Galaxy S7 specs reportedly leaked by a Samsung employee

There have already been many rumors about the Galaxy S7, the upcoming flagship’s display panel may have been leaked as well, and we’re bound to see more before Samsung unveils the device at MWC 2016 next month. A new report out of Korea claims to cite a Samsung employee who has leaked some specifications of the Galaxy S7, there’s no way to confirm really if the person that has leaked all of this information really is a Samsung employee or is just making assumptions, so keep in mind that nothing is set in stone yet.

The alleged employee claims that all variants of the Galaxy S7 will feature a black chassis to lend the handsets a premium feel, adding that Samsung will particularly market the Galaxy S7′s ability to take great pictures in low-light conditions, made possible by its 12-megapixel rear camera with f/1.7 aperture. It has been previously reported that instead of running in the megapixel race Samsung has opted for a 12-megapixel camera for the Galaxy S7 as opposed to the 16-megapixel camera in the Galaxy S6, however the new camera will have a larger sensor and lens improvements to allow for better mobile photography performance particularly in low-light, and won’t protrude so there won’t be a camera hump on the back of the device.  The alleged employee also claims that the Galaxy S7 will be dust and water resistant, and reiterates something we’ve already confirmed, that the upcoming flagship does feature a microSD card slot. Black, White, Silver and Gold will be the color options, the Galaxy S7 is expected to be released by early March.

Since none of this comes from an official or verified source it’s best to take this information with a healthy dose of salt for now, most rumors are based on prototypes anyway, so one can’t really be sure of what the final version will look until it’s unveiled. Samsung is expected to unveil the Galaxy S7 at Mobile World Congress 2016 next month.

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There is a less widely talked about issue with the Galaxy Note 5′s S Pen

We are all familiar with pengate by now. For those who aren’t, pengate is an attractive name for a design flaw in the Galaxy Note 5 that messes up S Pen functionality if the stylus is inserted backwards (that is, with the tip pointing outwards). On newer units, Samsung has fixed this problem through a simple yet smart hardware change, but it seems there is another issue with the stylus that not many people are talking about.

A couple of days ago, I removed the S Pen from my Note 5 and started to use it on the screen, only to notice that the screen wasn’t responding to the stylus. There was no hovering dot on the screen, the dot that denotes that the S Pen is close to the screen and has been detected. I restarted the phone, things went back to normal, but then I realized that my Note 5 isn’t detecting when the stylus is being removed or inserted. I also had to disable the S Pen power saver option to make sure at least the S Pen could be used for screen operation instead of being totally undetectable.

When the phone does detect that the stylus has been removed, but it only happens a minute or so after I’ve actually taken it out. It also goes haywire sometimes and gives me the S Pen removal notification repeatedly before settling down. It’s a nuisance, to be honest – I can no longer use the screen off memo feature on the Note 5, and I have had to restart the phone a couple of times so that the S Pen works properly.

Read More: Review: Samsung Galaxy Note 5, two months later

Apparently, I’m not the only one with this issue. As people in this thread on the XDA forums have pointed out, this is an issue on other units as well. Units manufactured in India seem to be affected, which explains why my Note 5 has the problem and it could have something to do with poor quality control given Samsung hasn’t been assembling its flagships in the country for too long.

Users in that XDA thread say the phone needs to be replaced, and one commenter said he had to get two Note 5′s replaced before he received a unit that works as it should. Updating the software supposedly doesn’t work, so I haven’t tried doing a factory reset and will be taking my device to the nearest Samsung service center to apply for a replacement.

Have you faced this issue on your Galaxy Note 5? If yes, is there anything you did to fix it other than getting a replacement? Do let us know in the comments; we have asked Samsung for a statement and will update this story with a response should we get one.

