Sprint releases minor update for the Galaxy Note 4 and the Galaxy S5

There’s a minor software update being sent out today by Sprint for Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy S5 users on its network, so don’t be excited for a major update when the notification pops up on your device. Even the changelog isn’t that descriptive as it only mentions updates for one single feature known as Reactivation lock and nothing else, no bug fixes or other enhancements are mentioned even though the update weighs around 300MB for the Galaxy S5 and 150MB for the Galaxy Note 4.

For those who don’t know the Samsung Reactivation Lock feature is intended to make it difficult for anyone to use or sell your device if you ever lose it or if it’s stolen. When the feature is enabled your Samsung Account ID and password is securely stored on Samsung’s servers and linked to the device, so the device will ask for that particular Samsung ID and password before allowing anybody to reset it. Galaxy Note 4 users on Sprint will find themselves on firmware version N910PVPU3BOF5 after the update and those who own the Galaxy S5 will go up to version G900PVPU3BOF6. That’s all there is to this update from Sprint.

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Samsung’s new 2TB SSDs deliver high performance at higher cost

Samsung has added two new models to its 3D Vertical NAND based retail SSDs as it has introduced the 850 PRO and 850 EVO solid state drives with 2TB capacity so it now offers 20 different products in this lineup across 50 countries. Samsung has launched the 2TB models to address the increasing consumer demand for high performance high capacity memory solutions and the future of that certainly lies with SSDs.

“Samsung experienced surge in demand for 500 gigabyte (GB) and higher capacity SSDs with the introduction of our V-NAND SSDs. The release of the 2TB SSD is a strong driver into the era of multi-terabyte SSD solutions,” said Un-Soo Kim, Senior Vice President of Branded Product Marketing, Memory Business at Samsung Electronics.

The company has fit the 2TB 850 SSD PRO and EVO drives into the same 7-millimeter 2.5-inch aluminum case as the previous models and they’re fitted with 128 individual Samsung 32 layer 128GB 3D V-NAND flash chips aside from an upgraded high-performance MHX controller that supports 2TB capacity. Also included are four 20nm-class process technology-based 4GB LPDDR3 DRAM chips allowing these drives to deliver what the company claims to be industry-leading performance with improved power efficiency. Samsung guarantees the $800 2TB 850 EVO for five years or 150 terabytes written and the $1000 2TB 850 PRO for ten years or 300 terabytes written.

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First Samsung Galaxy J5 and J7 firmwares are now online

About two weeks ago Samsung released the Galaxy J7 and the Galaxy J5, these are the first smartphones from the company that come with a front-facing LED flash. The company has initially made these handsets available in China only and so far hasn’t confirmed if and when they will be released in other markets. Today the first firmwares for the Galaxy J5 and J7 have come online and they can now be downloaded from our firmwares section.

Firmware details:

• Model: SM-J5008
• Model name:
• Country: China (China Mobile)
• Version: Android 5.1
• Changelist: 610694
• Build date: Thu, 11 Jun 2015 08:52:33 +0000
• Product code: CHM
• PDA: J5008ZMU1AOF1
• CSC: J5008CHM1AOF1

• Model: SM-J7008
• Model name:
• Country: China (China Mobile)
• Version: Android 5.1
• Changelist: 605593
• Build date: Tue, 09 Jun 2015 01:58:30 +0000
• Product code: CHM
• PDA: J7008ZMU1AOF2
• CSC: J7008CHM1AOF2

The Galaxy J5 and J7 feature a 5-inch and 5.5-inch HD display with a 64-bit octa-core Snapdragon 615 processor and 64-bit quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor respectively. Both feature 1.5GB RAM, 13-megapixel rear camera, 16GB internal storage, microSD card slot, dual-SIM slot, LTE and Android 5.1 Lollipop. The first firmwares for the Galaxy J5 and the Galaxy J7 can now be downloaded from our firmwares section.

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Consumer Reports ranks the Galaxy S5 higher than the Galaxy S6

The Galaxy S series handsets from Samsung have almost always performed very well in Consumer Reports’ smartphone ratings and the company’s latest flagship smartphones stick to the script. Consumer Reports finds the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 edge to be among the best smartphones money can buy but interestingly it ranks both of them lower than their predecessor, Samsung’s 2014 flagship, the Galaxy S5.

The Galaxy S6 has a lot going for it, such as the ultra-sharp Quad HD display, powerful new charging features, impressive camera and much more but Consumer Reports feels that with the new flagships Samsung has pulled an about-face on its flagship lineup’s “anti-iPhone persona.” It calls both new flagships “significantly more Apple-like” than predecessors.

Due to the fact that they’re the first Galaxy S models with non-removable batteries, no microSD card slots, don’t happen to be water-resistant like their predecessor and don’t have the battery life to rival their predecessor thus the Galaxy S5 tops the list. It’s followed by the LG G4 in second place which shares the position with its predecessor the G3 on the list. Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge both share fifth place with the iPhone 6 and the Galaxy S5 Sport.

