From DailyTech: Samsung Electronics Comp., Ltd.'s (KRX:005930) (KRX:005935) Galaxy S6 (GS6) was the most anticipated spring Android flagship phone launch and it remains the hottest smartphone as we head into the summer months. Its strong sales are matched by a dramatic customer enthusiasm, a major turnaround from the rather tepid reception the Galaxy S5 received.
Now Samsung has marched out another tweaked design to go along with the baseline model and the curved "GS6 Edge" variant. As with past Galaxy generations, the GS6 now has an "Active" branded variant.
The overall hardware is almost identical to the mainstream model. The same Super AMOLED 5.1-inch quad high definition (QHD) (2,560 x 1,440 pixel, aka "2K") display is still onboard. Likewise the brains of the device is also identical -- 14 nm Exynos 7420 octacore chip manufactured and designed in house using ARM Holdings plc (LON:ARM) Cortex-A53 and Cortex-A57 64-bit (ARMv8A) intellectual property cores (IP cores).
The memory (3 GB of LPDDR4 DRAM), storage (32 GB NAND flash), cameras (rear: 16 megapixel (MP) w/ dual-LED flash; front: 5 MP), and cellular modem (LTE Cat. 6, HSPA+/3G fallback) also remain unchanged. (Note, Samsung also makes all these components in-house, with the exception of certain chips in the cellular signalling chain.) The phone still uses nanoSIM and features the same 802.11ac MIMO Wi-Fi support. Also still onboard is support for GPS, Bluetooth v4.1, NFC, and various other common wireless protocols.
The differences begin with the body. Samsung has swapped out the back glass face and slender metal sides, wrapping the entire back in what looks to be a very robust metal frame. The frame is interesting in that metal rivets are visible affixing side flaps to the metal backface. Hopefully someone (iFixit?) will do a teardown and try to assess whether this is merely an aesthetic decision or one that offers some mechanical improvements as well.
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