Samsung Electronics has introduced a new smartphone experience with the latest device in its Android-powered Galaxy lineup dubbed the Galaxy Round. This smartphone boasts a 5.7" full HD Super Flexible AMOLED curved screen.  

Despite the curvy shape of this smartphone’s display, it measures in at the exact thinness of the Galaxy S4 (review), namely 7.9 mm, but is noticeably heavier in hand thanks to its weight of 154 g (compared to the S4’s 130 g).

Bending display norms

According to Samsung, the curved design of the Galaxy Round’s display enables users to take advantage of round integration experiences such as the Roll Effect. This feature allows users to glance information like date, time, missed calls and battery level simply by tilting the curved device towards them whilst it is place on a desk. Additionally, the handy one-hand operation functionality allows a user’s most utilised controls to appear closer to side of the screen that they use most.

Other features capitalising off of the round display is Bounce UX that allows users to control music playback even if the Galaxy Round’s display is off. While the music player is running in the background, pressing the left of the device will play the previous track while a press to the right will play the next track. The gallery makes use of a new feature dubbed Side Mirror, which helps users to gain access to a list of the album content simply by tilting the smartphone left and right.

Other features

Powering the Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) running device is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon MSM 8974 quad-core processor running at 2.3 GHz per core. This CPU is, as in the case of the Galaxy Note 3, backed up by a whopping 3 GB of RAM. In terms of optics users receive a 2 MP front-facing snapper and 13 MP main camera.

Also onboard is Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS plus GLONASS support, NFC, LTE (4G) connectivity, a 2800 mAh battery, 32 GB worth of internal storage that is expandable via microSD memory card slot (supports cards up to 64 GB in size).

Samsung said that the Galaxy Round will be available in its hometurf of South Korea soon. No local release details is available yet.

In related news, Samsung also recently made its Galaxy Note 3 phablet available to buyers in South Africa at a recommended retail price of R9 000.