Samsung Unpacked official for the rest of us: March 1 in Barcelona

Hopefully we will see a all metal galaxy s6. I have a feeling Samsung is really going to Step there game up. On my Nexus4 or 5Posted via the Android Central App

They better step their game up. Otherwise it's over for them, they will keep on declining in profit until LG and HTC surpass them. It's now or never, no more Bs.

Clearly they will. And to top it all off the Exynos 7420 SoC this phone is gonna be rocking will be the most powerful mobile SoC in the industry, and exclusive to the S6. Posted via the Unrivaled Note 4 or Tab S 10.5

Thing is, most consumers who'll be purchasing the device don't care what's inside as long as it runs fast, is easy to use, and looks and feels nice. Posted on my OnePlus One

You're right.....but marketing it as the most powerful device on the market, which it will be at launch, definately has an effect on sales. It'll just add to the hype. This happens to be somewhat of a special circumstance. This particular chip trounces all competition Posted via the Unrivaled Note 4 or Tab S 10.5

I had an S3 and a Note 10.1 2014 with Exynos silicon and they were both inferior to the variants of the same device running Qualcomm.

What do you mean 'over'? Motorola and HTC have both spent time as the dominant Android handset manufacturer, their declines hasn't doomed either company. They just have to reposition as a pack player rather than leader, and continue making excellent devices.

Have you seen how long HTC has struggled? They weren't even pulling any profits for a few quarters. If this S6 turns out to be a disappointment it's a wrap for Samsung. There's pretty much no more room for error in this smartphone industry, more and more OEM come out each year and offer new products. When HTC was struggling, there was no OnePlus One, no Sony Xperia (at least in the Us), none of that. So Samsung better impress everyone and have the best flagship for at least the first half of the year if they want to turn things around. It's not like HTC, LG, OnePlus, Motorola etc are just gonna sit around and watch Samsung kill it, they will come out swinging too.

Even a near perfect phone doesn't automatically mean everything will change. Just ask HTC. So I'm not sure what your trying to say here.

Samsung is a huge company that makes a lot more than smartphones. I don't even understand how you can think they'll just blow away if one product launch isn't a blockbuster. They've announced that they're cutting their phone models by 1/3 going forward, so they're streamlining their production, squeezing out the operating overhead. They're already preparing to be a less ambitions player. OnePlus shipped a million ones last year, good for them, but we're nowhere near saturation. Go to your local best buy and look at all of the laptops just on display. There are so many laptops available it's ridiculous. The same model in 3 or 4 screen sizes with a dozen combinations of specs for each, and the same manufacturer will have several complete lineups with minor differences like different body styles, or DP instead of HDMI. In the laptop market, no one is saying "Why do the smaller ones always have last year's specs?". There's plenty of room left in the mobile sphere for device proliferation.

But one has to be sensible and reasonable here, we are talking about smartphones aren't we? Yes Samsung makes TVs, SoCs and all but im talking about in terms of smartphone sales. Their profit has been on the decline, why is that? And don't tell me its cause of a saturated market cause apple sells more and more each year. Its simple, if Samsung fails to impress with the S6 no oe will take them seriously anymore while the other oem will be stepping their game up. Also money talks and people like choices, if there Is something out there at a decent price like the upcoming Mi Note or the Rumored OnePlus 2 and Samsung fails on the S6 then guess what, more people will look somewhere else. It doesn't matter whether OnePlus sold 1 million devices only, the majority of that has to do with the invite system and they are a new company although its highly likely OppO is the one behind all that. Bottom line is this, Samsung messes up, Lg, HTC and the rest will not miss the opportunity to succeed.

Wow, just wow. 1. Oh I see, you're just talking about Samsung's mobile division being 'over'... Then I guess you're right: totally sensible and reasonable that after all of the money Sammy's brought in the last few years from mobile, they're just going to mothball their entire division if one product launch doesn't do well. Well enough that is, because it's still making them money (that's what "declining profits" means, they're still *making profits*). You don't think maybe the rest of the company would carry them a while, especially considering the years of integration work that's gone into their other product lines like TVs? You simply can't seriously think they're one mediocre reception away from flipping the table on their whole mobile roadmap, and I don't understand what kind of a prank this is that you want me to think you do. 2. I'm not the one making a market saturation claim, you did that- I pointed out that the market is nowhere near saturation. And by the way, apple isn't selling that many phones. Last quarter notwithstanding, their global market share is still down year over year. 3. Yes: LG, Moto, HTC, Oppo are all working to produce better phones. But they don't have secret awesome sauce they're holding onto, just waiting until Samsung goes away so they can bring it to market. If they had the super awesome phone that could eclipse the S6, they'd have it on the market already! How do you think companies work? We don't live in a zero-sum world. LG, HTC and Samsung (hell, even apple) can all succeed together, there doesn't have to be a single pinnacle company everyone's trying to beat, they can all coexist making great phones and modest profits... Well except for apple I guess.

