Verizon Announces Pre-Order Details for Samsung Galaxy S6 Phones

March 25, 2015 By Roxanne Briean Leave a Comment

With the impending release of Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, major retailers are getting ready for a large number of pre-orders for Samsung’s latest “toys”. Amazon and Best Buy have created pre-order pages where you can register live. Other retailers, like Costco, Wal-Mart or Target, will surely be following in their footsteps in a very short period of time.

With only a few weeks remaining until the release, these pages already went online so users can sign up and receive the newest news regarding the two gadgets. Similar pages from leading U.S. providers (T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, U.S. Cellular and Sprint) went live as well.

Verizon was the first carrier in the U.S. to mention pre-order details and their customers will be able to order both phones starting with April 1.

People that register at Amazon.com until the 31 of March will be able to take advantage of their unique offer. They will receive a virtual coupon that they can use to buy accessories for the Samsung Galaxy S6 as well as for the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge at a discount rate and they can end up saving as much as $30. This offer does not require you to purchase a smartphone so basically you can use this discount to buy gifts for your friends or family.

Those of you that prefer buying from Sam’s Club, Target, Wal-Mart or Costco must not worry. On the 1st of March 2015 Samsung stated that the S6 and S6 Edge will also be available at the retailers mentioned above and registration pages are expected any day now.

One of the major improvements made by Samsung is the operating system (OS). They added the Android OS, v5.0.2 or better known as Lollipop which is a lot faster, more stable and by far more reliable than their previous Android based operating systems.

The first thing that you will notice when holding a Galaxy S6 or perhaps a Galaxy S6 Edge is the design. They have finally abandoned the plastic case that the previous Galaxy models had and, instead went for a more durable as well as more stylish approach. The body is made out of aluminum and glass that gives it a rather slick feel and look.

Both devices use a Quad 2.1GHz processor plus a Quad 1.5Ghz processor, adding up to a Octa-Core processor and I for one expect them be very fast smartphones.

Samsung Galaxy S6 and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge will be released on the 10 of April worldwide but it is reported that the major U.S. providers will begin selling them starting with April 11.

Pricewise, Samsung did not release any concrete information yet, but it is believed that they will be rather expensive:

Samsung Galaxy S6 32 GB around $855
Samsung Galaxy S6 64 GB around $970
Samsung Galaxy S6 128 GB around $1085
The Galaxy S6 Edge 32 GB around $850
The Galaxy S6 Edge 64 GB around $950
The Galaxy S6 Edge 128 GB around $1050

Samsung Galaxy S6 New Rumors

February 26, 2015 By Karen Jackson Leave a Comment

There have been a lot of new rumors about the Samsung Galaxy S6 this past week. We were bombarded with numerous new details about the device before its launch. So we decided to take all those rumors and put them into a nice little list for your convenience, to read before the launch of the new Samsung flagship.

We’ve seen a lot of new details about Samsung’s new smartphone, such as the Galaxy S6 release date, the Galaxy S6 specs and, of course, the Galaxy S6 design. But recently there have been more Samsung Galaxy S6 new rumors than ever before as the launch of the new device is getting closer. Even Samsung is now promoting the smartphone with teasers about “The New Galaxy”.

The new mobile phone from the South Korean company, however, is probably the least secretive thing in the market and we’ll possibly see everything about the new device in the Samsung’s Unpacked event on March 1st. Inside the event, the company will reveal its new smartphone that will compete with the HTC One M9, LG G4, iPhone 6 and many more.

It’s only natural that customers wish to find out more Galaxy S6 details. And with this in mind, we’ve put together a list of Samsung Galaxy S6 new rumors for everyone to enjoy and we’ll focus on things such as the Galaxy S6 release date, the Galaxy S6 design and many others. Enjoy.

Galaxy S6 Release Date

The launch date of the Galaxy S6 is getting closer. We know this because the Galaxy S6 Edge and the Galaxy S6 were seen passing on their way to shelves through the Global Certification Forum. Certifications from the Global Certification Forum are just some of other many certifications the Galaxy S6 will get before its launch date.

