirmation in a long line of them.

At this point, consumers who are interested in the Galaxy S6 should circle March 1st in pen. Unpacked events are always saved for big product launches and the Galaxy S6 is about as big as it gets in the mobile world. Remember, Samsung will be holding a live stream so that consumers around the world can tune in to catch all of the details.

Two Models

In the buildup to the Samsung Galaxy S6 launch date, Galaxy S6 rumors have continued to hint at two different Galaxy S6 models. One, a regular flat Galaxy S6 and the other, a Galaxy Note Edge-like Galaxy S6 Edge with a curved display. Galaxy S6 Edge details have been leaking alongside Galaxy S6 details for a number of weeks now and it’s pretty clear that Samsung will release two distinct versions to battle the iPhone 6.

If Samsung’s curved device on the media invite wasn’t a dead giveaway, Bloomberg’s report also outlines, in detail, Samsung’s apparent plans for the Galaxy S6. According to the publication, the Galaxy S6 Edge will feature a display that covers three sides of the phone. This aligns with Galaxy S6 Edge rumors that pointed to two curved edges as opposed to the one found on the Galaxy Note Edge.

“Note Edge was received better in the market than I had expected as people found it quite useful to do multitasking,” said Lee Seung Woo, an analyst at IBK Securities Co. in Seoul. “The ultimate goal of Samsung is to make a truly foldable device at some point and the dual-edge screens will help it draw more attention from device makers to its most advanced display technology.”

The report also claims that the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge will both sport 5.1-inch displays. We’ve also seen his measurement rumored ad nauseam in the days ahead of Samsung’s March 1st event. So unless Samsung drastically changes its Galaxy S6 release plans, we’re probably going to see two models arrive in just a few weeks.

Samsung Galaxy S6 Release Date

Samsung Galaxy S6 release date rumors have hinted at an early release. Specifically, one that arrives two to three weeks earlier than last year’s Galaxy S5 release. The Galaxy S5 release date landed in the middle portion of April. A two to three week difference would put it inside late March or early April and that’s exactly what intel is suggesting right now.

A new leak from PhoneArena, a site with a so-so track record, points to a possible Galaxy S6 release date around March 22nd. The site recently produced what appears to be blackout dates for a Samsung employee. There are two blackout windows. The first takes place from March 22nd to March 30th and the second one from April 19th to April 27th. It’s not clear what these mean though the second blackout period could pertain to the Galaxy S6 Edge release.

The Samsung Galaxy Note Edge arrived weeks after the regular old Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and we could see Samsung use a staggered approach to the Galaxy S6 as well. Something to keep in mind as we head closer to the event.

Prep Work Begins

Samsung’s still not talking about the Galaxy S6 or the Galaxy S6 Edge but its website certainly did some talking this week. Galaxy Club recently discovered user manuals for two Galaxy S6 models lurking on the company’s Finnish and Swedish websites.

While these listings were clearly placeholders, they did utilize the two model numbers that we’ve seen attached to the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge for several months now. The user manuals have since been pulled but screenshots mean that these user manuals Galaxy S6 SM G920X and Galaxy S6 Edge SM G925X will live on forever on the internet.

Samsung isn’t the only company prepping for the Galaxy S6. We’ve seen several accessory makers showcase Galaxy S6 accessories ahead of launch. We’ve also seen a few carriers tease the Galaxy S6 release for the future. It’s very clear that we’re pushing closer to the Galaxy S6 release and we should see a wide variety of carriers and accessories emerge in the aftermath of the March 1st event.

Galaxy S6 Design

Bloomberg’s report asserts that the Galaxy S6 will feature an all-metal design. Specifically, the report claims that Samsung “will use metal frames supplied by BYD Electronic International Co.” Metal Galaxy S6 design rumors have been flying around for weeks and at this point, Samsung’s not even trying to hide the arrival of a premium design. This appears to be a lock.

The Galaxy S6 design is also expected to include an improved fingerprint sensor and up to 128GB of storage though it’s not expected to retain the water resistance that’s found on the Galaxy S5 design.

