Samsung Galaxy S6 rumor roundup

The metal accents of the Galaxy A7 (shown here) may foreshadow a less plastic Galaxy S6. Samsung

CES 2015 is behind us, which means it's time to start looking forward to the next technology smorgasbord: Mobile World Congress. New phones and tablets make the rounds at the annual conference held in Spain, but Samsung has yet to officially announce any word on its expected upcoming flagship smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S6.
So, what can we expect from a Galaxy S6? All of this is conjecture, of course, but here's our best educated guesses on the details of Samsung's next big phone.
Announcement/release date: March to April is the mostly likely option -- possibly at Mobile World Congress, or maybe at a totally separate Samsung-only event. Both have precedents: The Samsung Galaxy S5 was unveiled at Mobile World Congress 2014 in February; its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy S4 got its own splashy (and unintentionally controversial) launch event at Radio City Music Hall weeks after MWC in March 2013. Availability for both phones was a few weeks later in both cases.
CPU: Expect top-of-the-line guts for the GS6. Whether that's a Snapdragon 810 quad-core processor from Qualcomm (as found in the upcoming LG G Flex 2) or Samsung's own Exynos 7420 is anyone's guess. The company could also have different CPUs in different territories -- something it's done with past flagship phones.
Screen: The well-regarded Samsung Galaxy Note 4 packs an attractive 2,560-by-1,440p AMOLED display, and it stands to reason that the Galaxy S6 would follow suit. Rumors suggest that the screen size will be around 5.5-inches.
OS: Android 5.0 Lollipop will be the star of the show, coupled with Samsung's TouchWiz Android skin. But there's a curious wrinkle here: some rumors claim that Samsung is hoping to dial down TouchWiz on the new device, with the aim of improving performance.
Plastic or metal?: This is anyone's guess, though devices like the all-metal Samsung Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A3, as well as the Galaxy A7, suggest that Samsung might be looking to spruce up its image with premium metal designs.
Camera and more: We can likely expect a beefy front-shooter, too. Like it or not, smartphones at CES 2015 were all about the selfie, so there's a good chance Samsung will pay close attention to the oft-ignored front-facing camera. The Samsung Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Note 4 both sported excellent cameras, though the former lacked optical image stabilization. That's becoming increasingly prevalent on kitted-out smartphones -- see the iPhone 6 Plus -- so it stands to reason Samsung would bake it into their latest phone's rear camera.

A device rumored to be the Galaxy S6 Toptienmobiel

January 13, 2015

Samsung's User Interface TouchWiz to Become Less Featured in the Galaxy S6 -- Business Korea

Citing remarks from "industry sources," Business Korea notes that Samsung is in the process of dialing down the TouchWiz experience for its upcoming Galaxy S6. Samsung's TouchWiz interface all but takes over the Android experience, and while it adds numerous features and functionality I've always preferred a cleaner, stock experience. Citing "a delay in responsiveness" from all of the added functionality TouchWiz bakes in, the company will reportedly be streamlining things for future devices. Whenever the Galaxy S6 is announced, there's a chance we'll be treated to a leaner software experience.

January 12, 2015

Samsung reportedly to unveil two versions of Galaxy S6

CES 2015 was still fresh on our minds when a rumor surfaced that Samsung might actually unveil two versions of its Galaxy S6. One would mimic the curved display found on the Galaxy Note Edge, while the other would offer a metal design, as opposed to Samsung's generally plastic wares.

December 12, 2014

Could this be Samsung's Galaxy S6?

A picture is worth a thousand rumors: Dutch blog site Toptienmobiel leaked this image of someone holding what's alleged to be the Galaxy S6, with a big screen and a thin bezel. We'll take this image with a grain of salt, of course.

December 5, 2014

Samsung Galaxy S6 already? Alleged specs pop up online

The rumors started to firm up in December, when benchmarking site AnTuTu allegedly displayed some of the specs in its database. Those details showed a device packing the octa-core Samsung Exynos 7420 processor and a 5.5-inch display with a 2,560 by 1,440 pixel resolution. The device also reportedly has a 20-megapixel rear-shooter, a 5-megapixel front-facing camera, 3GB of RAM and a paltry 32GB of storage -- you can expect that to be expanded with microSD cards.

November 4, 2014

First batch of Samsung Galaxy S6 rumors creep online

The rumors started, as always, with sources leaking specs. Samsung is reportedly starting from scratch with the Galaxy S6, which is reportedly codenamed "Project Zero." We learned that it might feature a Quad HD display (2,560-by-1,440-pixel resolution), and pack a 5-megapixel front-facing camera, and a rear shooter offering between 16 and 20 megapixels. The device is also speculated to have a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 CPU in some markets, and a Samsung Exynos 7420 in others.