When LG showed off its double curved-edge display at the CES in January 2015, it probably wasn't counting on an instant response from Samsung. Since its inception in 1965, the International Consumer Electronics show has been the place where tens of life-changing consumer electronics goods have been announced and displayed to the public, including the VCR, the CD player, the DVD, the plasma TV, 3D HDTV, and 3D printers. But this home of innovation has also been a breeding ground for copycats, not that we could ever complain.
Samsung first came up with the Galaxy Note Edge, the Smartphone curved on one side only, and LG quickly trumped it with the G Flex 2. The new special edition Galaxy S6, however, one-upped LG with not one but two functional rounded sides, resolving the main issue with the Edge, namely that there was no use for the clear edge aside from the obvious aesthetic perspective.
The revamped Galaxy S6 also boasts a clear glass back and a non-removable battery, or so fresh leaks would have us believe. The Korean website making these claims, DDaily, does not provide a definite release date for the special edition with dual curved edges, but current estimates are promising a launch later this year.
The special edition, or the SM-G925, as the Korean giant likes to call it, will carry on the legacy of the Edge, featuring Yahoo! Finance, News, Sports, Briefing, Pedometer, Contacts and Favourite Apps panels on the edges. These apps will all be available for download from the Samsung app store, as before. Some new additions are the Express Me tool, which enables edge app customization, and the Night Clock app, a nighttime illuminating app with minimal lighting and torch on-off switch.
The SM-G925 variant is ideal for both left and right handed users, as well as the ambidextrous. Users can select their main edge panel on either edge, and switch whenever they so please. Whenever there's an incoming call text, notification or alarm, the Glance Lighting tool will light up the edge, making it all the more fast and easy to pick up, even if the phone is tilted or face-down. If you happen to have one of these gems, you'll be able to select favourite contacts and assign them specific colours, and the phone will don your colour of choice with every call.
Customers may find the non-replaceable battery annoying, but unfortunately, due to manufacturing methods, Samsung has no choice. With a bit of luck, Samsung will make it up to them by throwing in a fingerprint sensor, like the one you see on the Apple iPhone 6, but this is strictly a rumour, at this point. Specialists expect the SM-G925 to run on Android 5.0 (aka Lollipop), and if current standards are anything to go by, the special edition will also sport a 20MP main camera, a 5 inch Quad HD display, and at least 3GB of RAM memory, but we'll have to wait and see if Samsung will comply.