Samsung to Showcase Two Galaxy S6 Models, Round Smartwatch at Mobile World Congress

Samsung reportedly will show off two models of its upcoming Galaxy S6 smartphone, one version encased in metal and another featuring a curved edge, at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) March 2 – 5 in Barcelona, as the device maker tries to chip away at Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone momentum.

According to a Business Insider report, Samsung will depart from its traditional plastic case design to unveil a Galaxy S6 handset in metal. At this point, it’s unclear if the new smartphone will be fully encased in metal or if it will feature metal accents. Earlier leaks of the S6 have indicated a full unibody metal design, the report said. Samsung’s Galaxy A5 models already are housed in a metal case.

A second Galaxy S6 model will feature a curved edge, the report said, in a design similar to the vendor’s Galaxy Note Edge that contains icons and widgets to customize and control some aspects of the device.

The Galaxy S6 is said to be viewed as important enough to have garnered the internal codename Project Zero, perhaps in a nod to Samsung’s redesigning the unit from the ground up, a move the company may consider necessary particularly in light of the Galaxy S5’s tepid reception.

Still unclear are a number of the Galaxy S6’s specifications and features, although it is assumed the unit will run Android 5.0. The model’s screen size is uncertain, with some reports pointing to a 5.5-inch Quad HD display at 1,440 x 2,560 pixels.

Sammobile reported that Samsung will replace the swipe-based fingerprint sensor of its Galaxy S5 model and replace it with a touch-based sensor for the Galaxy S6 device. The touch-based sensor, which will be built into the home button, will enable the user to register an entire (as opposed to a partial) fingerprint.

Samsung also is rumored to be readying a round smartwatch to debut at MWC, similar in design to Motorola’s Moto360, Business Insider reported.

Samsung may need something out of the ordinary to reinvigorate its earnings. The vendor already has offered preliminary indications that it expects to turn in a fifth straight quarter of declining operating profit for Q4 2014, anticipating about $4.7 billion in operating profit, for a 37 percent decline from the year-ago quarter but ahead of the $4.36 billion analysts expected. Samsung also said it expects Q4 sales of about $47 billion for a 12 percent slide from the same period last year.

Samsung has suffered under increasingly competitive pricing pressure from smaller rivals and in November, senior vice president Robert Yi told investors at the company’s Investor’s Forum that the vendor will produce up to 30 percent fewer smartphone models in 2015.

“In 2015, we will lower the number of smartphone models by one fourth to one third compared to this year,” said Yi. “[Lowering the model number] will allow us a chance to lower the prices of [remaining models] through mass production,” he said. “In low- to mid-end products, price is the most important, and for high-end products, it is innovation.”