It’s the end of the year. The holidays are ramping up, the malls and retail stores are rich with sales, and you are itching to purchase a new gadget. Why wouldn’t you be? It can be hard to resist some of the deals that manufacturers and carriers offer with the holiday season. $0.99 flagships, cheap (reliable) tablets; it’s one of the best times of the year to consider upgrading your device because of the great deals that you can get on some of the year’s hottest devices.
But it’s also one of the riskiest times of the year to do so, because you also happen to know that next year’s flagships are right around the corner. Now you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. Do you go for the sales prices on that flagship that was all anybody talked about just 8 months ago, or do you wait just 4 more months for the next generation to come out?
It’s a tough call to make, especially when you don’t know what to expect - but then the rumor mill starts to churn, and so does the idea in your head that it might not be such a bad idea to stick it out for another few months after all. That’s likely what a lot of people are feeling now that this new Samsung Galaxy S6 leak has emerged from reported benchmarks via AnTuTu. This alleged leak is huge, and has some pretty impressive specs to talk about.
It’s been reported that Samsung is aiming to truly please customers with the Galaxy S6, likely in an attempt to bring back whatever spark it was that brought so much attention with the release of the Galaxy S III almost 3 years ago. While the following two generations of the Galaxy S line, the Galaxy S4 and the Galaxy S5, didn’t do badly, they didn’t bring out that same level of viral interest as the Galaxy S III was able to.
Samsung has been all about being the “Next Big Thing” over the past few years, and if the rumors surrounding the Galaxy S6 prove to be true, this next gen Galaxy S device is no different as it already claims to feature a 5.5-inch screen. However, the screen isn’t the only thing “big” about this device - the specs are pretty massive as well.
The Galaxy S6 is rumored to have a 2560 x 1440 QHD display, a 64-bit octa-core Exynos processor, ARM Mali-T760 GPU, 3GB of RAM, 20-megapixel rear-facing camera, 5-megapixel front-facing camera, and 32GB of internal storage. In a nutshell, if these specs are true, this phone is packin’.
Of course, there’s a lot that’s subject to change between now and any potential release date. But this isn’t a totally far-fetched idea of what people can expect from flagships next year. They seem like logical next steps.
My biggest problem (which many of you probably saw coming from a mile away if you read my articles) would be the 5.5-inch display. I’ve kind of had to rule the Galaxy S line out of my potential daily drivers ever since I realized I was having a hard time with the 5-inch Galaxy S4. It was one of the main reasons that I chose the slightly more comfortable HTC One (M7) (4.7-inch display) over the S4 in the end. The Galaxy S5 was no different with its 5.1-inch display. This potential 5.5-inch screen on the Galaxy S6 would once again make this a phone that I would not be able to consider.
I do think that large phones definitely have a place in the world, but I also think that small phones do, too. Samsung is already kind of notorious for not one, but two phablet lines - the Galaxy Note and the Galaxy Mega. I know that the Galaxy S will likely have a Mini spin-off somewhere down the line, but I can’t help but feel like maybe the Galaxy S line could maybe make its way down a little bit instead of steadily creeping its way up to Galaxy Note territory.
Otherwise, though, the phone looks impressive - but it also helps that we haven’t seen any major leaks for other competing flagships that come around at the same time. With this being the first, it looks pretty impressive compared to what we see on shelves today. Still, I can’t help but wonder if that 5.5-inch display will help or hurt the Galaxy S6 if it turns out being that size. If nothing else, Samsung is being true to its slogan, and the Galaxy S6 would certainly be the “Next Big Thing”.
