Battle looms between Galaxy S6 vs. G4

The new Galaxy S6, right, and S6 Edge are displayed during a Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2015 event on March 1 in Barcelona, Spain. / AP-Yonhap

By Bahk Eun-ji

A fierce battle is looming between smartphone makers.

Samsung Electronics will start selling its new flagship Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge at home and abroad Friday. LG Electronics has already sent official invites to the media to the unveiling of its G4 on April 28.

LG usually releases its flagship models, dubbed the G-series, a few months after the launch of Samsung’s models.

Last year, LG began selling the G3 in May, two months after Samsung launched its Galaxy S5.

Galaxy S6 and the Edge have drawn positive reviews from bloggers and experts. Samsung has focused on hardware and software design with the new models.

LG Electronics’ press invitation for its next flagship LG G4 implies that the new model will have a leather back cover. / Korea Times file

But LG is expected to challenge Samsung and Apple. LG officials say it has drastically upgraded the camera function and overhauled specifications and designs.

LG will launch an aggressive marketing campaign for the G4. It said it would select 4,000 consumers in 15 counties to “test drive” the new model weeks before its official launch.

Starting from Korea, the program will target users in 14 other markets ― Turkey, Indonesia, Singapore, China, United States, India, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong and United Kingdom.

Including the “experience project,” marketing expenses will be about three times more than those for the G3 last year.

Last week, LG revealed the handset has a 5.5-inch Quad high-definition (QHD) display and will run the UX 4.0 software.

It shows the model with an f/1.8 aperture limit, which means more light on the camera sensor and better image quality in low-light.

Its full camera details are yet to be confirmed, but the company said the G4 would have a leather back cover.

There have been rumors that the G4 will have a curved display similar to the LG G Flex, to make it more comfortable to hold and to give a better viewing angle.