diff --git a/modules/angular1_router/karma-router.conf.js b/modules/angular1_router/karma-router.conf.js
index e9980a724f..f3cb92c5b7 100644
--- a/modules/angular1_router/karma-router.conf.js
+++ b/modules/angular1_router/karma-router.conf.js
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ module.exports = function (config) {
     frameworks: ['jasmine'],
 
     files: [
+      '../../node_modules/es6-shim/es6-shim.js',
       '../../node_modules/angular/angular.js',
       '../../node_modules/angular-animate/angular-animate.js',
       '../../node_modules/angular-mocks/angular-mocks.js',
diff --git a/modules/angular1_router/lib/facades.es5 b/modules/angular1_router/lib/facades.es5
index 34166736a1..84ddf2bdaa 100644
--- a/modules/angular1_router/lib/facades.es5
+++ b/modules/angular1_router/lib/facades.es5
@@ -247,18 +247,10 @@ var StringWrapper = {
     return s.split(re);
   },
 
-  substring: function(s, start, end) {
-    return s.substr(start, end);
-  },
-
   replaceAll: function(s, from, replace) {
     return s.replace(from, replace);
   },
 
-  startsWith: function(s, start) {
-    return s.substr(0, start.length) === start;
-  },
-
   replaceAllMapped: function(s, from, cb) {
     return s.replace(from, function(matches) {
       // Remove offset & string from the result array
diff --git a/modules/angular2/src/common/pipes/lowercase_pipe.ts b/modules/angular2/src/common/pipes/lowercase_pipe.ts
index 32fb499264..9af7d7f034 100644
--- a/modules/angular2/src/common/pipes/lowercase_pipe.ts
+++ b/modules/angular2/src/common/pipes/lowercase_pipe.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import {isString, StringWrapper, CONST, isBlank} from 'angular2/src/core/facade/lang';
+import {isString, CONST, isBlank} from 'angular2/src/core/facade/lang';
 import {Injectable} from 'angular2/src/core/di';
 import {PipeTransform, WrappedValue} from 'angular2/src/core/change_detection';
 import {Pipe} from 'angular2/src/core/metadata';
@@ -32,6 +32,6 @@ export class LowerCasePipe implements PipeTransform {
     if (!isString(value)) {
       throw new InvalidPipeArgumentException(LowerCasePipe, value);
     }
-    return StringWrapper.toLowerCase(value);
+    return value.toLowerCase();
   }
 }
diff --git a/modules/angular2/src/common/pipes/uppercase_pipe.ts b/modules/angular2/src/common/pipes/uppercase_pipe.ts
index cb122e47b0..b438cd1505 100644
--- a/modules/angular2/src/common/pipes/uppercase_pipe.ts
+++ b/modules/angular2/src/common/pipes/uppercase_pipe.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import {isString, StringWrapper, CONST, isBlank} from 'angular2/src/core/facade/lang';
+import {isString, CONST, isBlank} from 'angular2/src/core/facade/lang';
 import {Pipe} from 'angular2/src/core/metadata';
 import {Injectable} from 'angular2/src/core/di';
 import {PipeTransform, WrappedValue} from 'angular2/src/core/change_detection';
@@ -31,6 +31,6 @@ export class UpperCasePipe implements PipeTransform {
     if (!isString(value)) {
       throw new InvalidPipeArgumentException(UpperCasePipe, value);
     }
-    return StringWrapper.toUpperCase(value);
+    return value.toUpperCase();
   }
 }
diff --git a/modules/angular2/src/compiler/template_parser.ts b/modules/angular2/src/compiler/template_parser.ts
index 38fb2cd1c5..a4d0c66388 100644
--- a/modules/angular2/src/compiler/template_parser.ts
+++ b/modules/angular2/src/compiler/template_parser.ts
@@ -254,8 +254,8 @@ class TemplateParseVisitor implements HtmlAstVisitor {
     var templateBindingsSource = null;
     if (attr.name == TEMPLATE_ATTR) {
       templateBindingsSource = attr.value;
-    } else if (StringWrapper.startsWith(attr.name, TEMPLATE_ATTR_PREFIX)) {
-      var key = StringWrapper.substring(attr.name, TEMPLATE_ATTR_PREFIX.length);  // remove the star
+    } else if (attr.name.startsWith(TEMPLATE_ATTR_PREFIX)) {
+      var key = attr.name.substring(TEMPLATE_ATTR_PREFIX.length);  // remove the star
       templateBindingsSource = (attr.value.length == 0) ? key : key + ' ' + attr.value;
     }
     if (isPresent(templateBindingsSource)) {
@@ -333,8 +333,7 @@ class TemplateParseVisitor implements HtmlAstVisitor {
   }
 
