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| Above: Samsung teaser promotion alludes to wireless charging and speed. |
SAMSUNG GALAXY S6:
LEAK DAMAGE?
Goodhour, Synapse Circuit Readers! How goes it? Well, it’s not long before we learn what the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S Edge is all about! Are you planning on getting either the Galaxy S6 or Galaxy S Edge? I’ve got to have the Galaxy S Edge as I gave the Galaxy Note Edge a miss for the Galaxy Gear VR!
Here’s a question: Do you think that all these “leaks” are damaging Samsung’s chances for success?
#Samsung #GalaxyS6 #GalaxySEdge #Leaks
NO SURPRISES?
Do you think that there will be no surprises on the day of the reveal, 1st March 2015?
What do we really know about the Galaxy S6 apart from some “leaked” specs? Not a lot, right?
Here’s what we don’t know:-
The new cameras
The camera is a big deal on smartphones these days and Samsung knows more than any manufacturer just how important it is to get this feature right. We’re seeing many Chinese manufacturers such as Huawei putting in some serious MegaPixels on the front-facing camera these days i.e. 13MP! Gosh! Golly! Gee! But at the end of the day it’s easy enough to take selfie pictures with the main camera. Besides, many selfie pictures are fodder for social network feeds; 13MP may be overkill for that purpose. If the rumoured 5MP front-facing camera on the Galaxy S6 & S Edge is accurate then I’d say that Samsung has got it right (for the front-facing camera).
As for the main camera... ...it seems there is some fluctuation between 16MP and 20MP. I am going to place a bet on 20MP as this was a big rumour for the Galaxy S5. We are still in the dark (hee hee) about how the main camera will compete against strong efforts from other manufacturers. I would imagine that in any event (Mobile World Congress 2015) Samsung will make a massive effort in outdoing the iPhone cameras. Samsung should be aiming to obliterate the iPhone cameras in terms of quality of results and not just a high MegaPixel rating alone. As well as optical image stabilization we want more quality night shots.
Battery life
It looks as though the battery will be smaller due to the fact that we are expecting not only a metal / glass unibody but the Galaxy S6 (and possibly S Edge) will be ultra-thin. As a result the battery is said to be 2600 mAh. Now there are several factors to a handset that can drain a battery fast:-
a) The operating system... Lollipop (Android 5) may be causing the battery to drain rapidly as it is a major upgrade. No doubt that Google will keep releasing updates to improve the overall Lollipop experience as they have done with other incarnations of Android.
b) A QHD display! Samsung could reveal an improvement upon its Super AMOLED technology that is less taxing on the battery.
c) The processor; as soon as you start using your handset to consume media i.e. YouTube videos, games and music the battery starts to diminish considerably. It seems to me that the tech media keeps forgetting that Samsung is an experienced chip manufacturer and that it has been responsible for the iPhone A series of processors. Many showed concern regarding the use of Samsung’s own chip, Exynos 7420 for the Galaxy S6 (and S Edge) instead of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 but Samsung would not jeopardise its flagship knowing how high the stakes are. Who knows how long Samsung has been working on the Exynos 7420? To hazard a guess I would say since Apple engaged Samsung to realize its 64-bit processor; it was just waiting for Lollipop.
We have an idea that the Exynos 7420 chip will be less of a strain on the battery.
Biometric scanner
We have yet to get details on the fingerprint scanner. Apparently the swipe to unlock fingerprint scanner is out! The fingerprint scanner should work in a similar way to the iPhone. But that is just hearsay! It could be that Samsung removes this feature totally from the Galaxy S6 and S Edge. To me a fingerprint scanner is just a novelty.
It does appear as though the heart rate scanner will still be a feature.
Samsung specific apps
I am not talking about bloatware but Samsung productivity apps... We have no idea what or if Samsung will provide its own apps that can take advantage of the Exynos 7420 processor and much rumoured 3GB RAM. For all we know it could be 4GB when it is actually released.
It sort of goes with the biometric scanner in that Samsung did a good job with the S Health app to track steps, heart rate, calorie intake, etc. I use it on my Galaxy Note 4. I find it very useful.
Sound
We don’t know if the Galaxy S6 and S Edge will have the same kind of sound features that will appeal to enthusiastic and professional musicians like the Galaxy Note 4 does. Fingers crossed that it does! The functions for sound can make a great difference in sales as music making apps on Android have gotten to a very high standard. Again, Samsung has its own Soundcamp music making app that could see its way on the Galaxy S6 and S Edge.
See?
There is a lot that we really don’t know. I could post up “leaked” pictures of the Galaxy S6 and its Edge variant but you have probably seen them already. And the chances are is that those pictures are genuine. Samsung and other manufacturers “leak” the images and benchmarks on purpose to generate excitement and to keep the media (in general) writing and talking about the Next Big Thing. The images are also leaked so that we don’t expect too much of the design so when it is actually revealed it shouldn’t come as a shock if you were expecting something outlandish. Once the look of the handset is “revealed” we should then start to focus on what the handset can do.
