Samsung Galaxy S6 Dual SIM Version is The Official Retail Model in the Philippines, Arriving in April 2015 : Blue Topaz Version, In The Flesh!

Yesterday, at an exclusive venue at The Fort in Taguig City, I graced Samsung Philippines' invitation for the media preview of both Samsung Galaxy S6 and S Edge, their two very handsome flagship smartphones to jump-start 2015.

Samsung Galaxy S6 Philippines, Samsung Galaxy S6 Dual SIM, Mark Milan Macanas

Of the two handsets, Samsung Galaxy S6 is the 'standard' model as it features a familiar flat screen as opposed to the more fancy (and perhaps, more attractive) curved display of the S6 Edge. Nonetheless, in terms of looks, S6 - with its scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass 4 front and back panels and very sleek aluminum frame - can definitely stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the more expensive Edge variant.

And here's another cool thing about this regular version: In the Philippines, the official retail model of Samsung Galaxy S6 will come with Dual SIM Dual Standby capability, which I'm sure many Pinoy consumers will appreciate. Both slots support nanoSIM cards but only SIM1 is LTE-enabled while SIM2 can just deliver 2G mobile internet speeds. The official retail version of Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge in Pinas won't have this feature.

Samsung Galaxy S6 Philippines, Samsung Galaxy S6 Dual SIM

Truly Premium Build

As I've earlier shared on TechPinas, SGS6 officially supersedes the best-selling Samsung Galaxy S5 as the company's top-of-the-line model and as such, Samsung Galaxy S6 comes with all the latest and most advanced technical specifications and features that the brand has to offer -- for this year, at least. And for me (and I'm sure many of you will agree), the SGS6 is also the best-looking smartphone the Korean Giant has churned out to date.

Apart from Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and the discontinued Samsung Galaxy Alpha, Samsung Galaxy S6 is the first flagship release of the Korean company to come with such high-end construction featuring glass and real metal. To complement this elegant construction, the device is available in an array of colorful jewel tones, including White Pearl, Black Sapphire, Gold Platinum, and Blue Topaz (the model in these photos) that all elicit 'a unique visual texture as it reflects natural light'.

Samsung Galaxy S6 Philippines, Samsung Galaxy S6 Dual SIM

Stunning, Pixel-Dense SuperAMOLED Display

Measuring just 6.8 millimeters at its thickest point and weighing only 138 grams, Samsung Galaxy S6 features a visually-arresting 5.1-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED screen that offers users the highest pixel density of 577ppi on any smartphone that has seen launch as of today. This screen's enhanced outdoor visibility with higher display brightness (600cd/mm) lets consumers see content without compromise anywhere they are - be it inside the house or at the beach under the sun - regardless of the viewing angle.

Samsung Galaxy S6 Philippines, Samsung Galaxy S6 Dual SIM

Stellar Front and Back Cameras

Samsung Galaxy S6 is sports an incredibly vivid, bright and fast front and rear camera. The F1.9 lenses and high resolution sensors on both front (5 MegaPixel) and rear (16 MegaPixel) cameras provide great image quality from a smartphone, even in low light conditions.

In addition to that, the handset features Auto Real-time High Dynamic Range (HDR), Smart Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and IR Detect White Balance that - working together - provide advanced light sensitivities and crisp camera solutions. Furthermore, there's “Quick Launch” functionality which give users fast, direct access to the camera from any screen (in just 0.7 seconds) by simply double clicking the home key button. All of these advanced imaging functions - combined - should be able to allow users to capture their most personal and precious moments in best quality that a Samsung smartphone can provide.

Samsung Galaxy S6 Philippines, Samsung Galaxy S6 Dual SIM

Top-Notch Internal Hardware

Samsung Galaxy S6 is powered by the most advanced, cutting-edge, Samsung Exynos core technology available today. To quote the Korean Giant, "The world’s first 14nm mobile processor with 64-bit platform, new LPDDR4 memory system and UFS 2.0 flash memory provides higher performance and enhanced memory speed with lower power consumption."

Samsung Galaxy S6 Philippines, Samsung Galaxy S6 Dual SIM

Under the hood, SGS6 runs Android 5.0.2 Lollipop operating system with a familiar TouchWize User Inferface (serving as skin) with its Octa Core Exynos 7420 chipset that incorporates four 1.5 GHz ARM Cortex A53 cores, 2.1 GHz ARM Cortex A57 CPUs, and a Mali-T760 GPU. The device handles multitasking with 3GB of DDR4 RAM, and comes with 32, 64, and 128 GB of non-expandable internal storage options. All of these go hand-in-hand to deliver the best gaming and overall touch experience that consumers can get from any Samsung device as of today.

