It has been known for sometime that Samsung’s sales have been slipping. While they are still on top of the Android market, they still trail Apple. The Galaxy S series has been Samsung’s key to success, but also the key to their failure. The Galaxy S3 was one of the first Android phones to compete head to head with the iPhone, but each Galaxy S device after that has been lackluster.
Samsung didn’t change their formula very much in the transition to the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S5. Both phones still featured a ‘cheap’ plastic design followed with only slight bumps in the hardware category. Nothing was truly groundbreaking to make the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S5 must-have devices. While both devices sold well, neither really dominated the market.
The lack of success on the two previous iterations of the Galaxy S line has put a heavy burden on the shoulders of Samsung. The next Galaxy device will be pivotal to Samsung’s future success in the smartphone market. This has lead to Samsung starting the Galaxy S6 design from scratch and the codename “Project Zero” was a good start.
Everything surrounding the Galaxy S6, whether they are images, leaks, or rumors, are purely speculation. Based on that speculation, we have compiled a few reasons why the Galaxy S6 or Project Zero, will revive Samsung.
The first key to success of the Samsung Galaxy S6 will be the design. While Samsung has always been up-to-date on the hardware, their design was always criticized. It is very understandable when paying over $700 for a smartphone that the consumer would want a premium design, which would include metal. We have seen this premium design over and over again by Apple with their iPhone series, Samsung’s top competitor.
Samsung tested the waters originally with the Galaxy Alpha followed by the Galaxy Note 4. Both were very well received and it has set the tone for the S6. According to a leak obtained by SamMobile, the image above are leaked schematics of what to expect on the S6.
The day before the schematics were leaked, images of what is allegedly the Galaxy S6 unibody appeared, and it looks as if it is just what Samsung needs. A device with a solid, thin, unibody is what sells nowadays, just look at Apple.
Not only will the unibody make the Galaxy S6 one of the sleekest devices on the market, it will also make it one of the thinnest. According to the images above, it will be only 6.91 mm thin, compared to 8.1 mm of the Galaxy S5. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but it does a lot for the overall design and will make the Galaxy S6 one of the most attractive devices to come out in 2015.
The first thing a consumer sees is how a device looks. The average consumer is not concerned necessarily by the hardware or specifications, but how the device looks and feels in the hand. Samsung targeted this exploit and it will be the top key factor in reviving Samsung.
For the majority of non-casual users, design is only part of it. What good is a device if it can’t perform? One thing that always has held Samsung back was UI or user interface. TouchWiz has a love hate relationship with a lot of people (a lot of people actually hate it) due to the features, but lack of performance.
TouchWiz comes chalk full of features, both wanted and unwanted, but it also comes chalk full of issues. The older TouchWiz has gotten, the more intrusive it has gotten. Features such as Smart Stay, Smart Scroll, Smart Pause, S-Voice all had good intentions, but under-performed to the extent that they were useless and just gimmicks.
Don’t get me wrong, TouchWiz has its perks. Samsung had the strongest push of the quick settings initiative, home screen customization, and widgets. Those features are great, but the negative features outweigh the good ones. This led to a UI that lagged, stuttered, and was underwhelming in performance.
TouchWiz compared to stock Android
Samsung has slowly been trying to improve TouchWiz for the past couple of phones. Most notably, the Galaxy Note 4, which was one of the most well-performing TouchWiz phones to-date, but it still wasn’t good enough. A SamMobile exclusive gave us new up regarding the UI, mentioning that most of it will be downloadable.
A fluid and quick user interface is a must when it comes to having a successful device. There is nothing worse than a phone lagging when transitioning through screens or opening up applications. Samsung has taken note of this and the Galaxy S6 will allegedly be “Nexus fast”, referring to the speed of a stock Nexus device.
While the design and user interface of a phone are important, what powers the device is just as important. Samsung has never been one to skimp on specs on their flagship devices, always employing the latest Snapdragon chipset in their flagship devices.
Originally it was thought the the Galaxy S6 would feature the ever-popular Snapdragon 810, but it was rumored to have overheating issues once the processor would start hitting certain clock speeds. Samsung was not impressed, so they will employ their own processor on the upcoming S6.
Why is this important you ask? The Exynos 7420, which is made by Samsung, is in its own category as far as performance. The S6 recently appeared on the AnTuTu Benchmark and blew by previous records by capturing a score of 60,978. Almost 10,000 over the previous record.
Not only will the Galaxy S6 feature an all-new slimmed down version of TouchWiz to boost performance, but it will feature one of the, if not fastest, processors on the market. It can’t get any better can it? It can. All rumors point towards the Galaxy S6 being the first ‘S’ device to sport 3 GB of RAM.
Samsung is looking at the tri-fecta on the upcoming Galaxy S6. Every aspect of the device will be an upgrade and nothing will be the same as far as previous iterations of the device. Most importantly, the three aspects that matter the most, will receive an overhaul.
Project Zero may be Samsung’s greatest achievement to date, but we won’t know until March 1st when the phone is debuted and later released. Combine the fact that the Galaxy S6 will feature a new design that includes a metal unibody, a new, Samsung made processor, and a new version TouchWiz, we are looking at an all-new side of Samsung.
Samsung is used to sitting atop its perch as King of Android, but its lack of intuition and innovation has hurt it drastically. Everything that the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S5 featured that was detrimental to the success of Samsung’s flagship devices, has been overhauled or removed.
When the Galaxy S6 gets announced at Mobile World Congress on March 1st, look for the tri-fecta to revive the mobile giant. This is a side of Samsung that we haven’t seen and aren’t used to, and it will take the mobile tech community by storm. Look for the Galaxy S6 to sit atop sales and reclaim what the Galaxy S3 brought to Samsung.
Galaxy S6 render courtesy of Under KG