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Samsung has unveiled Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ and its much-awaited Galaxy Note 5.
The Galaxy S6 Edge+ shares the curved glass screen of its smaller sibling
Samsung has released two new large high-end Android handsets: the Galaxy S6 Edge+ and the Galaxy Note 5.
Both smartphones have 5.7in (14.5cm) screens and are going on sale earlier in the year than their previous generations.
The new Galaxy Note 5 is premiumly designed
The launches follow five successive falls in Samsung Electronics’ quarterly profits. Analysts say the popularity of mid-range phones from Chinese rivals, and Apple’s shift to bigger iPhones, have dented demand for Samsung’s devices.
However, the firm remains the world leader in terms of overall smartphone shipments. The announcements were made at a press conference in New York.
The company also revealed that its smart wallet service, Samsung Pay – which allows the phones to trigger payment card transactions – would go live in South Korea on 20 August.
That service will be extended to the US on 28 September and then to the UK at an unspecified date.
No Samsung Note 5 for Europe
Like previous versions of the Note, the new version comes with a stylus – which Samsung says makes it suitable for productivity tasks. But the phone now has metal edges and a glass back to give it a more “premium” feel.
Meanwhile, as previously reported, the new Samsung Galaxy Note 5 has no memory card slot and removable battery just like the Samsung S6 and S6 Edge.
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 has no memory card slot and removable battery
In a change of strategy, the South Korean firm has no plans at present to release the Note 5 in Europe – a decision it says is purely for marketing reasons.
One company-watcher said that could be a mistake. “The Note would have been a good fit for Europe's enterprise market, and if Samsung expects the S6 Edge+ to attract the same business users I don’t believe it will succeed,” commented Francisco Jeronimo from market research firm IDC.
Unlike last year, there is no “edge” edition of the Note. Instead, the Galaxy S6 Edge+ is targeted at those who want a “phablet” -sized handset with curved sides.
The “plus” in its name refers to the fact that its screen is both 0.6in (1.5cm) larger than the earlier edition and more scratch-resistant. It now has an extra gigabyte of memory, taking it up to 4GB of RAM to aid multi-tasking, but uses the same in-house Exynos processor as before.
Samsung S6 Edge+
This marks a change from the S5 Plus, which was the same size but contained a faster processor than the original S5.
The two new phones also introduce a couple of new features:
- A button in their camera apps activates a “live broadcast” mode, which streams 1080p high definition video to YouTube and sends invitations to selected acquaintances.
- They support the ultra-high quality audio (UHQA) format. A new hardware component means there should be “less sound distortion” when files saved in the codec are played. Users can also use bundled software to “upscale” existing MP3s.
Sourced from: BBC News
