By Barry Eitel
SAN FRANCISCO, United States
Wall Street was impressed with Samsung on Monday morning, after the South Korean tech giant unveiled its Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge smartphones at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
After Samsung announced its new flagship lineup Sunday, shares of the company jumped almost 5 percent to their highest price in nine months -- a time that has seen increased questioning about Samsung’s ability to compete with the iPhone.
The looks of the new phones are strikingly different from any previous versions. The Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge are built of glass and metal, not plastic like the Galaxy S5. This design shift makes them much similar to offerings from Apple.
The two phones differ mostly in design. The screen of the Edge curves on two sides. Overall, the changes from the S5 are iterative. The processor inside is faster, the camera is sharper and the phones are slimmer, measuring 6.8 mm thick for the S6 and 7 mm for the edge.
“With the all new Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge, Samsung is offering what’s next in mobility, along with a new standard to drive the global mobile agenda,” according to JK Shin, Samsung Electronics CEO, in a statement. “By listening to our customers, and learning from both our success and missteps, we continuously push forward new technologies and ideas.”
There are a few additions, though, like rapid wireless charging which can power the phone for four hours of usage after just 10 minutes of charging, according to Samsung. The phones also feature wireless payments similar to Apple Pay.
“With a reimagined design, robust partner network and novel services,” Shin continued, “the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge offer users the ultimate experience in smartphone options.”
Samsung, of course, began the trend toward smartphones with giant screens, a style Apple found great success with in its iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
With its latest offerings, Samsung is showing that it has taken recent criticism to heart and is interested in quality over flash.
www.aa.com.tr/en
