iPhones might bend, but they sure don’t curve.
Samsung announced two new Galaxy S6 smartphones Sunday at the Mobile World Congress, an industry exhibition held in Barcelona, Spain.
There’s the Samsung Galaxy S6, the newest iteration of the company’s popular line of Android phones, and there’s the Galaxy S6 Edge, which features a curved screen not unlike the one seen on the Galaxy Note Edge phablet.
They will be on sale April 10 and will feature 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB storage options, according to TechCrunch — no teensy 16GB offerings here.
Unlike previous Galaxy devices, which had plastic bodies, the S6 devices feature a metal design, bringing them closer to the iPhone’s aluminum back.
After the iPhone 6 launched last fall, Apple weathered some bad press when a video surfaced showing the device bending in response to a stress test. Samsung’s Younghee Lee, executive vice president of the company’s mobile division, seemed to relish the opportunity for a jab during Sunday’s press event.
“This stuff will not bend,” Lee said.
In another shot at Apple, which has pioneered a walletless payment system with Apple Pay, the Korean electronics maker announced Samsung Pay, a service that allows people to use their phones instead of physical credit cards for contact-free payments at participating retailers.
Samsung has partnered with companies including Visa, MasterCard and Citibank to bring its payment system to more retailers “than any other offering,” according to TechCrunch.
Both the S6 and S6 Edge have 5.1-inch screens, which fall in between the iPhone 6 (4.7 inches) and iPhone 6 Plus (5.5 inches). The S6 Edge weighs slightly less, but the main difference between the devices is the curved screen, which essentially provides at-a-glance notifications. For instance, you can assign colors to contacts — assign green to calls from your boss, and the phone will emanate a visible green light from the curved part of the screen when the phone is face down.
Unlike previous Galaxy models — which are some of the most popular Android phones in America — the S6 will not have a removable battery, and it won’t support microSD storage cards. In other words, you’re stuck with whatever’s built into the phone — just as you are with the iPhone.
Samsung may be enjoying the spotlight, but expect Apple to fire back at its March event next week.