its latest Galaxy Note smartphone at a media event in New York.
The Galaxy Note 7 features iris-recognition, a waterproof stylus as well as automatic translation functions.
All eyes are on whether the phone, which is pitched halfway between a phone and a tablet PC, will allow Samsung to maintain the sales momentum created by the hit Galaxy S7 unveiled earlier this year and outsell the new iPhone that comes out next month.
Koh Dong-jin, the head of Samsung's mobile communications business,
shows the Galaxy Note 7 at a media event in New York on Tuesday. /Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
¡ß Innovative Features
As expected, Samsung equipped the Note 7 with iris-recognition, the first-ever smartphone maker to do so.
Samsung hopes to expand the function from a mere phone-locking
role to mobile banking and other financial transactions.
It is virtually impossible to hack iris recognition except by stealing someone's eyeball.
¡ß Trying to Beat Apple
Samsung will begin pre-sales of the Note 7 on Saturday and release the product in showrooms on Aug.
19 in the U.S. and Korea.
The release comes around 10 days earlier than the Note 5 last year to