Anchor: Samsung Electronics has unveiled its latest smartphone, the Galaxy Note 7, in the U.S. As Apple is also expected to release its new smartphone model next month, competition in the global smartphone market will likely heat up in the second half of this year. KBS checked out the event in New York.
Our Kim Bum-soo reports. 
 
Report: [Sound bite: Galaxy Note 7 Unpacked event in New York (Aug. 2)]

Samsung Electronics unveiled the Galaxy Note 7 in New York on Tuesday.

[Sound bite: Koh Dong-jin - President of Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics (English)]
"It is time for you to experience the latest in smartphone innovation."

The Note 7 is the first Samsung smartphone equipped with an iris scanner. The phone can be unlocked with the user's eyes in less than a second.

[Sound bite: Justin Denison - Vice President, Samsung Telecommunications America (English)]
“We developed our own proprietary algorithm to map the contours of your iris and the pattern of it to map the contours of your iris and translate it into a unique digital signature.”

Samsung explained that the iris scanner has also enhanced the security of its mobile payment platform Samsung Pay. The phone will also allow the user to access mobile banking and authenticate payments through the iris identification.

The overall response to the new flagship model at the New York event was positive, especially to the enhanced security features.
 
[Sound bite: a participant in the promotion event (English)]
"It is going to be more secure and better than the fingerprint [recognition]."

[Sound bite: a participant in the promotion event (English)]
"Awesome. Plus I love the wireless headphones that's going to be amazing.
I definitely want to get those."

Others expressed that the pricing of around 700 dollars for a 32-gigabyte version could be a letdown.

With the official release of the Note 7 set for August 19th, Apple is also scheduled to unveil its new iPhone 7 early next month.

With just about a month left before its release, the iPhone 7 has triggered various rumors about wireless charging, a dual camera and amplified water- and dust-proof durability.

As the two smartphone juggernauts are squaring up to each other with their 7 series lineups, another South Korean smartphone giant, LG Electronics, is also readying to release its V20 device in September.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.