Despite all the leaks and teasers, Samsung has not officially confirmed the existence of its upcoming Galaxy S6 and radical S6 Edge – until now.
In a strange move the South Korean giant has put the support pages for both the Galaxy S6 (SM-G920X) and the S6 Edge (SM-G925X) live on its Finnish and Swedish websites respectively. The move was spotted by the ever vigilant Dutch Samsung specialist GalaxyClub.nl.
Sadly the support pages currently contain no images or specifications, but it does mean we now know two versions of the company’s flagship smartphone will definitely be released. From images leaked last week, the standard Galaxy S6 will move to an aluminium unibody chassis highly reminiscent of the iPhone 6 and the experimental S6 Edge will copy the side ‘edge display’ of the Note 4 – quite possibly on both sides of the phone.
Meanwhile specifications for the devices themselves are also firming up. Samsung’s controversial decision to ditch Qualcomm’s Snapdragon range (at least on the majority of phones) means both devices will be powered by its own 64-bit Exynos chipset. This will be supplemented by 3GB RAM, a 20MP camera, up to 128GB of storage and a 2k display (thankfully) expected to be 5 to 5.1-inches.
The hardware changes also see Samsung take a notable risk with the new models expected to dispense with removable batteries, a key differentiator for the company in the past.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect for the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, however, is Samsung’s new approach to software. Its TouchWiz Android skin and third party apps have long (and rightly) been criticised for being bloatware that needlessly wastes storage space and compromises performance. But from now on TouchWiz is said to be far more stripped back and modular with users able to remove elements they dislike/don’t need.
Both the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge will be unveiled at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in the first week of March. With Samsung under immense financial pressure while Apple thrives, the pair are likely to be the most important smartphones in its history.
