back to article LEAKED: Samsung's iPhone 6 killer... the Samsung Galaxy S6

Newly leaked specifications for the Samsung Galaxy S6 show the South Korean company taking the fight back to Apple. The expected flagship is expected to debut a year after we saw the S5 at Mobile World Congress. The “64-bit eight-core 14nm CPU which is 50% faster” could be the rumoured Snapdragon 820, but that’s likely to be …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Why should Apple be worried?

    The Samsung might be a geek treat, but the average iPunter isn't going to be taking much notice.

    1. James Katt

      Re: Why should Apple be worried?

      They will notice that Samsung's Galaxy S6 is SLOWER.

      1. InelegantHack

        Re: Why should Apple be worried?

        Yep.

        http://appleinsider.com/articles/15/01/21/bugs-in-qualcomms-64-bit-snapdragon-810-may-force-samsung-to-use-its-own-exynos-chips-in-galaxy-s6-

    2. Bob Vistakin
      Facepalm

      Re: Why should Apple be worried?

      Obviously because it's pretty much the same as an iPhone 6 but doesn't bend when you use it normally.

      1. CaptainBlue
        Facepalm

        Re: Why should Apple be worried?

        Amazingly enough, my iPhone 6 doesn't when I'm using it normally, cramming it into my jeans pocket, etc. Hold the front page...

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Why should Apple be worried?

      There's nothing even close to revolutionary. Incremental improvements in resolution, performance, etc. Did you find the S5 was too low resolution, or too slow? Did they recently install CAT-6 LTE where you live, and are you one of the few who still has an unlimited data plan?

      The answer to all these things will be no for almost everyone, so I don't see why this is going to tempt anyone (Android fans included) any more than the S5. If it has a different design it may help, but changing the design it has had since at least the S3 days will also turn off some people too (especially if it has a glass back and non-removable battery, as one rumor indicated)

      1. Scoular

        Mature market syndrome

        Every once new and revolutionary product line settles down after a few product generations and we only get evolutionary improvements. The margins tend to drop too.

        This is normal. Revolutionary products are rather rare.

        As Newton noted progress is made by standing on the shoulders of those who went before.

        1. DropBear

          Re: Mature market syndrome

          This is normal. Revolutionary products are rather rare.

          No. It's not. Get me a YotaPhone 2 if you want to get me interested - this does nothing my S2 doesn't already do.

      2. Alan Brown Silver badge

        Re: Why should Apple be worried?

        "I don't see why this is going to tempt anyone (Android fans included) any more than the S5. "

        My S2 is on its last legs. I don't need revolutionary. "Better" will do nicely.

      3. fearnothing

        Re: Why should Apple be worried?

        On the other hand, it's important to me because I'd consider getting an S5 to replace my S3, and this will push the price down nicely :)

    4. ThomH

      Re: Why should Apple be worried?

      I don't think Apple should be worried: the difference in Samsung's release schedule and Apple's routinely means that one manages to launch a newer/faster/shinier flagship than the other. It's business as usual. It's expected.

      It's now been, what, four years since Android became number one? And eight years since the original iPhone came out? Apple is doing fine and Samsung is still doing spectacularly by any fixed measure, even if less spectacularly than for the last few years. But that's Android diversification and ever-ongoing phone commoditisation for you.

      1. Jim 59

        Re: Why should Apple be worried?

        @ThomH have 2 upvotes.

        @Wake up befor... Dude, 29 posts in 5 years and 5 of them in this one story ? The other 24 coinciding with other Samsung product launches and being pro-apple rants? Lol.

    5. Ted Treen
      Facepalm

      Re: Why should Apple be worried?

      Is this "iPhone6-killer" related to the previous "iPhone5-killer" and the "iPhone4-killer" all of which were predicted to decimate the iPhone market?

      1. yoganmahew

        Re: Why should Apple be worried?

        Can you worship the S6 like a god?

        No problem for Apple then...

      2. JEDIDIAH
        Linux

        Re: Why should Apple be worried?

        They're not doing too bad of a job so far. According to all of the cult members, Android should have failed by now. Yet it continues to eat more and more of Apple's lunch.

        1. danny_0x98

          Re: Why should Apple be worried?

          Huh. Apple sells more iPhones every year. Profits and revenues up. The Android OEMS are losing at the low end to AOSP, but Android's Android right, so who cares about subtleties?

          Okay, I wouldn't say you're wrong. Let's say that Android is eating Apple's ham and cheese sandwich while Apple enjoys an eight course dinner at a five-star restaurant. With classy floor show.

          1. 20legend

            Re: Why should Apple be worried?

            'Apple sells more iPhones every year. Profits and revenues up.'

            Shame the market share doesn't reflect this......

            1. My backside

              Re: Why should Apple be worried?

              Oh, but profits do.

            2. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Why should Apple be worried?

              Really, that "Market Share thing" I don't think it means what you think it means...

              Despite being on the market for just over a month of the three months ending with October 2014, the iPhone 6 Plus captured 41% of 'phablet' sales—sales of smartphones with a screen size of 5.5 inches and larger.

              (from the daily fail)

              So that's giving Android Phablets 2 months to themselves, the 6+ sold enough in one month to be 41% of the market.

              0-41%...that's a pretty big jump in market share...

              So that's one phone model, vs Note 3,4 Nexus 6, etc.

              If you want to look at iOS vs Android, then how many phone are currently running Lollipop vs IOS 8?

