The rumour mill picked up pace with regard to Samsung’s next flagship smartphone, Galaxy S6, which is expected to be unveiled at Mobile World Congress early in March.

Curved screen
Many reports suggest the device will feature a curved screen similar to Galaxy Note Edge, but with the screen folding over on both sides rather than one. It will also support the same applications on the side of the screen as Galaxy Note Edge, such as clock, music player controls, pedometer and tasks.

With Galaxy Note Edge being highlighted for its unique screen design when announced at IFA2014 late last year, it makes sense for Samsung to carry it over to the flagship device – it will if nothing else give it a differentiating feature over comparable devices from rivals.

According to some reports, this device will not be the only Galaxy S6 offered, in the same way that the Galaxy Edge Note is a companion to Galaxy Note 4. This would mean a more mainstream version with flat screen is also in the works – and likely to be available at a lower price point.

Premium build
It is also likely that the new Galaxy S6 line will be built from premium materials including metal and glass, with the vendor retiring the polycarbonate body used on previous Galaxy flagships. This has come after a long period of complaints that while the technology of the Samsung device is from the top-drawer, the build is more akin to its mass-market devices.

Samsung has already been adding metal to its smartphone line, such as with the Galaxy Alpha. This has also continued with the use of an aluminium unibody in the A3, A5 and A7.

Chip choice
In addition, there has been continued speculation that Samsung is likely to use its own processor to power the Galaxy S6, in place of Qualcomm silicon. This, apparently, comes down to heat issues with Qualcomm’s latest high-end device, Snapdragon 810.

The more likely option – and the path which Samsung traditionally follows – is to have two versions of the device, one Qualcomm-powered, and one using its own Exynos processors.

What is likely is that Samsung will use a 64-bit processor, coupled with 4GB of RAM, to ensure that Galaxy S6 betters its rivals on speed.

Orbis smartwatch
Separately, it was reported that Samsung will debut its next smartwatch at the event, called Orbis.

This device will feature a round face, rather than the South Korean vendor’s traditional square displays, reflecting moves from rivals such as Motorola, LG and Apple.

Orbis is also likely to feature a new user interface feature: the outside of the screen will rotate, enabling users to scroll through functions. It will also feature a “crown” button that can be used to wake the screen or launch the S Voice input application.