   private _normalizeAttributeName(attrName: string): string {
-    return StringWrapper.startsWith(attrName, 'data-') ? StringWrapper.substring(attrName, 5) :
-                                                         attrName;
+    return attrName.startsWith('data-') ? attrName.substring(5) : attrName;
   }
 
   private _parseVariable(identifier: string, value: string, sourceInfo: any,
diff --git a/modules/angular2/src/core/dom/generic_browser_adapter.ts b/modules/angular2/src/core/dom/generic_browser_adapter.ts
index d1b7fe78fa..3bb84aaa91 100644
--- a/modules/angular2/src/core/dom/generic_browser_adapter.ts
+++ b/modules/angular2/src/core/dom/generic_browser_adapter.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import {ListWrapper, StringMapWrapper} from 'angular2/src/core/facade/collection';
-import {isPresent, isFunction, StringWrapper, Type} from 'angular2/src/core/facade/lang';
+import {isPresent, isFunction, Type} from 'angular2/src/core/facade/lang';
 import {DomAdapter} from './dom_adapter';
 import {XHRImpl} from 'angular2/src/compiler/xhr_impl';
 
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ export abstract class GenericBrowserDomAdapter extends DomAdapter {
         var domPrefixes = ['Webkit', 'Moz', 'O', 'ms'];
         for (var i = 0; i < domPrefixes.length; i++) {
           if (isPresent(this.getStyle(element, domPrefixes[i] + 'AnimationName'))) {
-            this._animationPrefix = '-' + StringWrapper.toLowerCase(domPrefixes[i]) + '-';
+            this._animationPrefix = '-' + domPrefixes[i].toLowerCase() + '-';
             break;
           }
         }
diff --git a/modules/angular2/src/core/facade/lang.dart b/modules/angular2/src/core/facade/lang.dart
index 44d343d493..ba3c5c71ba 100644
--- a/modules/angular2/src/core/facade/lang.dart
+++ b/modules/angular2/src/core/facade/lang.dart
@@ -80,18 +80,6 @@ class StringWrapper {
     return s.replaceAll(from, replace);
   }
 
-  static String toUpperCase(String s) {
-    return s.toUpperCase();
-  }
-
-  static String toLowerCase(String s) {
-    return s.toLowerCase();
-  }
-
-  static startsWith(String s, String start) {
-    return s.startsWith(start);
-  }
-
   static String slice(String s, [int start = 0, int end]) {
     start = _startOffset(s, start);
     end = _endOffset(s, end);
@@ -102,10 +90,6 @@ class StringWrapper {
     return s.substring(start, end);
   }
 
-  static String substring(String s, int start, [int end]) {
-    return s.substring(start, end);
-  }
-
   static String replaceAllMapped(String s, RegExp from, Function cb) {
     return s.replaceAllMapped(from, cb);
   }
diff --git a/modules/angular2/src/core/facade/lang.ts b/modules/angular2/src/core/facade/lang.ts
index 4a6351bf7a..3fc2a8fcfc 100644
--- a/modules/angular2/src/core/facade/lang.ts
+++ b/modules/angular2/src/core/facade/lang.ts
@@ -176,16 +176,6 @@ export class StringWrapper {
     return s.slice(from, to === null ? undefined : to);
   }
 
