Samsung’s Emerald Green Galaxy S6 Edge and Blue Topaz Galaxy S6 launching in the UK on July 1st

The Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge launched a few months ago with a variety of color options, but users still haven’t been able to get their hands on arguably the two most beautiful variants: the Emerald Green Galaxy S6 Edge and the Blue Topaz Galaxy S6. But today, Samsung has announced that these two new color options will be available in the U.K. beginning Wednesday, July 1st.

The company says that the Emerald Green S6 Edge will be available for purchase from all major retailers and network operators including Carphone Warehouse, Three, EE, Vodafone and O2, and the Topaz Blue Galaxy S6 will be available to purchase exclusively from Samsung Experience Stores and Carphone Warehouse from July 1st through August 12th. Customers will also be able to pre-order the device from today.

Samsung has also provided some detailed descriptions of each exclusive color:

• Blue Topaz Galaxy S6 – Samsung’s Blue Topaz Galaxy S6 sets the scene with a striking but subtle blue hue that reflects one of the most fashionable colours of the year. According to leading colour-trend institute Pantone, four shades of blue (Aquamarine, ScubaBlue, Classic Blue and Dusk Blue) were amongst the top 10 tones leading the Spring 2015 palette for the fashion and design industries.
• Green Emerald Galaxy S6 Edge – Samsung’s newest Green Emerald exemplifies Samsung’s design philosophy where “beauty meets purpose.”

We went hands-on with all of these color options, and you can find those videos attached below.

Anybody out there interested in ordering one of these? If not, which color would you choose?

Samsung issues official fix for the missing quick toggles bug on the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge

Along with the update to Android 5.1 Lollipop, some Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge owners found themselves dealing with a pesky little bug plaguing their devices. After the software update, a handful of users noticed that a few toggles went missing from the Quick Settings menu. Not too long after we told you about a quick fix for the problem, but it was by no means a permanent solution. Thankfully Samsung has already released an official fix for the bug, which users can implement on their devices right now.

There’s a new application that Samsung has just released to the Galaxy App Store, called QuickPanel Restore. Once the app is downloaded and launched, things are pretty straightforward from there. Simply press the big Restore button, and you should be good to go. Once you’re done, you can uninstall the app and go about your day.

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So far the app is only compatible with the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, but Samsung says more devices will be supported in the future. Have you experienced this bug on your device? If so, let us know if Samsung’s official solution fixes it!

Material Design themes coming to the Samsung Galaxy S6

There’s quite a bit of reasons to love the Samsung Galaxy S6, but some of you may be especially fond of the integrated theme engine. Any user can easily change the look and feel of a Galaxy S6 or Galaxy S6 Edge in a heartbeat, something that used to take launchers and complicated root methods in the past.

TouchWiz continues to be a bit messy, though, even with themes making it much better to deal with. We know many of you love the look and feel Google has created with material Design and the Pure Google experience. Those who are proud members of this club (which is not very exclusive) will be happy to learn you will soon no longer need to go for a third-party launcher or rooted phone in order to enjoy the simplicity of a clean Android experience.

XDA Developers member cambunch has created a Material Design-inspired theme for the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. It was submitted to Samsung and accepted, so the theme will be offered by the official Samsung Theme Store. It should show up in no more than about two weeks. Don’t want to wait around? The developer did publish instructions for installing the themes manually (though you will actually need root to do that).

The theme actually comes in two versions: dark and light. As you can assume, this refers to the color pallet used for the theme. It’s the whole deal, too. These themes will change your notification bar, settings, wallpaper, icons, keyboard and other stock apps. It will pretty much get rid of most signs of TouchWiz, which is always a plus for us Android purists.

Do we have any Samsung Galaxy S6 users excited to check these themes out?

Here’s a temporary fix for the missing quick toggles on your Samsung Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge

Have you had any of your Samsung Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge quick toggles disappear? Though the phone came with these toggles available for the notification menu, many users are reporting the mobile data, hotspot and private mode toggles have been disappearing.

