By Niall McCarthy
With just a matter of weeks before its expected launch in New Zealand, the new Samsung Galaxy S6 comes with a few surprises. The battery is no longer replaceable, there’s two versions to choose from- the S6/S6 Edge and Samsung have announced an Apple Pay competitor named *drum roll please*.. Samsung Pay!
Unveiling their latest addition at a press conference at the Mobile World Congress in Spain, eagerly awaiting Samsungites got a nice surprise. Unlike Apple’s iPhone 6, Samsung have released two almost identical versions of the S6. The S6 Edge differs due to its curved-screen, yes curved! The aesthetics don’t stop there, the S6 comes with a new metal casing design unlike its predecessors plastic exterior. Looks like Samsung have listened to their customers.
Both versions run on Android 5.0 Lollipop with a 5.1-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED high-resolution 2560×1440 with 577ppi. Although the S6 Edge has a curved screen, it doesn’t boast a larger display. The benefit however is its 5.9 grams lighter than the S6. From what I see, it’s really personal preference. Other features include updated fingerprint scanner, built-in wireless charging support and compatibility with a new version of the Gear VR virtual reality headset. Colours to come as standard; White Pearl, Black Sapphire, Gold Platinum, Blue Topaz and Green Emerald.
Never mind the wrapping, it’s what’s on the inside that counts! The specs; 16MP camera with optical stabilisation, LED flash, 4K video and 5MP front facing camera for even clearer selfies! The storage options include 32GB, 64GB and 128GB and 3GB of RAM. Battery specs are 2550 mAh and S6 Edge 2600 mAh which is smaller than the predecessors S5 which boasted a 2800 mAh battery. In saying this, one benefit for those who purchase the wireless charging station, can reap the benefits of its built-in wireless charging capabilities. A 4 hour standard battery life from just 10 minutes on charge.
During the conference held in Barcelona, Samsung announced that Samsung Pay will work with almost 30 million merchants with NFC compatible registers plus Magnetic Secure Transmission technology. This is considerably more than Apple Pay’s present 700,000 merchants. Sadly Samsung have said that Samsung Pay won’t be available for Kiwi’s this year. However, those of you on Spark can avail of this innovative technology through Semble, an integrated mobile wallet technology in New Zealand.
Release date and prices will vary in New Zealand depending on your phone network however the Galaxy S6 is expected here in April. For more information and to pre-register click here.
______________________
Follow us @BigpipeNZ
Recent Comments