              Ah yes 2.1 % of devices run the up to date secure Android...vs...IOS 8 52%....

              So if it's that good.....why is no one running it...

              Plus which android phones offer over wifi backup each night (of more than just photos and contacts to g+) and which devices come with advanced replacement, or shops that you can go and get them fixed or replaced at?

              ..sound of silence...tumble weeds roll by...

              Android tried it for 3 years...it's not as good as people think it is.

            3. Snapper

              Re: Why should Apple be worried?

              Market share.............

              Oh Jesus H Christ, are you actually relying on that argument?

              Irrespective of what is or isn't the best phone, the known FACTS are that Apple makes much more money than Samsung on phones that are actually brought rather than >cough< 'shipped'.

        2. Joel 1

          Re: Why should Apple be worried?

          @JEDDIAH

          After today's announcement, I really don't think Apple will be bothered by Android eating "more and more of Apple's lunch". Apple just seems to be getting bigger and bigger platefuls, so I'm not sure what Android is eating - the plates and napkins perhaps? Apple certainly doesn't seem to be going hungry.

          Perhaps there are two separate markets developing? The Android one is certainly bigger by volume, but the lunch that is being eaten is that of feature phones. Android at the low end has certainly supplanted that. At the high end, both Android and Apple are growing, and possibly disconnected. Growth in one doesn't necessarily cannibalise the other - the growth can come from the low end feature phones as people decide that actually they want more than something to make phone calls with (do people still do that?)

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Why should Apple be worried?

        The Galaxy S3 did a pretty decent job against the iPhone 4 TBH......

    6. Seanie Ryan

      Re: Why should Apple be worried?

      no matter what the specs, the biggest problem is that it still runs Android, so no Apple won't worry.

    7. werdsmith Silver badge

      Re: Why should Apple be worried?

      More useless pixels per cm and more processor clock cycles aren't going to help people post to Facebook and send text message any better.

      When phone companies start to make phones that are: able to survive dropping 6 feet on to concrete, able to survive being dropped in a toilet, good sunlight readability, good signal reception in fringe areas, long long battery life- stuff that is actually genuinely beneficial and not just bigger numbers for the sake of selling to dimwits, then I will take notice.

      I need more pixels on my screen like I need more wheels on my car,

      1. DanceMan

        Re: able to survive dropping 6 feet on to concrete

        My BB Q10 just survived 10 to 12 feet onto concrete, unharmed. Wearing slim rubbery protector, but still......

  2. Pen-y-gors

    And the price will be?

    If it's £200-£250 I might be interested. Pointless spending more than that on a phone.

    1. Steve Crook

      Re: And the price will be?

      Depends on how long you're likely to want to keep it.

      I'm still using my HTC Desire, the version of android is too old and the CPU struggles with my satnav program. So I'm going to buy a new phone this year. I'd not expect to change it unless it breaks because the tech has reached a point where it's likely to be able to cope with everything I need for the foreseeable. So I'd be prepared to spend more for something I really like and that's going to last.

      1. e^iπ+1=0

        Re: And the price will be?

        "I'd not expect to change it unless it breaks because the tech has reached a point where it's likely to be able to cope with everything I need for the foreseeable."

        Just buy a Nexus 4 for $100 or so.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: And the price will be?

          Nice Idea..

          No 4G though.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: And the price will be?

            Bollocks to 4G. I'll pay exactly the sort of price Samsung would like people to pay (£550 or so) if they add one new feature: One week battery life.

            All the rest of the stuff that masquerades as progress, like faster processors, pixel upgrades on cameras, 4k screens, customer skins, smart fridge interfaces, 3D holography..... all that shit I don't give a tinker's cuss about. But what I want is a nice smartphone that can't go more than a few hours from a mains connection.

            FFS, is it THAT difficult?

      2. mrwenni

        Re: And the price will be?

        I'm planning to hold on to my trusty Desire (Runnymede ROM) a little longer. Still running fine and I dont see any killer app that compels me to buy a new smartphone yet...

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: And the price will be?

      It's not a phone though is it?

    3. Voland's right hand Silver badge

      Re: And the price will be?

      Trying to imitate Ivanova from Babylon 5: 8 cores... EIGHT!!! Whoaaa...

      What do you really need in a phone FFS? Camera? I wold rather have a compact with decent optics (along the Nikon L330 lines). Games? There are tablets for that. Really, what else may you need an 8 core for? I cannot get the 4 cores in my desktop busy unless I compile something for crying out loud. And 8 cores?

      I updated the "home fleet" using Xperia Z series little brother - the SP. 150£ off end-of-line sale, fully Cyanogen capable (as a future safety), unlockable bootloader, Mirrorlink, camera on par with the new iPhone (if not better), Gig of RAM and dual 1.7GHz core crait/adreno, 32+5G of Flash (mmc), LTE, bgan WiFi, NFC, BT 4.0, 4.6 inch 319 DPI screen.

      So no new phones coming soon and definitely no Sammy the Plastic Easily Broken Whammy in this house. Every time I have had to deal with Sammy phones, tablets or monitors over the last 6 years it has always ended up in dealing with their repair shop. No thanks.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Linux

        Re: And the price will be?

        I would look for other roms than Cyanogen for that Xperia.

      2. Alan Brown Silver badge

        Re: And the price will be?

        "What do you really need in a phone FFS?"

        The ability to make calls.

