On Monday, December 1, Samsung fans were treated to something a bit like a holiday present, even if the present itself won’t be on the market for several months still. It turns out that Samsung, despite having plans to cut back on the phone releases in 2015, is still planning on releasing a follow-up to the flagship Galaxy S5. Rumor has it that it will be called the Galaxy S6, too.
Shocker, I know.
In truth, while the naming scheme for the handset is not all that surprising, it very well could have been, I think. With all this talk that Samsung is “going back to the drawing board” for the next Galaxy S flagship, going so far as to call it “Project Zero” behind closed doors, the naming scheme could still see a huge change, too. And, honestly, I would honestly really like that. Changing the name, along with the physical design, could breathe some fresh air into Samsung’s strategy. And we all know that would not be a bad thing.
So, the Galaxy S6 is coming, and I’m sure that it will be a hit with some people come next year, while others will pan it for some reason or another. In the end, the device’s arrival, whatever it looks like and whatever it’s called, was always inevitable. Samsung may be planning to trim some aspects of its business moving forward, but there was never not going to be a new Galaxy S flagship handset in 2015.
What I was surprised about, though, was the rumor that Samsung also has a Galaxy S6 variant already in the works, too. No, not so much because of the variant itself, because Samsung loves their variants, but mostly that the company would consider bringing its Edge element (and namesake) to the Galaxy S lineup. Let’s face it, the Galaxy Note Edge is a bit of a questionable handset, with limited quantities to boot, that hasn’t necessarily wowed the masses just yet.
It’s a brand new device, with an interesting (if not arguably ridiculous) design, and Samsung doesn’t want to give it time to grow and get adopted, apparently. It’s not like Samsung is a stranger to this type of behavior, though. When they want something to work, they’re going to push the idea. They did so with the huge display on the Galaxy Note lineup and it worked for them. So, I should not be surprised that they want to do the same thing with the Edge concept.
Though, it is odd that they would try to make it work for the Galaxy S family, rather than just continuing to make it an option on the Galaxy Note lineup. Then again, if you want something to work you have to keep working at it, and maybe Samsung has every intention of launching a Galaxy S Edge and another Galaxy Note Edge at some point in 2015.
The question I have, though, is whether or not a Galaxy S6 Edge is something that people actually want. It’s still too early in the game to figure out if the Galaxy Note Edge is even something consumers want, so jumping ahead of the game here a bit just makes sense, as far as I’m concerned. I want to know if a Galaxy S6 Edge is a phone you’ve been craving. So, let me know if you’d pick one up if it ever gets announced.