The certifications are for two versions of the new smartphone. We expect to see the new device in two different forms, a Galaxy S6 Edge model and a normal one. These certs are great news but the company still has a long way to go before it is ready to make the new smartphones available to the public.

Galaxy S6 Battery Details

In the recent time we’ve seen a lot of new rumors about the Galaxy S6 battery. We’ve seen photos showing that the Galaxy S6 has a 2600 mAh battery. This information was also present in a report last week that claimed the new flagship from Samsung indeed comes with a 2600 mAh battery. This means that the battery on the S6 is 200 mAh smaller than that on the Galaxy S5.

If the company does end up using a smaller battery for the new device it means that there is a lot of confidence in the Exynos 7 chip that we expect to see in the Galaxy S6. We also expect to see a lot of software improvements too, that will help the device deliver a strong battery life without the company having to add to its bulkiness by using a big battery inside the smartphone.

There are also strong rumors that say the S6 will feature wireless charging.

Galaxy S6 Design Rumors

Samsung continues to tease about the Galaxy S6 design. All rumors have hinted at a design featuring metal and maybe glass too.

Samsung released a new teaser about the Galaxy S6 that hints at the smartphone’s form factor. The company posted a small teaser on Twitter that suggests the new device will feature a premium design that will utilize metal and glass.

We expect Samsung to release a device with a premium build quality like the iPhone 6 and finally please its fans all over the world.

Galaxy S6 Camera

The rumors about the Galaxy S6 camera initially hinted at a 20MP or 16MP sensor but it seems like Samsung settled for the 16MP sensor similar to the one in the Galaxy S5.

Samsung claims that they’ve made a lot of improvements on the camera but this doesn’t come as a surprise seeing how much it’s been mentioning the new camera in the past few weeks. The company has been very busy in promoting the camera on the new flagship so we expect it to deliver significant improvements and changes.

Galaxy S6 Storage

The rumors about the storage in the Galaxy S6 hint that the device will come in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB models. If carriers in the United States will release more than one model, expect the smartphones to be priced accordingly. More storage means more money in the smartphone market.

We expect Samsung to make the models with more storage at least $50 more expensive. Samsung already did something similar with the 16GB and 32GB models of the S4. The 16GB model of the Samsung Galaxy S4 was $199.99 and the 32GB one was $250.

Galaxy S6 Price

We expect that the on-contract price of the new Samsung Galaxy S6 to be about the same as previous Galaxy devices. Samsung seems like they have always tried to match the prices of its competitor, Apple. The base 16GB model iPhone 6 is priced at $199.99 on contract. We don’t expect Samsung to make its S6 more expensive than that, or at least, not by a lot.

We expect that the new Samsung Galaxy S6 to be made of metal, and to come with very powerful new features. However, this premium build and great features are also present in HTC One series and the iPhone 6 and both of them have a price of $199.99 in the United States. A much steeper price than that might scare away potential customers. This is not a risk that Samsung can afford to take this year. Mainly because the mobile market is struggling and there are a lot of affordable great Android devices out there already. Not to mention the sales the iPhone 6 has seen.

Galaxy S6 Edge Price

There are rumors that Samsung will also launch a Galaxy S6 Edge. But the new device will have its screen bent on both sides, unlike the Galaxy Note Edge.

The Note Edge is $100 more expensive than the regular Galaxy Note 4. Samsung said that this technology is intended for high-end consumers. The Galaxy S6 Edge will probably have a similar price distinction.

We expect the Galaxy S6 Edge to be at least $100 more expensive than the regular model. This means that some providers will offer the curved display smartphone for $300 or more on the on-contract deal.

Galaxy S6 Expensive Off-Contract

We really don’t expect that Samsung will follow in the steps of the Nexus and make its device cheap off-contract.

We expect that the new flagship from Samsung to cost around $600. This price seems to be the standard for new phones such as the iPhone 6 and Samsung followed this trend for years. If the device will be cheaper than $600 it will definitely shock us.