        These are miniature media computers with good cameras which happen to be able to make calls too.

    4. P. Lee

      Re: And the price will be?

      >If it's £200-£250 I might be interested. Pointless spending more than that on a phone.

      It's going to depend on Samsung's strategy. This is a flagship so I would expect it to be overspec'ed and expensive - that's what flagships are - aspirational. Apple won't be that worried because as the first poster noted, ipunters don't buy android. The key point about flagships is to make everyone think - "Aww, I wish I had that," even if they aren't in the market sector who would buy it. With the performance of the S5, Samsung need to go for features, not lock-in / network revenue.

      If I were Samsung, I'd do things slightly differently - more like Apple for this. Find a unique, iconic design and take the name off the front, or at least make it very subtle. If it is the Snapdragon 820 the features are impressive. Unlike Apple, I'd turn this thing into a pocket computer. Make it do everything Apple would never do. Put all the connectivity features on it, even if you need to have the thing plugged into power when using it for driving an external screen or using all those cores. Bundle it with a docking station dongle for charging, HDMI/DVI/DP video & USB mouse, maybe Wii controllers too. Put an SD card slot in it. It may have 802.11ac in it, but not everyone has an ac network and even an N network can be too slow for HD video if you have a few walls in the way. Don't use storage capacity to push people to a more expensive phone, that's annoying and makes the brand-feature link hazy, 64G is fine.

      Software is usually an issue with phones. Make sure it streams to a wide range of "smart" TVs and to VLC. If you can stream/store *from* elsewhere with VLC, that would be good too ;) They could do some cool stuff with "hand-off." Service announcement with mDNS and bluetooth, ssh to update bookmarks and flick-to-send file functionality, so you don't need a cloud. You also want to have simultaneous wifi hotspot and "infrastructure" mode for easy data transfers.

      Sadly, I have a feeling they aren't going to do this.

    5. DrXym

      Re: And the price will be?

      "If it's £200-£250 I might be interested. Pointless spending more than that on a phone."

      Get a OnePlus One. I have one and it's proven itself to be very reliable and is plenty fast for my needs.

  3. Zog_but_not_the_first
    Meh

    Comsumers make choices based on careful analysis of all options

    Well, as we all know, they (we!) don't. There are people who will buy a phone simply because it's an iPhone. No doubt there are fewer who will buy a phone because it's a Samsung.

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

      1. Alan Brown Silver badge

        Re: Comsumers make choices based on careful analysis of all options

        " I would NEVER take another Samsung without a written guarantee that all the crapware apps could be removed by the user."

        Took me about 10 minutes after I'd rooted the phone.

        1. This post has been deleted by its author

      2. Mike Bell

        Re: Unwanted preloaded crap

        Check out this bad boy.

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Comsumers make choices based on careful analysis of all options

        ' I would NEVER take another Samsung without a written guarantee that all the crapware apps could be removed by the user.'

        errr...... Root, uninstall - simples.....

  4. Sealand
    Coat

    Ah, but just wait until Apple releases the iPhone 6++, then Sammy will be in trouble. Until they get the S7 ready, which will have Apple scrambling for - wait for it - the iPhone 8 !!!.

    Which of course is eventually toppled by Samsung with the ...

    Popcorn anyone?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      the iPhone 6++

      It would surely have to be the Objective6, not the 6++.

    2. FIA Silver badge

      I heard it's going to be called the iPhone 6++good.

  5. clebin

    "If leaks are real, Apple is in trouble"

    You've not got the hang if this BuzzFeed thing have you?

    Proper clickbait needs a number, like "5 Reasons why Apple is in trouble" or "7 Samsungs you won't believe actually exist". HTH.

    1. messele

      Re: "If leaks are real, Apple is in trouble"

      "Why Samsung is suddenly going to reverse it's inevitable decline into loss-making also ran with one weird old Chinese trick"

      Wasn't the waterproofing from last year's model a killer feature (anybody still got their USB bung attached to the phone by the way?) along with 16 MEGACORZ or whatever the processor trick was.

      Conversely what happened to all the "ZOMG doesn't anybody know 64-bit just gives more memory" iPhone software gimmickry claims?

      1. Wake up befor you sleep thru windows last crash...

        Re: "If leaks are real, Apple is in trouble"

        We all knew the 'no one needs 64bit and besides we will have it someday' was BS then, so my guess is that's still true.

  6. MrWibble

    Are you seriously using BGR as a source? Journalistic standards have dropped round here!

    1. SuccessCase

      I dreamt I fell over the other day when I was already lying down. Similar thing to journalistic standards dropping at The Register.

  7. Dazed and Confused
    Devil

    Ah, but will they

    Have tossed out the bleeding S-Cal shit or at least allowed .ics files to be fed to Google calendar. S-Cal won't believe that I know people in timezones other than my own. My S4 is lucky never to have been thrown out the window/at the wall/...

  8. Le Dao

    Apple Worried, more like happy!

    I don't get how articles like this are given space. The iPhone 6 has already killed Samsung current mobiles, look at sales data, difficult with Samsung to compare, but they are imploding, what are Apple expected to do later this month is that announce record Sales figures.

    Its a rumoured next generation Samsung phone, there are known problems with Bugs in the 820 so it will be graphically challenged using slower Samsung in house designs. 64Bit chip, how much of the android market can run 64Bit. What is it integrated with. Apple has an eco system and that is extending out to payments and health apps. Samsung obviously need do something to disrupt the ongoing positive news about Apple sales figures and how the next great device will challenge this. Will it really be better than an iPhone 6s maybe but on these specs its slower than current offerings.

