If your Galaxy S5 is looking a little tired (it should, that plastic weathers pretty quickly), then there’s some good news on the horizon: the Galaxy S6 is finally real, and it finally bring back a premium feel into Samsung’s premium device range.
The Galaxy S6 is powered by an octa-core processor. That’s made up of a quad-core 2.1GHz processor and a quad-core 1.5Ghz processor sandwiched together to produce a stupid amount of power. That’s backed up by 3GB of RAM and a 2550mAh battery to keep it all going.
Other features include a 16-megapixel rear-facing camera — complete with Optical Image Stabilisation — a 5-megapixel front-facing camera, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, the same heart-rate monitor built into the flash unit from the Samsung Galaxy S5, a fingerprint scanner you no longer have to swipe your finger over and Android 5.0 Lollipop.
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It’s packing a 5.1-inch Quad-HD Super AMOLED screen. That’s a screen resolution of 2560×1440, with 577 pixels per inch. Holy. Crap. That screen is also going to power a new Gear VR specifically designed for the S6. The new Gear VR for the S6 and S6 Edge will pack an improved design.
It’s still an Oculus-optimised affair, but this time with a more comfortable strap and better ventilation so the screen doesn’t fog up after long-term use.
It’s also 15 per cent smaller so it’s less strain on your neck when you wear it. The new Gear VR also features USB power so your battery won’t die while you’re playing or watching content.
Of course, with fun new additions on the Galaxy S6 come some subtractions that might get a few fans off-side. The S6 has an integrated battery, no back cover and no expandable microSD storage slot. On top of that, Samsung has backed away from USB 3.0 for its data and charging port, and replaced it with the same USB 2.0 port we used to have.
The first thing you notice about the Galaxy S6 is its incredible design. When Samsung was building the S6, it ran under the internal codename of “Project Zero”. Basically that means Samsung took a step back from everything it had already built and reset itself slightly for the new flagship S phone.
It listened to the complaints from users saying it’s too plasticky, and built the front and back cover out of strong, scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass 4. On the back cover, Samsung worked out a new way to treat the colour layer under the Gorilla Glass to give it an almost shimmering finish.
It comes in black, white and gold. Those three colours are common across the S6 and S6 Edge range, but there’s one especially pretty S6 exclusive colour, which is a beautiful crystal-like blue.
Samsung Australia hasn’t confirmed the pricing or the launch timing for the device but we do know that it’s headed for a global release in April.
Stay tuned for a hands-on in a few hours!
Luke Hopewell travelled to Mobile World Congress 2015 as a guest of Samsung.