Wow just wow... ( easy isn't it? ) Instead of being emotional you should actually read what I write. I didn't say its over for Samsung now. I said that if the S6 fails to deliver and it turns out to be a disappointment then it's over then. Again you need to be reasonable, when I say it's over, it doesn't mean Samsung will go bankrupt the next day but it seems that you think that's what j mean. Why do you think Samsung is going for a more premium phone this year and that they plan on stripping down touch wiz a lot? Why? Why did they almost remove JK Shin from his position? Because they want to stop the bleeding. You are here talking about " they are still making profits.." So you think a decline in profit is a positive thing for them because it is still a profit? Samsung knows better than you and I what is at stake here. They realize that the smartphone business can generate a lot of profit and they just realized that something must be wrong otherwise they would increase their profit. That's why they are going for a more premium design and most likely a revamped UI. They know that if they don't deliver with the S6 they are in major trouble. No company in the world would be satisfied with declining profit, maybe yours I don't know. Again, the market landscape has changed just from 2 years ago only, I won't even go back 3-4 years ago. More and more manufacturers are coming out with new releases and they all want a piece of the pie. Samsung fails to deliver = people buying another brand = another brand making more money = Samsung losing money. Get it? I don't know how else I can explain it.

"No company in the world would be satisfied with declining profit" So you've gone from 'S6 fails = Samsung fails' to 'S6 fails = Samsung execs will not be pleased". Yes, that's a reasonable position to adopt: no reason to be so dramatic. I'm glad we could work through that together.

That's right, no company would be satisfied with declining profit. If you thought that when I said that its over for Samsung that would mean that they would go bankrupt or something then you're not reasonable. When I say its over I mean....I have explained myself enough, If you don't get it clearly it isn't my fault.

Let us know when they make one Posted by my soon to be retired Note 3

It more likely HTC and LG will become dinosaurs before anything remotely happens to Samsung.

Over for them, LOL. Now that was funny.

LG and ... HTC? You gotta be joking. I would say Lenovo and Xiaomi.

The leaked prototypes look like the back is made of glass. If it ends up being true then can you say goodbye to removable battery. Posted via the Android Central App

Hopefully they don't remove the ability to remove the battery, but o well. If that's a draw back to build quality then... Posted via the Android Central App

Definitely looks like the top right edge of an Edge device. Posted via the Android Central App

A double edge phone? Posted via the Android Central App

Reminds me of Inifinti's ad for their M35 sedan. I'm excited to see what Samsung has in store for us.

EDGE. ALL. THE. THINGS! Posted from my TARDIS!

The pic to me looks like where the notification panel, status bar and ear piece go are edged up. Try to understand what I mean then look @it. Posted via the Android Central App

A great 8" tablet, that's also a phone, that works on T-Mobile.

Lol wat Posted via the Android Central App

That works on all carriers(stateside) being that GSM is king everywhere else. Wished the Note 8.0 had the LTE in the US. Must have been great in Europe/UK(anywhere but US) to have that.

Looks really nice. An all glass/metal Galaxy device would be awesome. Posted via the Android Central App

Sounds like March 1st will be a big day with HTC and Samsung releasing their flagships Posted via the Android Central App

That's not even half of everything going on that day. :|

Phil, are you guys gonna be able to cover it all? Lots of hard work ahead of you. Keep up the awesomeness :) Posted from my HTC 9500

Just a month left until the Mobile World Congress!

Good job. Definitely nailed it! I even have an edge and didn't see it. But that's definitely gotta be it. Posted via the Android Central App

I honestly hate the idea of an "Edge" edition of the GS6, especially if it's the ONLY GS6. I say that as someone who is actually hoping that the GS6 is good, because it's my upgrade year and I enjoy my current Samsung devices enough to stick with them. (Haters gonna hate!) If they do an edged GS6 without a compelling reason to have the curved edge, I can't imagine them selling many. Seriously, have they actually given a reason why we need a curved edge on the screen? I struggle to see any use for that portion of the screen that can't already be performed with a regular screen. It just seems so gimmicky, and I can only imagine how many unintentional clicks the user will get when trying to simply hold the phone without a proper bezel.

Truth be told that edge doesn't get accidentally bumped as easily as you would think and is kinda nice to have. It adds a little something extra. Posted via the Android Central App

"is kinda nice to have. It adds a little something extra."
Honest question: What is that something extra? Genuinely, what is the benefit?

