We have just turned our calendars to May, which means that we are currently in a somewhat slow period of the year when it comes to new flagship releases. For some, it's the perfect time to mull over the options introduced to us over the past few months and make a solid, informed decision on which phone to upgrade to. For others, time is better spent scouring rumors and leaks about flagships we anticipate seeing later in the year.
One such device is the Samsung Galaxy Note 6, which to me seems to have been popping out rumors left and right lately. The once preposterously sized device that would “never make it past a couple of generations” has actually done quite well for itself, and is now a favorite among smartphone users who prefer a larger display and/or more powerful specs.
Already the rumor mill is churning out some info that, if true, looks pretty good on paper for the Note 6. A 5.8-inch 2K display, Snapdragon 823 (or 820) processor, 6GB of RAM (8GB has also been thrown out there), 64/128GB of internal storage (possibly up to 256GB), 4200 mAh battery, IP68 dust and water certification, and running Android N out of the box are just some of the features that the Note 6 will allegedly have. The Note 6 is also rumored to possibly make a debut in August, which is a little earlier than expected. This aspect isn't too far-fetched, as Samsung did the same thing with the Galaxy S7 and sales were good, presumably as a result of this decision.
As impressive as that rumor round-up is (taking all of it with a grain of salt) there are two features that I rarely see mentioned: microSD and removable battery. Both features were present in previous Note generations all the way up to last year’s Note 5. The removal of both in one fell swoop was also one of the most prevalent reasons people gave for not wanting to upgrade from Note 4. Despite this, the Note 5 did not seem to flounder too much. At one point, sales were up for Samsung, partly because of the Note 5.
Still, I cannot help but think that the world is not yet ready for these two features to become completely obsolete yet. Until last year, Samsung was one of the remaining few to consistently feature both. In 2015, both the Galaxy S6 and the Note 5 dropped microSD support and removable batteries.
While there isn't much mention of either feature making a return in the Note 6, I don't think it would be too out of line to at least expect microSD to make a return, particularly because it was brought back for the Galaxy S7 earlier this year. It is possible that they may choose to leave it out, particularly if the 64/128GB storage models are true. But if the Note 6 keeps running with the 32/64GB sizes, the re-inclusion of microSD would probably still make up for it.
A removable battery is probably out of the question at this point. I think if Samsung didn't think it was a big enough deal to implement it with the S7, it probably won't happen for the Note, either. At this point, I've gotten used to not having a removable battery. The reason I liked having removable batteries back in the day was because my phone had such little screen on time that it was pretty much necessary to carry a spare battery to make it through the day. But if the Note handles battery life as well as the S7 does, I think most people will be fine making that sacrifice. On the other hand, I think the Note is also particularly appealing to power users, so I could see where a removable battery could still be a good feature to implement here.
All rumors should be taken with a grain of salt, which means that it’s still quite possible for the Galaxy Note 6 to feature both a microSD card slot and a removable battery. I think Samsung could win back a lot of fans by bringing them back, but I highly suspect the microSD card is the only likely candidate.
Readers, what would you like to see? Do you think that the Note is fine without microSD and removable battery, or do you hope to see the features revived?