    Its another rushed phone,challenged by being 64Bit in a market that isn't ready, trying to grab some attention, but won't justify the R&D

    Some credible competition to iOS/ iPhone would be good, don't see how this could be it, even if it were possible to deliver to the rumour. Does putting Apple in a headline really attract readership? Oh maybe thats the issue, people are still interested in what Apple is doing and more people all the time it seems, based on the sales data.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Apple Worried, more like happy!

      "I don't get how articles like this are given space."

      Because people like you get enticed by the headline, read the article and then write a long comment which in turn is also good for search engines.

      Personally I never read or comment on these articles...

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Apple Worried, more like happy!

        Me neither.

    2. Alan Brown Silver badge

      Re: Apple Worried, more like happy!

      "64Bit chip, how much of the android market can run 64Bit"

      All of it. That's one of the (few) beauties of java.

      1. Adam 1

        Re: Apple Worried, more like happy!

        Not all android is Java.

  9. James Katt

    Samsung is the one in trouble.

    The Qualcomm 810 Snapdragon hasn't yet been released. It is overheating. The 820 won't come out until mid-2016.

    This leaves Samsung with its much slower Exynos 8-core chips where only 4 are used at the same time.

    The S6 is in trouble. It is so much slower than the Apple iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, it is non-competitive at the high end of the market. And it will be killed by the lower end competitors.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      > where only 4 are used at the same time.

      While true for some of the early Samsung big.LITTLE phones, this hasn't been true for some time. My Note 4 can quite happily use all 8 cores at the same time.

  10. Darren Barratt
    Trollface

    Lawyer up!

    I bet Apple sue because they've used 6 in the name.

  11. Shady

    If leaks are real, Apple is in trouble?

    Nah, the average punter aint that clever / stupid*

    * Delete as applicable.

  12. Joe Drunk
    Gimp

    Even if the S6 were a much, much better phone it wouldn't impact Apple's sales significantly. Apple has something no other mobe maker can claim - loyal customers.

    1. Bloodbeastterror

      "Loyal"

      Not the word I'd choose. "Money" and "sense" spring to mind.

  13. GhostSeven
    Windows

    Tepid arse dribble

    What is going on with the reg, we are getting a lot more of these non articles and stupid click bait.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Tepid arse dribble

      "What is going on with the reg"

      Being fattened up for market, that's what is going on.

      The world appears to be full of sad-sack corporates who will buy any old web site so long as the eyeball count survives "due diligence", so having built the loyal core of followers around a quality editorial route, you then chase the click-bait audience who are transported here on the Googlebus.

  14. David Lawton

    You cannot beat an iPhone if you go spec chasing, the original iPhone even the 3G were awful spec wise compared to the competition , just look at the camera on the Nokia N95 and compare it to the original iPhone. The iPhone's and Apples trump card is the User Experience, even down to when they go wrong, just walk into an Apple store and walk out with a working one.

    Samsung left nothing but a sour taste in my mouth when i got an Samsung Galaxy S2, not making that mistake again. iPhone 6S please :)

    1. Bloodbeastterror

      Galaxy S2 "sour taste"?

      Why? I had one, my wife still has it, and it's a wonderful little device.

    2. fruitoftheloon

      @ David Lawton

      David,

      err, kind of, when one was pondering a droid or iphone (quite a while ago now), key points were:

      Iphone:

      - fragile (are they cheaper if the screen is pre-cracked when you un-wrap it?)

      - you can only install what Apple want on it (good for some folk, less so for me)

      - it doesn't [didn't] do tethering (I am fortunately on a REALLY unlimited plan with t-mobile, on a regular basis they probably regret offering that...)

      Droids:

      - design not as cohesive

      - more 'options'

      A sony experia play, followed by a Note II...

      Hence even if I did like an iphone, I ain't gonna change now, btw I have spent about £7k of my own money on mac laptops/desktops and s/w over the last twenty years, so I am most defo NOT an Apple hater...

      Just my ha'pennies...

      Cheers,

      J

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      >>You cannot beat an iPhone if you go spec chasing, the original iPhone even the 3G were awful spec wise compared to the competition , just look at the camera on the Nokia N95 and compare it to the original iPhone.

      That's ONE spec. The original iPhone was a spec beast. On average it had better specs than the N95 which in turn had better specs than almost all other phones on the market. The iPhone had a faster CPU (400MHz ARM11 vs. 330MHz), more memory (128MB vs. 64MB), 3D acceleration (similar to N95 and way ahead of everything else), a screen that was twice the size and had twice the pixels, and BTW it was a capacitive touchscreen with Gorilla Glass, which no other phone had.

      It's funny that the original iPhone was CRUSHING the competition with regard to most of its specs but it has a persistent reputation as being under-specced because it didn't have 3G or it only had an average camera or some other dumb thing.

    4. gnasher729 Silver badge

      Excuse me, you say the original iPhone was awful spec wise? It was about the biggest phone with the biggest screen that was out at the time, and when the Blackberry guys opened it they were absolutely shocked. Something like "OMG they put a whole f***ing computer in a phone".

      Sure, it is awful spec wise compared to anything built in 2015, but it was top dog when it was released in 2007.

  15. William Donelson

    Samsung makes Great hardware, but ...

