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With the Samsung Mega, the name says it all. It’s an unapologetically large “hybrid handset” with a 6.3-inch display that AT&T will begin selling Aug. 23.
The tablet-sized device with smartphone-like features will be priced at $24 per month through the AT&T Next program, or for $149.99 with a new, two-year contract.
The Mega measures 6.6 by 3.5 by 0.3 inches, meaning users will get considerably more screen real estate in a device just as thin (0.3 inches) as the 5-inch Samsung Galaxy S 4.
The Mega’s resolution, however, is a considerable step down, at 1,280 by 720p, compared with the S 4’s Full HD 1,920-by-1,080 display.
The Galaxy Mega runs Android 4.2.2 and offers a long list of features first introduced to users in the Galaxy S III and S 4. These include Air View, which lets a user hover a finger over an item, such as a calendar item, to display its details, instead of taking the time to launch it entirely; and Multi Window, which lets a user engage with two apps at once, such as watching a video in a box placed somewhere on the screen while also browsing the Web.
Easy Mode lets users overwhelmed by the Galaxy’s options start out with a very basic home screen, WatchOn turns the phone into a remote control for a home entertainment system, and S Translator helps users communicate across what would otherwise be language barriers.
The Mega features an 8-megapixel camera on the back and a 1.9-megapixel camera in the front, and it weighs 7 ounces (the Galaxy S 4 weighs 4.6, for context).
Samsung’s Mega Market Share
Samsung currently dominates both the smartphone and overall mobile phone markets worldwide.
While its closest rival is Apple, the two couldn’t be more different in their approaches to the market. While Apple introduces one new iPhone each autumn, Samsung introduced its flagship Galaxy S 4 in March and since then has introduced more than a dozen phones, including the Galaxy S Mini, the Galaxy S 4 Active, the Galaxy Ace 3 and the Galaxy S 4 Zoom.
In addition to the upcoming Mega—which some carriers will also offer in a second version with a 5.8-inch qHD display—Samsung also offers tablets in every popular form factor, with or without a stylus.
Apple is rumored to be planning a Sept. 10 event at which it will introduce its newest iPhone—or even, for the first time, two new iPhones—but it’s expected that before Apple shows off its long-awaited update, Samsung has still another device up its sleeve.
Or, just south of its sleeve.
Samsung is expected to introduce a smart watch at a Sept. 4 event ahead of the IFA trade show in Berlin.
While Apple is also rumored to be working on a watch, Samsung has confirmed that it’s “working very hard” on a watch, among other products.
“We’ve been preparing the watch product for so long,” Lee Young Hee, executive vice president of Samsung’s mobile business, told Bloomberg back in March.
The Mega, like all the other Galaxy devices AT&T support, will be compatible with the carrier’s 4G LTE network.
Sprint has also confirmed that it will sell the Galaxy Mega, with the other of unlimited data, “later this year.”