The LG G4 and the Galaxy S6 are two upcoming 2015 flagships that will surely rock the world of smartphone enthusiasts. Even though these flagships aren’t even fully confirmed yet, aside from their existence being proved by filed patents, it’s always a good course of action to think ahead and find out what technologies each company will be presenting to consumers. The LG G4 and Galaxy S6 promise to be innovative flagships using new types of screen and battery technologies, so it’s a good to see what each company is planning and stay in touch with rumors so that when the time comes, one can make an educated choice about their future smartphone – or phablet.
LG has reaped success with the LG G3, many reviews calling it the best smartphone of the year, at least until the Galaxy Note 4 came along. Nonetheless, the LG G3 is the smartphone with one of the best displays, specs and battery lives out there, so LG has to come up with something truly innovative on the LG G4 in order to surprise and draw in customers. While the LG G4 release date, specs and price are all still rumors, we have a pretty good idea what the company is planning for its 2015 flagship.
The LG G4 will bring us one step closer to bezelless, by making use of a new display technology LG has developed. The LG G4 display will either be 2K or 4K, the latter being the more likely one, with surprisingly thin bezels on a Super AMOLED display. The LG G4 has already been confirmed by the company through the patents it has filed and we actually now that well will have the G line until the LG G9, so there’s plenty to look forward to. The LG G4 display might have a sapphire crystal glass build, with a 5.5 or even a 5.9 inch display. Since LG will probably be going for the bezelless look, we might see the LG G4 design resemble that of the Sharp Aquos Crystal. Hopefully, we won’t have to flip the phone around in order to use the front facing camera, though.
The LG G4 price is speculated at around $650-$700, which would put it below the price of current flagships like the iPhone 6 Plus and Galaxy Note 4. Future flagships, including the Galaxy S6 will probably be above the $700 price tag, diligent analysts estimating an $800 price tag for the Galaxy S6, $900 price tag for the iPhone 7, $600 price for the HTC One M9, which would mean that if the LG G4 receives the price we are hoping for, it will be competitive and fairly affordable for those who like their flagships high-end and in the novelty section.
If LG doesn’t go with the sapphire crystal glass display, we’re sure they’d opt for Corning Gorilla Glass 4 as the protection on the LG G4, which would be just as nice and durable. Corning just announced Corning Gorilla Glass 4 as the upcoming technology to be used in future flagships, so maybe it’s more likely to appear on the LG G4 than sapphire glass. Sapphire glass would also bring the LG G4 price up a bit, something customers don’t like usually. Even though the LG G4 release date hasn’t been confirmed, we expect it to be released in May or June 2015, similarly to the LG G3. A summer release would be great for the LG G4 because it would put it ahead of the iPhone 7 or 6S release (if it’s happening) and just after the Galaxy S6 and HTC One M9 release date.
When it comes to features, rumors say the LG G4 specs will include a new IP certification, which has been a crowd favorite with phones like the Galaxy S5 and Sony Xperia Z3 and Xperia Z3 Compact. While a waterproof LG G4 might also add to the price, that’s a feature that would be totally worth it for smartphone enthusiasts, since accidents always happen. Besides, underwater photography is big these days and waterproof cameras that are not single-use are pretty expensive, more so than the LG G4 or other IP certified smartphones.
The LG G4 OS should be Android 5.0 Lollipop, since by May or June 2015, it should become the norm in flagships and otherwise, too. At the same time, LG G4 specs should include LTE Cat 6, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0 and maybe even a microUSB 3.0 port for faster transfer rates. When it comes to processing power, the LG G4 specs include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 or 810, which are 64 bit architecture CPUs which should cater to Android 5.0 Lollipop’s 64 bit support. 3 GB RAM is what we expect on the new LG flagship, but we might be surprised. Other rumors say that the LG G4 release date would mark the unveiling of LG’s own Nuclun processor, which might power the new flagship, but we have no confirmation on that. We do know that the Nuclun CPU is in the works, but we don’t know if it will be ready or powerful enough by the time the LG G4 launch occurs.
Battery life is crucial for a smartphone, and our hope is that LG will decide to put a big battery inside the LG G4, at least 3500 mAH, especially if the company chooses to slap a 4K display on the thing, which would need all the juice it can get to stay up and running for a day or so. The Sony Xperia Z3 and Galaxy Note 4 have optimized battery life that can last 2 days with moderate use, which even though seems little, is a big feat for a high resolution smartphone. Even though a one week battery life smartphone is still pretty far, LG is working on new battery technology (Samsung is too) based on graphene and other obscure materials, which would maybe allow for more than 2 days of battery life. While these types of powerful batteries are still just prototypes, said to be finished in a couple of years, you never know how far a company has progressed with its technology until it is launch. That being said, the LG G4 battery might surprise us. We hope it does, actually.