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Samsung isn’t making a Galaxy Note 4 Iron Man edition so this guy made his own

Samsung and Marvel have a good thing going, they’re working together to promote their separate products and further expand their brands. The two recently partnered on an Iron Man edition of the Galaxy S6 edge which is a limited edition device that went for as much as $91,000 in some locations. Samsung isn’t giving the Iron Man treatment to any of its existing handsets and it’s unclear whether it’ll do that with future handsets too, which is why this guy saw it fit to create one on his own.

He went for a rather simple solution, picking out good quality skin based on 3M film to wrap the device in so that it has a similar color to the Iron Man edition from Samsung. Once that was done the device did look like as if it had a rather unique color scheme, he topped it off with an Iron Man wallpaper to complete the look. It may not fetch $91,000 buy at least it will be enough to satisfy the Iron Man fan that wishes that Samsung made more of those limited edition units.

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Samsung social media is confusing users with unclear information on software updates

Here at SamMobile, none of us are fans of the way Samsung handles software updates. We have written about how the company makes a mess of updates by upgrading various devices to different versions of Android, often putting focus on older devices over the latest ones. However, there’s another huge issue that we are beginning to notice about Samsung’s software update policy – it has also made a habit of confusing users on social media channels when it comes to telling them which device will get a software update and which device won’t.

A case in point is the matter around the Lollipop upgrade for the Galaxy Note II. Samsung has, through various platforms, time and again confirmed that the Note II will be updated to Android 5.0, but today, Samsung UK – in a response to a query on Twitter – said the opposite, that the Note II (and the Galaxy S4) will be staying on Android 4.4 KitKat. We have seen this happening with a couple of other devices in the past – one of Samsung’s local arms would say that a particular phone will be getting the next major update, without said update ever making it out to users.

Now, we understand that some of these responses are based on early stages of a firmware’s testing on a particular device (and sometimes on the fact that the social media handlers aren’t let in on what is actually the case), and that Samsung’s plans can change if it decides a device isn’t powerful or suitable enough for the next major version of Android. However, it’s something that continues to confuse users, and we really think that Samsung Korea should start officially declaring its software update plans, instead of leaving it to its regional departments to deal with enquiries from users.

Samsung Korea should start officially declaring its software update plans, instead of leaving it to its regional departments to deal with enquiries from users.

With the largest smartphone user base and an insane amount of devices in its repertoire, Samsung really needs to streamline the entire process of software updates, from updating devices to handling communication with the end-user. If there is no guarantee that a particular phone or tablet is eligible for an update, Samsung should either stay quiet until it can make sure, or just tell users that it has no solid information instead of haphazardly offering varied answers to users in various regions of the world.

@WesoLabeshnai We don’t like to give out bad news Rohan but the Note 2 and the Galaxy S3 won’t be receiving the Lollipop update.

— Samsung Mobile UK (@SamsungMobileUK) July 4, 2015

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Samsung Galaxy Note 5 design video makes interesting revelations

With merely a couple of months to go until Samsung is due to unveil the Galaxy Note 5 there’s already a lot of anticipation regarding this handset, there have been many rumors and reports about its specifications but nothing substantial came up regarding the design and that changes today. A video has been published online which shows off 3D renders of the Galaxy Note 5 giving us our first proper look yet at what could possibly be the next Galaxy Note handset from Samsung.

The 3D CAD renderings have been compiled into a video by infamous Twitter leaker @onleaks who claims the source this was obtained from to be “80%” reliable. The video does makes some interesting revelations, for starters the Galaxy Note 5 borrows design cues from the Galaxy S6, it more or less looks like a flipped S6 with obviously large dimensions due to the larger display. There doesn’t appear to be a USB Type-C port as previously reported and it looks like this time around the S Pen would eject automatically from the device, we already know Samsung has a patent to make this work.

On track to be unveiled at IFA 2015 in September the Galaxy Note 5 is expected to feature a 2K or 4K 5.7-inch Super AMOLED display, an octa-core Exynos 7422 processor, S Pen and perhaps a 3100mAh battery.

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Samsung Z3 might be announced during Tizen Developer Summit later this month

Earlier today, we exclusively reported the specifications of the Samsung Z3, the next Tizen-based smartphone after the Z1, and it is expected to be announced sometime in H2 2015. It appears that Samsung has already imported it into India last week.

As per the information available in the import listings, the Z3 is imported not only for R&D and testing purposes, but also for a “partnering event”. We believe that Samsung might officially announce the Z3 during the Tizen Developer Summit, which will take place in India on July 30-31. Samsung will focus on emerging markets like India and Bangladesh with the Z3, just as it did with the Z1.

The Samsung Z3 (SM-Z300H), which appeared in the import listings, will feature a 5-inch 720p Super AMOLED display, a 1.3GHz quad-core Spreadtrum SC7730S processor, 1.5GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage space, a microSD card slot, an 8-megapixel primary camera, a 5-megapixel front-facing camera, and a 2,600 mAh battery.

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Despite solid profit growth investors don’t expect the Galaxy S6 to do much for the second quarter

Reports of dwindling sales of the Galaxy S6 are not doing any favors for Samsung Electronics even as the company looks on track to report solid profit growth for the second quarter following last year’s troubles. The company’s stock price peaked in March following very favorable reviews for the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 edge but is down almost 6% for the year as of today, supply shortages for the Galaxy S6 edge and economic uncertainty in Europe and China are believed to be one of the factors behind this.

