‘Made for Samsung’ program brings exclusive mobile experiences curated with best apps and brands

Samsung has introduced a new initiative at the Consumer Electronics Show 2016 in Las Vegas, called “Made for Samsung,” it’s going to bring exclusive mobile experiences curated with the world’s leading apps and top brands for the company’s mobile devices. Basically, the company is going to work with these brands and apps to bring unique experiences for its products.

Samsung already tested the waters with such an arrangement about three months back when it worked with Expedia to create a special version of the travel app exclusive to Galaxy smartphones. Samsung Collection is an exclusive feature offered by Expedia for Samsung aside from deals and discounts for those who own the company’s handsets. Samsung is working with additional apps and brands like Photobucket, CNN, News Republic, Pear Sports, Skimble and The Weather Channel to create co-branded experiences that will be deployed across all of its devices categories including mobile, tablets, TV, IoT, wearables and virtual reality.

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Samsung announces Portable SSD T3 with multi-terabyte capacity

AT CES 2016 Samsung has announced a premium external solid state drive that small enough to fit in your palm. The Samsung Portable SSD T3 offers multi-terabyte storage, it features Samsung’s proprietary Vertical NAND and SSD TurboWrite technology. The product follows the launch of the Portable SSD T1 last year, several upgrades have been made to the T3 based on the feedback and needs of customers. Capacity options for the T3 SSD include 250GB, 500GB, 1TB and 2TB while promising sequential read and write speeds of up to 450MB/s with a USB 3.1 interface.

This product has been designed with portability in mind, it’s compact, lightweight and durable. It’s smaller than an average business card and weighs about 50 grams. The Portable SSD T3 also has a shock-resistant metal case and internal frame that protects it against up to 1500G of force, it can also survive a drop of up to two meters. The Samsung Portable SSD T3 is going to be launched first in select European countries, China, Korea, the United States next month before it’s released in other countries across the globe.

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Mad Catz will now start making ‘Designed for Samsung’ game controllers

Mad Catz, a company best known for making some of the best mobile gaming controllers money can buy, has confirmed at the International Consumer Electronics Show 2016 in Las Vegas that it has joined the “Designed for Samsung” program. This means that the company will make controllers that are optimized for Samsung devices and those controllers will be required to pass through Samsung’s certification process before they can proudly carry the Designed for Samsung logo on the packaging.

That doesn’t mean these controllers won’t work with hardware from other manufacturers, they will continue to work just fine, but those who own a Samsung handset will have the added assurance that the product will provide them optimum performance on their device. Mad Catz has not announced when its first Designed for Samsung controllers will be out or how much they’re going to cost, when they do arrive they will be sold through the Mad Catz online store as well as through retailers.

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Galaxy S7 and S7 edge to feature water-resistance, microSD slot and large batteries?

Is Samsung looking to fix all the shortcomings that it introduced to its flagship lineup in its quest for a premium design last year? It would certainly seem so, if the latest rumor about the Galaxy S7 duo is to be believed. Venture Beat has revealed numerous interesting details about the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, with the information coming from “a person briefed on the company’s plans.”

The Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge will reportedly feature a 5.1-inch and 5.5-inch display. Apparently, the 5.7-inch S7 edge rumors aren’t correct, with Samsung deeming such a large difference in screen sizes inappropriate for devices that are “companions” to each other. That certainly makes some sense, as it would allow the Korean giant to keep the 5.7-inch screen size exclusive to its phablet lineup and not alienate its Galaxy S consumer base. Samsung could also introduce “always-on display (AOD) functionality” – probably not just on the Edges but on the main display itself, as battery usage of just one percent per hour is quoted.

But what is more interesting is the fact that the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge might both be water-resistant. It’s a feature that was seen on the Galaxy S5 and is also present on the Galaxy S Active lineup. Everyone thought Samsung had done away with this feature because it wasn’t popular enough, but maybe the company only skipped it for the S6 lineup because it didn’t have any experience with making glass flagships? Sony’s Xperia series has been glassy and water-resistant for a long time now, and it would be great to see Samsung bringing back the protection against water to the main Galaxy S lineup once again.