On to the Galaxy S6, which has been all the hype recently. Much like the LG G4, Samsung might slap a 4K display on its upcoming 2015 flagship. The company has already shown off the tech and has made it clear that is actually working on a 4K smartphone display. That being said, it’s pretty likely that the Galaxy S6 release date would mark the first smartphone released with a 4K display. First, because the Galaxy S6 release date is set at around March or April 2015, keeping with the tradition of flagship releases from Samsung. That release date might get delayed, though, since Samsung announced that Project Zero aka the Galaxy S6 was to be redesigned and built from scratch.
The Galaxy S6 design should be the best yet from Samsung, since it will most likely sport a metal unibody, as seen on the Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A3. Samsung fans have been asking for a metal design for ages now, and a flagship with a full metal chassis would be a great hit with customers who seem to meditate towards the great HTC One M8. Many have been disappointed with the polycarbonate and dimpled chassis of the Galaxy S5, 2014’s Samsung flagship, and pointed out that LG pulled it off much better on the LG G3. The faux chrome frame on the Galaxy S5 is a no-no, so Samsung would do good if it didn’t repeat that tacky design on the Galaxy S6. We’re sure it won’t risk losing even more with that move.
The Galaxy S6 price is speculated to hit the $900 mark, which would make it a pretty expensive flagship. That would point out that Samsung would surely make this device a novelty until it launches and surely that is why the company decided to build it from scratch. The Galaxy S6 will surely sport the same Super AMOLED screen, but with a 2K or 4K resolution, the latter being more likely. Display size will be similar to the LG G4, sources saying we should expect a 5.5 inch smartphone to come out of the Samsung factory. That would be the best choice, in my opinion, since phablets are slowly but surely becoming the norm nowadays. Just look at what Apple did with the iPhone 6 Plus and its massive 5.5 inch display. If you don’t know, it sold 10 million units in the first few days after its launch. Wow, right?
Android 5.0 Lollipop with a revamped TouchWiz UI on top is most likely to show up as the OS on the Galaxy S6. although Tizen has been mentioned, too. The company would do better if they redesigned TouchWiz, too, since many are disconcerted with the cartoonish, cluttered skin on the Galaxy S5. TouchWiz got better on the Galaxy Note 4, but it’s still the same cluttered mess most people don’t enjoy hassling with. That being said, we hope Material Design and Android 5.0 Lollipop will make TouchWiz of the future much more agreeable. Samsung might make a stock Android Galaxy S6, as far as we know, but I think that’s unlikely, since TouchWiz is the older baby of Samsung, followed by Tizen.
Samsung announced that it would be focusing more on its CPU manufacturing business, so it’s likely to see a new Exynos CPU on the Galaxy S6. As they did with the Note 4, we could also get two variants of the Galaxy S6, one running on the Exynos CPU and another running on a Snapdragon 808 or 810, taking advantage of a 64 bit architecture. Memory size should be about 3 GB with a 128 GB internal storage version available as well, so that it can compete with Apple’s massive flagship of 2014. The Galaxy S6 camera is rumored to stay the same, yet improved, 16 MP sensor on the back, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see a 20 MP sensor either. Optical image stabilization is the most likely way Samsung will go. The front camera should be bumped up to an 8 or 13 MP sensor, to cater to selfie-enthusiasts, which have multiplied the past year.
IP certification on the Galaxy S6 is also a must and it’s undeniable that Samsung won’t forget putting that on the upcoming flagship. NFC, wireless charging, a heart rate monitor and fingerprint sensor are also likely occurrences on the Galaxy S6, but we do hope the two latter features are omitted, because there are few people who like them and use them. We could do without, I’m sure. In other areas, the Galaxy S6 should sport a big battery to power the 4K display, measuring at least 3400 mAH, according to sources. That would provide with a similar battery life as on the LG G4.
Since that’s about all we have found out about the LG G4 release date, specs and price and Galaxy S6 release date, design and specs, we’ll have to remind you that these are still unconfirmed features which you should take with a grain of salt. Even so, we are sure that both the LG G4 and Galaxy S6 will turn out to be novelties and tech items everybody will be impressed by. Samsung is more likely to come out on top, since the company is surely panicking seeing as their Galaxy sales have dropped a lot this year. That’s why they need to release an uber-popular flagship that will sell and spread like wildfire. LG is doing great when it comes to sales and revenues, since as we’ve said before, the LG G3 is considered to be one of the best smartphones on the planet. Nevertheless, we do expect the LG G4 to blow our minds.