iPhone Killer? What We Know About the Upcoming Release of the Samsung Galaxy S6

Image via Complex Original

And we're not just talking about size.

European phone carrier Vodafone dropped the ball last week when they accidentally revealed that there are at least two versions of the smartphone in the works: the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S Edge. While the S6 will have the traditional look of a smartphone, the Galaxy S Edge will be slightly different because of the screen's (you guessed it) edge. Just like the Galaxy Note Edge phablet that Samsung released last year, one or both sides of the S Edge will be curved, and that space will be reserved for menu options, apps, and widgets.

Now that Samsung doesn't have the phablet market on lock anymore, introducing a curved screen will give them another way to differentiate themselves from Apple. This won't be their first curved smartphone, but attaching it to the Galaxy S6 will be a major move toward making the feature mainstream. 

Samsung is still playing catch-up with Apple on a few smartphone elements, and one of them is the fingerprint scanner. While Samsung introduced their own scanner technology with the Galaxy S5, users had to swipe their finger on the device's home button to use it (which didn't always work on the first try), and it wasn't as efficient as pressing down on the home button, like Touch ID on the iPhone.

The Galaxy S6 will likely come with a bigger home button that'll support improved scanning capabilities, including the speed at which it recognizes your print.

If there's one thing Samsung can't afford to leave out in the Galaxy S6, it's a mobile payment system to rival Apple Pay that doesn't rely on Google Wallet. Rumors are that the company will will debut Samsung Pay (yes, that's the tentative name right now) along with the S6. Hopefully they'll think of a different one-syllable word to use instead of "Pay," like, I don't know, "cash" or "coin," but that's just me. Even if they don't, Samsung Pay may have an edge over Apple because it'll work with both magnetic and NFC terminals, meaning, it'll be compatible in more places around the world at launch than Apple Pay was (because stores won't have to update their technology to use it). As of now, Apple Pay only works in the U.S. in a limited number of retail areas.

Samsung is reportedly equipping their new smartphone with a massive 20-megapixel camera with an optical image stabilization sensor, along with a 5 megapixel f/1.8 front-facing camera with real-time HDR. So your selfie game will be even stronger than it was before. The front-facing camera, ambient light sensor, and proximity sensor will supposedly be moved to the left side of the phone.

As expected, the smartphones will be available in three storage sizes: 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB. Not the biggest revelation, but it's worth noting that this is what Apple should have done during the release of the iPhone 6. Instead, Apple kept their lowest storage option at 16GB instead of increasing it to 32GB (though their mid- and high-options all doubled in storage size). It's said that by keeping the 16GB model and not doubling it to 32GB, Apple earned themselves more than $3 billion, and purposely locked customers into buying higher storage models in the next upgrade cycle.

The Galaxy S6 may have a 2550mAh battery, along with built-in wireless charging thanks to "magnetic resonance chargers." Don't worry about trying to wrap your head around that lingo since what's more impressive (and infinitely more useful, if true) is the phone may run for four hours on a single 10 minute charge. If you're on the go a lot, the phone will practically sell itself.

The new Galaxy S6 will have a 64-bit CPU, which is 50 percent faster than the Galaxy S5. But the change isn't without controversy. Samsung is reportedly dropping Qualcomm, the company who provided the CPU for the Galaxy Note 4, and is instead going to produce their own chip. Why? Qualcomm isn't sure that their chip will be manufactured in time before Samsung's deadline—and Samsung isn't willing to wait. Also, some of the devices equipped with the Qualcomm chip have had problems overheating. The devices are also said to run Android 5.0 Lollipop and come with 3GB of RAM.

We don't have much in terms of price yet, except for Android Pit's leaked European numbers from a "trusted source." And they're pricey:

• Samsung Galaxy S6 32 GB: 749 euros


• Samsung Galaxy S6 64 GB: 849 euros


• Samsung Galaxy S6 128 GB: 949 euros


• Samsung Galaxy S Edge 32 GB: 849 euros


• Samsung Galaxy S Edge 64 GB: 949 euros


• Samsung Galaxy S Edge 128 GB: 1049 euros

The lowest-priced model, the 32GB Galaxy S6, runs for about $860 (749 euros) off-contract. That's more than the 16GB iPhone 6, which goes for $649. But, as Forbes notes, European pricing always includes sales tax, and off-contract smartphones are usually more expensive there than the U.S. Either way, is a curved edge really worth that much more?

Samsung sent out invitations this week to their "Unpacked" event at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona, Spain (they unveiled the Galaxy S5 there a year ago). The invitation, featured above, shows what looks like a curved smartphone, which, when you put two and two together, puts the company a half-step away from confirming the S Edge's existence. But a lot can change from now until the conference, where Samsung is scheduled to unveil the smartphone(s) on March 1.

After that, it's expected they'll hit stores before the end of the month. Until then, you can head over to Amazon to buy a smartphone case for the S6 before any of your friends. Stay tuned.