Report: Samsung Galaxy S7 to get pressure-sensitive display and new high-speed charging port

Samsung's upcoming lineup of flagship smartphones will include a pressure-sensitive display and a new, high-speed charging port, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. Samsung is also considering adding a retina scanner to some versions of the phone, which will be branded the Galaxy S7.

A premium version with a curved screen will also be included in the new line of handsets, which is expected to come to market in March. The new features aren't expected to be "a major departure" from the current generation Galaxy S6, the Journal noted.

Samsung declined to comment to the Journal.

The new lineup will mark the first flagship phone to be released under D. J. Koh, a Samsung veteran who took the helm of the company's mobile business two weeks ago. Koh is expected to shift Samsung's focus toward software and services, but he also faces a major challenge in reversing the company's handset business.

Indeed, the research firm TrendForce recently said it expects the number of Samsung's smartphone shipments to decline from 2014 to 2015, which would be a first for the company. Samsung's shipments will decrease 1 percent in 2015, TrendForce predicted, with roughly 323.5 million units shipped. The South Korean company is facing stiff competition from Chinese vendors of low- and mid-range smartphones, but it remains the world's largest phone manufacturer.

Samsung's new charging port is likely to be a USB Type-C port that can provide a full day's charge in 30 minutes and is already on the market in smartphones from other manufacturers. Some competitors' phones also feature the retina scanner Samsung it expected to add to some versions of the Galaxy S7.

Samsung's lineup is expected to be showcased at the Mobile World Congress trade show in February before becoming available to U.S. users in mid-March.

For more:
- see this Wall Street Journal report

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