-  static toUpperCase(s: string): string { return s.toUpperCase(); }
-
-  static toLowerCase(s: string): string { return s.toLowerCase(); }
-
-  static startsWith(s: string, start: string): boolean { return s.startsWith(start); }
-
-  static substring(s: string, start: number, end: number = null): string {
-    return s.substring(start, end === null ? undefined : end);
-  }
-
   static replaceAllMapped(s: string, from: RegExp, cb: Function): string {
     return s.replace(from, function(...matches) {
       // Remove offset & string from the result array
diff --git a/modules/angular2/src/core/linker/event_config.ts b/modules/angular2/src/core/linker/event_config.ts
index 618c7986b1..fdbcf2baa0 100644
--- a/modules/angular2/src/core/linker/event_config.ts
+++ b/modules/angular2/src/core/linker/event_config.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-import {StringWrapper} from 'angular2/src/core/facade/lang';
 export const EVENT_TARGET_SEPARATOR = ':';
 
 export class EventConfig {
@@ -9,8 +8,8 @@ export class EventConfig {
     var separatorIdx = eventConfig.indexOf(EVENT_TARGET_SEPARATOR);
     if (separatorIdx > -1) {
       // long format: 'fieldName: eventName'
-      fieldName = StringWrapper.substring(eventConfig, 0, separatorIdx).trim();
-      eventName = StringWrapper.substring(eventConfig, separatorIdx + 1).trim();
+      fieldName = eventConfig.substring(0, separatorIdx).trim();
+      eventName = eventConfig.substring(separatorIdx + 1).trim();
       isLongForm = true;
     }
     return new EventConfig(fieldName, eventName, isLongForm);
diff --git a/modules/angular2/src/core/metadata/di.ts b/modules/angular2/src/core/metadata/di.ts
index 29c65fcc67..4474c15cf0 100644
--- a/modules/angular2/src/core/metadata/di.ts
+++ b/modules/angular2/src/core/metadata/di.ts
@@ -1,11 +1,4 @@
-import {
-  CONST,
-  Type,
-  stringify,
-  isPresent,
-  StringWrapper,
-  isString
-} from 'angular2/src/core/facade/lang';
+import {CONST, Type, stringify, isPresent, isString} from 'angular2/src/core/facade/lang';
 import {resolveForwardRef} from 'angular2/src/core/di';
 import {DependencyMetadata} from 'angular2/src/core/di/metadata';
 
@@ -192,7 +185,7 @@ export class QueryMetadata extends DependencyMetadata {
    * returns a list of variable bindings this is querying for.
    * Only applicable if this is a variable bindings query.
    */
-  get varBindings(): string[] { return StringWrapper.split(this.selector, new RegExp(",")); }
+  get varBindings(): string[] { return this.selector.split(','); }
 
   toString(): string { return `@Query(${stringify(this.selector)})`; }
 }
diff --git a/modules/angular2/src/http/backends/jsonp_backend.ts b/modules/angular2/src/http/backends/jsonp_backend.ts
index d3a56ea1ea..1a91366e89 100644
--- a/modules/angular2/src/http/backends/jsonp_backend.ts
+++ b/modules/angular2/src/http/backends/jsonp_backend.ts
@@ -46,8 +46,7 @@ export class JSONPConnection_ extends JSONPConnection {
       if (url.indexOf('=JSONP_CALLBACK&') > -1) {
         url = StringWrapper.replace(url, '=JSONP_CALLBACK&', `=${callback}&`);
       } else if (url.lastIndexOf('=JSONP_CALLBACK') === url.length - '=JSONP_CALLBACK'.length) {
-        url =
-            StringWrapper.substring(url, 0, url.length - '=JSONP_CALLBACK'.length) + `=${callback}`;
+        url = url.substring(0, url.length - '=JSONP_CALLBACK'.length) + `=${callback}`;
       }
 
