SAMSUNG THE NEXT GALAXY UNPACKED SYNAPSE CIRCUIT

 SYNAPSE CIRCUIT

SAMSUNG THE NEXT GALAXY UNPACKED, MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS, BARCELONA 2015

Above: Executive Vice President, Younghee Lee of Samsung hosting.

Goodhour, Synapse Circuit Readers! How are you today? Me? I am feeling wonderful! I am excited about the Samsung ‘The Next Galaxy’ Unpacking event at the Mobile World Congress, Barcelona!
Above: President & CEO of Samsung Electronics.

This is the moment we have all been waiting for! Here’s my reaction... Read on...

#Samsung #TheNextGalaxy #UnpackedEpisodeOne2015 #GalaxyS6 #GalaxySEdge #GalaxyS6Edge

WOW
That’s my first impressions on the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. Despite the multiple “leaks” it is always something else to see the actual handsets themselves.

The design is great; I will agree with Samsung that it is “Ground Zero”. I have made no secret what I feel about the iPhone design – it’s bland. Samsung have done a fantastic job on the aesthetics; the “leaks” pointed to a metal and glass unibody and to see it is awesome! Gorilla Glass 4 is the toughest glass material thus so far and promises not to be as delicate as the competition.

The Galaxy S6 & S6 comes in 4 different colours: White Pearl, Black Sapphire, Gold Platinum, Blue Topaz. From different angles you will see some slight colour changes i.e. on the Gold Platinum handset it appears to have more gold from one angle and from another it appears more platinum. I can only hope that all the colours will be available at the same time and that we don’t have to wait further on down the line for more of the colours. Where are my Electric Blue and Neon Pink? Bah!

What I like about the Galaxy S6 Edge is that it manages to be markedly different from the Galaxy Note Edge. I like that you can keep a list of favourite contacts at the edges and colour code them so that you know who’s calling as the screen illuminates in the colour of that person.

CAMERA
I had a feeling that Samsung would go 16MP instead of the much rumoured 20MP but the features are outstanding! Samsung uncharacteristically placed the camera of the iPhone 6 Plus next to the Galaxy S6 and it blew it out of the water and evaporated it! The Galaxy S6 & S6 Edge cameras are a gift to the smartphone photographer! I can see myself taking loads of pictures with the Galaxy S6 Edge this year – all year round! I love the low light F1.9 aperture lens on both the front (5MP) and main camera will mean fantastic night / indoor photography. The quality of the video recording looks simply amazing! Oddly, Samsung didn’t go into details regarding 4K. Hmmm... Could it be once again limited to 5 minutes?

Anyway, like the Galaxy Note 4 the camera on the Galaxy S6 & S6 Edge has OIS (optical image stabilization).

BATTERY
From the “leaks” we knew about wireless charging and that is a great feature. While some people were panicking a little about a non-removable battery I got the feeling that Samsung wouldn’t do this unless the battery usage was going to be optimized. You can get 4 hours of use from a 10 minute charge! Again, it boils down to what you are doing on the handset that impacts on the battery. Many, many manufacturers make great claims on the battery but it is mostly a different story in reality. However, I must say that Samsung batteries have the most longevity.

SPECS:-
GALAXY S6

NETWORK  
GSM / HSPA / LTE

LAUNCH      
Announced 2015, March
Status: Coming soon. Exp. release 2015, April 10

BODY           
Dimensions: 143.4 x 70.5 x 6.8 mm (5.65 x 2.78 x 0.27 in)
Galaxy S6 Edge Dimensions: 142.1 x 70.1 x 7 mm (5.59 x 2.76 x 0.28 in)
Weight: 138 g (4.87 oz)
Galaxy S6 Edge Weight 132 g (4.66 oz)
Build: Corning Gorilla Glass 4 back panel

SIM    
Nano-SIM

FINGERPRINT SENSOR
Fingerprint sensor (PayPal certified)
Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified)

DISPLAY      
Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size: 5.1 inches (70.7% screen-to-body ratio)
Galaxy S6 Edge screen size: 5.1 inches (72.0% screen-to-body ratio)
Resolution: 1440 x 2560 pixels (577 ppi pixel density)
Multitouch
Protection: Corning Gorilla Glass 4
TouchWiz UI

