Samsung Galaxy S6 rumor roundup: Everything we know about the specs, price and release date of Samsung's next flagship phone

In just a few days, on March 1, Samsung will finally announce its latest flagship smartphone at an event at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The rumor mill has been hard at work, churning out photos and leaking specs, and we've amassed them all here.
So, what can we expect from a Galaxy S6? All of this is conjecture, of course, but here's our best educated guesses on the details of Samsung's next big thing. We'll also have a huge team on the ground in Barcelona, so be sure to check back regularly.

Announcement and release dates

Samsung has sent out invitations for an upcoming Galaxy Unpacked event March 1, at MWC. We can likely expect the phone to make its debut there: the Samsung Galaxy S5 was unveiled at MWC 2014, and its predecessor the Samsung Galaxy S4 got its own splashy (and unintentionally controversial) launch event at Radio City Music Hall weeks after MWC in March 2013. Both phones went on sale a few weeks later.

Screen

We've heard that the display on Samsung's upcoming flagship phone will be anywhere between 5 and 5.5 inches. The Galaxy S5 has a 5.1-inch display, and larger screen sizes are generally relegated to the Galaxy Note phablet line, so we should expect the smaller, more conservative number to be the right one.
The well-regarded Samsung Galaxy Note 4 packs a power-sipping AMOLED display, like just about every other Samsung smartphone -- expect one here, too.

Curves?

Could the Galaxy S6 sport a curved edge? Both the recently leaked images of potential cases (exclusively leaked to CNET Korea) for the Galaxy S6 and Samsung's teaser invitation for its Unpacked event in Barcelona hint that a curvaceous chassis might be in the cards.

The Galaxy Note Edge made waves with its distinct design, so it stands to reason Samsung might want to expand on the idea. At CES this year, we also caught wind of LG prototypes boasting two curved edges, one-upping Samsung's Edge. There still hasn't been much of a use case for these extra edge-displays (besides looking cool), but if more devices pick up on the trend, we just might see app developers getting on board, too.

Multiple models?

Another option would see Samsung releasing multiple variants of its new flagship, with curved displays and without. A Galaxy S6 might be akin to a more traditional Samsung flagship, while the Galaxy Edge could prove to be the curved model we've been anticipating.

New design, new cases?

And let's not forget the accessory market. If Samsung does indeed go for one or two curves on the upcoming Galaxy S6, you might be hard-pressed to find your favorite case. Consider the popular Mophie battery pack cases: these cases will need to be redesigned with new curves in mind. Unless a curved Galaxy S6 goes gangbusters, there's a chance many companies won't bother retooling their entire design processes to court a niche design. That said, this is Samsung's flagship phone, and we can expect a fair number of accessory makers will jump at the chance to meet the demand.

Plastic or metal?

This is anyone's guess, though devices like the all-metal Samsung Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A3, as well as the Galaxy A7, suggest that Samsung might be looking to spruce up its image with premium metal designs.
Alpha and Note 4 have metal frames but plastic backing.

Camera

The Samsung Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Note 4 both sported excellent 16-megapixels cameras, though the former lacked optical image stabilization. That's becoming increasingly prevalent on kitted-out smartphones -- see the 8-megapixel camera on the iPhone 6 Plus -- so it stands to reason Samsung would bake it into their latest phone's rear camera.
Samsung usually bumps up the megapixels as they release newer models: we could see a 16-megapixel rear camera, or a shooter that goes as high as 21 megapixels.

We can likely expect a beefy front-shooter, too. Like it or not, smartphones at CES 2015 were all about the selfie, so there's a good chance Samsung will pay close attention to the oft-ignored front-facing camera. Consider the HTC Desire Eye: it has a 13-megapixel front-facing camera with a flash, for taking the perfect selfie. But the Galaxy Note 4 offered a rear-camera selfie-solution that alerts you when your face in in frame, and automatically takes a photo for you. If Samsung sticks to a "normal" megapixel count on its front facing shooter, you'll still have the rear camera as an option for your stellar selfies.

OS

Android 5.0 Lollipop will be the star of the show, coupled with Samsung's TouchWiz Android skin. But there's a curious wrinkle here: Some rumors claim that Samsung is hoping to dial down TouchWiz on the new device, with the aim of improving performance. But TouchWiz isn't dead: it's a critical part of Samsung's Android identity, and while the company has been reining in features for some time now, don't expect a pure Android experience.

Processor

Expect top-of-the-line guts for the Galaxy S6. We expect a Snapdragon 810 octa-core processor from Qualcomm (as found in the upcoming LG G Flex 2) , but reports suggest that Samsung may be opting for its own Exynos 7420 for the first run, and possibly even issuing two variants of the phone.
Qualcomm's Snapdragon 810 chip reportedly overheated during testing, which may have prompted Samsung to stick to its own wares. Microsoft has also confirmed that it will use the Snapdragon 810 in a flagship Lumia device, which could lend a new Lumia smartphone some extra processing power over a Samsung S6 equipped with an Exynos chip. That said, Samsung could also release variants of the Galaxy S6 with different processors in different territories -- something it's done with past flagship phones.

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