It's official: Samsung finally revealed its Galaxy S5 smartphone at an event during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Follow our updates for the latest news:
2:35 p.m.: The big question for this beast of a phone: how's the battery? Ayme says the battery supports as much as 10 hours of Web browsing and 12 hours video playback.
2:32 p.m.: Ayme starts with the design of the phone. "In your hands, a smartphone has never felt better," he says. He's showing the perforated back panel, which he says makes the phone better to handle. It's available in four colors: black, white, blue and gold.
2:30 p.m.: Samsung exec Jean-Daniel Ayme is up next, offering more details on the Galaxy S5.
2:27 p.m.: Samsung not only confirmed the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo smartwatches, but a new fitness band called the Gear Fit. It looks like the standard fitness band with a screen that takes up slightly less than half of the band space. Looks a bit bulkier than standard fitness bands.
2:25 p.m.: The smartphone will include additional layers of physical and digital security. Shin says the phone will include an upgraded version of its Samsung Knox security system, while device itself will be dustproof and waterproof. And it looks like they'll have a gold model, too.
2:23 p.m.: Shin holds up an S5, which will work on LTE networks. The back cover also boasts an interesting perforated pattern.
2:21 p.m.: Shin says consumers don't want "eye-popping technology" or tech that's too complex. He says they want a beautiful design, a device that's simple to use, stay connected and stay fit. Seems like he's setting up the themes behind the new phone.
2:18 p.m.: Samsung President and CEO J.K. Shin is on the stage. He says more than 200 million Galaxy smartphones have been sold to date.
2:15 p.m.: The band has stopped. Cue the video montage. Time to check out the new phone (and smartwatch).
2:14 p.m. ET: More details on the Galaxy S5 smartphone just announced by Samsung: it includes a 2.5 GHz quad-core processor and run on Android's latest operating system Kitkat. The phone will also feature a heart rate sensor, along with either 16 GB or 32 GB of storage, with the option to expand to 64 GB via microSD card. It launches worldwide this April.
2:08 p.m. ET: And just like that, Samsung has made it official. From USA TODAY's Ed Baig, the Galaxy S5 has been confirmed. It will feature a 5.1-inch screen, 16-megapixel camera, a fingerprint scanner, and it will be waterproof. It will also support mobile wallets. Meanwhile, the band plays on as we wait for Samsung's event to start.
Update at 2:01 p.m. ET: The Samsung event should get under way shortly. The company brought in a full orchestra to entertain the crowd before kicking off.
Our original post
Along with the usual upgrades consumers have expected from new smartphones, such as lighter, thinning frames and sharper displays, the device could also follow in the footsteps of Apple by adding biometric sensors.
In January, the company revealed it was exploring the addition of eye-sensing technology, but online reports are swirling that suggest a fingerprint sensor is more likely.
Samsung should also provide the first look at its updated Galaxy Gear smartwatches, announced over the weekend. The Gear 2 includes a 2-megapixel auto-focus camera on the body, a 1.63-inch Super AMOLED display and fitness features such as a heart rate monitor and pedometer.
Follow this page for the latest updates from Samsung's Galaxy event in Barcelona starting at 2 p.m. ET. Also, if you want to watch, Samsung will be streaming the event live from YouTube.
Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @bam923.
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