       let script = this._script = _dom.build(url);
diff --git a/modules/angular2/src/http/url_search_params.ts b/modules/angular2/src/http/url_search_params.ts
index 96c23ed461..253674973d 100644
--- a/modules/angular2/src/http/url_search_params.ts
+++ b/modules/angular2/src/http/url_search_params.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import {CONST_EXPR, isPresent, isBlank, StringWrapper} from 'angular2/src/core/facade/lang';
+import {CONST_EXPR, isPresent, isBlank} from 'angular2/src/core/facade/lang';
 import {
   Map,
   MapWrapper,
@@ -9,9 +9,9 @@ import {
 function paramParser(rawParams: string = ''): Map<string, string[]> {
   var map = new Map<string, string[]>();
   if (rawParams.length > 0) {
-    var params: string[] = StringWrapper.split(rawParams, new RegExp('&'));
+    var params: string[] = rawParams.split('&');
     params.forEach((param: string) => {
-      var split: string[] = StringWrapper.split(param, new RegExp('='));
+      var split: string[] = param.split('=');
       var key = split[0];
       var val = split[1];
       var list = isPresent(map.get(key)) ? map.get(key) : [];
diff --git a/modules/angular2/src/router/path_recognizer.ts b/modules/angular2/src/router/path_recognizer.ts
index 7a167490b8..54d0961ad7 100644
--- a/modules/angular2/src/router/path_recognizer.ts
+++ b/modules/angular2/src/router/path_recognizer.ts
@@ -93,8 +93,8 @@ var wildcardMatcher = /^\*([^\/]+)$/g;
 function parsePathString(route: string): {[key: string]: any} {
   // normalize route as not starting with a "/". Recognition will
   // also normalize.
-  if (StringWrapper.startsWith(route, "/")) {
-    route = StringWrapper.substring(route, 1);
+  if (route.startsWith("/")) {
+    route = route.substring(1);
   }
 
   var segments = splitBySlash(route);
diff --git a/modules/angular2/src/router/route_recognizer.ts b/modules/angular2/src/router/route_recognizer.ts
index 42904412cf..5bd9e0b0a5 100644
--- a/modules/angular2/src/router/route_recognizer.ts
+++ b/modules/angular2/src/router/route_recognizer.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 import {
   RegExp,
   RegExpWrapper,
-  StringWrapper,
   isBlank,
   isPresent,
   isType,
@@ -46,8 +45,7 @@ export class RouteRecognizer {
 
     if (config instanceof AuxRoute) {
       handler = new SyncRouteHandler(config.component, config.data);
-      let path =
-          StringWrapper.startsWith(config.path, '/') ? config.path.substring(1) : config.path;
+      let path = config.path.startsWith('/') ? config.path.substring(1) : config.path;
       var recognizer = new PathRecognizer(config.path, handler);
       this.auxRoutes.set(path, recognizer);
       return recognizer.terminal;
@@ -136,11 +134,11 @@ export class Redirector {
   toSegments: string[] = [];
 
   constructor(path: string, redirectTo: string) {
-    if (StringWrapper.startsWith(path, '/')) {
+    if (path.startsWith('/')) {
       path = path.substring(1);
     }
     this.segments = path.split('/');
-    if (StringWrapper.startsWith(redirectTo, '/')) {
+    if (redirectTo.startsWith('/')) {
       redirectTo = redirectTo.substring(1);
     }
     this.toSegments = redirectTo.split('/');
diff --git a/modules/angular2/src/router/router.ts b/modules/angular2/src/router/router.ts
index b91335c2b7..1bf7ce5069 100644
--- a/modules/angular2/src/router/router.ts
+++ b/modules/angular2/src/router/router.ts
@@ -5,14 +5,7 @@ import {
   ObservableWrapper
 } from 'angular2/src/core/facade/async';
 import {Map, StringMapWrapper, MapWrapper, ListWrapper} from 'angular2/src/core/facade/collection';
-import {
-  isBlank,
-  isString,
-  StringWrapper,
-  isPresent,
-  Type,
-  isArray
-} from 'angular2/src/core/facade/lang';
+import {isBlank, isString, isPresent, Type, isArray} from 'angular2/src/core/facade/lang';
 import {BaseException, WrappedException} from 'angular2/src/core/facade/exceptions';
 import {RouteRegistry} from './route_registry';
 import {
@@ -537,11 +530,11 @@ class ChildRouter extends Router {
  * Given: ['/a/b', {c: 2}]
  * Returns: ['', 'a', 'b', {c: 2}]
  */
-var SLASH = new RegExp('/');
 function splitAndFlattenLinkParams(linkParams: any[]): any[] {
   return ListWrapper.reduce(linkParams, (accumulation, item) => {
     if (isString(item)) {
-      return accumulation.concat(StringWrapper.split(item, SLASH));
+      let parts: String[] = item.split('/');
+      return accumulation.concat(parts);
     }
     accumulation.push(item);
     return accumulation;
diff --git a/modules/angular2/src/router/url_parser.ts b/modules/angular2/src/router/url_parser.ts
index 4fc5f445d5..541021fbf0 100644
--- a/modules/angular2/src/router/url_parser.ts
+++ b/modules/angular2/src/router/url_parser.ts
@@ -1,11 +1,5 @@
 import {StringMapWrapper} from 'angular2/src/core/facade/collection';
-import {
-  isPresent,
-  isBlank,
-  StringWrapper,
-  RegExpWrapper,
-  CONST_EXPR
-} from 'angular2/src/core/facade/lang';
+import {isPresent, isBlank, RegExpWrapper, CONST_EXPR} from 'angular2/src/core/facade/lang';
 import {BaseException, WrappedException} from 'angular2/src/core/facade/exceptions';
 
