Samsung has taken the wraps off its big attempt to lead the market again, with two new smartphones for its Galaxy range including the unique Galaxy S6 Edge with an AMOLED screen that curves over both sides of the phone. Samsung launched both the S6, a device which looks and feels similar to the S5 but boasts higher specs, and the curved, S6 Edge.
Samsung CEO JK Shin said the company had built both phones “from the ground up,” calling the Edge “the most beautiful smartphone in Samsung’s history and the most advanced smartphone in the world.”
The phones will go on sale on April 10 in 20 countries.
The names of the phones and overall specs fell in line with recent rumours and leaks, but Samsung laid down some impressive specs for the devices on Sunday. In an event that included a fog machine, strobe lights and powerful soundtrack with booming bass, Samsung said both devices included a 5.1 inch quad HD super AMOLED screen packing in 577 pixels per inch.
The new Galaxy S6 features 77% more pixels than the S5, while the Edge has a super AMOLED screen wrapped around both edges of the device.
The battery for both phones lasts up to 12 hours on Wifi and charges “faster than any other smartphone in the industry,” according to Samsung. It takes 10 minutes to charge the S6 for four hours of battery life, and roughly half the time of the iPhone 6 to charge it to 100%.
Samsung has also changed its stance by putting in a built in battery, rather than a replaceable battery.
The phone’s camera features a 16-megapixel sensor and an F1.9 lens for the front and back camera that — thanks to its lower aperture - takes better photos and videos in low light than then iPhone 6 Plus, Samsung claimed, showing videos and photos side by side on a big screen.
The camera is also relatively quick to launch, taking 0.7 seconds to open by double tapping the home button.
Samsung is under great pressure to make up for recent, sluggish sales of its flagship Galaxy S5 smartphone. The S6 isn’t quite a Hail Mary Pass, but a significant attempt to lift it out of the doldrums and lead the market once again. In two years its global market share has slid from a third to 25%.
Part of the problem is Apple. The company recently announced a blowout quarter thanks to strong sales of its iPhone 6, and that represented a big payoff from from cheekily taking a leaf out of Samsung’s book by making a phone with a much larger screen. Samsung was once derided for being among the first of the big OEMs to bring so-called phablets to market with the Galaxy Note, and now the concept is being aped everywhere else.
The company has recently trimmed marketing costs to help make up for the shortfall, but the bigger, long term problem may be the gradual commoditization of making smartphone handsets.
Vendors like Samsung and HTC have tried to innovate on top of the Android operating system by offering tantalizing new features, but the more fundamental way Samsung can compete is on hardware, price and design.
Samsung also announced a new version of its Gear VR virtual reality headset that syncs with the Galaxy phones, with greater processing power and increased pixel density.
