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Samsung Malaysia have officially launched their Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge+ smartphones for Malaysia today with the roadshows kicking off at Gurney Plaza Penang (4 - 6 September), Sunway Pyramid (4 - 9 September) and Sutera Mall Johor Bahru (4 - 6 September). No surprises here as the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 will be offered at RM2699 while the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ is going for RM3099. Thankfully, you still get free accessories worth up to RM538, up to half-price discounts for the second Galaxy Note 5 purchased and a trade-in program for current Galaxy Note users to receive discounts from RM200 to RM1150. The two smartphones will be available in Malaysia starting from tomorrow on 4 September 2015 but hit the roadshows early for the promotions.

To reiterate, the free accessories include a 11300 mAh battery pack for RM306 and a wireless charger worth RM232. The 50% off discount for the second Galaxy Note 5 means you have to purchase two Galaxy Note 5 smartphones and pay full price (RM2699) for the first Note 5 and 50% off for the second Note 5, but you have to be among the first 100 to line up for the Sunway Pyramid roadshow or the first 50 at the other roadshow locations. The trade-in program will still let you trade in your Galaxy Note for RM200, Note 2 for RM600, Note 3 for RM800 and Note 4 for RM1150. In addition, the Galaxy S6 will be priced at RM2199 and the Galaxy S6 edge at RM2599 during the roadshow period. Check out our hands-on pics below.

Apart from the Huawei Mate S, Huawei also officially announced the Huawei G8. Featuring a 5.5-inch FHD display with 2.5D curved gorilla glass, 13MP camera with a sapphire crystal layer and OIS the smartphone also packs in a fingerprint sensor with 3000 mAh battery, Dual SIM, Dual Access and Dual 4G LTE. Featuring a premium metal body the G8 obviously takes its design cues from the Huawei P8. Going for 399 british pounds (RM2580) the Huawei G8 is also expected to arrive in Malaysia in September 2015 with an appropriate price drop as well.

Huawei have finally and officially announced their Huawei Mate S smartphone featuring a 2.65 thin (at its thinnest point) all high-grade aluminum chassis with a fingerprint sensor and a force touch equipped 5.5-inch display with 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla Glass 4 and FHD resolution. According to Huawei, they've included a Fingerprint Sense 2.0 with the fingerprint sensor for faster recognition speed and control in a single touch on top of the Knuckle Sense Technology 2.0 for screen capturing introduced earlier. Explaining the Force Touch for the Mate S, one example is if you press harder on an image it will zoom closer, along with tapping the corners to launch an app. The Force Touch sensor is even sensitive enough to be used as a weighing scale so you can place an object on the screen and get its weight. Other tech specs and features include the 13MP 4-colour RGBW rear camera with Optical Image Stabilization introduced with the Huawei P8 but this time it has a sapphire glass layer for the lens. An 8MP front camera with soft lighting rounds things up along with a more sensitive microphone and a nano coating for water resistance. Unlike the Huawei P8 there is quick charging for the Mate S as 10 minutes will give 2 hours worth of talk time. No Malaysia release dates or pricing details but it is expected to come in September 2015 and is priced from 649 British Pounds (RM4197) but we expect this price to drop accordingly. 

The Samsung Gear S2 and Gear S2 classic smartwatches have been officially announced recently. Measuring in at 11.4mm thin the Gear S2 uses a 1.2-inch circular display with 360 x 360 pixel resolution. Powered by a 1.2GHz dual core processor and Tizen OS the Gear S2 also has a version with built-in 3G, so you can slot in an e-SIM and make voice calls direct with the smartwatch. While it offers new fitness tracking functions, the main standout features for the Gear S2 include NFC and compatiblity with Samsung Pay along with a 2-3 day battery life. Samsung Gear apps remain rather limited but at least the Gear S2 is IP68 rated (you can bring it swimming) and has built-in WiFi with Wireless Charging features. No Malaysia release dates or pricing details yet but we'll keep you updated.

Intel have announced the release of their 6th Generation Intel Core processors built on the new Skylake microarchitecture and 14nm fabrication process the new 6th generation Intel Core processors promise 2.5x better performance, 3x battery life, 30x better graphics than the average 5-year old system. These new processors are also thinner and lighter with faster wake-up time. Featuring a diverse range of processors for desktops, notebook computers and even mobile workstations, it really caught our attention that the new Intel Core m3, m5 and m7 processors may soon be in the next premium tablets to emerge while an Intel Core M processors is also headed for Intel's Compute Stick mini PC. While we hope that this won't be just for Microsoft Surface tablets it is also great news that Intel has released a mobile "K" SKU which means mobile Intel processors that can be overclocked. It opens up whole new possibilities for the enthusiast and performance groups to make the shift from the shrinking desktop PC overclock scene to a whole new tablet and mobile overclocking platform. Intel says more exciting things are coming with Intel Iris and Iris Pro graphics along with better IoT hardware but no details yet on any specific Malaysia release dates or pricing. Check out the Intel site for more information. 