In a way we’ve been looking at “leaks” ever since Samsung put the Galaxy Alpha out there which has morphed to the all metal Galaxy A series. Some of that design ethos will go into the Galaxy S6 & S Edge (as I have pointed out already).
SHOWTIME
The reason why the Galaxy S5 didn’t do so well wasn’t because of the “leaks”... Well, kind of... We’ll get to that in a bit... It was simply because Samsung didn’t do a presentation in a similar vein to the Galaxy S4. Samsung should get back to those big reveals; while the introduction of the Galaxy S4 didn’t go down with everybody – it was seen as patronizing to women – it still showed off the great functionality of the handset. I would imagine that Samsung was feeling deflated after the Apple witch hunt and when the tech media panned the Galaxy S4 Unpacked event it (Samsung) felt rejected and decided to tone things down for the Galaxy S5, “Back to basics...” If the “leaks” did damage the Galaxy S5 it was because some of the “leaked specs” didn’t live up to the hype. I was initially disappointed with the Galaxy S5 design (even though it was “leaked”); I found myself hoping that some of the concept renderings (at the time) would have been based upon a Samsung design. I was also disappointed with the spec. We Android folk want our premium handsets to have the best tech crammed inside it! As it turned out the Galaxy S5 “Prime” was the LTE-A G906S variant of the Galaxy S5 and there are so many variants of it! Here in the UK – at least – we were expecting the LTE-A G906S to be on the market but it wasn’t. As a result some consumers opted for the LG G3 instead.
I reckon had Samsung stuck to its flamboyant Unpacking sense of showmanship with a more thoughtful approach to women, for example, I think that the Galaxy S5 would have shifted more units. I don’t know about you, but I do appreciate when Samsung shows us situations where its innovations are useful. Samsung didn’t go all out on presentation with the Galaxy S5 so much so that I can’t even remember the whole event like I do the Galaxy S4 Unpacking.
UNPACKED 1st MARCH 2015
I am hoping that Samsung will restore the Unpacked flare that they are famous for since the introduction of the Galaxy S3 at this year’s Mobile World Congress. I want to see what Samsung has envisioned for us. I love it when they make a great show of it combing the use of video projection and actors. The Unpacked event is not just for the media and tech-heads out there... Uh-uh! Many consumers are watching to learn as much as possible on what could be their next handset. Consumers like to see how what could be their next handset differentiate from the competition. It’s these unique selling points that went into the adverts for the Galaxy S3 and S4. For the Galaxy S5 ads I remember the battery saving capabilities and heart rate monitor... Whereas with the Galaxy S3 I learned about the great camera functionality and unique design! And with the Galaxy S4 it was not only the camera but Air Gestures and Smart Pause!
In other words the Galaxy S5 was undersold. That said there was a great interest on the UK launch that took place in London’s Westfield shopping complex in Stratford. Since then Samsung has closed its Stratford retail outlet. It’s a bit of a shame but the Central London Samsung shop is still in existence and is very busy!
A SENSE OF WOW
What I have taken from the various “leaks” is that the Galaxy S6 and S Edge will most likely be the most powerful handsets in the world.
It’s also going to have a different design language that befits an ultra-thin unibody while being recognizable as a Samsung handset. Yeah, yeah... ...some people are saying, “It’s like an iPhone...” already... If the “leaked” pictures are for real then it is more like a hybrid between the HTC One and iPhone. I would have preferred that it had front-facing stereo speakers but as Samsung seem to be aiming to create the world’s thinnest handset it’s not going to support it (front-facing speakers). Maybe, just maybe those “leaked” images are a red herring and we could be in for a surprise with the actual Galaxy S6 and S Edge. I am not going to hold my breath on the design for the reasons mentioned above i.e. the “leaks” are meant to get people used to the design (instead of expecting something from another galaxy... hee hee...). I saw the leak for the Galaxy S3, S4 and S5 and I did hope that they would be different. But the designs never detracted from the functionality of the handsets themselves. I have yet to see the camera on a premium Galaxy handsets bettered; the camera is one of the reasons why I have stuck with the Galaxy S and Note ranges.
I don’t think the media and consumers will be disappointed when it comes to the functionality; functionality is Samsung’s speciality and I expect to be wowed once more on what the Galaxy S6 and S Edge can do!
If Samsung presents the Galaxy S6 and S Edge right I don’t see a reason for them not to sell like hotcakes!
64... BIATCH
That’s right! Samsung’s 64-bit Exynos processor is going to be another selling point for the Galaxy S6 and S Edge. As a result I envisage that the Galaxy S6 and S Edge will be the biggest selling handsets this year (not counting the Galaxy Note 5 come September). By the looks of it the Exynos 7420 processor is more advanced than the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 and since most premium handsets will be packing it i.e. the HTC One M9, LG Flex 2 and the Sony Z4 - to name a few – the Galaxy S6 and S Edge are going to stand out (from any device using the Snapdragon 810). Samsung are coming back with a vengeance.
Related articles:-
Double Edged Sword
Galaxy S6 Follow-Up
Samsung Throwing A Curve
Samsung Design Principals
Samsung to Fade Away
Apple Biased Media Assault on the Soon To Be Released Galaxy S6 and S Edge
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