That’s not all. This particular source says both the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge will feature a microSD slot (something we had said in our exclusive leak all those months ago, though a previous rumor said only the non-edge model would have it), and Samsung will be employing larger batteries. 3,000 mAh on the S7 and 3,600 mAh on the S7 edge, to be exact, which means the S7 duo might fix the battery life woes faced by users of the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge. Wireless charging times for the two phones reportedly sit at 2 hours and 2.2 hours respectively.

There’s more. Venture Beat says the S7 and S7 edge will indeed feature a 12.2-megapixel camera on the back instead of a 16-megapixel sensor. The lower megapixel count will be offset by an extremely low aperture of f/1.7, and the camera is reportedly very capable in low-light situations. The back camera is said to sit flush with the body instead of protruding out, and the 5-megapixel camera on the front is said to be making a return untouched.

The source also confirms some other specs that are already known – the S7 and S7 edge will be powered by the Exynos 8890 processor, have 4GB of RAM, and come in 32GB and 64GB storage variants. It’s a lot to take at one go, and frankly, we wouldn’t get too hopeful about seeing all the aforementioned features on the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge. We would certainly love to see those features, but the varying reports on what Samsung is planning leave a lot of room for baseless claims.

What do you think?

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Making it your own: how to arrange apps on the Gear S2

Buying the Gear S2 is truly exciting, as you prepare to embrace Samsung’s next big thing. Once you take it out of the box, however, the setup is on: you want to customize the device to work to your liking, which, as everyone knows, involves apps. The Gear S2 comes pre-loaded with apps that you may find relevant, but they’re not placed in the order that you would like or need; some apps may work for you while you consider others to be useful for spontaneous occasions or circumstance. You won’t rest until your Gear S2 suits you just fine. Here’s how to arrange apps on the Gear S2:

• Grab your Gear S2 and your Samsung or Android smartphone. Samsung has designed the Gear S2 in such a way that you’ll still need to download apps onto the phone in order to have them appear on the “Gear.”

• Make sure that you have downloaded Samsung’s Gear Manager app. You can find it at the Google Play Store.

• Next, pair the Gear S2 and your Samsung/Android smartphone via Bluetooth, at which point the Gear Manager app will either kick in or allow you to activate it. Make sure that both the Gear S2 and your smartphone are Bluetooth-ready.

• After your Gear S2 and Samsung/Android smartphone are paired together, you’ll be allowed into the settings of your Gear S2. The Gear Manager app will allow you to customize watchfaces, notifications, add apps to your smartwatch, send pictures and data to your smartwatch from the phone (and vice versa), and even let you adjust the app layout. Select the “Apps Layout” function to get started.

On the Apps Layout page, you’ll see the current ordering of your apps on the Gear S2 smartwatch. To change the order, place your finger on the “up and down” arrows to the right of each app name, and you will notice that you can move the app names up and down. This is how you arrange the apps on the Gear S2: by dropping and dragging apps in the places you want them. You can also uninstall a number of apps if you’d like. When done, you need only press the back arrow near “Apps Layout” at the top left, and head back into your additional Gear S2 settings.

Are there any Gear S2 tips and tricks you’d like to read about? Drop us a line in the comments to let us know how we can best help you.

 

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1-4-2016 Firmware Updates: Galaxy A5, Galaxy S4 Active, Galaxy S6 edge, and more

Samsung has a plethora of phones and tablets in its lineup, and regularly releases firmware updates for various devices. These can include major updates, which bring a newer version of the OS to a particular device, or minor ones that improve performance and stability and fix bugs. Software updates for Samsung devices roll out in various regions every day, and you can find out which firmware updates were pushed out by the company over the last 24 hours through our firmware list.

