Samsung's Galaxy S6 will have a wrap-around display, says Bloomberg
Samsung thinks the unusual curved screen adorning its Galaxy Note Edge is the way to combat its sliding smartphone fortunes, according to a report from Bloomberg. It said the Korean company will release a 5.1-inch Galaxy S6 that will curve down both sides of the screen, rather than just the right like the Edge. However, it's also hedging its bets by releasing a second 5.1-inch Galaxy S6 model with a regular screen. There are no other details about the devices, but both will reportedly be unveiled at Samsung's Mobile World Congress event on March 1st in Barcelona.
Both phones are said to be following in the Galaxy Note 4's footsteps with all-metal bodies. In addition, the rumor mill has Samsung dropping Qualcomm's troubled Snapdragon 810 processor in favor of its own high-end Exynos 7420 model (Samsung also builds some of Apple's A8 iPhone chips). If a speculative AnTuTu benchmark is accurate, the rest of the specs could be equally majestic with a Quad HD (2,560 x 1,440) screen, 16-megapixel (or higher) camera and Android 5.0.2 Lollipop. That said, such reports are relatively easy to fake, so we wouldn't stake our lives on that info.
The curved screen on the Galaxy Note Edge is beautiful, but makes the phone expensive.
Samsung has been battling Apple for smartphone share, but also companies like Xiaomi and Lenovo in China. It recently sent out invitations for its "What's Next" March 1st Unpacking event in Barcelona, which strongly hinted at a curved screen. We found the multi-screen concept to be a mixed bag on the Galaxy Note Edge -- it looks beautiful, but still lacks utility and makes the phone expensive compared to a regular Galaxy Note 4. Assuming the rumors pan out, it'll be very interesting to see if the company can bring any new features (and hopefully a new, smaller price) to such a screen for its top Galaxy model.