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Samsung is opening a VR movie studio in New York

Samsung has already established a name for itself in the VR market with the Gear VR headset, it’s an affordable virtual reality solution for anybody who owns a compatible Samsung smartphone, and millions do. It has been working hard to bring new and exciting VR experiences for the Gear VR but it’s not stopping there, the company has confirmed that it’s setting up its own virtual reality movie studio in New York where it will create immersive new VR experiences.

Marc Mathieu, chief marketing officer at Samsung USA, revealed this during his talk at the Sundance film festival in Park City, Utah. Virtual reality has emerged as a prominent theme at the film festival and it’s natural for Samsung to want to be a part of the action. Details about the studio are slim at this point but Mathieu did say that this studio will be housed in an existing Samsung office where a marketing team is already working. Samsung also announced a year-long partnership with the Sundance Institute at the festival, the purpose for this partnership is to nurture filmmaking and creative talent.

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Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow for the Galaxy S5 sent out by mistake yet again

Samsung recently conducted a beta test in which it allowed people with unlocked variants of the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 edge to test a beta build of Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. This beta program was not open to any other Samsung device but that didn’t stop the Marshmallow beta from being sent out by mistake first to a Galaxy Note 4 and then to a Galaxy S5. It appears that this has happened yet again, a lucky user in France has received the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow update by mistake on the Galaxy S5.

The security patch date in this release is listed as “1 January 2016,” which indicates that this isn’t a build that’s meant for public release and it possibly may not even be final yet. No other device has received an update as yet with the January security patch. The user received this build on the Galaxy S5 (SM-G900F) over-the-air and we can see from the screenshots that the firmware does look legitimate, it doesn’t appear to be a port of the firmware previously released in the beta test. Samsung has not yet revealed when it’s going to start releasing Android 6.0 Marshmallow for its handsets but many expect that it shouldn’t take more than a couple of months from now.

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Buy a Samsung flagship from Best Buy and get the Gear VR free

Best Buy’s new promotion will certainly interest you if you’re out in the market to purchase a Samsung flagship. Customers who purchase or lease the Galaxy S6, the Galaxy S6 edge, the Galaxy S6 edge+ or the Galaxy Note 5 from Best Buy’s website will receive the Gear VR headset absolutely free. They simply need to add one of the aforementioned devices to their cart and the headset will automatically be added with a 100% discount.

This promotion offers great value for money since the Gear VR alone costs $100, it’s a great entry-point into the virtual reality realm, it’s not as expensive as some of the other VR headsets that are going to arrive soon and does have decent games and entertainment experiences to make sure that users are not irritated by lack of content. Best Buy is running this promotion today only so if you’d like to get a free Gear VR headset with your purchase of a Samsung flagship, better not waste any time in visiting the retailer’s website and purchasing any one of the aforementioned smartphones.

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Take a look at what might possibly be the Galaxy S7′s display and front camera

A couple of pictures have been leaked online today of what’s claimed to be the display panel and the front camera of the Galaxy S7. Now it’s not unusual for us to see leaks prior to the launch of an upcoming flagship series however that doesn’t necessarily mean the leak is actually true. It’s always best to take such rumors and leaks with a healthy dose of salt.

One leaked picture shows an array of front camera modules for model SM-G930F, going by Samsung’s naming convention this model number will represent the Galaxy S7, with the only major visible difference being the camera connector that’s offset to the left slightly as opposed to the connector on the Galaxy S6 which was dead center. It’s claimed that the second leaked photo shows us the Galaxy S7 in all its glory, pointing out that it’s a camouflaged unit for developers so that they can run tests on the handset without being able to see or leak the design. Since the top logo on the display panel is covered with a sticker you can’t see Samsung imprinted up top but the home button and capacitive keys do lend it that familiar Samsung look, even though the bezels appear to be too big on this display panel, perhaps that’s one of the tweaks that the company has made to keep the actual design hidden until it’s ready to formally unveil the Galaxy S7.

Samsung is expected to unveil the Galaxy S7 on February 21, 2016, and according to a recent rumor, it might release the new flagship in the United States and perhaps some other countries as well by March 11.

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