With the Malaysia launch date for the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge+ happening tomorrow on 3 September 2015, Samsung Malaysia are offering free accessories worth up to RM538, up to half-price discounts for the second Galaxy Note 5 purchased and a trade-in program for current Galaxy Note users to receive discounts from RM200 to RM1150 for the first day of their roadshow on 4 September 2015. The roadshow will be held at Gurney Plaza Penang (4 - 6 September), Sunway Pyramid (4 - 9 September) and Sutera Mall Johor Bahru (4 - 6 September).

The free accessories include a 11300 mAh battery pack for RM306 and a wireless charger worth RM232. The offer for the 50% off the second Galaxy Note 5 means you have to purchase two Galaxy Note 5 smartphones and pay full price (RM2699) for the first Note 5 and 50% off for the second Note 5, but you have to be among the first 100 to line up for the Sunway Pyramid roadshow or the first 50 at the other roadshow locations. The trade-in program on the other hand lets you trade in yourGalaxy Note for RM200, Note 2 for RM600, Note 3 for RM800 and Note 4 for RM1150. In related news, the Galaxy S6 will be priced at RM2199 and the Galaxy S6 edge at RM2599 during the roadshow period.

Rounding up the surprise announcemencts with the ASUS ZenFone Selfie launch was the announcement of the ASUS ZenFone 2 Laser for just RM799. Looking to replace the 5-inch display ASUS ZenFone 2 smartphones, the ZenFone 2 Laser ZE550KL features a 13MP PixelMaster rear camera with laser autofocus and dual-LED real tone flash along with a 5MP front camera making it very high value cameraphone. The 5.5-inch display looks to have a 720p resolution but still has a protective layer of the latest Corning Gorilla Glass 4. Tech specs and features include a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and 4G LTE Dual SIM Dual Standby. It should be available in the coming weeks but our hands-on with the device shows a smartphone very much like the ASUS ZenFone 2 with the only major physical difference being the laser sensor on the right side of the rear camera. This value cameraphone is expected in the coming weeks along with the rest of the newly announced ASUS ZenFones

In a surprise announcement during the ASUS ZenFone Selfie launch, ASUS Malaysia have confirmed our earlier report that the ASUS ZenFone 2 Deluxe is coming to Malaysia for RM1599. This version packs in all the highest-end features such as 4GB RAM and 64-bit 2.3Ghz Intel Atom Z3580 processor along with 128GB of built-in storage plus up to 128GB microSD support. It also features the latest polygon faceted backplate from the ASUS Illusion series of patterned backplates in purple and white for a more striking look. Available as soon as next week, the ZenFone Deluxe maintains a 13MP PixelMaster rear camera and 5MP front camera along with 4G LTE Cat 6 and Dual SIM Dual Standby support. The 5.5-inch display is a full HD resolution. Also on display was the ZenFone Go, said to be the replacement for the lower-end ZenFones. Priced for around RM509 the smartphone feels slim with a matte back but retaining the same premium metal features like the concentric circle front panel and metallic looking buttons. No news about when the ZenFone Go might be coming but we expect it to be soon. Overall, it still feels premium but do check out our hands-on photos in this article.

ASUS Malaysia have launched the ASUS ZenFone Selfie for RM1049 on preorder. Available on preorder (via Thundermatch) the first 50 to do so will get a free ASUS ZenPower 9600 mAh powerbank and an ASUS LolliFlash external flashlight at no extra charge. The ZenFone Selfie standout features remain a 13MP PixelMaster camera on both the front and back with laser autofocus and dual LED real tone flash. Other tech specs include a 64-bit octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage. The 5.5-inch display will have a full HD resolution and a protective layer of the latest Corning Gorilla Glass 4. The ZenFone Selfie will also offer 4G LTE connectivity with Dual SIM and Dual Standby. The smartphone should be available for the general public in the next few weeks.

Intel recently held their Intel Developer Forum (IDF) 2015 where Brian Krzanich, CEO of Intel revealed more upcoming Intel technologies that will impact the world. Of note was the new Intel Opane technology based on the 3D XPoint memory media for Intel SSDs that will offer better performance, endurance and space when or if it does come out. The Fossil Group also revealed an Intel-based wearables coming in September 2015 including an Android Wear smartwatch. Continuing Intel's focus on the Internet of Things, a platform for the Intel Curie module, the button sized computer system in a chip will enable even more devices. Check out all the highlights in this article.