Report: Samsung Galaxy S6 to feature Nexus-like toned-down TouchWiz
Talk about the Samsung Galaxy S6 at AndroidForums.com!
If there’s one thing we know about our readership and, well, anyone who has used a Samsung phone, it’s that they don’t like TouchWiz. You guys come out in full force with your opinions about how much it sucks and why Samsung should get rid of it. Luckily for you, they could be giving that a real consideration.
According to South Korean press, Samsung is looking to introduce a very toned down version of TouchWiz on the Samsung Galaxy S6, a phone which is rumored to be unveiled next month at Mobile World Congress. More than just being toned down, though, they’re saying Samsung could be looking to go as far as making the device’s firmware more “Nexus-like.”
This would infer that Samsung’s looking to go the Motorola route and implement features through apps, and let more of the natural shine of Android 5.0 Lollipop through. The motive for such a move would likely be to reduce the memory footprint of the Samsung Galaxy S6, which could in turn improve the common perception (reality, arguably) that the performance of Samsung’s phones tends to get worse over time.
So why haven’t we seen such a firmware for the Samsung Galaxy S5, which is currently receiving Android 5.0 Lollipop in Europe and South Korea? Well, those phones are currently receiving Android 5.0, and not the maintenance upgrades that have been released since the latest version of Android’s arrival.
Meanwhile, Samsung is reportedly testing those maintenance upgrades internally and are readying them for release once they’re ready. It’s possible they’ll bring said changes to existing Samsung devices in those upgrades, but there’s nothing definitive that suggests that’s what they’ll be looking to do.
But even if Samsung doesn’t bring the sort of changes we’re expecting to the Samsung Galaxy S6 or any of their older devices, it’s refreshing to hear that they’re taking the criticism about their bloated firmware to heart and that they aren’t looking to carry that trend far into the future. Fingers crossed that we see something drastically improved once Samsung hits Berlin next month.