Galaxy S6 Edge Very Expensive Off-Contract

The Galaxy S6 Edge is expected to be very expensive off-contract. If the curved model of the Galaxy S6 will be more expensive than the regular one by $100 on-contract, we really expect the South Korean company to price it somewhere between $700 and $800 off-contract.

This will probably scare some of Samsung’s customers but we don’t believe it cares all that much. The Galaxy S6 Edge is a premium smartphone that will definitely come with a premium price. We don’t expect it to be anything less than very expensive.

Galaxy S6 Similar Prices

No carriers will get away with pricing the device $100 more than others. Most of the times, all the carriers and retailers in the United States offer the smartphones at around the same price.

In the past we’ve seen Sprint tried to charge $50 more on-contract but the carrier always drops the price to match AT&T and Verizon’s price point.

Galaxy S5 Price Drop

We expect that the Galaxy S5 will get a price drop from the $199.99. It will probably cost around $90 on-contract. The older Galaxy S5 is still a pretty great smartphone and carriers in the United States will possibly offer the older device as an alternative to the more expensive Galaxy S6.

We also believe that refurbished Galaxy S6s will see the light of day after a few months after its release. We saw AT&T offer a Galaxy Note 4 that’s been refurbished for $250. Granted, this isn’t actually a steal, however it’s still a pretty decent deal.

Galaxy S6 vs iPhone 6

The iPhone 6 Plus and iPhone 6 are two of the best smartphones available and they will be a serious competition for the new Galaxy S6. Things look like they will get more serious as Samsung confirmed it has bought LoopPay. This service is expected to help the company battle with Apple’s new ApplePay service.

LoopPay works with 90 percent of retail locations and over 10,000 cards and banks. The system doesn’t use NFC for payment and instead sends a wireless signal to the reader of the magnetic card. There is already a product sold by the company that works with Android phones and we expect that the Samsung Galaxy S6 will feature a LoopPay system built in.

Images source: phonearena.com, samsung.com, apcmag.com, techradar.com, knowyourmobile.com

New Samsung Galaxy S6 Release Details

February 6, 2015 By Nancy Young Leave a Comment

Image source: phonearena.com

Some new Samsung Galaxy S6 release details have surfaced recently and we will present a few of them to you.

We have seen a lot of rumors regarding the Samsung Galaxy S6 in the news in the last couple of months. These rumors tease almost everything regarding the new device, from the Galaxy S6 specs and design to the Galaxy S6 release date. As we come closer to Samsung’s usual launch window, we’ve began seeing numerous rumors that hint at a very large scale launch of the device.

Some publications claim that the new Galaxy S6 will come in four different colors: blue-green, dark blue, white and gold. The Galaxy S5 was available in black and white only. It seems like the curved version of the Samsung Galaxy S6 called the Galaxy S Edge will be launched in the same four different colors. Samsung is well known for providing different carriers and retailers exclusive colors but we hope the South Korean company will make all the colors available regardless of retailer or carrier.

More and more companies are getting ready for the release of the Samsung Galaxy S6. We’ve seen numerous companies post teasers about the new device and Belsimpel (a Dutch mobile carrier) has even posted its own teaser page about rumors regarding the Galaxy S6.

Such companies are trying to get attention before the official Samsung Galaxy S6 announcement and even though the details they provide are very vague, it’s pretty obvious that companies are preparing for a huge Galaxy S6 release.

Some publications claim that the new smartphone from Samsung will feature the rumored rival of Apple Pay available on iPhones. It has been said that the Galaxy S6 will use the LoopPay mobile payment service. If this is true, we might get to see Samsung reveal the new service in March.

Samsung confirmed earlier this week an Unpacked event in Barcelona, Spain on March 1st. This event in Spain will help start the Mobile World Congress 2015 show. Samsung hasn’t yet confirmed the arrival of the Galaxy S6 but the South Korean company generally saves these events for big product releases. And if the Galaxy S6 isn’t a big release then we have no idea what a big release for Samsung actually means.

