Strange to think that it has only been 12 months since the Galaxy S5 (review) made its dimpled plastic debut In Barcelona at Mobile World Congress last year. The Catalonian capital is the setting once again in 2015, as Samsung readies to unveil the heavily rumoured S6 this weekend (1 March). Much has been said about the S6, but here are the six things we want to see from Samsung's latest flagship, ensuring that it can retain its place as the top Android smartphone around.

I’m not just inspired by what I see, I am crafted from what I see. I am #TheNextGalaxy. pic.twitter.com/8GbyzElJq7

— SamsungMobile (@SamsungMobile) February 20, 2015

1. A metal body

It's safe to say that the South Korean manufacturer has a well documented affinity for plastic. Indeed, plastic has its place, but a R10k flagship smartphone is simply not one of them. That said though, Samsung has improved in this regard, with the Note 4 and A5 (review) both featuring handsome aluminium frames. The S6 therefore serves as the perfect opportunity for Samsung to make a statement with an all-metal body, akin to the fantastic HTC One (M8) (review).  

2. A design refresh

Over the past year, the Galaxy S flagship has been overtaken by the likes of the LG's G3 (review) and HTC's One (M8) in the design stakes, with both options looking far more engaging than the South Korean manufacturer's offering. We know that the new S6 will feature an edge, as seen in the Note Edge, but we're looking for something more. Just because it's 5" plus candy bar, doesn't mean it was to be boring. When it comes to the internal elements, the S flagship has always shined, and its time for the exterior to reflect the same.

3. Remove the bloatware

One of our pet peeves at TechSmart is unnecessary bloatware flooding a device’s UI and making it far less pleasing to use. The Galaxy S5 suffered from this in particular, with a number of Galaxy Essentials apps getting in the way of productivity, and cluttering the Android OS. We'd love to see a small Galaxy Essentials folder this time round, similar to the Google one that most Android devices have when they come fresh out the box.

4. Improved fingerprint sensor

The S5 was the first Samsung device to feature a fingerprint sensor up front, with a swipe of one's preferred digit acting as a form of biometric security. A nifty feature to have for sure, it was however often inaccurate, often requiring multiple swipes in order to get the job done. A fingerprint sensor like the one on Apple's iPhone 6 would not go amiss, ensuring that the Galaxy S6 is as user friendly as possible.

5. Make good use of the third edge

Among the host of rumours currently churning in the Galaxy S6 mill, the most intriguing of all is a triple-edge display sporting device (left and right side, as well as at the bottom). Now the left and right side edges will most probably be allocated to app notifications and quick info referencing. What will the third edge be used for (if it does in fact exist)? If it's yet another notification bar, then Samsung may have missed an opportunity to do something innovative. For our money, we think the bottom edge will most likely be used for music/video controls, but we're hoping Samsung can push things a little further.  

6. Better pricing

At R11k when it was initially released, the Galaxy S5 was one of the most expensive smartphones around, bar the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus of course. It may be wishful thinking on our part, but a R9 000 price tag would be perfect. At that price point, it would certainly through the cat among the droid-pigeons so to speak, and make the S6 a real contender for smartphone of the year in our books.

Let's see what Samsung's first Unpacked event for 2015 holds. As always follow us on Twitter for up to the minute details and images come Sunday evening (1 March).