Samsung Pay, Netflix HDR to hit Singapore shores by late this year

EVEN before the Mobile World Congress (MWC) kicked off in Barcelona, Spain this Monday, analysts had warned that the launch of new flagship smartphones and Virtual Reality (VR) products wouldn't be enough to offer "true innovation".

"In today's environment, millions or even billions of dollars in capital is not required to drive innovation," said Forrester analyst Julie Ask. "Cloud, big data, and mobile have evened the innovation playing field when it comes to consumer applications and services - even the solutions that enable consumer mobile engagement."

On Feb 20, two days before MWC 2016, Samsung announced that its mobile payment service, Samsung Pay, will roll out globally beginning with China in March, followed by Australia, Brazil, Singapore, Spain and the UK.

The service has been available in South Korea and the US since 2015. Samsung also revealed that five million registered users has processed over US$500 million with Samsung Pay.

The service, which allows users to make payments at retailers through selected Galaxy devices, will support four major payment networks, including American Express, China UnionPay, MasterCard and Visa.

Major banks that Samsung would be working with in Singapore include DBS Bank, OCBC Bank and Standard Chartered Bank.

"With Singapore having the world's highest penetration in smartphones, we see great potential in providing mobile-led and innovative solutions to our customers," said Anthony Seow, head of cards and unsecured loans, consumer banking group, DBS Bank.

"DBS's partnership with Samsung Pay represents the next wave in card payment solutions, allowing DBS consumers to effectively use their smartphones as their credit and debit cards without compromising on security."

However, Forrester analyst Thomas Husson said: "Other attempts from Samsung in the consumer service ecosystem have not proven to be successful yet. To really stand out and drive regular usage, Samsung will have to add more value before, during and after transactions combining loyalty, couponing and other contextual services that would offer more benefits to consumers and merchants simultaneously."

During the MWC, Netflix also announced the introduction of high dynamic range (HDR) programming, which presents better picture quality than the 4K resolution currently offered.

"HDR content is the next-level resolution in the playback experience. What this means for our members is that with our current Ultra HD 4K (and soon HDR), the best possible picture quality they can now get is only on the Internet," said Chris Jaffe, vice-president of product innovation, Netflix.

"Consumers in any country where Netflix is available (Singapore included) should be able to watch HDR shows on our platform later this year. Some HDR shows that will be available on the platform include Marco Polo season one and the highly anticipated second season of Daredevil."

Both Samsung Pay and Netflix HDR programming will reach Singapore shores by late this year.

Apple, Samsung's main competitor, had announced in 2015 that Apple Pay would arrive in Singapore in 2016, though a date has not been set.