Steve Kovach/Business Insider
The Samsung Galaxy S5
A Korean news website says Samsung will simplify the software it puts over Android with the Galaxy S6 - creating an experience similar to stock Android.
"We are aiming to get rid of unnecessary functions and simplify our UI at the level of Google's Nexus 6," BusinessKorea's source reportedly said (via Phone Arena).
Until this point, we've only heard about changes Samsung may be planning to make on the hardware side. This is the first time we're hearing any rumors pertaining to the Galaxy S6's software.
And, if true, this would be a pretty significant change. If you look at a phone like the Nexus 6 alongside the Galaxy S5 or Galaxy Note 4, you'll notice the software looks and feels much different.
Samsung phones come with the company's own TouchWiz user interface, which adds features such as the ability to open multiple windows at once, large widgets for Samsung's My Magazine news reader feature, and more quick settings options when you pull down from the top of the screen among other additions.
It's a lot more cluttered than the plain version of Android you'll find on Google's Nexus devices, even though some of Samsung's features have proven to be fairly useful. When I reviewed the Nexus 6, one of my favorite aspects of the phone was how smoothly Android 5.0 Lollipop felt. It was really impressive, and I'd be thrilled to see the same type of software run on the Galaxy S6.
The report does say that Samsung will focus on strengthening some of its core features and eliminating others, so it's unclear which TouchWiz features would remain if BusinessKorea's source is accurate. Samsung scaled back TouchWiz with the Galaxy S5 after it recieved some criticism for the Galaxy S4, so there's a chance we'll see the company take that even further with the S6.
Other reports have said Samsung will start "from scratch" when building the Galaxy S6. Until this point it seemed like that phrase referred to the phone's hardware, but there's a chance we'll see some significant software changes too.
Samsung is likely to unveil the Galaxy S6 at Mobile World Congress next month, so we won't have to wait too long to know for sure.