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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.
The Verge / TwitterSamsung’s new phones can live stream to YouTube http://t.co/wqBRoGYmmz pic.twitter.com/xYg3I6UUBw
— The Verge (@verge) August 13, 2015
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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No removable battery, no so card slot, not compatible with mhl cable. It’s backwards samsung are going.
Exactly. I previously had Samsungs, and was due and update recently, but this time I decided against Samsung for these reasons. Now I got the top spec Asus ZenFone 2, without contract for only €300. Pretty amazing phone, with specs as high as these Samsungs that aren’t available yet, including 4gb RAM, 64gb built in memory and an SD slot which can take up to a 124 gb card, as well as two SIM card slots. Great while spending time in other countries, but still needing to use the Irish number as well.
I got a new phone yesterday, I was looking at the S6 and very unimpressed with it. I opted for an S5 and so far I love it. I started with a Tocco and stuck with android ever since. The S6 just looks like an attempt to clone the iphone.
Yep thanks Samsung… for nothin!
How does a removable battery make sense?
It’s easier to replace
Has anybody ever bought a spare battery for their phone.
With online storage why you need a card slot?
I have, it’s handy to have a spare in the pocket if out and not near a charger, the memory card can be used to move apps to and not take up internal memory causing the phone to lag.
Battery maybe, but you can’t move apps to the SD Card any more. the problem isn’t Samsung as such, but a security feature from Google.
All you can really have now on the SD Card are Photos, and non DRM Videos / Music. With this in mind, the minimum internal storage should be 64GB. Also, the price is too much for having a curved screen, and the fact that the note 5 won’t be over here is disgraceful. Can you imagine the outcry if the iPhone 7+ was not available in Europe?
That’s gas, I moved a new app to my memory card yesterday
It depends on your distribution. Any phone from the Galaxy S5 on (Kit Kat OS I think) won’t let you fully move over apps due to file permissions not being supported on external SD cards. You will get some content moved depending on each app, but there is still a significant amount of app dada still on the phone memory itself. This is the reason Samsung are phasing out external SD cards.
With wireless charging, the next thing to go will be the USB Charging port and you will sync your phone either with the cloud, or over WiFi to PC.
Loved me Galaxy S3….have an S4 and is grand but me next phone will be a Chinese one…say a OnePlus or one of those types…far better bang for yer buck.
One plus one range are top notch as well as some of the huaweis
The new oneplustwo I think it’s called looks amazing. Specs beat most phones out there.
Pity it’s invite only for it though, the price makes it worth the gamble.
I cracked my iphone6 screen for a second time, not replacing it this time, too expensive.
The exact same happened to me cracked my iPhone 6 screen twice decided to try an xiaomi for 135 euro instead of fixing the iPhone, great phone for the price, battery lasts longer than the iPhone 6 and the specs are not far of either and its 5 times cheaper.
What was it like moving from the iphone to it? I had the s4 and loved it for a while, main thing for me is the ease of use with the iphone.
Is the xiaomi nice to use?
the one plus2 looks a class phone aswell
yeah I really like the layout of apple that’s the only reason I got the iPhone 6 also apple isn’t as buggy as Android phones, I used to have the s4, xiaomi is really nice to use as well, better than Samsung, you have themes were you can have different layouts as well, so I have an ios theme so its similar to apple in a way, not as good as the iPhone layout wise but its really nice and easy to use, next phone I get in the future would definitely be a high spec xiaomi for 550 euro. it’s dual sim as well I’m abroad working at the moment so I have my Irish sim and my normal one in as well
Where did you buy yours? Amazon seems to be the best spot for them.
no I didn’t even know that amazon were selling them, honorbuy.com is were i got my xiaomi for around 135euro, they’ve got an eu warehouse so no custom duty/taxes delivery is around 40euro but it comes within a day or 2, I also got a sports camera from them that’s as good as the GoPro hero 3 and for less than 100euro
The only reason Samsung haven’t trumped apple is because a good majority of their fan base only want one thing.. An apple logo at the back of their device, and are prepared to pay close to a grand for anything they bring out! Even when’s there’s arguably better phones out there half the price.
