Samsung’s flagship smartphone is the Galaxy S line of phones, with the most recent iteration being theGalaxy S5, a 5.1-incher with an HD display. With rumors of an upgrade beginning to circle and speculation running wild, what do I want out of the Galaxy S6 – the logical successor to the Galaxy S throne – and what must Samsung do to secure it’s top spot in the upcoming year?
64-bit
Apple’s already gone 64-bit. Desktop computers and laptops have been 64-bit for years. Servers have been 64-bit for even longer. It’s time for the switch to 64-bit in our mobile electronic devices, too.
Many opine that 64-bit is a “gimmick” and that we can’t possibly see any improvement from the move from 32- to 64-bit. Their reasons are sound, but ultimately don’t pan out. 64-bit offers faster throughput of instructions, improved memory space addressing and capacity, and a whole host of other benefits.
Unlike Apple, Android doesn’t have to wait for app developers to recompile for the new architecture – 64-bit support is available right out of the box. All we need is the hardware to support it, and 2015 is the year that we’ll see flagship phones like theGalaxy S6 begin making the switch.
Personally, I hope the Galaxy S6 will use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 SoC, though the 808 or another model could be used. It’s also been reported that Sammy could bring a 64-bit Exynos chip of its own desire to some SKUs, similar to what the company has done in the past.
More RAM
With more processing bits usually comes more RAM, though not necessarily so. I suspect we’ll see 3GB in the Galaxy S6, though rumors have floated that there could be four – or even more. I find this doubtful, but wouldn’t turn it down if we got more than three!
More RAM means more space in which programs, threads, and processes can run. It means bigger, higher resolution images can be displayed faster. It means games can run quicker, load faster, and look better.
In short, more RAM is a very, very good thing.
Bigger, Bolder Screen
Speaking of images, higher resolution videos and pictures won’t do much good without a higher resolution screen on which to display them. The Galaxy S5 had a 1080p screen which looked great. The Galaxy S6 will probably have a 2K screen, though it’s possible we may see a 4K screen on it, although I hope that’s not the case. 4K should be reserved for phablets and tablets.
Smartphones need to keep their sizes down. 5-inches (give or take) is the target here, folks. As soon as you get into 5.9-inches and above you’re a phablet, not a phone. That’s okay, I dig phablets, but Samsung already has the Note line for their phablets, and that’s how the company should keep it.
Speaking of the Note, the Note Edge has a really interesting curved screen on one side (hence the name). Some rumors have been seen floating about the Ether that the Galaxy S6 will include a similar feature, but on both edges of the screen. Other rumors indicate that the entire screen will be curved in a gentle arc.
I don’t buy it. I suspect the Galaxy S6 will have a normal, flat screen. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if we didn’t see a Galaxy S6 Edge variant down the road.
Fancy Chassis
We’ve heard there may be some metal in the works, not just a metal interior frame for rigidity, but some metal panels, perhaps like HTC has done with the One M7 and One M8 smartphones.
We at Pocketnow were seriously impressed with the build quality of theGalaxy Alpha. Samsung has simply got to step up its game and bring the same sort of fit and finish to the Galaxy S family.
Samsung typically announces its new smartphone flagships in Q2 of the year, though some rumors have said we may see something at CES with a release in February. That’s probably hopeful thinking. Nonetheless, Samsung has a solid foundation with the Galaxy S family, let’s hope we see some pretty impressive upgrades with this year’s model.
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