    It's the software, stupid. Apple iOS beats the Android mess by miles.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Samsung makes Great hardware, but ...

      You've not actually used Android have you?

      1. messele

        Re: Samsung makes Great hardware, but ...

        To be fair Android is fantastic if you really are an enthusiast or you do not mind faffing about with the thing to keep it on the rails...all day every day it seems.

        But no, for most iOS does tick the more relevant boxes. In my experience many people just really could not care less about bleeding edge software features that don't work that brilliantly.

        Just look at the furore surrounding Apple maps - and now it's a great, really useful piece of software hence why nobody talks about it anymore.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Samsung makes Great hardware, but ...

          >just look at the furore surrounding Apple maps

          Well since Google Maps is available on iOS and still better by quite some ways in my area this is a non issue anyway (other than the creepy tracking but free ain't really free anyway).

          1. Wake up befor you sleep thru windows last crash...

            Re: Samsung makes Great hardware, but ...

            Wrong, for most things, Apple maps destroys Google-Maps. Apple's siri is also better than Googles rip off (that only considers Google and leaves out all the other services).

            Fly over kills street view. Why walk when you can fly? Who has time to walk in virtual reality?

        2. Bodhi

          Re: Samsung makes Great hardware, but ...

          Ever so slightly out of date with this one, in fact I seem to spend less time trying to make my Xperias behave than I did with my old iPhone (iOS 7 onwards). So much so that my 72 year old mother is currently using a Z1, with no issues at all.

        3. Wake up befor you sleep thru windows last crash...

          Re: Samsung makes Great hardware, but ...

          There was never anything wrong with it that mattered one iota, it was just a field day for Roid fanbois.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Samsung makes Great hardware, but ...

        >>You've not actually used Android have you?

        I've used both for extended periods. Both have pros and cons but overall I think iOS is better.

      3. Snapper
        Alert

        Re: Samsung makes Great hardware, but ...

        Android is a turgid mess. I had to get another (2013) Nexus 7 for my wife as her earlier model 7 had buggered its battery. Looked up how to move apps and, most importantly, Cany Crush scores from one 7 to another.

        WTF!

        Root it!

        No official way of doing it!

        No official backup!

        Ok for geeks.

        'Simples' for Geeks.

        Most people have a relative or son/daughter who can do this.

        An awful lot of people don't, and that's what Google an Sammy don't grok.

    2. fruitoftheloon
      WTF?

      @William: Re: Samsung makes Great hardware, but ...

      Wiliam,

      gonads.

      Regards,

      j

  16. Synthmeister

    Future vs. Current

    Amazing how future (based on rumors, no less) products from one company always beat the crap out of current products from another company.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Totally unrelated to the article - Has anyone got any good places to start for locking down an Android phone? Ideally without going near Google Play and having it all sorted before it starts broadcasting anything? Am just about to (grudgingly) join the 21st century...

    1. getHandle

      blackphone?

      https://blackphone.ch

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: blackphone?

        I did consider that, but budget won't allow for it. So I went with a Chinese landfill phone. Some good starting points on the Blackphone site though; thanks.

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    innovation and demand

    for me, the main innovation has been IP-level waterproofing on phones. Sadly lacking in Apple or Samsung as default.

    I do own a waterproof phone (Motorola one) and perfectly happy -why would I want to buy a new phone?

    On the OS side of things, I wiped an old HTC Desire with Cyanogenmod and its great. In a year or so, I may put Cyanogenmod on the Moto device. Plenty of development in the community and no need to get onto the bi-yearly or yearly phone upgrades.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: innovation and demand

      >for me, the main innovation has been IP-level waterproofing on phones.

      Being a non hiker desert dweller myself who avoids using my phone in the tub that is definitely not a feature I give a shit about. Even if I wash the phone in the laundry (only real water danger) waterproofing wouldn't save it.

      1. Bodhi

        Re: innovation and demand

        My Xperia Z has been through the wash - still works fine. With waterproofing also tends to come with dust-proofing, which probably would be useful in the desert.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: innovation and demand

          >tends to come with dust-proofing, which probably would be useful in the desert.

          Yeah if you ever go out into it past the city parks. Useful for me would be keys scratch proof which so far so good with the gorilla glass 3 and pocket lint clean proofing (not there yet). All that other proofing generally makes for not the slimmest phone though.

          1. JEDIDIAH
            Linux

            Re: innovation and demand

            There are entire states and countries that reside in the dessert. Some of these are pretty affluent places too. If a smart phone has a problem with dust and sand then that's a serious problem.

            Again... it's like these people in Silicon Valley don't actually live in California.

  19. AIBailey

    Overkill?

    577ppi???

    Not so long ago Apple were trying to convince the world that 264ppi* was as good as your retina could make out.

    That was obviously nonsense, however somewhere between 300-350ppi is probably enough to make it impossible to make out individual pixels (unless you press your nose to the screen perhaps).

    However just south of 600ppi seems like drastic overkill purely for chasing bullet points on a spec sheet. More pixels to process just means more drain on GPU resource.

    * - original pixel density of the "retina" ipads

    1. asdf

      Re: Overkill?

      >264ppi* was as good as your retina could make out.

      Some optical astronomer nerd can give you more details but it depends on the size of the screen, your distance from it and the viewing angle from what I understand. 264 would be more than enough I think on say a 24" lcd monitor.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Overkill?