PLATFORM 
OS: Android OS, v5.0.2 (Lollipop)
Chipset: Exynos 7420
CPU: Quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 & Quad-core 2.1 GHz Cortex-A57
GPU: Mali-T760

MEMORY     
No microSD card slot
Internal: 32 / 64 / 128 GB
3 GB RAM

CAMERA      
Primary: 16 MP, 3456 x 4608 pixels, optical image stabilization, autofocus, LED flash
Features: Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, Auto HDR, panorama
Video: 2160p@30fps, 1080p@60fps, 720p@120fps, HDR, dual-video rec.
Secondary: 5 MP, 1080p@30fps, dual video call, Auto HDR

SOUND        
Alert types: Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
Loudspeaker
3.5mm jack   

COMMS        
WLAN           
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
Bluetooth v4.1, A2DP, LE, apt-X
GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, Beidou
NFC
Infrared port

USB  
microUSB v2.0 (MHL 3 TV-out), USB Host

FEATURES 
Sensors: Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, gesture, heart rate
Messaging: SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM
Browser: HTML5
Java: Java MIDP emulator
 - Wireless charging (Qi/PMA/WPC) - market dependent
- ANT+ support
- S-Voice natural language commands and dictation
- Smart stay, Smart pause, Smart scroll
- Air gestures
- OneDrive (115 GB cloud storage)
- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
- MP4/DivX/XviD/WMV/H.264 player
- MP3/WAV/WMA/eAAC+/FLAC player
- Photo/video editor
- Document editor

BATTERY              
Non-removable Li-Ion 2550 mAh battery
Galaxy S6 Edge 2,600mAh battery (also non-removable)

MISC 
Colors: White Pearl, Black Sapphire, Gold Platinum, Blue Topaz

BEYOND WOW
Now that I have regrouped I can write more objectively...

I can see that Samsung have delivered an experience similar to that of the iPhone only that they’ve done away with the 16GB option to go as follows: 32, 64 and 128 GB. I should imagine that the networks in the UK will have all three available options. Yes, no microSD card slot and I can live with that with the available storage options plus Google Drive, Dropbox and Mircosoft OneDrive! Not having a microSD card is definitely not a disaster (as far as I am concerned). This may upset some Android fans but if hardcore Android fans have bought into the Google Nexus line of handset then I do not see the problem. No doubt that it would have been the cherry upon the icing to have more storage options but, like I’ve said, it is no big deal.

The Galaxy S6 & S6 Edge are unmistakably premium; this should put an end to those that have complained incessantly that the premium Galaxy handsets don’t feel as such. Personally, I don’t mind the durable plastic (as you no doubt know if you have been following my Samsung related articles). Having a non-removable battery is no big deal due to the fast charging times and that the 64-bit Exynos processor and other hardware aspects are more energy efficient. I believe Samsung where the battery is concerned. Will coffee shops feature wireless charging???

It seems as though Samsung have put in place a better payment system than Apple Pay with Samsung Pay that includes credit, debit and NFC. Cool!

SUBDUED
Although I enjoyed the Unpacking a lot I did miss the how Samsung would go into more detail to actually demonstrate the interface and functions. Although some of the features were explained such as the cameras and interface I would have liked to have seen more! We didn’t see how the fingerprint sensor has improved – if at all!

On the plus side Samsung eschewed using an annoying celebrity MC to demonstrate functionality. If you are going to use a celebrity then use one that people like! Lol! Although I haven’t reached celebrity status I would love to have done a demonstration with Samsung. When celebrities deliver their dialogue it nearly always sounds stilted. And it is highly likely that once the Unpacked event is over they’ll go back to using their iPhones and to continue endorsing it at every opportunity on their Apple biased tech shows! Samsung should use someone that uses a Galaxy handset in the future. I reckon I am able to deliver dialogue on the fly without a script as I know the premium Galaxy handsets quite well!