The Galaxy S6 design is believed to be a step up from the usual plastic design Samsung usually uses. The South Korean company keeps on hinting that it will use a new form factor and a premium design for its newest device. More and more rumors claim that the new Galaxy S6 will use glass, metal or a combination of both of these materials. There is a theory that states the company’s metal based designs of Galaxy Alpha and Galaxy Note 4 were trial runs for the new Galaxy S6.

Recent design leaks of the Samsung Galaxy S6 hint at redesigned buttons, a thinner design and curved edges. Many of these leaks come from an accessory maker that probably has the right dimensions of the Galaxy S6.

Samsung and other smartphone manufacturers usually offer accessory producers dimensions and molds of their products before the official launch. This allows such companies to be prepared when the device finally hits the market. In the past we’ve seen manufacturers give out accurate details regarding the design of unreleased smartphones but there have also been occasions in which they were completely wrong.

Rumors about the new Samsung Galaxy S6 point to very powerful specifications. The smartphone’s specifications include a 20MP OIS camera, Exynos 64 bit processor and a Quad HD display. Most rumors also claim that the smartphone will be made out of premium materials such as glass or aluminum and will feature wireless charging. It’s believed that the device will launch on all major carriers in the United States including Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, U.S. Cellular and Sprint.

There is no indication that the South Korean company will get rid of its Super AMOLED screens so we expect the S6 to also feature one. There will probably be a boost in the resolution, however. We expect the Samsung S6 to have a resolution of at least 2,560 x 1,440.

As a matter of fact, Samsung even said that it intends to manufacture smartphones with 3,840 x 2,160 4K displays by 2015. It is quite possible that its newest device will completely ignore 2K and jump directly to 4K. But we’ll be really surprised if this will happen. It’s very likely that Samsung will save such a resolution for its Galaxy Note 5.

The Samsung Galaxy S6 may get a relatively bigger screen whether it will be QHD or not. The South Korean company has gradually been making its smartphone screens bigger and we won’t be shocked if they will increase the size of the screen even more on the S6.

There’s a slight chance that the Galaxy S6 will feature a flexible display. The company has made a lot of research regarding this type of technology and even released the Galaxy Note Edge. This phablet is a version of the Galaxy Note 4 where the display curves on one side, so it’s not entirely far-fetched to expect Samsung to do the same with its newest flagship.

It’s possible that we will get two versions of the same phone; one with a curved display and the other with a flat one. There are rumors that support this exact idea and claim there will be a Galaxy S6 featuring a normal, flat display and a Galaxy S6 Edge that will have a curved display, much as the Galaxy Note Edge.

There have also been rumors that claim the S6 will have both of its screen edges curved but not in the same form as the Galaxy Note Edge. This might mean the curves on the device will be a lot more subtle.

The S4 and the S5 launched in April 2013 and 2014 but some rumors claim that the new flagship will show up a couple of weeks earlier than usual. This means that we may get to see the new mobile phone in early April or late March.

Samsung Galaxy S6 Rumor Roundoup & Design Concepts

December 15, 2014 By Roxanne Briean 1 Comment

It is nothing unusual anymore, getting new smartphones to be excited about every other month. And we have certainly had a very busy year in 2014, with amazing phones and tablets coming out to impress us with new processors, state-of-the-art cameras and dazzling displays.

Considering Samsung’s regular annual plan, with the Galaxy Note 4 freshly out since September this year and the Samsung Galaxy Alpha delivering some fixes and apologies for the faults of the Galaxy S5, nobody felt overly surprised when rumors of a Galaxy S6 started travelling around.

Design Concept for Samsung Galaxy S6 (Image Source: galaxys6updates.com/)

Ever since the Galaxy S6 was officially revealed by Samsung, there has been plenty of speculation regarding specs and its ready to impress design. The enthusiastically awaited iPhone 6 rival is not expected to show up until spring of 2015, now known under the name “Project Zero”. The smartphone is believed to be bringing an upgraded screen and recently revealed processors.