Samsung Galaxy S6 Philippines, Samsung Galaxy S6 Dual SIM

Improved Energy Efficiency and Wireless Charging

Samsung Galaxy S6 has a smaller 2,550 mAh battery compared to the 2,800 mAh pack that's on the SGS5. However, our friends from the company tell us that the SGS6 can afford to have a smaller battery because of its energy efficient Exynos processor [and the fact that the TouchWiz experience in itself is already optimized to be less of a resource hog]. So in terms of uptime, the S6 should be alright. Also, "[with] fully embedded WPC and PMA certified wireless charging technology, the Galaxy S6 sets a new industry standard for universal wireless charging. The smartphone works with any wireless pad available in the market that supports WPC and PMA standards. It also sports incredibly fast wired charging, 1.5 times faster than the Galaxy S5, providing about 4 hours of usage after only 10 minutes of charging," Samsung shares.

Price Guesstimate and Official Release Date

During the event, Samsung Philippines disclosed that their latest flagship models should become available via their concept stores, retail partners, and network carriers in April 2015. I asked them what the suggested retail prices will be and they said that will let us know when they're just about ready to release both the SGS6 and the 'more expensive' Edge variant. There's no official word yet but I'm guessing that the Samsung Galaxy S6 Dual SIM model should land here with price tag in the area of Php 35,000 to Php 36,000, which is largely similar to the SRP of the SGS5 upon launch last year.

Update as of March 19, 2015: Samsung Mobile Philippines has just confirmed that Samsung Galaxy S6 Dual SIM will be launched in the Philippines on April 18, 2015 with price tag of Php 35,990 for the 32GB model and Php 41,990 for the 64GB version.

TechPinas Smartphone Technical Specs Table (TSTST)
Name Samsung Galaxy S6 Dual SIM Version
Type Slate Form Factor (Full Touchscreen)
Price Category High-End (Flagship Level)
Dimensions143.4 x 70.5 x 6.8 mm
Weight 138 grams
Available Colors White Pearl, Black Sapphire, Gold Platinum, Blue Topaz (Limited)
Operating System Android 5.0.2 Lollipop with TouchWiz Skin
Display 5.1 inches (~70.7% screen-to-body ratio), Quad HD 1440 x 2560 pixels (~577 ppi pixel density), Super AMOLED, Gorilla Glass 4 capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Processor, GPU, Chipset Octa Core: Quad Core 1.5 GHz ARM Cortex A53 + Quad Core 2.1 GHz ARM Cortex A57, Mali-T760 GPU, Exynos 7420 chipset
RAM 3 GB RAM
Internal Storage 32/64/128 GB options, non-expandable
Camera Main: 16 MegaPixels, 3456 x 4608 pixels, Optical Image stabilization, Autofocus, LED flash
Features: Quick Launch, Tracking AF, Auto Real-time HDR (Front and Rear), F1.9, Low Light Video (Front and Rear), High Clear Zoom, IR Detect White Balance, Virtual Shot, Slow Motion, Fast Motion, Pro Mode, Selective Focus
Front: 5 MegaPixels
Video Capture Main: 2160p @ 30fps, 1080p @ 60fps, Optical Image Stabilization, Auto HDR
Front: 1080p @ 30 fps, Auto HDR
Audio and Video Playback Video: H.264, MPEG-4, H.263, VC-1, WMV7, WMV8, Sorenson Spark, MP43, VP8,
HEVC, Full HD (1080p), UHD (depends on variant) Audio: MP3, AAC/AAC+/eAAC+, WMA, AMR-NB/WB, Vorbis, FLAC(*), WAV(*)
(*) Ultra High Quality Audio (~192KHz, 24 bit) support
Ports microUSB v2.0, TV-out (via MHL 3.0 A/V link), 3.5 mm audio jack
Connectivity, Sharing 4G LTE Cat6, 3G HSPA+, WiFi: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz), HT80 MIMO(2x2) 620Mbps, Dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, Mobile Hotspot, Bluetooth v4.1, A2DP, LE, apt-X, ANT+, NFC, IR Remote, S Beam, Samsung AllShare Play and Control, Samsung AllShare Cast (WiFi Display), Mirroring and Extension, Samsung AllShare Framework
Sensors Accelerometer, RGB Light, Digital Compass, Proximity, Gyro, Barometer, Temperature, Humidity, Gesture, Heart Rate Monitor, Touch-Type Finger Scanner, UV
GPS A-GPS, GLONASS, Beidou
Network 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900, 3G Network HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100, 4G Network LTE 800 / 850 / 900 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600
SIM Card Type Dual nanoSIM = SIM 1 (LTE) + SIM 2 (2G)
Battery Non-Removable Li-Ion 2,550 mAh battery, Wireless Charging ~ WPC1.1 (4.6W Output) and PMA 1.0 (4.2W) compatible
Uptime TBD
Value-Added Features Flagship Release, All-New Design, Fingerprint Sensor (PayPal certified), Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified), Ultra Power Saving Mode, Download Booster, S Health 4.0, Samsung Pay, Smart Manager, Microsoft Apps(OneDrive 115GB for 2 years, OneNote), Sound Alive+, Themes, Quick Connect, Private Mode, S Finder, S Voice
Announcement Worldwide: March 1, 2015 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona
Availability Official: Philippines - April 18, 2015
Price TP Guesstimate: Philippines - Php 35,000 to Php 36,000
(Update) Official SRP:
32GB - Php 35,990
64GB - Php 41,990