I was quite surprised to see that Samsung didn’t reveal anything else except for a Galaxy VR Innovator Edition for the S6 and S6 Edge – unlike the Gear VR for the Galaxy Note 4 that isn’t compatible with the Galaxy Note Edge.

We didn’t get to find out what the audio features are about. Does it support pro audio like the Galaxy Note 4? Will it have the Soundcamp DAW (digital audio workstation) app? What does it sound like? Can that little speaker at the bottom blast out the sounds?

I really would like to see Samsung restore that certain flair that no other manufacturer has when showing off new products! I

VERDICT
Well, it looks like the Galaxy S6 Edge will be my new handset when it is released in the UK. I think Samsung has done a sterling job on the design, the camera, hardware-to-battery optimization. From where I’m sitting the Galaxy S6 & S6 Edge are the best high-end premium handsets in the world – thus so far! I never saw the iPhone as the benchmark to beat in terms of the design. The only thing I appreciate about the iPhone is that there is no lag on the interface. However, lag on the apps is another thing... ...several of my iPhone friends complain about apps crashing on a regular basis for no apparent reason.










By the looks of it Samsung has really pared down TouchWiz to eliminate lag and that the look of it is in keeping with Google’s Material design colour coded concept. It works (from what I can see). I can’t wait to give it a full review! I can’t see any other handset touching it this year. We’ll see... The camera UI looks clean and uncluttered; I can't wait to take pictures and video on it!

Thank you so much for reading Synapse Circuit!

Expect more reviews, news, opinions, competitions and more from Synapse Circuit!

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Synapse Circuit for tech news, opinions, articles, reviews and competitions. You will find interactive PDF magazines, videos and links to free legal software! Check it out at Synapse Circuitdot com

SAMSUNG MARKETING POWER vs APPLE SMOKE AND MIRRORS SYNAPSE CIRCUIT

Above: A successful Samsung Genius Bar parody.

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT
SAMSUNG’S MARKETING POWER vs. APPLE’S SMOKE & MIRRORS

Goodhour, Synapse Circuit Readers! How are you? It is so good to see you as always! I hope you are getting maximum joy out of your tech! More reviews are coming! Say, it’s been a while since Synapse Circuit hosted a competition... Wait and see... Wink, wink...

Whether you like or even love Samsung or not you can you honestly say that you haven’t talked about a Samsung device – namely the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge? Weren’t you impressed by the Galaxy Note 4? And what about the often sublime Samsung adverts – especially when they mock the “Sheeple” or “iSheep”? But, hey, someone begs to differ...

"Everybody talks about Apple. Nobody talks about Samsung, or Microsoft, for that matter," says former Apple CEO John Sculley.

#Samsung #GalaxyS6 #GalaxySEdge #GalaxyS6Edge #Unpacked2015 #MobileWorldCongress2015 #MWC15

TELL A LIE OFTEN ENOUGH AND YOU’LL START TO BELIEVE IT
It’s as though the people at Apple are cyborgs in that what comes from their mouths is a vehement constant denial of the competition, “Apple is fantastic. Apple is amazing. Apple is wonderful...”

Well, it hasn’t always been like that as the massive tech war that amounted to an undue lawsuit to prevent Samsung products from competing around the globe. People were certainly talking about Samsung then (and now)!

I have exposed Apple on many occasions from the destruction of the music industry with iTunes, exaggerated sales figures and how the iPhone 5 tanked as did the 5C. However, despite these, er, hiccups the Apple skin remains shiny and bright. There may be a rotten core below the surface.

Just about everybody who follows tech news knows that 2014 has been hard for Samsung due to the ever changing Android market; the standards have definitely been upped somewhat. What was a high-end handset 2 years ago is now a budget one today. We know about the Chinese manufacturers and how they have cornered the mid to mid-high end market. However – and I keep saying this – I have yet to see a handset from a Chinese manufacturer that can rival the premium Samsung models, Galaxy S and Galaxy Note. There is no doubt that these mid to high-end Chinese handsets are a cost effective alternative to Samsung and other premium staples but I would imagine that a majority of Android fans in the West would prefer a Galaxy Note or Galaxy S over something like the OnePlus One. Well, I know that the Galaxy Note 4 has great audio support for music composition on the fly and I suspect that the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge will have the same audio features and more besides.