        Numbers seem to vary...the highest number I've seen claimed is this here, that claims the (perfect vision, good lighting etc.) human eye can discern anything bigger than 0.3 arc-minute (that's 0.005 of a degree if my maths are working); which would work out at 530ppi for a screen held 20 inches away from the eye.

        Now that was for prints, so it's entirely possible that the number can be higher for screens; which emit light, so the points should be easier to detect.

    2. Sorry that handle is already taken. Silver badge

      Re: Overkill?

      When the Note 4 is used as a VR headset, its 515ppi reportedly isn't quite enough, which is believable.

      Other than that use case though I can't really see the point either. IMO the ~400-450ppi of the previous generation looks like quite enough for almost all other uses.

  20. BitDr

    Samsung...

    I was looking at Samsung, nice devices, but with one niggly little design oversight that drove me crazy while I used it. The back button is on the right side of the device, which is fine for languages that read right to left, but my native toung reads from left to right, and when I turn back a page I turn back from the left side. It doesn't seem like much, but it is an oversight that keeps me from buying one of their otherwise lovely devices.

  21. asdf

    golf clap

    Good job sammy. Too bad you didn't have this ready when the iPhone 6 launched and when I was in the market for a phone. The iPhone 6 is busting records because seldom at launch has Sammy's lineup looked more pathetic in comparison. Thankfully the market will swing and hopefully the players keep each other innovating and competing.

    1. asdf

      Re: golf clap

      Forgot to specify that I am not a phablet fan, a market which is almost single-handedly keeping Samsung afloat right now. The Note seems like decent kit if you are into two handed phone usage.

  22. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    HORRIBLE writer

    "Apple is in trouble".

    this is a perfect example of terrible bait and switch journalism.

    1. asdf

      Re: HORRIBLE writer

      where was the journalism? Reworded PR "leak" is more like it.

  23. Peter 39

    So the new Samsung S6 is smoking' Apple.

    Unfortunately for BGR, that's "smoking' " in a less-than-good way. I guess that BGR didn't take time to read the reports that the Snapdragon was way-too-hot and that Sam had settled on a less-capable-but-cooler substitute.

    Ahh, facts. Such pesky things.

  24. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    In my dreams, I've seen the iPhone 8...

    And let me tell you, it's fantastic! Everything you'd ever want in a phone and then some. The real kazoo! For some reason by the end of the dream it had turned into a bouncing blue rabbit that kept hassling me for carrot soup, and I woke up screaming, naked, on a train going to Slough, but before that part and the somewhat embarrassing court appearance, the iPhone 8 completely trounced whatever it is that Samsung may or may not release at some point whenever.

    (c) 2015 BGR.com

  25. Jurassic
    Holmes

    You don't need to be a genius!

    "Wireless charging is great (wake up Apple) so it’s no surprise to find it here, but it is slow."

    Apple (or any other sensible company) won't "wake up" to a sub-standard technology. Wireless charging has always been much slower than direct charging.

    You either want to be a "cool kid" and have slow wireless charging, or you want to get your mobile device charged QUICKLY by simply plugging it directly into a charging cable (rather than resting your device on a platform connected to a charging cable).

    It doesn't take a genius to realize which is the best option for people who don't want to wait longer than necessary to get their device charged!

    1. cambsukguy

      Re: You don't need to be a genius!

      What is this shit about slow wireless charging?

      Mine is about 80 - 85% of wire-charging.

      Most people charge overnight - at least if their phone is not garbage or used for Sat Nav all day, in which case it is connected to their car probably (possibly wirelessly for those trips to the toilet and take-away).

      You are also forgetting the fact that wireless charging allows you to top-up when you just wouldn't otherwise: While having breakfast (phone is fairly full but 100 is better than 95); At the evening mean etc. In the Shower.

      If you work at a desk, you can pop it on the pad and just pick the thing up and go when you need to. I see people using wires to charge and they just leave their phone on the table when they go to the toilet or even a meeting - much to the annoyance of people who have to listen to the thing ringing and vibrating and pinging all over the place.

      The point is that speed of charging is irrelevant and more to the point, you can still plug it in if you are desperate (this has not happened to me in three years). I use a cable to charge when I use a backup charging block for long days out using sat nav or such - but I still wish I could justify the wireless Nokia pad instead, likewise in the car. I just need either too little.

      1. Jamie Jones Silver badge

        Re: You don't need to be a genius!

        And there was me thinking that all the 'cool kids' bought iStuff!

  26. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Why is Apple always the one to beat? Those days are long gone.

    Apple played catch-up with the Samsung Galaxy Note. Why is it now beign reported that Samsung are trying to beat the iPhone 6?

  27. Amorous Cowherder
    Coat

    "64-bit eight-core..."...Jeez that's some scary-arse hardware to make a phone call and send a text message!

    ( Mines the one with the Nokia 3310 in the pocket! )

  28. Gis Bun

    Killer? Maybe not but....

    The majority of the specs [if true] meet or exceed what the iPhone 6+ has.

    If you look at recent Apple adds on the iPhone, they seem to be promoting the "health" features - something that was in the S5 already - and a bigger phone - something that the S4 and S5 had already. Yes they promoted a thinner phone but after you add a case/cover to protect it [from bending!] it isn't as thin as it was.

    The iPhone 6 series also have been hit with numerous OS bugs and issues such as upgrades, warmth, Wi-Fi issues, etc. [Let's not forget the U2 album issue!]

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Killer? Maybe not but....

