S6 vs S5: Samsung's new flagship is just days away. We look at the features that might persuade you to make the upgrade
Samsung will officially announce the Samsung Galaxy S6 on March 1, with availability likely to follow in early-April.
But will the company be able to make meaningful improvements over last year's model, the Samsung Galaxy S5? After all, many people felt that the current flagship was an insufficient improvement over the Samsung Galaxy S4.
Let's take a look at what we know - and what we think we know - about the Samsung Galaxy S6, and how that might stack up against its solid predecessor.
Galaxy S6 vs Galaxy S5: Design
This will undoubtedly prove to be the most important distinction between the Samsung Galaxy S6 and the Samsung Galaxy S5. Most of the criticism that came Samsung's way with relation to its current flagship pertained to its underwhelming, unambitious, and distinctly un-flagship-like design.
Don't get us wrong - the Samsung Galaxy S5 is a supremely well-build smartphone, and it can certainly stand up to the rough and tumble of everyday life over a two-year contract.
But it wholly fails to thrill, and it feels like a mid-ranger when stacked up against the iPhone and HTC One ranges.
The Samsung Galaxy S6 will be a massive departure from Samsung, but it's one that was heralded by the Galaxy Alpha and the Galaxy Note 4. Information suggests that it'll ditch the plastic body for a wrap-around curved-glass display and and an all-metal back.
Even if the Galaxy S6's design doesn't prove to be to everyone's taste, we're fairly confident that it will be seen as a major improvement over the Galaxy S5.
SEE ALSO: iPhone 6 vs Samsung Galaxy S6
Galaxy S6 vs Galaxy S5: Screen
Reports suggest that Samsung is finally putting a stop to the smartphone display size creep that has been on display since the Galaxy S2.
It's claimed that the Galaxy S6's screen will be no bigger than the Galaxy S5's, and may even be fractionally smaller. Either way, expect it to hover somewhere around the 5-inch mark.
Where the Galaxy S6 could be better is in its resolution, with many sources suggesting that the new phone's screen will be QHD, aka 2K, aka 2560 x 1440. That would see a significant increase in pixel density over the 1080p (1280 x 1080) Galaxy S5.
At least, it will on paper. The jury is still out over QHD, and whether it lends any significant advantage to sub-6-inch screens. Conversely, more pixels inevitably mean worse battery life - and that's an area Galaxy S handsets have been strong in over the years.
We're fully expecting the Galaxy S6 screen to look better than the Galaxy S5's, but at what price?
Galaxy S6 vs Galaxy S5: Power
Perhaps the biggest controversy in the lead-up to the Galaxy S6's release has come from a rather unexpected source.
We always expect the new Samsung flagship to be among the most powerful Android phones around, but for once there's an element of uncertainty surrounding the Galaxy S6's performance.
That's because Samsung appears to have ditched Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810 for the Galaxy S6, likely replacing it with its own Exynos 7 chip.
Early benchmarks suggest that general performance is roughly equal between these chips, with a slight (and probably meaningless) advantage to the Snapdragon. It remains to be seen how this bears out in final hardware, and with real life tasks.
Of course, in relation to last year's Galaxy S5 and its Snapdragon 801 CPU, the Galaxy S6 will wipe the floor with it. But will the Galaxy S6 be able to take a similarly dominant position within its generation, and will app compatibility be as strong?
SEE ALSO: HTC One M9 vs Samsung Galaxy S6
Galaxy S6 vs Galaxy S5: Camera
The Samsung Galaxy S5 remains one of the better Android camera phones on the market, with snappy performance and decent image quality.
Despite this, we suspect that the Galaxy S6's camera will be a considerable improvement - and not simply because the megapixel count is likely to be bumped up from 16 to 20. Rather, it's because Samsung's pre-release hype campaign appears to have focused on the Galaxy S6's camera as a major feature.
The company has teased images of the phone's squared-off camera housing, while a Samsung exec has also talked up the new phone's photographic chops. There have also been plenty of hints that the S6 camera will be strong in low light - something that even the best examples of the last generation continued to struggle with.
So yes, the Galaxy S5 camera is very good, but the Galaxy S6 is virtually guaranteed to be a fair bit better.
Galaxy S6 vs Galaxy S5: Software
Given that these are two Samsung smartphones, the software experience is sure to be similar, with many of the Galaxy S6's new features likely to make their way to the Galaxy S5 eventually.
Still, the Galaxy S6's custom TouchWiz interface is rumoured to be a considerable improvement over the Galaxy S5's.
Apparently, Samsung has further decluttered its custom UI, removing much of the bloatware that continues to hold its efforts back in the eyes of Android purists.
One recent report claimed that the new TouchWiz will strip out all of Samsung's (largely pointless) apps, perhaps making the likes of S Health and S Voice optional downloads rather than obligatory icons to be shunted out of the way.
It's also been claimed that Samsung will allow the new underpinning version of Android - 5.0 Lollipop - to shine through a little more, with some of Google's flashy animations implemented into general navigation.
Another big improvement over the current Galaxy S5 offering is on the cards, then.
SEE ALSO: Samsung Galaxy S5 Tips and Tricks
Early Verdict
It seems obvious to predict that a new smartphone will best its predecessor. That's inevitable in this fast-moving industry.
What often defines a phone's success is whether these improvements are meaningful, and on that front we're expecting the Galaxy S6 to be a winner.
The signs are encouraging. Samsung is apparently (finally) addressing the major issue with its flagship phones - sloppy design - rather than simply bumping up the pointless feature quota and updating the core components.
Whatever we see on March 1, you can bet that it will look and feel like an entirely different and better phone than what came before.