While the Chinese have switched from Samsung and Apple to national manufacturers such as Xiaomi, for example, it is not going to happen globally. Even if Xiaomi or OnePlus entered the US and European markets in a big way I do not think that we’ll switch all of a sudden! Just look at Huawei over here in the UK – they are still struggling to break the stranglehold of Samsung, LG and HTC. The only market that Huawei can tap is the budget one. And it is the same with ZTE (here in the UK); they are now forced to create better handsets with a lower price.

Then you look at other Android competitors such as Acer and Archos, they are forced to create better handset at a lower price entry.

GALAXY S5
Once again, the Galaxy S5 was a pedestrian “back to basics” offering from Samsung; it is what people have been talking about from the initial unpacking until now! So, all eyes are upon The Next Galaxy Unpacked come March 1^st at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

But you’d be hard pressed to find someone that will talk about the failure of the iPhone 5 and 5C. Apple won’t talk about it because they behave like those failures never happened. Given the choice of a Galaxy S5 and an iPhone 5 or 5C I wouldn’t have to think about it: Galaxy S5!

The Galaxy S5 is still a great handset that features a great camera amongst other features such as the heart rate monitor.



Did Samsung’s marketing power or lack thereof have an adverse effect on the Galaxy S5 sales? It’s a tough one to call because the general consensus from the UK tech magazines put the LG G3 on top of the UK Android market and no matter how many ads Samsung take out in magazines and television it is hard to dissuade the public from tech magazine (paper and TV) recommendations. The Galaxy S5 simply didn’t capture the imagination of the majority of tech media in the UK. As a Samsung fan myself I wasn’t very impressed with the Galaxy S5 design but beyond the design it was the best handset of 2014 only coming second to the Galaxy Note 4 released in September. And on the streets I see so many people with Galaxy Note 3 handsets – men and women! Y’know, I have yet to see someone with an LG G3 on the streets...

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE:
TAKING ON THE iPHONE
It’s one thing taking on the rest of the Android manufacturers but to take on the iPhone??? Well, actually it is not that big of mountain to climb because Samsung premium handsets are better than the iPhone. Yes, really! Here:-

1. THE DESIGN IS BETTER.
Yes, I do understand the idea of “premium” materials but that’s not necessarily the whole story. We all know that all smartphones suffer from a weak battery. To be able to swap out the battery on the Galaxy S series up to 5 and the Note series to the current fourth incarnation is the hallmark of a great design. Just the other day when I was in a coffee shop in Soho I witnessed a group of Asian patrons with their iPhones plugged into the wall.


Above: Chief Apple designer, Jony Ive. You'd look miserable too if all your designs were surpassed...

One more time... We interface with the screen and so having a big 5” screen on the Galaxy S5 and 5.7” on the Galaxy Note 4 makes the rest of the handset quite superficial. Show one person that is infatuated with the back of the phone and I’ll show you an elitist ill-informed person that is in love with the Apple logo. The only time I really interface with the back of my Galaxy handsets is to change the battery and check my heart rate. That’s it! With the iPhone the forehead and chin, so to speak, are quite big and unsightly. Jony Ive is simply overrated as a designer. All Ive can do is just criticize and bitch – very boring!

2. MORE FUNCTIONALITY
The functionality of the Galaxy S and Note series are unsurpassed. Because Apple isn’t able to imbue the iPhone with such functionality they call Samsung’s innovations “gimmicks”. Once a person goes from the iPhone to a Galaxy Note, for example, they rarely go back. I have to admit that I find it hard to believe when someone tells me that they have gone from a Galaxy Note to an iPhone 6 Plus as I think they are either lying for effect (to prop up Apple) or they simply didn’t make use of the Galaxy Note. Yes, Apple announced record breaking sales and profits but I do think that it’s the affluent Chinese market that has helped. Android still has over 80% of the market and Samsung is still on top!

