Samsung is gradually updating its mid-range and low-end lineup for the new year, merely weeks after it unveiled the 2016 models of the Galaxy A series, it appears that the Galaxy J series is up for a refresh next. We have already reported that the Galaxy J5 (2016) is being tested in Samsung’s R&D facilities in India and now we’re seeing the Galaxy J1 (2016) break cover in some images that have been leaked online today.
The refreshed Galaxy J1 is expected to feature a 4.5-inch 480 x 800 pixel resolution display, its predecessor had a 4.3-inch display, and might be powered by an Exynos 3457 quad-core processor with 1GB RAM and Android 5.1 Lollipop. This is a bonafide low-end smartphone which may also make its way to the United States since the original Galaxy J1 was also released by Verizon in the US as a prepaid device. It arrived in January last year so it has been a full year and it’s about time that the Galaxy J1 (2016) was formally launched, Samsung hasn’t said anything yet but from the looks of it an official announcement may not be far off.
Last month Samsung Group announced that it’s looking to discover new avenues for growth and that it’s setting up a dedicated team that’s going to be tasked with growing its automotive-related business and focusing particularly on autonomous or self-driving technologies which are likely going to be a big part of the future. It was also reported recently that Samsung and BMW are working together to create the virtual brains that will power autonomous cars of the future, all this is enough to realize that the company wants to be a player in this arena, and what it’s doing now only goes to show that Samsung is serious about self-driving cars.
Samsung C&T owns Everland, an amusement park in Yongin, Gyeonggi, South Korea. The Speedway motor race track at Everland is being modified so that it can be used as a testing ground for Samsung’s autonomous vehicles. Speedway was the first paved race track in South Korea and it was opened in 1995, it was often visited by Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee who liked going around in sports cars. Actual road conditions and simulated urban environments will be added to the Speedway so that the company is able to test this technology effectively. “Samsung already owns Speedway, so we just need to add some features to the existing racecourse,” says a Samsung representative, adding that this is much easier than actually finding the space to built an entirely new track for the purpose of testing self-driving cars.
You don’t necessarily need to own a new Samsung TV to get access to the company’s Tizen-based smart TV platform, last year Samsung released a UHD Evolution Kit which adds smart TV features to older TV sets. The kit brought the user experience in line with more recent models, just last week it unveiled some new software features that are included in its 2016 models, and the company has confirmed that those features will be making their way to older TVs as well through an OTA update for the Evolution Kit.
Samsung is not going to release a new iteration of the Evolution Kit, said Michael Zoeller, Vice President and Head of Visual Display at Samsung Electronics Europe, instead, it’s going to send out a software update for last year’s Evolution Kit to add the latest features that it has introduced for its Tizen-based smart TV platform. Zoeller didn’t say precisely which features will be included in the OTA update but does mention that an official announcement regarding this will be made soon.
Samsung is expected to unveil the Galaxy S7 next month before Mobile World Congress 2016 kicks off and there’s obviously a plethora of rumors and reports available on the internet about this handset, over the past few weeks we have also seen several renders of the Galaxy S7, this time around some 3D renders of the Galaxy S7 have been created which just might show what Samsung’s next flagship might look like.
Last week we exclusively confirmed several details about the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge, such as the screen sizes, pricing and the return of the microSD card slot. The Galaxy S7 is going to have a 5.1-inch display and curved sides at the back making it quite similar to the Galaxy Note 5 in terms of design. The Galaxy S7 edge will have a larger 5.5-inch display with curved edges at the front. These renders have been created by 3D designer Jermaine Smit who says that they are based on leaked design blueprints for Samsung’s upcoming flagships, and if that’s true then they really might hint at what the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge will look like for real.
The Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge+ come with an official keyboard cover from Samsung, but this case isn’t available for the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge. If you’re looking for an alternative, One2Touch – a company specializing in NFC solutions – has released a keyboard case for the original S6 lineup. This case is a regular flip case that incorporates a full QWERTY keyboard on the flap that covers the screen.
The case is called SlimType, and the keyboard gets laid out in landscape mode when the case is open. In addition to all the letters of the alphabet, the keyboard has numerous alternate functions that can be accessed using the Function key and also has a key dedicated to emoji. The case has NFC, so you can start pairing it to your S6 or S6 edge as soon as you put the phone inside (making the back of the phone and the NFC chip in the case come together, which is what is needed to initiate the connection.)
Oddly, One2Touch says the SlimType case doesn’t need batteries, which might be because NFC-enabled devices use very low power and the keyboard is, after all, simply a device for text input. Of course, the biggest concern is whether it will be easy to type on a QWERTY keyboard that’s not very wide, and also the fact that you won’t be able to keep the device and keyboard in your hand and will need to lay down your phone on a flat surface to be able to type.
It’s an interesting case though, and some folks are likely to find some use for the thing. The SlimType is available for pre-order from One2Touch’s website in Black Sapphire, Cherry Red and White Pearly color options. A price isn’t mentioned, though Android Authority says the SlimType case will cost $39 for a limited time after launch.