The benefit is whatever you want it to be. I was skeptical at first so I got the regular Note 4, but my friend got the Edge. I played with it for a while and I can see why the Edge is useful for him. If i had it, I could also see it being useful for me as well. Posted via the Android Central App

"I can see why the Edge is useful for him. If i had it, I could also see it being useful for me as well." But... why? How is it useful? What does your friend use that part of the screen for that can't be done on a normal screen? I promise I'm not just trolling, I'm seriously trying to understand the benefit of the "edge."

I first had the N4 then a few months later got the Edge. I really liked the concept so I figured I'd jump on it. Its potential far out weighs its current uses. Not to mention the eye candy it brought to the table. I love getting my notifications and having the weather in the edge. I love that from basically any app I can quickly switch to another of my apps in the side panel. I rarely used the app menu when using the edge. Quick access to Snote functions, flashlight and other shortcuts were great. The negatives were the wider device and slightly less build quality. (IMO) It seemed slower in my testing. It was always a bit slower or had more lag than my N4 especially the recent app menu.. I used the edge for 2 months and had the N4 since launch b4 that. Finally, the development wasn't there. I like the stock experience for a bit but eventually I root and find a quality custom ROM and enjoy the fruits of Android. The Edge will work well once more apps take full advantage of what the side panel can do but there is nothing there. Sammy has done a poor job finding partners to utilize the Edge and really make it worth while. Not to mention it was released a month or so later which killed the adoption to such a new concept. Its been discussed at nauseum but they should have been released side by side. Most buyers went N4 and never looked back.
I hope Sammy brings a S6 and S6 Edge to the market at the same time. Posted via the Android Central App

Thank you, this is the explanation we were looking for that no one else wanted to give. I can see how it could be cool to switch between apps without using the app menu. For me, that isn't nearly enough to get past the look, which I personally think is atrocious. I also don't like anything that smacks of gimmick. But surely many people hate things I love, so to each his own. The up side to gimmicks is that they will get some people thinking differently, and down the line someone will piggyback with a truly useful innovation that doesn't feel gimmicky at all. I never understood why people get all d-bag "Michigan vs. Ohio state" when it comes to discussing the tech we like. While not every idea is good, the larger the pool of ideas to draw from, the more potential there is for great ideas.

Have you played with the Note 4 Edge? My God that thing is awesome.

What is so awesome about the N4 Edge that you can't do with a N4? (Me thinks that there is no benefit and nobody can seem to tell me a specific reason why the edged screen is better than a regular screen)

It really is to much to go into details here in a comment box. But if you truly want to know, there's several videos on Youtube. Posted via the Android Central App

Agreed.

It's a really cool looking device. It looks so next gen. And the extra screen Is much more functional than I imagined. Just a great device. Right away I traded my Note 4 for it.

I really wanted to do the same, but I was out of my 15 day return period lol... Oh well maybe this year... Posted via the Android Central App

I'm sorry but I have to second BioFanatic's bewilderment. I can't imagine any genuinely worthwhile use case for the edge. I'm not hating, I'm just wondering. It might be desirable to me if someone could explain the benefits. If it's just about the aesthetics and it looking "so next gen" then more power to you, but I just don't care for the look myself. Now, if there was some real functionality I might could get on board. But I think it's telling that the only people coming to the edge's defense are also unwilling to say anything meaningful about it. I'm all ears if you want to tell us what (beyond looks) is so great, but if all you can say is "Google it yourself" then why even comment at all just to say, "I like it"?

What a silly comment. Why do I need to convince you of anything. I gave the reasons I love the device. If that's not enough for you, don't buy the device. It's not my job to sell it to you. Buy the phone that works for you. That's why Samsung is releasing two versions. People said the same thing about the Note series. Nobody wants a phone that big, right? Once again, discover the device for yourself. I can't do it for you.

No you can't do it all for me. And certainly if something were to pique my interest in the phone (say, an interesting recommend from a friendly fan) I would spend all sorts of time doing my own research. For what it's worth, out of the first two people advocating for the edge, you gave the most specific answer. You liked how it looks. The other guy wouldn't even bother with that. But it seems like the edge's hallmark feature is supposed to be so much more than just the look. And as a person who isn't content to go with my first impulse, I was curious if there was something I was missing. I was also intrigued that you and the other guy seemed both defensive and unwilling to actually discuss the phone with any specifics. And in case you interpreted my quoting you as an attempt at belittlement, please trust that it was mere reference. I'm not trying to argue with you, belittle you, or one-up you. Surprise of surprises, I know, but I was actually trying to converse with you. I admit that the closing of my previous comment was meant to goad you into responding, but I was hoping for further comment on the topic at hand. I wasn't looking for you to call my comment silly and give me a sarcastic reply so I could come back at you. It is clear now that you have no intention of further discussion about the phone you claim to be so enthusiastic about. Frankly, on an internet forum, the best way to end a discussion is to not reply at all. I'm sorry if I have offended or annoyed you. Now that we know we have no mutual conversational interest, we can peacefully ignore each other and each fulfill our desire to connect with more agreeable partners. I hope in the future you will not interpret another person's prodding for additional info as a personal attack. This is the internet, though, so I completely understand your reaction, and there are no hard feelings.

