The new Galaxy Note 4 updates Samsung's bigger-screen smartphone line, which it started in 2011. CNET
Samsung on Wednesday unveiled the new Galaxy Note 4, updating one of its marquee smartphone lines at a time when the Korean tech giant should face stiffer competition in bigger-screen phones.
The company also came out with its Note Edge smartphone, with a curved display, and the Samsung Gear VR virtual-reality headset.
Wednesday's event, dubbed "Unpacked" by Samsung and held at the IFA trade show in Berlin, comes at a critical time for Samsung. The company is being pressured in emerging markets by low-cost handset vendors such as Xiaomi and Huawei. It's also facing tough competition from Apple in the market for pricey, high-end smartphones.
Samsung, which started its bigger-screen Note line in 2011, opted to double-down on these smartphones, now offering two new versions, the Note 4 with a 5.7-inch display and Note Edge with a 5.6-inch display. Although usually a second fiddle to Samsung's Galaxy S line of phones, the Note devices could help Samsung keep ahead of Apple, which is expected to come out with its own bigger-screen iPhone smartphones next week, including one with a 5.5-inch display. Those Apple devices could threaten Samsung's strength in jumbo smartphones, a market Samsung essentially created and one where the Note has enjoyed a lack of opposition.
With simultaneous events in New York, Berlin and Beijing, Samsung's unveilings went along as essentially expected. The company was predicted to unveil its newest big-screen smartphone with a stylus, the Galaxy Note. The company was also expected to show off its new virtual reality headset, developed with Facebook's Oculus and its new Gear S smartwatch that has its own 3G modem and runs Samsung's open-source Tizen operating system. Samsung announced the Gear S last week, ahead of its Unpacked event.
DJ Lee, head of sales and marketing for Samsung's IT and mobile communications division of Samsung Electronics, said at the Wednesday event in Berlin that his company sees the smartphone as progressively becoming more of a "hub of human interaction," being a mobile wallet, personal television, computer for work and health coach.
He said Samsung plans to push forward efforts to have users adopt such uses by innovating smartphone technology. "I can promise you that we will never slow down," he said.
The Note 4 provides Samsung's first 1440p display and quad-core Snapdragon 805 chipset, but marks the first time Samsung hasn't boosted the size for its jumbo phone, keeping with the Note 3's 5.7-inch display. The Note 4, which will go on sale globally in October, arrives as more consumers are willing to tolerate the bulkiness of a larger display for an improved video, gaming, and Internet-browsing experience. Interest in the product is high. And the company badly needs a hit after the disappointing sales of the 5.1-inch Galaxy S5 and mounting competition in the market.
Showing off the Galaxy Note Edge, which has a curved display. CNET
For the Note Edge, Samsung created a touchscreen that bends along the right edge of the smartphone, offering users a curved and independent screen for app shortcuts, notifications and controls for the camera and video playback
While Samsung often gets knocked as a "fast follower" when it comes to tech trends, it's indisputable that the company blazed a new trail with the introduction of the original 5.3-inch Galaxy Note in 2011. Though the device was mocked at first for its large display, the larger display size gradually found acceptance with consumers. There was a begrudging acceptance of the Note 2 in the market and eager anticipation for the Note 3. It also set off a stream of similar big-screen devices from rival handset vendors such as HTC and LG.
Phablets, typically defined as having screens between 5 and 6.99 inches, still make up a small percentage of the overall smartphone industry's sales. Only 15 percent of smartphones sold worldwide last year were phablets, according to Strategy Analytics. This year, the phablet share should rise to 22 percent, thanks to Apple's newest devices, Strategy Analytics analyst Neil Mawston said.
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