South Korean electronics giant Samsung, which has been battered lately by Apple in the smartphone arena, is taking a leaf out of its main rival?s book by unveiling in Barcelona on Monday, March 2, two new flagship smartphones that carry some peculiar technologies pioneered by Apple?s iPhone.
The sleek and powerful Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, interestingly, have irreplaceable batteries much like the iPhone and feature a wireless payment solution called Samsung Pay, which is pretty similar to Apple Pay.
JK Shin, CEO and head of IT and mobile communications division at Samsung Electronics, said during the launch at this year?s Mobile World Congress: ?By listening to our customers, and learning from both our success and missteps, we continuously push forward new technologies and ideas. With a reimagined design, robust partner network and novel services, the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge offer users the ultimate experience in smartphone options.?
Members of the local IT media were billeted at the Solaire Resort and Casino in Pasay City to witness the unveiling at midnight (local time) of the highly touted handsets.
Crafted from metal and glass, the Galaxy S6 Edge features the world?s first curved display on both sides. Its glass body is made from the toughest glass to date, the Corning Gorilla Glass 4.
Both smartphones are equipped with F1.9 lenses and high resolution sensors on both front (5MP) and rear (16MP) cameras. In addition, Auto Real-time High Dynamic Range (HDR), Smart Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and IR Detect White Balance provide advanced light sensitivities and crisp camera solutions.
The Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge have WPC and PMA certified wireless charging technology for universal wireless charging. They also sport fast wired charging, 1.5 times faster than the Galaxy S5, providing about 4 hours of usage after only 10 minutes of charging.
The thin (6.8 mm/7.0mm Edge) and lightweight (138g /132g Edge) Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge integrate Samsung?s core technology such as the world?s first 14nm mobile processor with 64-bit platform, new LPDDR4 memory system and UFS 2.0 flash memory.
In addition, the 5.1-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED screen offers users the highest pixel density of 577ppi and an enhanced outdoor visibility with a brighter display (600cd/mm).
Observers, however, bemoaned the fact that Samsung removed the expansion slot in the new iterations of the new smartphones. The units, which will be available globally starting from April 10, come in 32/64/128GB storage options.
The Korean firm also intrudced Samsung Pay, a new mobile payment service that will be launched on Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge in the United States during the second half of this year.
Samsung Pay works with both Near Field Communication (NFC) and Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) technology to make it device, merchant and card issuer agnostic.
The smartphones are available in White Pearl, Black Sapphire, Gold Platinum, Blue Topaz (Galaxy S6 only) and Green Emerald (Galaxy S6 Edge only).