As usual, you can download each of these firmware from our firmware section (simply enter your device’s model number to view all firmware for that device) in order to update to a new firmware manually, or as a means to return to your phone or tablet’s stock software.

Country (Product Code)	Model	Model Name	Version	PDA
Austria (3 Hutchison) (DRE)	SM-A510F		5.1.1	A510FXXU1AOL9
Baltic (SEB)	GT-I9505	GALAXY S4 LTE	5.0.1	I9505XXUHOL2
Baltic (Black Edition)(SEB)	GT-I9505	GALAXY S4 LTE	5.0.1	I9505XXUHOL2
Baltic (Black Edition)(SEB)	GT-I9505	GALAXY S4 LTE	5.0.1	I9505XXUHOH2
Baltic (La Fleur)(SEB)	GT-I9505	GALAXY S4 LTE	5.0.1	I9505XXUHOL2
Caucasus Countries (CAU)	SM-T561	GALAXY Tab E 9.6 3G	4.4.4	T561XXU0AOK1
Caucasus Countries (CAU)	SM-T561	GALAXY Tab E 9.6 3G	4.4.4	T561XXU0AOL2
Chile (Claro) (CHL)	SM-G531H	GALAXY Grand Prime VE	5.1.1	G531HUBU0AOJ2
Chile (Claro) (CHL)	SM-G900M	GALAXY S5	5	G900MUBU1BOF1
Chile (Claro) (CHL)	SM-G900M	GALAXY S5	5	G900MUBU1BOK3
Dominican Republic (CDR)	SM-G925I	GALAXY S6 Edge	5.1.1	G925IDVU2COGA
France (XEF)	SM-T800	GALAXY Tab S 10.5 Wi-Fi	5.0.2	T800XXU1BOL1
France (XEF)	SM-T800	GALAXY Tab S 10.5 Wi-Fi	5.0.2	T800XXU1BOJ1
Guatemala (TGU)	SM-G925I	GALAXY S6 Edge	5.1.1	G925IDVU3DOJ6
Guatemala (TGU)	SM-G925I	GALAXY S6 Edge	5.1.1	G925IDVU2COGA
Iran (THR)	SM-T530	GALAXY Tab4 10.1 Wi-Fi	5.0.2	T530XXU1BOJ4
Ireland (Vodafone) (VDI)	SM-T535	GALAXY Tab4 10.1 4G	5.0.2	T535XXU1BOH4
Italy (TIM) (TIM)	SM-G920F	GALAXY S6	5.1.1	G920FXXU3QOKX
Italy (TIM) (TIM)	SM-G920F	GALAXY S6	5.1.1	G920FXXU3QOLK
Netherlands (T-Mobile) (TNL)	GT-I9195	GALAXY S4 mini LTE	4.4.2	I9195XXUCOI4
Netherlands (T-Mobile) (TNL)	GT-I9195	GALAXY S4 mini LTE	4.4.2	I9195XXUCNK5
Poland (XEO)	SM-G903F	GALAXY S5 Neo	5.1.1	G903FXXU1AOKC
Poland (XEO)	SM-G903F	GALAXY S5 Neo	5.1.1	G903FXXU1AOKC
Portugal (Vodafone) (TCL)	SM-T535	GALAXY Tab4 10.1 4G	5.0.2	T535XXU1BOH4
Singapore (MM1)	SM-A500G	GALAXY A5	5.0.2	A500GXXU1BOJ2
Singapore (XSP)	SM-A500G	GALAXY A5	5.0.2	A500GXXU1BOJ2
Singapore (MM1)	SM-A500G	GALAXY A5	5.0.2	A500GXXU1BOL2
Singapore (XSP)	SM-A500G	GALAXY A5	5.0.2	A500GXXU1BOL2
Singapore (SingTel) (SIN)	SM-A500G	GALAXY A5	5.0.2	A500GXXU1BOJ2
Singapore (SingTel) (SIN)	SM-A500G	GALAXY A5	5.0.2	A500GXXU1BOL2
Singapore (StarHub) (STH)	SM-A500G	GALAXY A5	5.0.2	A500GXXU1BOJ2
Singapore (StarHub) (STH)	SM-A500G	GALAXY A5	5.0.2	A500GXXU1BOL2
Spain (PHE)	SM-T365	GALAXY Tab Active LTE-A	5.1.1	T365XXU1BOK1
Spain (Movistar) (XEC)	SM-G530FZ	GALAXY Grand Prime	5.0.2	G530FZXXU1BOJ2
Ukraine (Kyivstar) (SEK)	GT-I9295	GALAXY S4 Active	5.0.1	I9295XXUDOI4
Ukraine (Kyivstar) (SEK)	SM-T561	GALAXY Tab E 9.6 3G	4.4.4	T561XXU0AOK1
Ukraine (Kyivstar) (SEK)	SM-T561	GALAXY Tab E 9.6 3G	4.4.4	T561XXU0AOL2
Ukraine (Kyivstar) (SEK)	GT-I9295	GALAXY S4 Active	4.4.2	I9295XXUCNK5
Unknown (COE)	SM-N910C	GALAXY Note 4	5.0.1	N910CXXU1BOH3
Uzbekistan (CAC)	GT-I9295	GALAXY S4 Active	4.4.2	I9295XXUCNK5
Uzbekistan (CAC)	GT-I9295	GALAXY S4 Active	5.0.1	I9295XXUDOI4

