The mobile wars have stepped up a gear, with Samsung unveiling a supersized version of its S6 edge phone and a follow up to its Tab S, the Tab S2.
The Galaxy S6 edge+ comes with a 5.7 inch screen, fast wireless charging and 4GB of RAM, with the distinctive styling that Samsung introduced for the line featuring its dual-edge screen.
The updated handset also brings some new features, such as live broadcast, which streams directly from the phone to YouTube, and a new slow motion video mode.It also has the same quick launch camera mode as the S6 edge, and works with the SideSync software, allowing users to connect it to a PC.
The phone will fully charge in 90 minutes when connected to the wired charger, while the wireless charger will do the same job in two hours.
There was no change to the chipset from the original S6 edge, meaning the edge+ will be powered by the Exynos 7420 octa-core chip. The phone will come with a choice of 32Gb or 64GB capacity.
Note5
While the company also revealed the Note 5 at its event in New York, the phone won’t be coming to Europe yet. Samsung said the Note 5 would be available in the US and Asia, with no firm plans to launch it in Europe.
However, Samsung Ireland's Gary Twohig said the phone-maker was sure the larger screened S6 edge + would step into the Note's shoes.
“We’re very confident that this is the phone for Europe and Ireland,” he said.
The S6 edge was a surprise success for Samsung, defying expectations that the standard S6 would find more favour with consumers. However, its popularity meant Samsung couldn’t keep up with demand, and the most recent results from the South Korean firm indicated that the Galaxy S6 sales had failed to hit their mark.
“The market is a very different place from when the S3, the S4 and the S5 were launched,” Mr Twohig said, noting that manufacturers were in for a longer play due to saturation in the market.
Sales of the new handsets, which were introduced earlier this year, are still growing, he said. “It’s done well, but there’s room to do more.”
Samsung helped to drive the trend towards larger screens when it introduced the original Galaxy Note in 2011. Four years ago it was somewhat of a niche device, but since then, screen sizes have steadily grown larger. Apple, which had resisted the drive towards the 5 inch-plus screen, introduced the iPhone 6+ with a 5.5 inch screen last year.
The Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ is expected to launch in Ireland at the start of September.