Taking into account Samsung’s clockwork-like release schedule, with MWC 2015 to be held between March 2^nd and March 5^th we have reason to believe there is a good chance the new phone will be released with that occasion. Or alternatively, that we would at least hear a confirmation of the release date during the manufacturer’s press conference.

On another note however, it’s no secret that Samsung’s profits in 2014 have been dwindling and looking at a 60% drop in annual earnings right now, so a timely release that jumps out of the rhythm might be just the thing they need to pull out to the surface.

So the information that we have right now is split in two grand categories: things we know and things that have been rumored. Surely there’s no reason to say that some of the rumors do not hold ground, but it is probably wiser to only take official news for granted. So let us start with what we know.

Samsung Galaxy S6 Facts & Specs

Display

The super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen seems to be a favored technology for most, if not all recent Samsung devices, and one of the best on the market.

For that reason the Samsung Galaxy S6 will be adopting it itself. Following several leaked benchmarking results from the Chinese website cnmo.com we seem to be looking at a 2,560 x 1,440 QHD display with an over 16 million color capacity. QHD – a feature that stands for Quad High Definition – is a display resolution with a 16:9 aspect ratio that has four times as many pixels as the 720p HDTV video standard.

Design Concept for Samsung Galaxy S6 (Image Source: samsungalaxys7.com)

This 1440p technology has been already embraced by the LG G3 released earlier this year and is used in several laptop models, along with the latest Galaxy Note 4. The size of the display seems to have been decided upon and no less than a 5.5” one, set at 534 pixel density.

Hardware & Power

In April this year, Qualcomm processing unit developer revealed its latest Snapdragon 808 and Snapdragon 810 processors, announcing them as being the planned technology for “early 2015 releases”. They are 64-bit processors running on 6 and 8 cores respectively, promising outstanding battery life and performance. According to Qualcomm, the processing units allow UHD 4k ultra video, up to 55-megapixel cameras and a calculated 20 percent boost in graphical performance.

While Qualcomm hardware has been a priority choice when it comes to processors, there is a strongly viable alternative for the Samsung Galaxy S6 – the Exynos 7 that is an octa-core CPU, sporting 4 Cortex-A57 and 4 Cortex-A53 cores. This could be an alternative for different markets, as it has been hinted at by SamMobile and other sources. While there is no actual information on how much RAM will be put in the Samsung Galaxy S6, 64-bit processors are capable to sustain and actually function best with 4 GB of RAM or above. But that is a milestone that that we might be thinking of a little too early.

The Galaxy S6 will be coming with 3 storage variants – 32, 64 and 128GB. While the possibility of a microSD slot has been hinted at and judging by past experience of the company’s products, there is no definite confirmation of it being included in the final device.

Design Concept for Samsung Galaxy S6 (Image Source: samsungsvi.com)

Reports from South Korea however have mentioned a new type of flash memory – commonly known as UFS (Universal Flash Storage) – that might be incorporated in this much expected smartphone. Universal flash storage will be offering the possibility of higher speed, low power drain in comparison to SD cards and integration into embedded applications.

The camera specs that we have heard of up until now are not even close to modest: 20 megapixel camera with a dual shot feature, simultaneous HD video and image recording, touch focus and up to 4,992 x 3,744 resolution images. The secondary, front facing camera does not fall off short of the standards either at 5 MP, 1080p quality video at 30 frames per second, with a dual video call feature.

Samsung Galaxy S6 Rumors & Speculation

Mind you, this is just leaked information which you would normally not have much reason to believe but several sources suggest this information holds ground to actually be real. However, until Samsung makes any official statement or announcement, do take this information with a grain of salt.

Connectivity

There has been a report by South Korean online publication Naver according to which Samsung is developing a tri-band LTE Cat. 10 modem for the Exynos chips (no mention of the Qualcomm ones though). These modems would make your smartphone go as fast as 450Mbps, 150 more Mbps than the current Cat. 6 standard.

Sure, the technology implications behind this are quite costing and wouldn’t just naturally make your phone as fast as your fiber internet connection on your desktop, the speed sadly relying a lot on the carriers and the maximum data transfer speeds they support.