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Samsung starts selling the Galaxy A9 (2016) in China for about $500

Late last month Samsung announced the Galaxy A9 (2016), it happens to be the most high-end smartphone in its newly refreshed Galaxy A lineup. Samsung had made it clear that initially this handset will only be launched in China and it was later rumored that the Galaxy A9 (2016) might be sold for 3,199 yuan or about $490. Samsung has now started selling the handset in China and as rumored the price is just below $500 which can be considered a bit high for what’s essentially a feature-packed mid-range smartphone.

The Galaxy A9 (2016) is now being sold in China for 3,199 yuan or about $490. Do you think that’s a good enough price for a handset that has a 6-inch full HD Super AMOLED display, a 64-bit octa-core Snapdragon 652 processor with 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage? Don’t forget that it also has a 13-megapixel rear and 8-megapixel front camera, a microSD card slot, Android 5.1.1 Lollipop and a 4,000mAh non-removable battery that’s bound to have mind-boggling battery life. Samsung is expected to bring this handset to other markets later this year, pricing will obviously vary by market.

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Anyone can make watchfaces for the Gear S2 now with the Gear Watch Designer

Samsung has unveiled the Gear Watch Designer which is one of the most complex pieces of software coming from the South Korean giant so far. The app is currently available for the Windows and Mac operating systems and it simplifies the creation of watchfaces  for the Gear S2 so that it doesn’t require any coding skills. Basically, you can create individual elements using design tools, and the bit that’s most exciting is that you can just jump right in as the app doesn’t have a steep learning curve.

Gear Watch Designer lets you adjust the conditional line of each component, an example being that you can show a sunny background image during a certain time interval like 06:00 – 17:59 and display a moon background in the remaining time span. You can work out other conditions as well and Samsung provides a lot of tools for playing around with this feature, for instance, you can create conditions based on battery life, pedometer and more. Another neat feature of the Gear Watch Designer is the ability to create your own animation using a PNG sequence and then use it as a watchface component which is pretty neat.

