New Samsung Galaxy S7 could have retina scanner and pressure-sensitive screen
The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge (L) and Samsung Galaxy S6 (R) on display at Mobile World Congress
The upcoming Samsung Galaxy S7 smartphone could have pressure-sensitive touch, a high-speed charging port and a retina scanner.
Sources said that there will be two editions of the phone – one with a flat screen, and a premium version with a curved-screen. They also said that the new phone’s camera will be flat to the back of the phone and optimised for low light photography.
The latest addition to the Samsung family, set for launch in February, doesn’t appear to be very different to the previous Galaxy S6. And for the S7’s new features, it is expected that Samsung will take inspiration from other smartphones on the market, according to the reports.
It will be the first Samsung phone to have a high-speed charging port, also known as a USB Type-C port. But the port, which can give a phone a full day’s charge in as little as 30 minutes, is already used in LG and Huawei phones.
Meanwhile, the pressure-sensitive screens will likely be similar to the 3D touch Apple introduced in its iPhone 6s and 6s Plus earlier this year. The sensitive touch lets users control their phones by pressing gently and firmly, as well as swiping and tapping.
Samsung is also considering introducing a retina scanner into some versions of its Galaxy S7, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Although this technology is fairly new, Samsung is not the first phone manufacturer to play with the biometric authentication feature. Chinese manufacturer ZTE first used retina-scanning in its Grand S3, which debuted at the last Mobile World Congress earlier this year.
Having misjudged demand for the curved screen version of the Galaxy S6 – it thought it would sell one for every four of the standard version, according to the Journal – Samsung is expected to produce more of the premium version this time.
The new phone will be one of the first major mobile products released under its new chief. Earlier this month, Samsung replaced its mobile communications chief executive JK Shin in the wake of a troubled year for the South Korean company, ceding control to Dongjin Koh, who was head of Samsung’s mobile research arm, which developed the impending Samsung Pay contactless payments system.
Despite announcing a surprise third quarter profit of 7.39 tr won ($6.45 bn) and return to growth, Samsung faces stiff competition both from high-end smartphone makers like Apple as well as home grown cheap alternatives from Xiaomi and Micromax.
The new Galaxy S7 will go on sale in the US in mid-March and is expected to be announced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in late February.