Screen & Phone Design

The design of the phone seems to be the subject most people choose to discuss about, heavily fueled by recent leaks and rumors. Let’s start with the lighter portions of it. It would appear that Samsung has decided to give up the plastic exteriors in exchange for something that inspires more quality.

Seeing metal in the phone’s design would be a welcomed change, even if it would turn out to be a few grams more taxing then the regular mold. Rumors do speak of graphene as one of the materials used in elements of its design – sleek, elegant, clever but expensive.

Design Concept for Samsung Galaxy S6 (Image Source: www.concept-phones.com/)

The largest source of excitement however is the possibility of a curved, “edge” screen. To be more precise in regards to what we mean by “edge”, just take a look at the Galaxy Note 4 Edge. The right hand side of the screen extends to the very edge of the phone, slanting and curbing into a special zone that will display your notifications and whatnot. It is rumored that the Galaxy S6 will be adopting not one, but two of the edges for its display.

There’s enough reason to believe that too: in an interview with the IHD Technology analyst Jerry Kang, it has been revealed that the model was planned for the Galaxy Note 4 Edge was supposed to have dual-edges but that Samsung, at the 11^th hour decided to scrap the design idea and supposedly save it for the Galaxy S6.

That, and technological limitations that butted in and would have otherwise delayed the project much longer made the mobile device giant to think it over twice and postpone the innovative idea.

Now, rumors do split in two different directions. One would suggest that the dual-edge screen is a main feature of the new device, while the other one suggests that the Samsung Galaxy S6 will be coming in two different versions, much like the Galaxy Note 4: one with a classic design while the other would incorporate the curved edge shape.

That not only sounds realistic, but easily understandable at the same time. The curved edge of the Galaxy Note 4 is notoriously interesting, but it does come at a hefty price. The Edge version of the phone will burn an extra $150 hole in your pocket.

Not to mention that most users have not felt very compelled by the new design, claiming it was a bit strange to get accustomed to, that holding the phone felt uncomfortable and getting used to navigating a menu off the side of a phone took a considerable amount of time. We can only speculate in what way Samsung would decide to put a dual-edged screen to use.

Design Concept for Samsung Galaxy S6 (Image Source: samsungsvi.com)

But that lets us question what the classic version would entail. It has been stated by the company that the Galaxy S6 is meant to be a breath of fresh air for both consumers and the business itself. The reason the project was named “Project Zero”, instead of the usual “Project J/K/L/etc.” pattern is that Samsung is rethinking everything all over again, starting from scratch with their phone design.

Maybe the curved screen would get a second chance. While the curved, concave screen that we have seen before in other electronics such as television sets does definitely have its advantages such as keeping a larger-sized screen in an easy-to-hold phone, it does not really fit into the complete revamp ideology.

Questions continue to arise and sadly we will have to satisfy our curiosity with speculation until an official statement will clear it up for us.

Battery

If you think of the bold hardware overhaul we are looking at in, however still mostly speculated, Samsung Galaxy S6 it’s understandable to feel worried about the battery life that we will be expecting to get from it. Sure, the new chip and processors are sworn to be optimized into lesser power drainage, but until developers find a reliable way to power up phones using natural sources, high performance will continue to be taxing on power usage.

Design Concept for Samsung Galaxy S6 (Image Source: gadgetmaxim.com/)

Upon hearing news of the phone being water and dust resistant for prolonged amounts of time, users have expressed some fear and resentment towards the possibility of the phone having a completely sealed case, not a very common trait in most Samsung devices but still not out of the question.

Conclusion

Rumors will continue to flow from all directions over the following 3 months for sure. Right now, there’s very little we can be 100% certain of, despite the leaks and the scattered hints that the company is throwing us here and there.

What is certain, nevertheless, is that the Samsung Galaxy S6 is meant to be a revolutionary device, ready to rewrite the series’ history and wipe away the company’s less-than-what-was-promised Galaxy S5 release. We can only hope and make the best of what we know so far. Only time will tell.