Samsung announces Samsung pay, mobile payment service

The moves are aimed at keeping the South Korean giant on top the global smartphone market and countering US rival Apple, which has made gains with its large-screen iPhone 6 and 6-Plus and its tap-to-pay feature.

The Galaxy S6 was lauded by critics when it was released earlier this year, and the curved screen of the Edge version allowed users to see brief notifications on the side of the phone.

If you missed it, which would be hard to do unless you stayed offline completely, Samsung announced the Galaxy S6 Edge+ and the Galaxy Note 5 yesterday, both showing off some improvements over previous model devices.

The two smartphones have similar base product specifications, with both sporting a 5.7-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED 2560 x 1440 (518ppi) display.

Samsung last showcased its second-generation Gear VR headset in March this year for its flagship Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge smartphones.

Samsung has announced that Samsung Pay, its mobile payment system, is about to roll out, but Australians might not want to hold their breath. New T-Mobile Samsung owners can take advantage of the $100 credit or something like $8.99 per month. The battery capacity in the two phones is 3,000mAh, slightly less than the Galaxy Note 4’s 3,220mAh.

Samsung Pay is protected, as Samsung says it features Samsung KNOX, fingerprint verification and digital tokenization; so the payment can not be successful unless you swipe your finger on the scanner.

Given the what I think is unwise premium pricing for the Note 5 and S6 Edge+, that may be a good thing. Fortunately, there’s one inclusion on the Galaxy S6 Edge+ that will likely prove helpful: a full suite of Microsoft Office apps, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint. As of this writing, there is no update on the availability of 5.1.1 Lollipop from other U.S. carriers.