The Gear Watch Designer is a very complex tool for developers and it truly gives power to the watch enthusiasts who can now make their own watchfaces effortlessly, but the app has a set of system requirements that need to be fulfilled first:

• Microsoft Windows® 7 or later (32- or 64-bit), Apple Mac OS® X 10.8(Mountain Lion) 64-bit or later
• At least dual-core 2 GHz of CPU
• At least 2 GB of RAM memory
• At least 1 GB of free disk space
• JRE (Java Runtime Environment) 1.8 or later.
• 1280×1024 resolution (higher resolution recommended)

The future of Samsung’s smartwatches is pretty bright given the patents they’ve been submitting and this is going to be a good year for the Gear S2 as Samsung Pay is going to make its way to the device.

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Lenovo’s new convertible laptop uses an OLED display panel from Samsung

It looks like Samsung has started supplying its OLED display panels to laptop makers. Lenovo has launched the Windows 10-based Thinkpad X1 Yoga, which is the first convertible laptop to use an OLED display, and costs upwards of $1449. The Chinese PC manufacturer has mentioned that it is sourcing display panels from Samsung for this convertible, and it makes sense as it is the market leader in OLED technology.

This laptop comes in three display variants; a 14-inch OLED display with a resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 pixels, a 14-inch QHD IPS LCD display, and a 14-inch 1080p IPS LCD display. Since OLED display panels have deep blacks, infinite contrast, and wide viewing angles, we guess it would be a treat to watch videos on the Thinkpad X1 Yoga. Other features include an Intel Skylake-U series processor, 16GB RAM, 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD, an active stylus, spill-resistant keys, a fingerprint sensor, USB 3.0 ports, and even optional 4G LTE connectivity.

Since the South Korean electronics giant is supplying OLED panels to third-party PC makers, it is possible that Samsung might announce its own ATIV series laptop with a Super AMOLED display during the upcoming CES 2016. However, Samsung is pushing Quantum Dot technology instead of OLED into its TV units, and that’s quite surprising.

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Samsung Pay app allegedly lists Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge model numbers

The Galaxy S7, and whatever variants of the device Samsung launches this year, will certainly support Samsung Pay out of the box, and it seems the company is already adding support for the upcoming phones in the Samsung Pay app. One of our readers has sent in a screenshot allegedly from the Chinese version of the Samsung Pay app showing the model numbers of the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge.

The app lists the SM-G9300, SM-G9308 and the SM-G9350 – the G9300 and G9308 are country/carrier-specific models of the Galaxy S7, and the SM-G9350 is naturally the Galaxy S7 edge. It’s yet another indication that rumors of three different Galaxy S7 models could be untrue, and that Samsung will stick to just two flagship devices (which makes more sense). Sadly, this doesn’t tell us what screen sizes the two Galaxy S7 variants will carry, but most rumors point at a 5.1-inch model and a 5.7-inch model.

The plot continues to thicken as each day brings us closer to the Galaxy S7′s unveiling, but everything should be taken with the proverbial pinch of salt unless we see some really concrete information.

Thanks, Fan!

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Samsung’s Tizen-powered Smart Control Remote can control an entire TV setup

Ahead of unveiling new products during the upcoming CES 2016 expo, Samsung has announced that it has developed a new Smart Control Remote that can work as a single remote control unit for all the devices connected to its smart TVs. The South Korean electronics says that this remote control is powered by the company’s homegrown Tizen platform.

Although we don’t know how this particular device looks like, it appears that the remote control features automatic source recognition, which allows it to recognise Blu-Ray players, game consoles, OTT boxes, set-top boxes, and other connected devices. Looks like this will compete directly with something like Logitech Harmony.

In addition, the company’s new Smart Hub interface not only allows users to switch between content from OTT, linear, and connected devices but it also allows users to arrange favorite content on the home screen itself. We hope that Samsung will showcase the final product at its booth during CES.

Won Jin Lee, Executive Vice President of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics, said, “The world of TV is constantly changing, with more choices and more connected devices than ever before, so we have made it easier for people to discover and watch the content they want, when they want. In 2016, Samsung’s Smart Hub and Smart Control remote are providing the most streamlined, convenient and intuitive TV user experience. Together, they offer the choices and performance consumers expect from today’s home entertainment technology.”