Looks like it will be metal. And maybe an all-news design. Looks very promising so far.

More concerned with the edge design and how a case will be able to protect the device.... maybe someone with the NE can chime in. Posted via the Android Central App

I too want to see what Samsung can possibly do here, since having the latest chips/larger memory/bigger camera and all the other usual roster of upgrades is not going to be enough this time.
If they haven't got anything innovative and useful to bring to the market then they should not make an S6 yet. A curved edge screen & metal bodies are things they've already done before.

Um... at the end of the day, it's still a smartphone. Jeez.

Very much this. By now, spec wars are completely irrelevant. Every phone over 500 bucks already has all the specs anyone reasonable will ever need. It's high time manufacturers focus on the actual user experience, the one the users want to have, not the one manufacturers want the users to accept. But aside from a few exceptions, the only time we see these companies set aside the spec race is when they are rolling out one laughable gimmick after the other. Stop with the specs. Stop with the gimmicks. Listen to consumers. For Samsung, they need to address build quality immediately, as well as UI. Touchwhiz is a nightmare. Budget phones from other companies are offering superior build quality. The only worthwhile feature of the s5 (that is relatively uncommon) is the water resistance. All phones by now should have this. A heart rate monitor on a phone is utterly ridiculous, and a fingerprint scanner, while a little more useful, is still pretty silly in my opinion. Some people love their Samsungs and that's great, but Samsung needs a new differentiator. And stupid toys tacked on to a slippery plastic shell isn't going to cut it. It's a shame, because I really want a phone with an sd slot, but for most phones that have them, it's the only selling point.

You're comments belong in 2012-13. Come join the rest of us here in 2015. Samsung has improved they're build quality. have you been living under a rock? They've also completely overhauled Touchwiz (everything but the subpar launcher). TW now looks even better and less cluttered than comparable skins like Optimus UI on the G3, etc. And specs are always gonna be relevant bruh. That's the nature of the business. Here's another key Samsung differentiator for you. The Exynos 7 SoC the S6 is gonna have destroys every other comparable chip. That includes the SD 810, even the A8X. It'll be the most powerful mobile device.....like ever, literally. And it's exclusive to samsung devices, for the time being. So you don't have any expandable storage huh? That's even worse than not being able to swap out your battery. Lol. Posted via the Unrivaled Note 4 or Tab S 10.5