Sadly, there is no official fix just yet, but some Samsung customer service representatives and social networking accounts have been acknowledging the problem, so we can say it’s a widespread problem and hope Sammy is working hard to make things right. The Korean manufacturer has been telling users they can get the quick toggles back by performing a factory data reset, but that is hardly a solution – after all, chances are the toggles will just disappear again later on.

Thankfully, the Android operating system allows users to tinker their way around many issues and the guys at XDA Developers have managed to find a much less drastic solution. Some users figured downloading MultiWindow Toggle for Samsung from the Google Play Store. This app allows you to add and remove the MultiWindow function to the quick toggles. This is not a solution to the underlying problem, though, as it doesn’t help those who want the data, hotspot and private mode toggles.

Here is the fix!

Developers are resourceful, and proof of this is offered by senior member NimeniAltu, who managed to alter the application and add this functionality to said app. All you need to do is download the APK from the XDA Developers thread, install it and tell it to work its sweet magic.

Now all we have to do is wait for Samsung to come up with a permanent solution to this issue. I mean, those happen to be pretty important functions that went missing. There’s no excuse, nor is there reason for Samsung to purposely remove them, so hopefully the fix comes sooner than later.

How many of you guys suffered from this discrepancy? I have a Samsung Galaxy S6 review unit right now and I did notice the toggles are no longer there. Sound off in the comments! We would love to see how many of our readers were affected by this.

Galaxy A8 leaked: an all-metal “S6-esque” phone with mid-range specs

This device is actually, allegedly the Galaxy A8, even though it might first look to be a “Galaxy S6 Plus”.

Despite dealing with sales most other OEMs would salivate over, 2014 was arguably one of the worst years in recent memory for Samsung’s finances, in no small part thanks to the Galaxy S5’s less-than-stellar performance and aggressive competition in key markets such as China and India, where the Korean giant fell from its top spot. Having released the metal-framed Galaxy Alpha, Galaxy Note 4, and Galaxy Note Edge, the initially Asia-only “Galaxy A” series saw a single unibody frame making it the first product line that was truly constructed of premium materials. The Galaxy A3 and A5 were decidedly mid-range affairs; however, the johnny-come-lately Galaxy A7 was, in some ways, a Galaxy Note 4 Lite, with its otherwise top-notch specs and phablet sized form factor.

Only from the back does the Galaxy A-series design language appear, and separates the product from the S6 (visually at least).

It has long been rumored that Samsung would unveil a Galaxy A6, A8 and A9 to flesh out its anemic 2015 product line thanks to a trademark filing detected earlier this year. The first pictures of the Galaxy A8 (SM-A800F) have leaked via Nowhereelse.fr and it looks… surprisingly like a Galaxy S6 with a metal back.

Sadly, the internal specs are a decidedly different affair, with the current rumors pointing to a 5.7-inch SAMOLED Full HD screen, Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 Octa-Core CPU, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, microSD, a 16-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front shooter. LTE will be included, as will a fingerprint reader home button, and a sealed 3,050 mAh battery. Perhaps fittingly enough, the device is said to be shipping with Android 5.1.1 which should theoretically include the TouchWiz modifications we covered yesterday. The device is allegedly going to be sold in Asia and European markets.

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Truth-be-told, when looking at the pictures of the Galaxy A8, it really is difficult to tell the difference between it and a standard Galaxy S6. The front glass has the exact same cut and shape as does the home button. The side (frame) is similar as well, complete with the indented, “sliced” decoration and buttons. It’s only when examining the back that the difference is clear with the metal replacing the S6’s glass and the lack of a heart rate sensor. There is certainly a bit of irony in considering how some critics of the S6 were attacking it for using a fragile material like glass (prone to shattering) instead of metal, a la the HTC One M9. For all those disappointed with the glass sandwich, the A8 would certainly look to be an appealing alternative, albeit with lesser hardware.

