Updated on 06-08-2015 by Malarie Gokey: Added in news of the phone’s official arrival on AT&T’s website, the confirmed specs, and official photos.
The Galaxy S6 Active has all the high-end specs of its sleeker, more fragile brother, but it comes in a tough, rugged body that can take a real beating. Here’s everything you need to know:
Rugged design in fun, camo colors
Many of the phones in Samsung’s Active line share similar attributes to the flagship versions after which they are modeled, just invariably bigger and brawnier. Although the exact dimensions are not listed on AT&T’s site, the S6 Active follows this pattern with a tougher body made of plastic. Of course, that extra heft adds much-needed protection to the device, so that the phone can survive a drop from 4-feet above onto a flat surface.
The Galaxy S6 Active meets U.S. Mil-STD-810G for water-resistance and has an IP68 rating, which is the highest in its class. You can even dunk your Active under 1.5 meters of water for 30 minutes, and it will still work. Additionally, the phone can deal with dust, extreme temperature, humidity, and high altitude without being damaged.
AT&T will offer the S6 Active in a few cool colors, including two camo options: one in tones of gray and white, and another in tones of navy blue and black. Those who don’t like camo can choose the gray option.
High-end specs and a big battery
Although the Galaxy S6 Active doesn’t look much like the sexy flagship it’s named after, its insides match up almost perfectly. The Active sports a 5.1-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED screen, and is powered by Samsung’s Exynos 7420 octa-core 64-bit processor. It comes with 32GB of internal storage built in. On the back of the device, there’s a 16-megapixel camera, and on the front, you’ve got a 5-megapixel selfie camera.
Luckily, Samsung decided to pack a nice, big battery into the S6 Active, despite rumors to the contrary. The rugged phone houses a 3,500mAh battery, that can be juiced up with a wireless charger. Ultra Power Saving Mode will give you a 10-percent charge, and Fast Charging will juice it up to 50 percent in just 30 minutes.
The Galaxy S6 Active runs Android 5.0.2 Lollipop with Samsung’ TouchWiz on top. Since it’s the Active version, Samsung added a special feature called the Activity Zone, which offers a quick launching compass, flashlight, stopwatch, and other utilities outdoor adventures may need.
Price and availability date
AT&T will offer the Samsung Galaxy S6 Active for $0 down with an AT&T Next plan. Would-be buyers will have to pay $23.17 a month for 30 months on the Next 24 program. Alternatively, they can pay $28.96 per month for 24 months on Next 18, or $34.75 a month for 20 months on Next 12. The rugged phone will go on sale in stores and online, starting June 12.
The carrier’s also got a few deals for those who buy the Active on AT&T Next, including a free Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 8.0 — but you’ll have to buy the tablet on a two-year contract along with data — and you can get the Samsung Wireless Charging Pad at 50-percent off with the purchase of the smartphone with Next or a two year agreement.
As part of its promotion of the device, AT&T will sell the Samsung Galaxy S6 Active at upcoming Reebok Spartan Race events, including ones in Breckenridge, Colorado on June 13; Dallas, Texas on June 20; Midway, Utah on June 27; and Palmerton, Pennsylvania on July 11.
Next page: Read all the rumors that came before the official launch
Samsung accidentally confirms the S6 Active’s existence — Twice
In a careless leak on its U.S. website, Samsung has confirmed the Galaxy S6 Active is a real device, although it still hasn’t been made official. The phone popped up as an option for Samsung Plus points reward system. Listed amongst already released devices, such as the Galaxy S6 and the S6 Edge, this indicates the S6 Active may be about to be announced. The listing was live on Samsung’s website.
Samsung confirmed the existence of the Galaxy S6 Active a second time in early June, with a user manual on AT&T’s website. The user manual details all the specs and how to use the device. As of the time of writing, the manual was still accessible here.
Leaked pictures show rugged design
Following some blurry hands-on style leaked images, semi-retired Twitter-based phone leaker @evleaks posted some press-style renders of what’s possibly the Galaxy S6 Active. The pictures match the previous leaked photos, and show a beefed-up smartphone with a set of three hardware buttons beneath a big screen. On the rear, an AT&T logo sits below the camera lens.
Two phones are pictured, and each has a cool camouflage effect color scheme, with the white and grey version looking especially good. Samsung has dabbled with this before, having produced a camo version of the S5 Active.
The only real changes Samsung will possibly make to the original S6 design all have to do with making it more durable. The Galaxy S6 Active is said to measure 73.6 x 146.9 x 8.8mm, making it slightly bulkier than the regular S6, and the battery is 2,550mAh. A leaked user manual states that the water resistance rating is IP68, which is the highest possible rating.
Related: Samsung’s gorgeous Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge will arrive everywhere on April 10
The first leaked picture of the Active shows a very rugged design that matches earlier Active models, including the Galaxy S5 Active. There are physical buttons on the front, and an AT&T logo on the back.
Same high-end specs, but without a MicroSD card slot
Typically, Samsung’s Active phones sport most of the same high-powered specs as the flagship it’s modeled after, and based on leaked specs obtained by SamMobile, the Galaxy S6 Active looks to be no exception. The device is said to have the same 5.1-inch Quad HD as the standard Galaxy S6, and be powered by Samsung’s Exynos 7420 processor, along with 3GB of RAM.
The Active will likely start with 32GB of storage built in, which may be expandable using a MicroSD card. Reports contradict on the subject of the MicroSD card slot, and the recently leaked user manual doesn’t mention expandable storage at all.
However, earlier reports say the opposite. European Redditor garshol reportedly met with a Samsung Europe representative, who revealed several key details on the rumored Galaxy S6 Active. Some of these details include the removal of the fingerprint sensor and heart rate monitor, the inclusion of a MicroSD card slot and a bigger battery, as well as similar specifications to the dual glass-paneled Galaxy S6.
Speaking with respect to the Galaxy S6, the Reddit thread indicated the MicroSD card slot was removed to make the Galaxy S6 more comparable to its competition in terms of design, storage options, and “core functionality.” Even though it would have been possible to put the MicroSD card slot on the top, according to the representative, it would have compromised the design.
The Galaxy S6 Active may also have the same high-quality cameras as the flagship, with a 16-megapixel shooter on the back and a 5-megapixel camera on the front of the device.
It could launch in the spring or summer
SamMobile posits that AT&T has initially struck an exclusive deal to sell the Active, but that other carriers may get it in the future. Pricing and the release date remains unknown, but if Samsung sticks with tradition, the Active will likely arrive about three months after the flagship in late April or May.
According to the thread on Reddit, we can expect the Galaxy S6 Active sometime this summer. Regardless of when it launches, we’ll keep you updated with all the Galaxy S6 Active news here.
Previous updates:
Updated on 06-04-2015 by Malarie Gokey: Added in news from the leaked user manual spotted online confirming the phone’s existence and that it has an IP68 (very high) water resistance rating.
Updated on 05-15-2015 by Andy Boxall: Added in a leak from Samsung regarding the S6 Active, and new images possibly showing the phone.
Updated on 05-13-2015 by Malarie Gokey: Added leaked image of the Galaxy S6 Active for AT&T.
Updated on 03-26-2015 by Williams Pelegrin: Added news of a MicroSD card slot on the Galaxy S6 Active.