      >>The majority of the specs [if true] meet or exceed what the iPhone 6+ has.

      Not so sure about that.

      1) Processor speed. Let's see some benchmarks. The iPhone 6 is already 70% faster than the Galaxy S5, so if the new Galaxy S6 is 50% faster than the S5 then it's only partway to matching the iPhone 6.

      2) Screen. The Samsung undoubtedly has more pixels but the iPhone's pixel density is arguably already more than high enough. So let's discuss other characteristics of the screen, e.g., color accuracy. iPhones have extremely good color accuracy whereas Samsung's AMOLED screens have horrible accuracy. So which do you prefer, more pixels that are so small you can't even see them, or accurate colors?

      3) Camera. Yes, the Samsung has more megapixels, that's been true for a while. But in most head-to-head photo comparisons, the iPhone's camera wins. There's a million more things to a camera than how many megapixels it has.

      I don't see Samsung as the clear winner in any of these spec races. I mean, if your knowledge of screens and cameras and so forth is so basic that you can only compare DPI and megapixels, then yeah. But if you have any deeper understanding of these things, then Apple isn't a bad choice.

  29. Haro

    More articles like this one!

    Total garbage, but man, what comments! Any future articles like this one should always mention Apple, such Apple Destroys Linux, or Android Destroys Apple, or whatever.

  30. Jeff 11

    If Samsung have realised - in their sixth iteration - that build quality matters, and spending serious money on a lump of scratch-happy plastic is a crap proposition for people whose pockets have other things in them, then I'll be looking into the S6.

    1. Alan Brown Silver badge

      They may be scratch-happy, but I've dropped my S2 from 3 metres onto concrete and from lesser heights a few times as well and it's still on the original screen.

      I'll take a scarred bezel over a broken screen any day.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        "I've dropped my S2 from 3 metres onto concrete"

        Why?

  31. Sarah Balfour

    Wireless charging

    I'm sitting here, posting my usual shite, with my iPad (still can't bring myself to call it a 'fondleslab') tethered to its charger. It was plugged in to charge at around half-8 this morning (coz dipshit here forgot to plug it in before she crashed out - which was around 4am), and it's averaging around 4-5% an HOUR, which means, split the difference, and it'll be fully charged by half-6, or 22.5hrs from the start (little less, as it wasn't *completely* dead, think it had summat like 3% left).

    Now, I don't know what wattage brick is supplied with phablets (WTF comes up with these portmanteaux…? I refuse to use 'em!), but I'd reckon that a 10W is barely powerful enough to charge an iPhone 6(+), never mind an Air 2 (which is what this is). There's a replacement in the online Apple Store, but it's only 12W, so it seems a complete waste of £20/£25 or whatever it is.

    Read somewhere that MS's next Surface range will use photon charging; sounds incredibly sexy, but how's it gonna be implemented - will the 'lid' double as a solar panel…? Will there be some kind of a backup battery for days when it's, well, well Britain…?

    What about devices that constantly recharge from the energy expended in use…? There'd have to be some kind of a backup system, naturally, but if you're a fairly fast typist (thinking more of tablets, rather than phones, here) it'd keep it ticking over until it's convenient for it to be attached to a power source (or when you're near a convenient wireless charging station).

    I'm all for wireless charging a) coz I reckon it'd be a feck sight faster than the almost -24hrs it takes this thing to charge and b) I'd be released from the paltry 4' cable Apple sees fit to supply (and they break continually - or is that just me…? I went through dozens when I had my Touch. No WONDER Apple doesn't want to introduce wireless charging - it's making far too much in replacement tethers!)

    Finally, there are ma,y reasons I've never gone 'Droid, compatibility, apps, fear of the unknown, the fact that the bot appears to be Neo-Nazi (seriously. In all the pics I've seen of it, it appears to be pulling a Nazi salute).

    ARGH! In the half-hour or so it's taken to type this, the meter has advanced by 1%. Only get around 3hrs out of a full charge, too (and that's if everything that can be switched off, is and the screen is dimmed to the point where it's barely discernible) but that was a bug introduced in 8.1. Good job I don't want to leave the house with the fecking thing, innit…?!

    1. Mike Bell

      Re: Wireless charging

      Your iPad or charger is faulty if it takes that long to charge.

    2. gnasher729 Silver badge

      Re: Wireless charging

      Your charger is not an iPad charger. Standard USB chargers only supply 5 Watt, the original iPad charger supplies 20 Watt.

  32. eJ2095

    Still got my s3

    Got an expanded battery for it and custom rom of course.

    Runs fine dont see the need to update to a newer model as the big corps seems to have run out of ideas.

    Oh and it also makes phone calls

    1. JEDIDIAH
      Linux

      Re: Still got my s3

      > Runs fine dont see the need to update to a newer model as the big corps seems to have run out of ideas.

      Quite. Any of the reasons I would upgrade come down to "bigger and better" rather than "new and innovative". I'm mostly still waiting for an Android device to come along and displace my fat Archos.

      It's ever so slowly getting there...

  33. Ilsa Loving

    HOW many dpi?

    Honestly, what is up with this ridiculous "Lets see how many pixels we can squeeze into the screen" wankery? The current generation of devices *already* has pixels so small that you can't tell them apart without a magnifying lens.

    We don't need more pixels. We need a fecking battery that lasts longer than a day per charge.