Galaxy S6 Concept

Based on these rumors and leaked schematics, we partner with our friend Martin Hajek to deliver a realistic Galaxy S6 concept that ropes in all of these Galaxy S6 design rumors. The concept, which can be seen in the photos below, incorporates metal and several other likely features into its design.

We also took it a step further. We’ve compared these Galaxy S6 concept renders to the real-life Galaxy S5 and iPhone 6. Our goal is to help set expectations for potential Galaxy S6 buyers.

The iPhone 6 is one of the reasons why Samsung is apparently moving to a premium design. Samsung’s mobile business is struggling while Apple’s iPhone 6 has taken the world by storm.

 

Samsung’s hoping that a shift to premium materials and unique features like the Galaxy S6 Edge’s curved display will help put the Galaxy S6 on the same pedestal as the iPhone.

Galaxy S6 Software

A new report from SamMobile helps early Galaxy S6 software rumors firm up. The device is expected to feature Google’s new Android 5.0 Lollipop update, that’s essentially a given at this point. It’s also supposed to come with trimmed down TouchWiz software. We’ve heard this rumor before but this new report offers some new details.

The report claims that Samsung will strip the Galaxy S6 of pre-installed Samsung applications. It’s not clear what will be taken away though the theory is that the company might pull features like S Health and S Voice from the phone and offer them as standalone software on the Play Store. Samsung does appear to be pre-loading non-Samsung apps on the phone though.

The Galaxy S6 will come with apps like Microsoft OneNote, OneDrive, Office Mobile (with a free Office 365 subscription), and Skype.

That’s not all. The report claims that the Galaxy S6 Android 5.0 Lollipop software will be faster than the software found on the Galaxy Note 4. We found Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4 TouchWiz software is superb so this could make for some very noticeable improvements on the Galaxy S6. The company is also expected to make big changes to the UI. Those are said to include:

• Samsung’s default keyboard app apparently looks like a combination between the keyboards on the Galaxy Tab S and the iPhone.
• There are more themes available.
• Samsung’s apps are now more colorful.
• You can select between 4×4, 4×5 and 5×5 icon layouts in the app drawer.
• The app drawer no longer supports endless cycling through apps.
• Changes to the look of the dialer app.

Galaxy S6 Camera

The site’s also put forth some information about the Galaxy S6 camera. Galaxy S6 camera rumors have hinted at either 16MP camera module or a 20MP camera sensor. SamMobile’s information points to a 20MP camera though it’s still not clear if Samsung will opt to go with that sensor. The Galaxy S6 Edge recently appeared in benchmarks with a 20MP camera, perhaps it will be exclusive to that phone.

This report arrived shortly after Samsung itself made some comments about the camera coming inside of its next flagship. In a blog post on its Samsung Tomorrow website, the company hints at a powerful sensor both in the front and in the back. The Galaxy S6 is rumored to have a 5MP camera, a huge upgrade over the front-facing camera found in the Galaxy S5.

Powerful Performance

Two new benchmarks for known Galaxy S6 model numbers appeared at AnTuTu and Geekbench earlier this week. As we pointed out, these benchmarks are extensive and they reveal a number of potential Galaxy S6 specifications. While not confirmed, all of these specifications match the Galaxy S6 rumors that have been teasing consumers for several long weeks.

In all, there are seven key alleged Galaxy S6 specs that have emerged thanks to these benchmarks including details about screen resolution, storage and the processor that’s rumored to be on board.

The benchmarks show that the Galaxy S6 could find itself amongst the most powerful devices on the market. As SamMobile notes, its scores are higher than the Samsung Galaxy Note 4’s scores. The Galaxy Note 4 utilizes a Snapdragon 805 processor from Qualcomm.

HTC One M9

Finally, it’s worth knowing that the rumored HTC One M9 release continues to make progress alongside the Samsung Galaxy S6 release. The HTC One M9 is thought to be a Galaxy S6 competitor.

 

Like the Galaxy S6, it’s expected to arrive on March 1st. For more information about the HTC One M9, check out our coverage. We think it’s a device worth knowing about if you’re at all interested in the Galaxy S6.