No phones have polarised opinion more in recent years than the current Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. I’m a big fan, but weak sales rumours continue to circle with no official line from Samsung to quell them. But it does have other solutions lined up: make the Galaxy S6 in two new sizes…
A pair of fascinating leaks have emerged this week claiming to reveal the existence of both a high powered 4.6-inch Galaxy S6 and a 5.5-inch ‘Galaxy S6 Plus’, the latter of which has the same curved display as the Galaxy S6 Edge.
How credible are these? In my opinion, very. Let’s breakdown the evidence…
4.6-inch Galaxy S6
GSMArena breaks the news of the smaller S6 variant via a new unexpected arrival on the GFX Benchmark database – the Samsung ‘SM-G9198’.
GFX is widely used to test Android handsets. It logs the data on all models that pass through it, making them publicly available and what stands out about the G9198 is its iPhone 6 comparable screen size and resolution, backed up with the same premium Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 chipset as used successfully in the LG G4.
The former is nothing new. Samsung has long had ‘Mini’ versions of its Galaxy S range, but this appears to be the first time it is making the effort to match Apple’s smaller iPhone by giving it premium specs. This includes a 15MP rear camera, 5MP front camera and 2GB of RAM.
By comparison, last year the disappointing Galaxy S5 Mini had an underpowered Exynos 3 Quad 3470 chipset, an 8MP rear camera, 2.7MP front camera and 1.5GB of RAM. This makes what could well be the new ‘Galaxy S6 Mini’ a major step up and the combination of the Snapdragon 808 and a 768p display means it should fly.
5.5-inch Galaxy S6 PlusAs for talk of a 5.5-inch Galaxy S6 ‘Plus’ phablet, it is actually an update on news that has been circling for some time.
Italy’s famous HDBlog was the site to get the new info this time and reveals that the device – developed under the codename ‘Project Zero 2’ (the S6 and S6 Edge were ‘Project Zero’) is not related to the upcoming Galaxy Note refresh and has more of mainstream consumer/reduced productivity focus.
Consequently the Galaxy S6 Plus won’t have a stylus (and it is hotly expected there will be no expandable memory or removable battery either) but it will have the same dual sized curved screens as the Galaxy S6 Edge. Unsurprisingly, it will also sport a significantly larger battery.
A formal announcement is claimed to happen within weeks.
Are these new phones a good idea? Yes and no, given what we know about three more Galaxy models coming soon
Of course it is a popular criticism of Samsung to accuse its handset department of simply throwing mud in all directions and hoping some of it sticks. In fairness, given there is also a Galaxy S6 Active coming soon (with expandable storage and a removable battery, but bulky design), that argument does hold weight.
Then again I’m of two minds with these new 4.6-inch and 5.5-inch models. To me the former makes perfect sense. For years Samsung has needed a form factor to compete directly with the iPhone, but has rushed it off as a cheap Galaxy knock-off. Now it feels like the company has got its act together.
On the flip side, while I’m theoretically all in favour of a ‘Small, Medium and Large’ smartphone range (I think Apple should have a 4-inch premium iPhone 6 as well) there is a strong likelihood the 5.5-inch S6 Plus will be a mistake.
Why? Samsung is already established in this space with the Galaxy Note range and there’s even a Galaxy Note Edge which could switch from the single sided edge screen of last year to dual edges in 2015. So having the Galaxy S6 Plus, Galaxy Note Edge 2 and Galaxy Note 5 all available is just likely to cause customer confusion – it’s mud slinging.
That said, I hope it works out. Samsung on the top of its game inspires rivals (just look at Apple’s move into the phablet sector) and the company has shown it is prepared to reinvent itself to succeed. So the next 6 months are likely to be among the most crucial in Samsung’s history…
A pair of fascinating leaks have emerged this week claiming to reveal the existence of both a high powered 4.6-inch Galaxy S6 and a 5.5-inch ‘Galaxy S6 Plus’, the latter of which has the same curved display as the Galaxy S6 Edge.
How credible are these? In my opinion, very. Let’s breakdown the evidence…
4.6-inch Galaxy S6
GSMArena breaks the news of the smaller S6 variant via a new unexpected arrival on the GFX Benchmark database – the Samsung ‘SM-G9198’.
GFX is widely used to test Android handsets. It logs the data on all models that pass through it, making them publicly available and what stands out about the G9198 is its iPhone 6 comparable screen size and resolution, backed up with the same premium Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 chipset as used successfully in the LG G4.
The former is nothing new. Samsung has long had ‘Mini’ versions of its Galaxy S range, but this appears to be the first time it is making the effort to match Apple’s smaller iPhone by giving it premium specs. This includes a 15MP rear camera, 5MP front camera and 2GB of RAM.
By comparison, last year the disappointing Galaxy S5 Mini had an underpowered Exynos 3 Quad 3470 chipset, an 8MP rear camera, 2.7MP front camera and 1.5GB of RAM. This makes what could well be the new ‘Galaxy S6 Mini’ a major step up and the combination of the Snapdragon 808 and a 768p display means it should fly.
5.5-inch Galaxy S6 PlusAs for talk of a 5.5-inch Galaxy S6 ‘Plus’ phablet, it is actually an update on news that has been circling for some time.
Italy’s famous HDBlog was the site to get the new info this time and reveals that the device – developed under the codename ‘Project Zero 2’ (the S6 and S6 Edge were ‘Project Zero’) is not related to the upcoming Galaxy Note refresh and has more of mainstream consumer/reduced productivity focus.
Consequently the Galaxy S6 Plus won’t have a stylus (and it is hotly expected there will be no expandable memory or removable battery either) but it will have the same dual sized curved screens as the Galaxy S6 Edge. Unsurprisingly, it will also sport a significantly larger battery.
A formal announcement is claimed to happen within weeks.
Are these new phones a good idea? Yes and no, given what we know about three more Galaxy models coming soon
Of course it is a popular criticism of Samsung to accuse its handset department of simply throwing mud in all directions and hoping some of it sticks. In fairness, given there is also a Galaxy S6 Active coming soon (with expandable storage and a removable battery, but bulky design), that argument does hold weight.
Then again I’m of two minds with these new 4.6-inch and 5.5-inch models. To me the former makes perfect sense. For years Samsung has needed a form factor to compete directly with the iPhone, but has rushed it off as a cheap Galaxy knock-off. Now it feels like the company has got its act together.
On the flip side, while I’m theoretically all in favour of a ‘Small, Medium and Large’ smartphone range (I think Apple should have a 4-inch premium iPhone 6 as well) there is a strong likelihood the 5.5-inch S6 Plus will be a mistake.
Why? Samsung is already established in this space with the Galaxy Note range and there’s even a Galaxy Note Edge which could switch from the single sided edge screen of last year to dual edges in 2015. So having the Galaxy S6 Plus, Galaxy Note Edge 2 and Galaxy Note 5 all available is just likely to cause customer confusion – it’s mud slinging.
That said, I hope it works out. Samsung on the top of its game inspires rivals (just look at Apple’s move into the phablet sector) and the company has shown it is prepared to reinvent itself to succeed. So the next 6 months are likely to be among the most crucial in Samsung’s history…
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