Samsung Galaxy S6 unveiling expected at MWC sans Snapgdragon 810, ‘Active’ variant returning

It’s definitely not unexpected by any stretch of the imagination, but Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S6 has been tipped to be introduced at the 2015 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain (via Chosunilbo). The smartphone is shaping up to be the most technically powerful smartphone Samsung has ever made, and it looks like it’s going to be fundamentally different in many ways than every other Galaxy S phone that has preceded it.

Besides its technical specifications, the Galaxy S6 is reportedly going to make a lot of changes that set it apart from previous years’ iterations. The phone is expected to have a metal and glass body construction, a QHD Super AMOLED display, 3 GB/4 GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, and either a 16MP or 20MP rear camera.

As for the device’s processor, a new report today from Bloomberg suggests that Samsung will be ditching the Snapdragon completely and use its own in-house made Exynos microprocessors. This is likely a move of the the Korean company wanting more independence, and the fact that the Snapdragon 810 seemed to have overheating problems in testing only made it an easier decision to go with the Exynos.

Another change that’s reportedly coming with the launch of the Galaxy S6 is that the Korean company is expected to reintroduce the “Active” variant of the device. While the standard flagship Galaxy S5 was IP67 waterproof, meaning there was no need for an “Active” version last year, Samsung is supposedly going back to making that feature exclusive to a specific model of the Galaxy S6, at least according to Italian site Webtrek.

As far as software goes, the new Samsung flagship is expected to ship with a toned-down version of its TouchWiz variation of Android 5.0 Lollipop. According to recent reports, the OS is expected to be as smooth as stock Android, and ditch a lot of the bloat that has weighed the skin down in the past.

Today, we’ve also learned (via SamMobile) that improving the company’s Samsung Pay service is one of many other improvements the company is making to its software, partnering with Visa and McAfee to boost compatibility and security of the feature. The Galaxy S6 is also rumored to be introducing a fingerprint sensor that is more like the iPhone in that it will be touch-based rather than swipe-based.