LONDON: This week’s Android Circuit includes the leak of two new Galaxy handsets, the Galaxy S6′s weak sales numbers, nine secrets of Android M, Samsung’s new adverts attacking Apple, Sony’s job cuts in R&D, the poor PR around the Xperia Z4, Google Map’s improvements to real-time transit data, and Nokia’s updated Z Launcher.
Android Circuit is here to remind you of a few of the many things that have happened around Android in the last week (and you can read the weekly Apple news digest here).
Samsung’s New Galaxy Handsets For The Summer
After the launch of the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, the Galaxy S6 Active was discovered. To be honest it was more confirmation than surprise, as the pattern followed Samsung’s device playbook from the S4 and S5 days. So again, it’s not a surprise to realise that there are two more S6 branded handsets on the way from the south Korean company.
A pair of fascinating leaks have emerged this week claiming to reveal the existence of both a high-powered 4.6-inch Galaxy S6 and a 5.5-inch ‘Galaxy S6 Plus’, the latter of which has the same curved display as the Galaxy S6 Edge.
Galaxy S6 Sales Falling Short
The tech world is still waiting on Samsung to confirm sales numbers for the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. With a plan to sell 70 million units during 2015, realistically the South Korean company will be looking for around twelve to fourteen million in the first month of sales. Recent data from Counterpoint Research suggests it is achieving just over half of that target:
It’s worth noting that Counterpoint’s research is based on estimates of sales to consumers, and not shipped handsets. That reduces the ‘ten million units‘ numbers around the Galaxy S6 family to around six million sold, with another four million left in the channel. Samsung has yet to comment on the ‘ten million S6 units sold’ stories. If the S6 and S6 Edge between them sold just six million handset in the three weeks of April, then the mobile devices division of Samsung is going to be an even bigger drag on the company compared to last year.
With the reveal of Android 6.0 (code letter ‘M’, confectionary branding to follow) developers, analysts, and the wider geekerati are getting to grips with the potential of the new operating system. Forbes’ Gordon Kelly is no exception and he has taken a look at Mountain View’s latest to find out nine great secret features:
This brings Android into line with iOS and means restore or upgrading a phone will be virtually painless: apps will not only be reinstalled, but fully setup. Better still apps don’t need to do anything to be compatible with this change, Full App State Backup is built into the core of Android M.
You can read the other eight here.
Time To Attack Apple?
Samsung is back on its favourite subject for a commercial about a Galaxy smartphone… throwing some curveballs towards Apple and the iPhone.
Both adverts have a pop at Apple’s iPhone 6 for lacking functionality. The playful cool-guy voice-over helpfully points out that the iPhone 6 doesn’t have wireless charging *burn*, wide-angle selfies *burn* or even a curved edge *burn*. Rounding off with one large burn: “when you do the math, it’s clear, 6 is greater than 6”. Finishing with the final sentence “the next big thing is here”.