The iPhone cannot beat Android and Samsung’s TouchWiz for functionality. Yet, that said, TouchWiz can produce some lag where the fluidity of the interface goes. I can’t say that a little lag here and there has ruined my enjoyment of the Galaxy S and Note handsets. I can’t say that I have noticed any lag or stutters on the Galaxy Note 4 thus so far.

3. PRODUCTIVITY
You’d think that the Apple App Store has a greater edge over Google Play Store the gap that was once there has closed considerably. In addition Samsung is creating apps for its own Galaxy App Store; granted that the Galaxy App Store features many apps that can be found on the Google App Store there are a few apps pertaining to the Galaxy S and Note handsets. 

Once again, the productivity apps can output to file formats for further work on a PC or Mac. This is why serious technology fans go for the Galaxy range of premium handsets over the iPhone.

The iOS operating system is just a front for iTunes.

MARKETING: THE DIFFERENCE
In some ways Apple is very clever; over the years Jobs has cultivated an acute elitism in the personal computing market, “We’re Apple Macs and we are superior to PCs...” Apple had to do something to stem the tide of Microsoft, Windows and inexpensive PCs. Apple jacked up the prices and invested in some revolutionary designs for the time with its Mac computers. It’s like Apple reinvented its brand to appear like a Rolls Royce to the rather bland Ford PCs. But that was a little over 10 years ago. Today we have some brilliant looking PC cases, well designed monitors and interchangeable components such as a graphics card for example. A well made PC can beat a Mac in price and in functionality.

Apple has just repeated the jacked up price formula for the iPhone and iPad; it’s that brand building that captured the minds of the consumer looking to buy into prestige. Add the constant Apple derision of the competition and you have a bunch of people hating the competition for no real reason and this is why many people find it hard to reason with iPhone fans on social networks such as Google Plus.

When you look over at Samsung it is entirely different... What Samsung does is just concentrate on how good its products are. As you know one of the ways Samsung has shown that its products are better is with those wonderful ads that poke fun at the ‘iSheeple’. Apple can never do ads like that. As I have been saying for the longest time that the Apple lawsuit persecution has given Samsung a great deal of publicity! I still chuckle at the iPhone 6 Plus keynote, “Look, it has a landscape mode!” said Peter Schiller. I laughed so hard at the time. The audience, made up of press and Apple personnel, clapped like trained seals. Wow! Isn’t that fantastic?

You’ve only got to look at the build-up for the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge to see that Samsung are masters of marketing. It will be interesting to see how Samsung markets the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge post the Unpacked event in Barcelona in a couple of days time.

But a good product or products should speak for themselves. Should Samsung get the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge right then they’ve done 80% of the marketing already. There’s a bit of panic in that some Android fans are saying that the next Galaxy won’t have an microSD card slot “copying the iPhone” and will not be water or dust resistant. I can just about live with a non-removable battery on a Samsung but with all the pictures and videos I take with my Galaxy handsets I will need a microSD slot! As for water and dust resistance... ...I’ve never really needed such protection.

I think the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge Unpacked event is the most anticipated ever! It has overshadowed all the other manufacturers attending the Mobile World Congress; the tech media has written an article practically every day based on pure speculation, Samsung’s finances, “leaked” pictures and so on... What I’ve tried to do is to step back a little and try and put the clues together. I didn’t want to join in with the rumour manufacture and photo leaks from unofficial sources. Such tech journalism is lazy in my opinion. I try to put some effort in my journals. Lol!

We’ll just have to wait and see what Samsung reveals this Sunday!

Thank you so much for reading Synapse Circuit!

Expect more reviews, news, opinions, competitions and more from Synapse Circuit!

Please check out the Synapse Circuit site here: Synapse Circuit.com

Synapse Circuit for tech news, opinions, articles, reviews and competitions. You will find interactive PDF magazines, videos and links to free legal software! Check it out at Synapse Circuit dot com

A NEW SYNAPSE CIRCUIT WEBSITE IS ON THE WAY

SAMSUNG GALAXY S6 LEAK DAMAGE SYNAPSE CIRCUIT

Above: Samsung teaser promotion alludes to wireless charging and speed.

SYNAPSE CIRCUIT
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, 1^st 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 1^st 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.

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