MWC 2015: Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge are Finally Official, Full Specs and Availability Revealed

After months of rumors and speculations, the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge are finally here. Both smartphones were officially introduced by the South Korean phone maker earlier today during their Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event held in Barcelona.

Even though the rumors and reports that surfaced online over the past few months have already painted an almost complete image of the Galaxy S6, it’s still nice to have some official confirmation. Well, the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge are exactly how the rumors portrayed them.

The two smartphones are identical when it comes to hardware specifications, the main difference between them being the display. The Galaxy S6 comes with a standard flat 5.1-inch Super AMOLED display with Quad HD (1440 x 2560) resolution and an amazing pixel density of 577 ppi. Galaxy S6 Edges’ screen has the same size, same technology, same resolution and pixel density, but it’s curved over both edges of the phone.

It seems that the rumors were true after all and we won’t get an Snapdragon-powered Galaxy S6 this year. Sources in the industry claim that even though Samsung planned to launch a Galaxy S6 variant powered by a 64-bit Snapdragon 810 chip, the South Koreans had to ditch it because of overheating issues.

Both Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge are underpinned by the same 64-bit Exynos chipset based on a new 14 nm manufacturing process and using an Octa-core configuration. We are dealing with quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 and quad-core 2.1 GHz Cortex-A57 processors and a Mali T760 GPU. The smartphones also arrive with 3 GB of DDR4 RAM and they are available with 32, 64 or 128 GB of native storage. Unfortunately, there’s no support for microSD card expansion.

Connectivity-wise, Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge arrive with LTE, Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 4.1 Low Energy, NFC, microUSB 2.0, and IR blaster. The devices also arrive with a fingerprint sensor which, unlike the one used for the Galaxy S5 and other Samsung smartphone, is touch-based.

The new flagship smartphones run Android 5.0 Lollipop out of the box, of course, customized with Sammy’s proprietary TouchWiz UI. Samsung’s custom skin has been redesigned to follow the Material Design guidelines, but you will still be able to enjoy the company’s innovative features such as Ultra Power Saving Mode, S Health, Themes, Private Mode, S Finder, and the new Samsung Pay.

The main camera has a 16 MP sensor with optical image stabilization, phase detection autofocus, and 4K video recording support. The user-facing camera has 5 MP resolution and Wide Selfie feature.

Both terminals are 143.4 mm tall and 70.5 mm wide. The Galaxy S6 is only 6.8 mm thin, while S6 Edge is 7.0 mm. Also, the Galaxy S6 weighs in at 138 grams, being 6 grams heavier than S6 Edge.

Samsung promised that Galaxy S6 will become available for purchase in 20 countries as of April 10, while Galaxy S6 Edge will make its market debut sometime in Q2 2015. There are three color options available for both: White Pearl, Black Sapphire, and Gold Platinum, while the Blue Topaz color option is exclusive for the Galaxy S6 and Green Emerald reserved for the Galaxy S6 edge. Unfortunately, Samsung didn’t say anything about the price, but if you read this from the US expect both devices to arrive at Verizon, AT&T, and Sprit at $199 on-contract.

Sony Xperia Z4 Gets Certified in Japan, It Could Be Launched at MWC 2015

Even though we’ve heard some rumors saying that the Sony Xperia Z4 release date has been set for CES 2015, the Las Vegas-based tech fair brought us no new Sony flagship smartphone. Last year, officials of the Japanese phone maker stated that in order to succeed on the smartphone market one company should release to flagship devices a year. It seems that Sony could be sticking to their usual 6-month release schedule and unveils a new flagship at Mobile World Congress.

Three versions of the much-awaited Sony Xperia Z4 have been certified in Japan. We are talking about model numbers PM-0792-BV, PM-0793-BV and PM-0794-BV each corresponding to a Japanese carrier. Unfortunately, the leak doesn’t bring us any details regarding the hardware platform of the smartphone, but at least we have the certitude that an Xperia sequel is on cards. Of course, the Xperia Z4 will go on sale outside Japan, but, for the time being there is no information regarding other models.

As I was mentioning above, Sony Xperia Z4 is expected to see the light of day at Mobile World Congress in March. For what it’s worth, HTC have already sent out press invitations for their Mobile World Congress event. Anyway, it’s plenty of time left until the Barcelona-based tech fair opens its gates and I am sure that Sony will tease their new flagship as we get closer to its launch event.

Hardware-wise, don’t expect the Sony Xperia Z4 to be a lot more powerful than its predecessor. Maybe we will get to see it boasting about an upgraded processor (probably a 64-bit Snapdragon 810) and an optical image stabilization module for its main camera.

I remind you that the rumor mill also speculates that Sony will introduce an Xperia Z4 Compact. The said device is rumored to pack a 4.7-inch Full HD display and a 3,000 mAh battery.