You're so cute, with such a great rhetorical style, bruh... No, but seriously, I'm not trying to put down or undermine Samsung, I'm just sharing my opinions on where I'd like to see them go from here (And the latest greatest chipset just isn't important to me). IMO, the S5 build quality is still beat by many other phones, though you are correct that it is better than the s4 or s3. I don't mind the build quality of the Notes too much, in fact I was considering one until I decided I just didn't want that big a phone since I usually always have my tablet with me. I'm not living under a rock, I just have preferences towards build quality that you apparently don't share. It's okay, I'm not butt hurt about it. We can disagree and still live in peace and harmony. And please reread my original comment because I don't type any words that don't contribute to my meaning. I didn't say specs were irrelevant, I said spec wars are irrelevant. That word 'wars' is important here, in fact it makes all the difference. Of course specs are important. Your phone has to be able to do the things you want to do with it. My point was that by now all manufacturer's flagships are able to do anything you could reasonably want to do with a phone. What are you wanting to do with a phone that is being prevented by the limitations of existing phones? I can't think of anything that isn't a stupid thing to do with a phone in the first place. If my phone isn't beefy enough for something, I use my desktop PC. I'm not going to be editing HD videos or rendering 3d graphics with a damn phone. I'm not sequencing my DNA or cracking sophisticated ciphers with my phone either. You are right that the S6 will have a chip that blows everyone else away.. on paper. But it isn't a differentiator because it doesn't make a difference to 90+% of users. I don't need it. Being (a few months) technologically more advanced isn't a differentiator it's a difference.Prove me wrong with a specific use case that requires it, and I'll happily concede that point. I'm not interested in the "most powerful mobile device," because I think it's silly to use a phone for the most demanding tasks. I didn't throw my other computers away when I bought a smartphone. I think I'll be just fine. And yeah, you've got me on the SD card. Congrats! Eat a cupcake, you've earned it. But expandable storage isn't my number one priority, so being a man of nuance and reason, I can make compromises that offer me things I want that phones with SD slots don't have. Like a decent user interface without modding the phone to hell and back. Sure, UI is personal, so one man's crap is another man's awesome. This ain't a pissing contest, it's a conversation about what's going on in mobile technology. And my contribution was to point out that now that the vast majority of users' needs are covered by $200 devices, companies need to get more creative with their flagships and actually think more about user experience than spec sheets. If having that bigger badder chip in the S6 is going to make your daily life significantly better, then go for it. But I'd imagine the way you use your phone would be pretty rare indeed if the difference is real and not just imagined. As for the battery, I was concerned about removable batteries once upon a time too. Turns out, hardly anyone experiences any problems with them. I got over it. I've got a battery pack for those occasional "oh shit" moments. I'm covered. And I still contend that your phone can't do anything my phone can't except beat it in a benchmark test. But I get no intrinsic joy from benchmarking, so I don't care. This isn't football, bruh, I'm not worried about the score. The only two "specs" that matter anymore are camera quality and battery life. I'm not a photographer (and if I were I would have a real camera), and I get by just fine on the battery I've got. And I have a shitty phone. I'm looking to upgrade, and what I'm saying is, I'm only taking a close look at specs when it comes to budget devices. When I shop flagships, I research user experience. If you research specs, fine. It's okay. You're still a good person. I happen to disagree with you, because I'm different than you. And personal differences make the world a rich and stimulating place. I don't get all up in arms when a person has an opinion that I don't share. I do get up in arms when someone comes at me with uncalled-for snark and condescending attitudes. But I'm having fun with this, so we're all good. We can still slap each other's cute little butts out on the field and have a good, friendly time. Posted via my cobbled together desktop PC, where real work gets done.

Woah dude, do you have the cliff notes to that comment? i could only get 1/4 of the way through it. I agree that most people dont care about specs, but many do care about having the best. If a product is marketed as the most powerful and capable on the market then consumers will respond to that, much more so if the company has marketing muscle like Samsung. Manufacturers need to differentiate in every meaningful way they can, and the Exynos 7 has enough of an advantage over the competition that it's desirable. Not only is it significantly more powerful, but being the only built on a 14nm process gives the device insane increases in battery life, which i just saw u mention at the end there as important. You said you dont like condescending comments towards you, and neither do I. But earlier you blasted Samsung saying they needed to address build quality and UI, 2 things that they have done. If you dont like the launcher, then change it. The rest of TW is now perfectly acceptable to most consumers. browse through the note 4 stock UI yourself in depth and see. Yes, they screwed up royally with the Build of the S5, and they payed the price for it. The Note 4 and Alpha were they're first responses to that, and they hit it out of the park with both. the S6 is sure to be a completely different story as far as build is concerned.

I'd say that pretty much confirms the edge rumors Posted via the Android Central App

Stripped down version of touchwiz with lollipop design language, no lag and new hardware design will make me give them my money. Also, hopefully they sell the unlocked version like Moto, HTC from their website direct. Don't like buying carrier crap versions from useless carriers. Posted via the Android Central App

"SPOILER ALERT" https://a.disquscdn.com/uploads/mediaembed/images/1694/5132/original.jpg

Totally redesigned my rear. It will be the same phone as the s5 but with a metal frame and maybe a curved lcd. Samscum at its best.

Why does everyone think just because a phone is not metal that the build quality is inferior. Some of the most expensive cars are not made of metal. Plastic is light weight and with composite construction can build a strong body that has some flexibility. As always said about replaceable batteries you can go from 0 to 100 in seconds. And if you are carrying a battery power pack you can put the battery in it's charging case and fully charge that battery while you use the phone. What I think people should be more concerned about is the storage. As software becomes more powerful and updates improve functionality over the life of the phones it uses a lot of the on board storage. Phones should either have separate memory for the software or increase standard on board memory.

Those cars aren't made of plastic, they are made of carbon fiber.

precisely, plastic is cheap and not very strong at all compared to carbon fiber, kevlar, magnesium... the last thing anybody wants to do is be going 150mph in a car made out of plastic...

To create carbon fiber it still has to be bonded with plastic not metal.. And fiber glass is plastic with glass woven in. People haven't had a problem with the phone itself they just feel metal would make it a premium product.

No wonder they replaced the design guy if the S6 is going to be a smaller version of the Edge.