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TaskS2 for the Gear S2 opens up a world of possibilities

For those who are unaware Tasker is an app that provides users with countless possibilities of automating actions on their mobile device, anything from checking the temperature of their smart home to sending a text message when the battery dies. The possibilities are limitless. Imagine having that ability right on your wrist, and if you happen to own the Gear S2, then you can actually take advantage of it. TaskS2 is a Tasker interface for the Gear S2 smartwatch.

TaskS2 enables users to control their phones remotely, trigger actions related to online services like Facebook, Twitter, Gmail and others as well as control smart home devices like Nest, Philips Hue, Wemo and much more. Combined with IFTTT there are more than 250 services that can be accessed right from the wrist, so the personalization possibilities here are endless, ultimately making the Gear S2 much more productive than it already is.

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Samsung to rake in huge licensing profits from AMD’s new 14nm FinFET contract

AMD has reportedly signed a contract with Globalfoundries to manufacture its new graphics processing unit that will be released later this year, the GPU will be made using GF’s 14nm FinFET process. Samsung isn’t directly involved in the production and yet it’s going to earn substantial licensing profits off of this contract considering the fact that it owns Globalfoundries’ 14nm FinFET technology.

Industry sources cited in a report from Korea say that AMD’s next-generation “Greenland” GPU will be manufactured at GF from the second quarter of this year, apparently it chose Globalfoundries over TSMC to ensure the safety of the 14nm FinFET process. The 14nm FinFET process generally provides 50 to 60% higher energy efficiency and up to 25% performance gains as opposed to the 28nm planar process. The deal between these two companies will prove to be beneficial for Samsung as well since it established a strategic partnership with Globalfoundries in 2014, it provided the 14nm FinFET technology to capture clients such as Qualcomm and Apple in North America. Even though Samsung won’t be producing the GPU, many are still of the view that the company may help out with production at its plant in Austin, particularly if yield rates from Globalfoundries are not up to the mark.

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Samsung predicts low global growth for 2016

It appears that Samsung’s troubles in the global market aren’t going to ease up in 2016, company chief executive Kwon Oh-hyun told employees in a New Year’s address that low global growth is likely to persist in this new year, with financial risks for emerging countries contributing to greater uncertainty. Samsung expects an overall tough business environment in 2016 due to weak global economic conditions as well as increased competition in the mobile and semiconductor business.

No specific forecasts were made in the comments by the CEO but they do come amid concerns that Samsung’s fourth quarter results may be weaker than expected. Many firms have already lowered their estimates for the operating profits that Samsung will post for the fourth quarter, Samsung’s official earnings guidance for the fourth quarter is due to arrive this Friday, though the company has already said that it expects operating profit to be lower than it was in the third quarter due to seasonally weaker demand.

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‘Groundbreaking’ new soundbar to be unveiled by Samsung at CES 2016

Samsung has confirmed today that it’s going to unveil a “groundbreaking” new soundbar at the Consumer Electronics Show 2016 in Las Vegas. The company is going to show off its new portfolio of audio products which includes the new soundbar that features Dolby Atmos technology. “Dolby Atmos has received overwhelming support from major studios and continues to expand into other form factors, including the new Samsung HW-K950 Soundbar, which allows more consumers to bring an unrivaled sound experience into their homes,“ said Doug Darrow, Senior Vice President at Dolby Laboratories.

Samsung HW-K950 is the company’s first soundbar that features Dolby Atmos technology, it also happens to be the industry’s first soundbar to include two Dolby Atmos-enabled wireless rear speakers. The complete package delivers 5.1.4-channel sound, despite being just 2.1-inches high. The slim and sleek design of the SW-K950 uses three forward-facing and two upwards-facing speakers to provide an immersive and realistic sound experience. HW-K950 can wirelessly connect to the subwoofer and rear speaker units to transform into a practical living room solution. The company will provide pricing and availability details later.

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