Agreed with you completely
Apple zombies completely blinded by apple marketing and thinking they are extra cool with the apple logo on the phone/iPad/laptop
Fools and their money
Or iPhones are simple and work very well. I had an android phone and it was a pain in the bollix keeping everything updated and even then apps would crash and decide when they wanted to work! Don’t get me wrong it happens the odd time on IOS but overall the iPhone is a very smooth smartphone experience!
Ah bullshit the only reason isn’t to have a logo , use both Galaxy s5 and iPhone and for me iPhone user interface is just cleaner less buggy and no crisp with malware , the security on apple Eco system keeps it smoother experience , I think they are over priced but it’s bs to say people are want a logo , if Samsung get the overall user experience to match apple I’ll happily switch but they are likely to charge the iPhone prices when they equal the quality !
Not really…..I had android for a while and I hated it. I actually end up throwing my phone at the wall at one point out of frustration. Got myself an iphone 4S back in 2011, just to see what it was like and if I didn’t like it I’d sell it on, still have it to this day and it runs smooth as hell, never had a single problem with it. People want something that works easily. That plus look at the price of Samsungs. They’re practically the same cost anyway. So by that argument Samsung buyers are only buying for the name simple as. Samsung has gone rapidly downhill. I was considering getting one after this phone goes eventually but I’m not impressed by the latest models whatsoever.
Was a big fan but now tired of Samsung bloatware. too many useless own brand kak apps that do sh’teall only consume your memory forcing you to upgrade a year later…
the screen on those samsungs is absolutely gorgeous
These gadgets are more and more like products such as toothpaste, with each new formula that wil make your teeth even whiter even quicker sort of gimmickry.
Think I’ll be stickink with my 5S for the time being.
Samsung can do no wrong right now when it comes to phones The edge is a beautiful piece of kit.Hope they put sd card slot into their new models, a serious own goal in the edge just released.Apple have a lotta work to do….
Anyone talking about the new Chinese phones should check out the original one in HTC. Quality.
The Oneplus Two has similar specs for less than half the price
Samsung are shite
Sorry Samsung, until you improve battery life dramatically, HTC all the way!
Was considering getting the note 4 instead of going up to an s6 from my current s4, started with an S2. Then heard the note 5 was coming so waited, glad I did now, the note 4 will be even cheaper! No expandable memory? Go and sh*te! Between that and Samsung bloatware they can keep it. Also none of their new phones are waterproof anymore. What is the point in having a sealed unit and doing away with expandability and then not going as far as having it waterproofed? What are they thinking? Other half got the HTC m8s the other day, highly tempted to go for one of them now maybe the m9,very nicely made and with a minimum of fecking about with android Samsung are gone off the boil big time. The slide starts here, plenty of other competitors producing very nice high tech kit now. Both apple and Samsung should be worried.
I’ve had the s2 right up to the s6 edge which I have now, skipped s3. I’m impressed with some things and not so with others. It’s not worth the big price tag that’s for sure. It’s a right pain to hold and type on and its easily dropped. Dangerous esp when I still haven’t managed to find a screen protector that fits properly. It looks great but what’s the point if it’s so hard to hold and use. I have it about a month and it’s slowed down a fair bit, not much difference to my old S5 now. I got it cheap so it’s not a total loss. I think I will go for one of those Chinese ones next time too. The one thing that is amazing on the s6 edge is the camera which is essential for me esp the food setting. I also like the benefits of using all Samsung devices as they communicate really well. It’s not enough to keep me buying their products though. I’ve used next launcher for years so have no idea what Samsung touchwiz is like but hear lots of bad things about it. If I didn’t get this s6 cheap I would have opted for a cheaper Chinese model and a nice new camera which would have cost less than a full price S6. I’ve been a loyal Samsung customer for many years. They would want to release something truly amazing for a fair price before my next upgrade to keep me buying their products.
Other than Note is there any good phablet with a stylus?
I feel SD cards may introduce lag as the processors will be routinely accessing irregardless of whether anything has been launched from it.
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