New Samsung devices ramp up large-screen efforts

Launching first in South Korea, Samsung Pay is expected to be available in the US on September 28 and will come bundled with the Galaxy S6 Edge+ and the Galaxy Note 5; it will also be downloadable to two older but-still-new Galaxy devices: the S6 and S6 Edge.

The timing reflects a shift in fortunes for a company that pioneered jumbo phones with the original Note in 2011.

Both phones have 5.7in (14.5cm) screens and are going on sale earlier in the year than their previous generations.

What’s more interesting is that Samsung has now expanded the functionality that you have with the edge swipes. Also, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless and Samsung Experience Shops at Best Buy will have previews of each phone available starting tomorrow.

The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus is rumoured to be the large-screen variant of the Galaxy S6 Edge, and is also said to be the dual-edge display version of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5. Testing in the U.S. will begin August 25, with a formal launch on September 28. And as you must already be aware, Samsung is using LoopPay’s tech, the company it acquired in February, to drive its Samsung Pay.

As for the phones, Samsung is looking to play to its strengths.

Hailed by many as the king of the phablets, the Note 4 has been an extremely popular choice for those who favour a plus-sized screen, but it may soon be surpassed by Samsung’s newest effort.

A Tizen-powered challenger to the likes of the Moto 360 and LG G Watch R, the Samsung Gear S2 features a previously unseen UI that on first impressions looks set to make smartwatch navigation a whole lot easier.

One new feature ends the need to print out and rescan electronic forms to sign or fill out. An article or list of directions you’re trying to save might take four or five shots.

In the mode selection menu, you’ll find two new features – the ability to live broadcast to select contacts via YouTube and the Video Collage feature.

While the screen size is the same, Samsung has succeeded in making the device smaller without making it feel fragile.

Letting you hover the button-equipped stylus over the display to launch a sub-menu, these shortcuts lets you do everything from note taking and annotations to document highlighting and quick selection cropping.

The battery is still not removable, but is slightly better and charges in the same amount of time (two hours) as the S6 Edge. Naturally, with a specification sheet like that the new phone is incredibly quick. Added is live streaming of video you’re capturing, a practice made popular by Meerkat and Twitter’s Periscope apps.

With a similar design and display, the Note 5 has taken more than a few pointers from the S6. They sport aluminum frames and glass backs rather than plastic. The ergonomics perhaps aren’t as fist-friendly as the curved back of the Note 5 (based on the leaked photos we’ve seen), but provided you’re comfortable with the smooth, reflective Gorilla Glass backing, it’s wholly manageable.

Borrowing another page from Apple’s playbook, the phones are coming out just a week after they are announced.

Shin said he expects wide adoption because Samsung Pay “doesn’t cause small business to upgrade their terminals and will be accepted nearly everywhere on day one”.

The S6 phones this spring emphasized design instead, but sales fell below expectations, as Apple dominated the high-end market.