  34. DerekCurrie
    FAIL

    We already know Samsung's in trouble

    It's simply too easy to knock this knockoff from the hype pedestal. *yawn*

  35. poopypants

    It's all about the use cases

    Unless you have shares in Apple or Samsung, it really comes down to what you use it for. The most valuable things my phone does for me are

    - provides a pathway for the second factor in two factor identification

    - goes "beep" when someone tries to chat with me on Google+ (which I then respond to on my PC)

    - lets me set a timer when I'm cooking something

    - gives me turn by turn driving directions

    - gives me the weather forecast

    - lets me check the latest news at a glance

    I use it as a phone less than once a month.

    In my case I happen to have a Samsung Galaxy Nexus, although just about every other Android phone would provide the same services. I have no compelling reason to buy a new one.

  36. JamesInSpain

    Blackberry saved me

    I bought a Blackberry Z10 with the added bonus of running android apps. One year down the line and I have had more OS updates than with previous Android phones

  37. MrZoolook
    Meh

    I'm sure Apple will find a way...

    ... to prevent Samsung from selling this legally. Something like claiming patent on a system of using a device to send a signal to another device. Or copyrighting the use of ears to listen to sounds. Or something else that has been in use for many years.

  38. KarlLin

    Why can't someone make a phone?

    These devices, which someday might not even be referred to as phone have got great cameras, can run games, pay my bills, even get me a date. However, I can rarely get through a call without a signal loss or noise. When are they going to improve the phone function?

    Give me a phone that keeps a signal and doesn't have me searching for a charging station, then I'll be impressed!

  39. FutureShock999

    This will be GREAT outside of the US and UK

    The best advantage of Android is that Samsung, HTC, and even Sony do versions of their Android phones that take dual-SIMs and even can keep them both active at once, so you essentially have a phone for personal use, and another line for business, without having to carry and charge two phones. I've had an HTC One with dual-SIMs, and now a Samsung S5 Duos with two SIMs, and as much as I admire Apple (typing this on my MBP Retina) I cannot go back to a single SIM, or having to carry two phones.

    The pity is that the US and UK carriers will not OFFER the dual-SIM versions, so to get them you have to either order on-line from Chinese websites, or travel through Dubai's airport and pick one up on your way through. I've done both, and both worked perfectly here in the UK. If work makes you have a separate line it's very easy to get used to the convenience.

  40. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

    many regions are patriotic in their support for local brands.

    Fortunately, we don't have that problem in the UK so can choose any phone, guilt free. Even vapour-ware ones!

  41. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    64 bit?

    So when are they going to put enough RAM into the damn phones to make 64 bit in any way better or faster than a 32 bit processor?

    Samsung jumping on yet another Apple bandwagon again.

    1. P. Lee

      Re: 64 bit?

      The the CPU is 64 bits, you can do simultaneous operations on twice as much data.

      e.g. comparing 8bit ASCII strings: 32 bits->4 characters, 64bits->8 characters per CPU op.

      It isn't all about the RAM, especially on low-power CPUs.

  42. John B 1

    Give me stable rather than shiny

    I'd quite like a Samsung that didn't a) burn out when the major Android version changes b) burn out when the ambient temp goes over 20 C c) grip the SIM properly when the ambient temps drops below 15 C.

    Anyway, I shall buy an S6 just to annoy my daughter, who's locked into her S5 until next year.

  43. MamaMiaaa

    Who cares?

    It's just another Android device. Wake me up when there's real innovation.

    1. Chezstar

      Re: Who cares?

      Who cares?

      It's just another <HANDHELD> device. Wake me up when there's real innovation.

      FTFY. Theres no innovation on either side of the field, because realistically there isnt anything else you can add.

  44. shane fitzgerald

    Its ok

    But I bought a nokia 108 the other day. 35 days stand by. 3 days music. dual sim. It rocks. €35

  45. @queer5000

    Is it like their TVs?

    Does it watch and listen to you and send your private conversations to unknown third parties like Samsung Smart TVs do? 1984 was NOT an instruction manual!

  46. hypernovasoftware

    My goodness that looks like an iPhone 6.

    What a surprise!

    That Samsung is quite the innovator.

    1. khjohansen
      Coat

      OMG that's...

      My goodness that looks like - a rectangular screen with a speaker at one end and a button at the other!

      -mine's the one with a Huawei in the pocket

  47. Unicornpiss
    Flame

    Apple has been in trouble...

    Since Steve Jobs passed away, Apple has been rudderless. Oh, they were on a straight enough course that it's taken a while for the drift to set in, but they keep getting further from their core values. Do you think iOS8.xx would have been released with as many bugs or need as frequent updates if Mr. Jobs was still alive? And the iPhone6 is shiny enough, but it's awfully fragile compared to previous models, and is only just managed to come up to the level of innovation that the S5 has, and only mostly. Android OS may be less secure, but it is arguably a LOT more flexible and user friendly, at least once you get to know it. And it (at least recent versions) is really only less secure because of the "Play Store" and its apps not being vetted as well as on Apple's ecosystem and not inherent problems with it--at least no more than iOS.

    With the exception of Apple being a little more secure with their 'walled garden' for apps, the S5 was already an iPhone killer. The S6 if released will just be double-tapping the survivors. The S5 has more features, and is faster. I will admit the the styling leaves a bit to be desired--and I've always hated the 50s kitchen table styled border around the S5.

    Anyone that thinks that "Apple just works" has never had to support hundreds of these devices.

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