In a new interview, a Samsung executive has revealed that the Galaxy S5 will feature a new design and a possible extra-security feature using an iris scanner.
Lee Young Hee, executive vice president of Samsung Mobile, just spoke to Bloomberg about the company's future in the world of smartphones, phablets, tablets, and wearables. As sales of the Galaxy S4 have slowed down since the release of the iPhone 5s, Samsung is making some buzz about its next flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S5. The upcoming smartphone has been rumored to feature a brand new design that will be very different from the company's last two high-end smartphones.
"When we moved to S4 from S3, it's partly true that consumers couldn't really feel much difference between the two products from the physical perspective, so the market reaction wasn't as big," she said. "For the S5, we will go back to the basics. Mostly, it's about the display and the feel of the cover."
Over the last few months there have been rumors that Samsung will ditch its usual all-plastic smartphone case for a more premium material such as anodized aluminum as found on Apple's iPhone 5s and the HTC One. Design played a pivotal role for HTC, for instance, as the company's HTC One was named Best in Show at MWC 2013 and countless reviews have praised the company for the high-end design of the HTC One.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 will not only get a new design, but the company's executive revealed that the smartphone may ship with an iPhone 5s-like security feature on board. Don't expect to see a fingerprint scanner gracing the Galaxy S5 though, Samsung has bigger visions and is currently looking into using an eye scanner in place of a fingerprint to keep its smartphone safe and secure.
"Many people are fanatical about iris recognition technology," Lee Young Hee said at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. "We are studying the possibility but can't really say whether we will have it or not on the S5."
Lee Young Hee also went on to note that Samsung plans on releasing a second-generation Galaxy Gear smartwatch that won't be as bulky as the current device and will offer more advanced functions relating to health, such as calorie consumption, heart rate monitoring and stress level measuring, to name a few. Just as the first Galaxy Gear launched with the Galaxy Note 3, the new smartwatch is expected to launch alongside the Galaxy S5. Lee further noted that the company is targeting a release around March or April.
The executive also confirmed previous rumors that Samsung is putting more of its resources and focus, including marketing, on its Galaxy tablets in 2014 to better compete with Apple's iPad. The company just launched its largest tablets to date with the 12.2-inch NotePRO and TabPRO. Lee also dropped some Galaxy Note 4 news, and the phablet could feature a three-sided display that would allow users to read messages from an angle.
Samsung has certainly laid out some very exciting plans for its mobile devices in 2014, so now we just have to wait and see if the company can deliver on these claims. Stay tuned.
