What’s gone:
-SPlanner
-SMemo
-SSuggest
What’s new:
+Skype
+OneDrive
+OneNoteWhen will
it arrive?
Samsung Pay will
rolloutintheUS
and South Korea
this summer, while
Europe and China
will have to wait
untillaterinthe
yeartotryitoutTouchWiz, the skin that Samsung lays over stock Android, has
rarely been popular among Galaxy users. Criticised for having too much
bloatware that created lag when opening up apps, TouchWiz has undergone
adietfortheS6,strippingaway40percentoffeatures.Theonlytwo
Samsung apps that remain are S Voice and S Health, though all of the
others,includingSPlanner,arestilldownloadablefromtheSamsungApps
Store if you miss them.
The removal of seldom-used Samsungapps is certainly a step in the right
direction for Samsung, as early hands-on tests suggest that the lack of
bloatware has indeed sped up and streamlined the UI. Samsung has added
insomeMicrosoftappstositalongsidethefullsuiteofGoogleapps,but
they don’t feel nearly as intrusive. The icons themselves have undergone
something of a Material Design make-over as well, looking flatter and
cleaner than before. Visually this is very similar to previous TouchWiz
iterations but is a lot faster and easier to navigate and customise, stock
Android's influence shines through more than ever.Everyone has their mobile in their pocket when
they'reoutandabout,butwhataboutthat
agonisingmomentwhenyourealisethatyou
have left your wallet or purse at home just as you
gettothetill?Samsungistryingtoendthat
problem by introducing Samsung Pay, a direct
rivaltoApplePay.
Samsung’s acquisition of LoopPay, a mobile
payment company, showed their interest in
mobile payments. LoopPay claims that it will be
accepted in over 90 per cent of merchant
locationsintheUS,whichisfarbeyondanyother
mobile payment service, such as Apple Pay and
Google Wallet. Samsung Pay uses Magnetic
SecureTransmission(MST)toturnyourphone
into a swipe-style credit card, trumping NFC
stylepayments,whichareonlyacceptedat
around 10 per cent of tills.
Samsung has partnered with Visa,
Mastercard, American Express, JP Morgan
ChaseandBankofAmericaasitattemptsto
revolutionise mobile payments.Simplified
To u c hW i z
Samsung
Gear VR
Samsung Pay
Feature
S6: Can it save the Galaxy? (^) «
Right Different to other
mobile payment systems,
Samsung Pay is also
compatible with older
magnetic-stripe card
terminals as well as
NFC terminals
Along with the S6 and S6 Edge, Samsung announced a new version of its
virtual reality headset, the Gear VR Innovation Edition, which is compatible
with the new flagships. Just as the original version worked by slotting the
Galaxy Note 4 into the headset to use as a display, so does this version work
with either of the new premium phones. With their unbelievable pixel density
of 577ppi, you should be in for quite a ride. The only downside is that the
display size will be slightly smaller than the Note
4-compatible version. It remains to be seen
how this will impact on the immersive
experience, but there should be more
that you can do with it. Co-creators
Oculus have said that they are going to
commit to the Gear
VR in a big way this
year, with lots
more games and
virtual reality
experiences
planned for the
Gear VR store.