Samsung has blown the lid off Mobile World Congress by revealing its most advanced smartphone to date.
The South Korean manufacturer finally ended months of speculation by unveiling not one, but two new flagship devices in Barcelona today.
Launching on April 10, the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge are the company’s most advanced designs yet; having been re-designed from the ground up for what it says was the most significant launch in its history.
“Our goal was simple,” Samsung president JK Shin said in announcing the devices. “Build the most beautiful smartphone in Samsung’s history – and the most advanced smartphone in the world”.
The device features a 5.1in QuadHD 577ppi Super AMOLED screen and two souped-up camera which the company says trounces that of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. The 16MP rear and 5MP front-facing camera feature F1.9 lenses and high-resolution sensors to provide superior image quality, even in low light, thanks to new technology which combines multiple images to create the best photo.
It is powered by the world’s first 14nm 64-bit octa-core processor along with a newly-developed LPDDR4 RAM which Samsung says makes the 6.8mm thick device one of the fastest in the world.
Three versions of the device will go on sale, with 32GB, 64GB and 128GB of internal storage respectively.
In somewhat of a surprise, the Galaxy S6 will feature a built-in battery, in contrast to many leading smartphones currently on the market. Samsung says this was not a decision taken lightly, but that it has developed an entirely new battery which offers better performance than any of its predecessors – namely up to 12 hours of Wi-Fi usage, 11 hours of LTE, and up to 13 hours of video.
The battery also charges faster than ever before, faster than any in the industry, Samsung says, taking just 10 minutes to charge up to a level which would provide four hours of everyday use. And in a subtle dig at its rival, Samsung says that charging from 0-100 percent battery life takes half the time of the iPhone 6.
The Galaxy S6 will also feature in-built wireless charging which is compatible with both the leading technology providers – the PMA and WPC, in a major show of support for the technology.
The new 14nm processor also helps with this, as Samsung says it offers 20 percent faster performance and is 35 percent more effective than the processor in the Galaxy S5.
Elsewhere, Samsung has redesigned the software on its devices to present a clearer and more user-friendly interface. Apps are now defined by specific colours, for example the phone app is now green-themed, with video being purple.
The Galaxy S6 will also work with Samsung’s newly-announced Samsung Pay mobile payments service, which lets users pay for goods or services using their mobile device with any merchant that accepts credit or debit cards, or NFC technology.
But the company has also boosted the security of the Galaxy S6, offering built-in security via its Knox platform. Offering what it says is ‘defence-grade security’ Knox is now integrated with many leading Mobile Device Management (MDM) services, including BlackBerry, Airwatch and Good Technology.
Stay tuned to find out more on the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge as we get it.
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"In somewhat of a surprise, the Galaxy S6 will feature a built-in battery"
Well that just killed the S6 off from my next phone list. Replaceable batteries was the big advantage over thee iPhone and vital for many.