Samsung has just announced the release of its new smartphone/camera hybrid in the form of the Galaxy K zoom. This is a move we've come to expect from the South Korean manufacturer, with previous high-powered camera and smartphone devices making their way to the public shortly after their flagship counterparts.

Aiming to merge digital camera technology with Samsung's Galaxy experience, the K zoom hinges heavily off the design of the Galaxy S5 and features a 4.8" HD Super AMOLED display, running Android 4.4.2 Kit-Kat. The K zoom is also powered by a hexa-core chipset, split between a 1.3 GHz quad-core and 1.7 GHz dual-core processor respectively.

The most important element however is the 20.7 megapixel BSI CMOS sensor with 10x zoom, that the Galaxy K zoom sports, a significant step up from the 16 megapixel version fitted on the S4 Zoom (review) model.

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This smart device integrates new usability functions, including AF/AE Separation (Auto Focus/Auto Exposure) which balances light and image clarity detail while shooting. Other new features include the enhanced Pro Suggest mode, which offers five optimised filter settings for use while taking images, and editing previously captured content.

But the one mode garnering the most interest is the Selfie Alarm that allows users to take timed selfies, and object tracking to ensure focus is maintained while shooting a moving object.         

Being an Android powered smart device, the Galaxy K zoom provides access to a host of Google Mobile Services such as Drive, Gmail, Google +, YouTube, as well as the Play Store.

As far as connectivity goes, the K zoom incorporates Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC, with 8 GB of internal memory and slots for micro SD, micro SDHC and micro SDXC for up to 32 GB and 64 GB respectively.       

At this stage, the pricing and availability for the Galaxy K zoom is unconfirmed, but we should see it make its way to local stores by the end of Q2 2014 for an estimated $600 (R6 400).