This almost looks like a Galaxy S6 “Plus” next to a Note 3, but it’s presumably the A8 next to the A7. The design language differences are quite apparent to say the least.

The reused design also creates both a proverbial problem, and possible predictive powers: with respect to the former, those who had hoped for the S6 to feature a unique design that wouldn’t be watered down with countless lesser products (thus diminishing the “value” of the S6) will inevitably be miffed to see a leak that looks a lot like what they lusted over. At the same time, given the substantial difference between the A3, A5, and A7, it’s possible that the A8 (and by inference, the A6 and A9 if they exist) are making use of a new level of design language from Samsung for 2015, and therefore the Galaxy Note 5 might be of a similar visual nature as well.

On a final note, while Samsung might deserve kudos for making the “metal Galaxy S6″ in design at least, given its 2014 finances and subsequent pledge to slim down its product lines for 2015, there honestly doesn’t seem to be much effort made in that department. The year is just half over, and Samsung has already released the Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, S6 Active, A7, E1, J1, and this leak suggesting there will be at least one more A-series device. Then there’s the rumors of a Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, and the Galaxy Note 5, along with the possibility of a Note Edge 2, and who knows what else. Even the tablet line seems to be business-as-usual with two-different variants of the Tab A (with S-pen and without), the just announced Tab E, and the pending Galaxy Tab S2.

Any thoughts on the Galaxy A8? Does it look better than the S6? Any takers, or at lease people interested in what the A9 might be?

Galaxy Note 5 rumor: USB 3.1 Type-C and Quad HD display

The first half of the year comes to an end and with the first half of the year’s flagships on the market, the industry turns its attention towards the second half of the year, where devices from most manufacturers will do battle with Apple’s new devices.

Arguably the biggest device of H2 will be the new aa Note and as we approach the summer months, the rumor mill begins to reveal what we can expect from Samsung’s next flagship phablet. According to a new report, which cites Samsung employees talking on Chinese social network Weibo, the Galaxy Note 5 will have a USB 3.1 Type-C connector and if this is true, the Galaxy Note 5 could be one of the best devices of the year.

Here’s what USB Type-C can do:

It’s interesting that Samsung is considering USB Type-C, especially when rival OEM Sony has ruled out using it in its smartphones. If the Galaxy Note 5 does have a large enough battery, the ability to use it to charge a smartphone will certainly be of use if you carry more than one phone.

Samsung will also reportedly pair USB Type-C with USB Power Delivery v2.0, which can deliver up to 100W power and should mean the new tech will charge your handset a whole lot faster. USB Type-C will also mean you can transmit data to a 4K display in full native resolution.

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Samsung will also reportedly not use an Ultra HD display as hoped but will instead use Quad HD resolution in the Galaxy Note 5. The biggest surprise here is that the display is increasing in size to 5.89 inches – probably because the Galaxy S6 Plus may have the 5.5 inch screen the Note 5 was meant to have – and this will mean it has a lower density than the Galaxy Note 4.

Galaxy Note 5 image from Tencent

The increased screen size will have one benefit however and that is the battery; it’s unknown whether Samsung is going to keep the non-removable battery from the Galaxy S6 or go with a removable battery like it has done in the past but the battery capacity is quoted as being 4100mAh, which is certainly impressive. This will be packed into a body that’s just 7.9mm thick and like past Note devices, the S-Pen will come embedded in the handset.

Another interesting point is that there won’t be two versions of the Galaxy Note this year. Last year, Samsung announced the Galaxy Note 4 and the Galaxy Note Edge but this year there will only be one variant; the Galaxy Note 5. Does this mean the handset will come with an Edge screen like the Note Edge or a dual-edge screen like the Galaxy S6 Edge? Or will Samsung forego the Edge screen on its latest phablet? A previous rumor suggested we’d see two variants of the Galaxy Note 5, with the Edge variant being a lower specced model so we don’t quite know what to expect here.

There’s still a few months until the launch at IFA 2015 and with plenty of time for rumors and leaks, there’s a lot more information still to come!