The forecast from a Reuters survey of 39 analysts predicts Samsung’s operating profit for the second quarter to come in at 7.2 trillion won, a significant improvement from the 6 trillion won operating profit posted in the previous quarter and matching the profit from Q2 last year. Of the analysts surveyed 20 have cut their forecasts in the past month by an average of 3.9%. Samsung is expected to issue earnings guidance for analysts this week with the full quarterly results to be announced by the end of this month. Analysts believe that the trend of earnings recovery will continue in subsequent quarters with third and fourth quarter profits for this year expected at 7.3 trillion won and 7.5 trillion won respectively which will register significant profit gains year-over-year.

Analysts are of the view that Samsung’s latest flagship handsets could have done much more for the company’s fortunes had Samsung anticipated huge demand for the Galaxy S6 edge, thus they believe that this was a missed opportunity for Samsung because even though it has enough capacity to meet demand now, it’s flagship handsets will soon have to compete with the new iPhones which will be out by September this year.

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No Lollipop for the Galaxy Note 2 and the Galaxy S3 in UK

Galaxy Note 2 owners across the globe have been anxiously waiting to receive the Lollipop update on their handset and conflicting information about the status of this update has created a lot of confusion, Samsung has not come out with a strong statement that applies to all markets and settles once and for all whether or not the Galaxy Note 2 will receive the Lollipop update. Though if the company’s UK arm is to be believed then users in the United Kingdom will not be getting said update.

Responding to a query on Twitter the official Samsung Mobile UK account revealed that the Galaxy Note 2 and even the Galaxy S3 won’t receive the Android 5.0 Lollipop update in the country. No reason has been provided for this decision, but at least now users in the UK know that the only way to get Lollipop is to change their handset. Bear in mind though that in the case of the Galaxy Note 2 this doesn’t mean that the device won’t receive Lollipop elsewhere as Samsung Poland and Finland have reiterated multiple times that Galaxy Note 2 owners in their markets will certainly get Lollipop at some point in the future.

@WesoLabeshnai We don't like to give out bad news Rohan but the Note 2 and the Galaxy S3 won't be receiving the Lollipop update.

— Samsung Mobile UK (@SamsungMobileUK) July 4, 2015

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Samsung reportedly trying to control production of mobile phone components

According to a new report Samsung appears to be more cautious towards investing in production facilities of mobile phone components, it’s adjusting existing facilities in Vietnam following expansion in production capacity until the first quarter of this year. With sales of the Galaxy S6 dwindling in Q2 Samsung has reportedly stopped purchasing more computer numerical control (CNC) milling machines which is an important piece of equipment when producing metal cases for smartphones.

The industry saw Samsung put a lot of money into CNC machines last year before the mass production of the Galaxy S6, with analysts saying that thousands of machines were installed in the factory in Vietnam, machines that can cost as much as $88,000 per unit. Rumor has it that the company might sell off some of its component manufacturing facilities in Vietnam and Korea to its affiliates, it’s expected to offload the Samsung Fiber Optics’ camera module business to Samsung Electro-Mechanics. Industry watchers are of the view that Samsung’s adjustment in production capacity is probably brought on by the Samsung Group’s efforts to overhaul the organizational structure of its electronics subsidiaries.

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Exclusive: Samsung Z3 will feature a 5-inch HD Super AMOLED display and a quad-core processor

After months of work on Tizen, Samsung released the Z1, an entry-level smartphone that was meant to compete with low-end Android and Windows Phone devices in the developing markets like India and Bangladesh. No one expected it to achieve good sales figures, but it did. Samsung managed to sell more than a million units of the Z1 within six months of its launch. It also became the best-selling smartphone in Bangladesh during Q1 2015.

Now, it’s time for the launch of the next Tizen smartphone, which we believe to be the Samsung Z3. We’ve managed to get hold of exclusive information about its specifications, and according to our reliable insiders, the Samsung Z3 (SM-Z300H) will run Tizen 2.4 operating system, and will feature a 5-inch HD Super AMOLED display, a 1.3GHz quad-core Spreadtrum SC7730S processor, 1.5GB of RAM, and 8GB of internal storage space, which makes the device more powerful than the Samsung Z1.

The camera department will be getting an upgrade as well, thanks to an 8-megapixel primary camera with autofocus and LED flash, and a 5-megapixel secondary camera. Both these cameras will feature 1/4-inch sensors. If you can remember, most of the recently launched smartphones from the South Korean smartphone giant are embracing the selfie craze with high-resolution front-facing cameras. The Z3 will be 141.5 mm tall, 70 mm wide, 9.5 mm thick, and will weigh somewhere around 140 grams.

Inspite of its low- to mid-range specifications, the Samsung Z3 will have a relatively large 2,600 mAh battery. Since Samsung is targeting the entry-level segment of emerging markets like India, it is expected that the Z3 will be a dual-SIM smartphone. According to previous reports, this device will be launched somewhere in second half of 2015, which could also be this month, or anytime during the rest of the year.

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