SAMSUNG HAS UNVEILED two new high-end (and high size) smartphones in its latest attempt to wrest control of the global phone market from Apple.
The two phones, the Galaxy S6 Edge+ and the Galaxy Note 5, were launched at an industry event earlier today in New York.
The South Korean giant has taken the decision to launch the phones some months ahead of the normal launch-time for previous generations, again in an effort to get the jump on its iOS rival which won’t launch the new version of the iPhone until September.
Both phones will sport massive 5.7 inch (14.5cm) screens meaning they can effectively double as tablets (phablets).
Both also pack 16 megapixel cameras, admittedly fairly standard for high-end phones at this stage, together with 4gb of ram and quad-HD screens.
The two new phones will both incorporate a HD live-streaming to Youtube service together with a ultra-high quality audio format.
Significantly, it was announced at the event that Samsung’s credit-card style payment system Samsung Pay, which allows its phones to trigger payment transactions, is set to go live later in August. It won’t reach our side of Europe until after September however.
The S6 Edge Plus will retail for something over €800 when it arrives here later in the month.
The ‘plus’ in its name refers to its larger screen, 1.5cm bigger than its previous incarnation.
The more business-oriented Note, operated with a stylus, will not be appearing in Europe however, at least not initially, in a move which Samsung claims is purely marketing related.
It’s been a tough couple of months for the South Korean tech manufacturer, with Apple’s new-found concentration on large-screened phones putting a dent in their profits.
Earlier in the day, Samsung was somewhat ‘trolled’ by Chinese producer Xiaomi who launched their new phablet, the Redmi Note 2 (which will retail for significantly less than the new Samsung Note) unexpectedly in Beijing.
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