Samsung has pushed out quite a few updates to the Galaxy Note 5 since its launch, and the latest one seems to have introduced a bug that doesn’t let the Do Not Disturb mode turn on as scheduled. I’ve seen it bug out twice and not turn on at the scheduled time.
This hasn’t happened before, and it’s possible the latest update introduced the bug. I managed to fix it by manually turning Do Not Disturb on and off and also toggling the ‘Turn on as scheduled’ to off and back on again. It’s also possible this isn’t related to the latest update and could be a general glitch in the software that won’t happen again, but it’s something that certainly managed to disturb me in the wee hours of the night.
Have you faced a similar issue on your Galaxy Note 5, or even the Galaxy S6 edge+ which shares its software with the Note 5? Let us know if you have by leaving a comment down below.
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.
The Galaxy Note 5 has been out in the market for more than four months now, and you would think the Note 5 would be matching its successor on software version till now. Certainly, Galaxy Note 4 users have been reaping the benefits of Android 5.1.1 for some time, and so have users of the device on three major US carriers – AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile. Well, Verizon is finally jumping on the bandwagon and is starting to update the Note 4 to Android 5.1.1 as well.
Featuring build number N910VVRU2BOK3, the update brings support for Android for Work, upgrades to Samsung KNOX (KNOX is what Android for Work is based on), and removes the preloaded Amazon app and widgets. Verizon doesn’t mention any other changes, but the update should include inherent 5.1.1 goodies, including improved stability, battery fixes and security upgrades. Even if it doesn’t, well, users of the last Galaxy Note flagship to offer removable battery and expandable storage should be happy they can at least flaunt the latest version of Android Lollipop in front of their friends.
The update should be hitting your Galaxy Note 4 in the form of a notification in the status bar. In case it hasn’t shown up yet, take a trip to the Settings » About device » Software update menu and check for it manually. In either case, it shouldn’t be long before Android 5.1.1 comes calling on your phone, and you can let us know once it does by leaving a comment below.
Samsung Electronics has a lot to be proud of after earning over 100 awards at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2016. Some of the key areas where Samsung made its presence felt this year include Home Entertainment, Home Appliances, Mobile and the Internet of Things which Samsung is going to put a heavy emphasis on this year. It already became clear weeks ago that Samsung would capture most of the attention at CES 2016 after its unreleased Smart TV got the Best of Innovation Award, only to be followed by the UHD Alliance Premium Certification to the entire 2016 SUHD lineup.
Here’s what Gregory Lee, President and CEO of Samsung Electronics North America had to say about the future of Samsung:
Samsung continuously strives to provide consumers with innovations that matter to help them connect their busy lives with their friends, family, co-workers and even their appliances in meaningful ways
Among the winning products for Samsung at CES 2016 we can see the KS9500 Series Curved SUHD TV, Samsung’s 4-door Flex Refrigerator with Family Hub and the Galaxy TabPro S. This tablet actually gathered quite some awards like TechRadar’s Best of CES award, Engadget’s Best of CES finalist and many others.
What are your thoughts on Samsung’s CES 2016 attendance this year?
Samsung is launching the Exynos 8 Octa SoC which is due to be used in the next generation of mobile handsets and its built on the 14nm FinFET technology, one that is expected to deliver a huge profit. Samsung started mass producing the industry’s first 14nm FinFET processors for mobile devices 11 months ago so the South Korean giant is quite ahead of the game.
As opposed to the Exynos 7 Octa (7420), the Exynos 8 Octa has a 30% better performance and a 10% more efficient energy consumption. It’s an octa core processor from which 4 cores take the big load off whereas the remaining 4 cores and smaller and are meant to make the chip more efficient. This is what Samsung calls Heterogeneous Multi-Processing or HMP Solutions for short, which is a system for using the big cores and the little cores in an optimal combination. What’s more is that the 14nm FinFET technology uses a 3D transistor setting in order to increase performance and decrease chip size, and that’s where the term “14nm” comes from: electrons normally travel one way (20nm) in a 2D transistor build whereas in a 3D transistor scheme the electrons travel in three ways (14nm travel distance).
Regarding connectivity, the Exynos 8 Octa supports category 12 for downlink and category 13 for uplink so it’s a very efficient chipset from this point of view. What’s more is that its 3D performance can deliver PC or console-like gaming experience and the chip also has a very high resolution display support with four times as much detail as Full HD (4,096 x 2,160 pixels as opposed to 1,920 x 1,080)
Check out the infographic below to get a better idea of just how good this SoC is.
Samsung has always been slow when it comes to bringing minor Android version bumps to its smartphones and tablets, but it looks like the company is doing things a little better with the Android 6.0 beta that it released for the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge. Both devices are getting an update that brings them up to Android 6.0.1 and includes a slew of changes and new features.
Since this is beta software, the changelog is unsurprisingly rather large. The update includes additional quick settings toggles for Private Mode in the status bar, new emoji, and improved visibility of notification panel icons. Samsung is also changing the way vibration works when the device is locked with a fingerprint – users will now only get vibration feedback if their fingerprint is not recognized. With 6.0.1, the phone also has a new ‘Install overnight’ option that will install an update at night between 2 to 5 AM. Furthermore, after the phone restarts once the update is installed, it now shows a full-screen image for the part where it optimizes apps upon first boot.