 /**
@@ -79,10 +73,10 @@ function matchUrlSegment(str: string): string {
 export class UrlParser {
   private _remaining: string;
 
-  peekStartsWith(str: string): boolean { return StringWrapper.startsWith(this._remaining, str); }
+  peekStartsWith(str: string): boolean { return this._remaining.startsWith(str); }
 
   capture(str: string): void {
-    if (!StringWrapper.startsWith(this._remaining, str)) {
+    if (!this._remaining.startsWith(str)) {
       throw new BaseException(`Expected "${str}".`);
     }
     this._remaining = this._remaining.substring(str.length);
diff --git a/modules/angular2/src/testing/utils.ts b/modules/angular2/src/testing/utils.ts
index 281c818a52..e6811d4718 100644
--- a/modules/angular2/src/testing/utils.ts
+++ b/modules/angular2/src/testing/utils.ts
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ var _singleTagWhitelist = ['br', 'hr', 'input'];
 export function stringifyElement(el): string {
   var result = '';
   if (DOM.isElementNode(el)) {
-    var tagName = StringWrapper.toLowerCase(DOM.tagName(el));
+    var tagName = DOM.tagName(el).toLowerCase();
 
     // Opening tag
     result += `<${tagName}`;
diff --git a/modules/angular2/test/core/facade/lang_spec.ts b/modules/angular2/test/core/facade/lang_spec.ts
index 16b23d0af9..4a1a7b8f65 100644
--- a/modules/angular2/test/core/facade/lang_spec.ts
+++ b/modules/angular2/test/core/facade/lang_spec.ts
@@ -42,24 +42,7 @@ export function main() {
   });
 
   describe('String', () => {
-    var upper, lower, s;
-
-    beforeEach(() => {
-      upper = 'SOMETHING';
-      lower = 'something';
-    });
-
-    it('should upper case a string', () => {
-      var str = StringWrapper.toUpperCase(lower);
-
-      expect(str).toEqual(upper);
-    });
-
-    it('should lower case a string', () => {
-      var str = StringWrapper.toLowerCase(upper);
-
-      expect(str).toEqual(lower);
-    });
+    var s;
 
     describe('slice', () => {
       beforeEach(() => { s = "abcdefghij"; });
diff --git a/modules/benchpress/src/webdriver/chrome_driver_extension.ts b/modules/benchpress/src/webdriver/chrome_driver_extension.ts
index 90b45c902e..6c13e27f0a 100644
--- a/modules/benchpress/src/webdriver/chrome_driver_extension.ts
+++ b/modules/benchpress/src/webdriver/chrome_driver_extension.ts
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ export class ChromeDriverExtension extends WebDriverExtension {
     if (isBlank(v)) {
       return -1;
     }
-    v = StringWrapper.split(v, /\./g)[0];
+    v = v.split('.')[0];
     if (isBlank(v)) {
       return -1;
     }
@@ -197,9 +197,7 @@ export class ChromeDriverExtension extends WebDriverExtension {
     return null;  // nothing useful in this event
   }
 
-  private _parseCategories(categories: string): string[] {
-    return StringWrapper.split(categories, /,/g);
-  }
+  private _parseCategories(categories: string): string[] { return categories.split(','); }
 
   private _isEvent(eventCategories: string[], eventName: string, expectedCategories: string[],
                    expectedName: string = null): boolean {