There’s also an entirely new interface for the Edge screen settings. Users will now find an ‘Edge panels’ option in the settings, with an easier and more intuitive way of enabling and disabling Edge screen panels (for example, you can simply tick or untick a panel instead of going into each panel’s settings and using the on/off switch). You can also set the Edge panel’s transparency and size, and download new ones online. There’s a new Tasks edge panel that lets you set shortcuts to functionality inside apps, such as composing a new message, adding a new contact, or composing an email, and more. You can even add profiles for various settings based on your location, such as putting the phone in power saving mode when you’re at work, muting all sounds, and quite a lot more.
Android 6.0.1 brings quite a lot to the table, especially the Edge functionality that has been sorely lacking on Samsung’s Edge smartphones after the Note Edge. This hasn’t brought us any closer to knowing when the official update will roll out, but if you are using the beta, go grab the 6.0.1 update. If you haven’t gotten a notification yet, head into the Settings » About device » Software update menu.
CES 2016 is definitely a very exciting experience but Samsung constantly looks towards the future and the South Korean giant plans to redefine the social hub. Former MIT Media Lab researcher Jinha Lee is leading a team that’s working on a brand new concept called Samsung MediaSquare. What this concept does is allow everyone in a room to connect to your TV using their smartphones and push multimedia content to it which can easily be viewed. The concept is sort of like pinning images on a board as you’ll see in the presentation video embedded under this article, and also similar to Google Chromecast which lets everyone cast videos to a TV.
MediaSquare is a pretty unique concept and it makes a social event pretty interesting as it’s common for friends and families to want to share photos and videos, but they usually do this by attaching files to a messenger program of their choice which isn’t as intuitive or simple. Samsung MediaSquare gets rid of the traditional remote control and puts the smartphone in control, allowing the user to browse through the content that was pushed to the TV, and everyone can do this all at once.
This is still in conceptual stages but we wouldn’t be surprised to see it pretty soon. Samsung has had a remarkable presence at their CES 2016 booth with the ‘Future TV Zone’ showing us a modular display technology. The South Korean giant seems to be focusing a lot on Smart TVs and the systems that make them run, namely the GAIA security solution and the upgraded Game Service.
Check out the video embedded below showing a demonstration of MediaSquare and let us know what caught your eye at the CES 2016 booth.
Even though the current Galaxy J5 has only been on the market for a little more than six months, its 2016 edition is already in testing in Samsung’s R&D facilities in India.
Once again, it is the import database Zauba that confirms the existence of a new device. According to it, a Samsung phone with codename SM-J510 has arrived in the country for the usual test procedures. Very few details of the device are revealed, though the display of this Galaxy J5 (2016) appears to be of the 5.2 -inch variety, which is 0.2-inch larger than that of its predecessor.
Recently, we saw a comparable size bump in the Galaxy A5 (2016). Not only is the 5.2-inch display in that device larger than the 720p screen in the original Galaxy A5, it also features a higher 1080p resolution. Still, since the J series are considerably cheaper than the A series, it remains to be seen if the Galaxy J5 (2016) will come with a similar increase in pixel count.
It will probably be a while before Samsung actually launches this Galaxy J5 revamp, but at least we’ve now seen confirmation of its existence.
Recent leaks have suggested that the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge will be sporting a 12-megapixel camera instead of a 16-megapixel one as we have seen on Samsung flagships since 2014. If you were hoping that might not be the case, then you might need to be prepared to be disappointed, as the Galaxy S7 edge’s listing on the AnTuTu benchmark (model number SM-G935A for carrier AT&T) with a 12 MP sensor is yet another indication the megapixel count will be getting a downgrade.
Of course, just because the camera isn’t as high-resolution doesn’t mean it will be worse than what Samsung offered before. The new camera is said to have an aperture of f/1.7, which should make it even better for low-light photography, and Samsung’s excellent software processing means the end result in terms of image quality shouldn’t be affected. You might not be able to zoom in as much as you can on a 16-megapixel photo, but that shouldn’t exactly be a huge issue for most. Oh, and as we had reported, this also means the camera sensor will not protrude as much as it does on the Galaxy S6 family or the Note 5.
The benchmark listing also reveals something odd – the phone is listed with a 5.1-inch display instead of the 5.5-inch display that has been rumored for the Edge variant. This suggests the possibility that the 5.5-inch model will be the Galaxy S7 Plus, which a rumor said could launch alongside the S7 and S7 edge instead of later down the year with the Note 6. It could also be that there is no 5.5-inch variant in the works, or that the device in the benchmark is a prototype model that won’t be released as the retail unit.
Other specs in the benchmark thankfully match what we know until now – a Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of RAM, a 5-megapixel front camera, 64GB of storage, Android 6.0 Marshmallow, and a display resolution of 2560×1440 pixels. It will be very interesting to see what the actual devices will feature when they launch next month; benchmark listings are usually indicative of the final specs, and the 5.1-inch display in the AnTuTu listing is something that has us more confused than we were before.
