الأربعاء، 17 فبراير 2016

Mergers and acquisitions helping Samsung boost business overseas

A new report by the Financial Supervisory Service shows that aggressive mergers and acquisitions are helping Samsung boost business overseas. The company has reportedly added eight new overseas subsidiaries in 2015 by either acquiring substantial stakes or setting up new companies. The total number of subsidiaries is said to have reached 159 last year with only six based in the United States and the rest across Asia.

The expansion comes at a time when Samsung is trying to discover next growth engines to reduce reliance on traditionally strong businesses like smartphones or appliances which are increasingly coming under pressure now. The subsidiaries it picked up last year include LoopPay which provided technology that’s integral to Samsung Pay, a printing service company called Simpress as well as a semiconductor technology company called Future Technology & Service. A spokesman for the company said that Samsung has been aggressive in finding new revenue sources over the past few years. “The latest move is also part of our efforts to expand our presence into untapped yet promising areas such as the Internet of Things (IoT).”



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Samsung may expand VR beyond smartphones

Samsung is already a major player in the VR arena due to the fact that it has one of the most affordable VR headsets on the market right now, granted that you need a compatible Samsung device for it to work, but the Gear VR has proven to be a differentiating factor for its smartphones. The company initially started pushing VR to increase the competitiveness of its smartphones but it doesn’t discount the possibility of expanding its VR technology beyond smartphones at some point in the future.

Koo Yun-mo of Samsung’s mobile division said at a press briefing in Seoul that if the opportunity presents itself Samsung may expand its VR technology to other areas, “besides just increasing smartphone competitiveness.” Samsung’s current priority is to build an ecosystem for virtual reality by pushing it with the smartphone business, providing quality content and a veritable platform. Yun-mo gave a few ideas of how VR can be used beyond the smartphone. For example, it can be used in classrooms to display landmarks or show potential investors how an under construction factory will look like once it’s completed.  The possibilities are endless and Samsung surely doesn’t want to stick with VR on smartphones only. It will certainly be exciting to see what steps the company takes in the future to push its VR technology independently.



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Samsung’s latest ’7 Days of Unboxing’ video features an ice sculptor

Yesterday, we stumbled across two videos belonging to Samsung’s “7 Days of Unboxing” series, with each one being more peculiar than the other. Today’s video, however, brings us back to normality, as it includes an ice sculptor giving us his interpretation of what he saw inside that room with the Galaxy S7. The result is a beautifully sculpted structure, but sadly, it’s not enough to tell us much about the device itself.

Needless to say, the hints will get clearer as the days pass with February 21 quickly approaching. There are three more unboxing videos left before Samsung shows us the real thing, and frankly, I’m quite excited to see what the company’s marketing team will have cooked up for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Samsung’s teaser from earlier today pretty much confirmed the existence of water resistance on the upcoming flagship while an always-on display was hinted at by a tipster report.



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NextVR and Fox Sports will live stream sports in VR to the Gear VR

NextVR has been a very good addition to the content sources available for the Gear VR headset. It has provided VR broadcasts of live sporting events enabling users to get the most out of their headset. NextVR has now inked a five-year deal with Fox Sports to live stream sporting events to the Gear VR through its service.

The company says that it has worked with Fox Sports for over a year to test live VR programming across multiple sports. NextVR and Fox Sports will be providing VR broadcasts of major sporting events, they’ll be kicking things off later this year with the Daytona 500, allowing viewers with the Gear VR and a compatible Samsung smartphone to watch the race from the stands, middle of the infield, starting line and even from the pit lane. The VR live stream will have dedicated audio commentary as well as pop-up graphics telling the user who’s on pole position.



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The Galaxy S7 rumored to have an always-on display

Rumor has it that the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge flagships could pack always-on displays. Eldar Murtazin has revealed this information while mentioning how the device would differentiate itself from the predecessor, the Galaxy S6. This could be a major breakthrough for Samsung as this feature is quickly turning out to be an industry standard. The LG G5 which is expected to be revealed on the same day as the Galaxy S7 (Feb 21) has already been confirmed to be packing an always-on display.

Of course, Samsung is yet to confirm the inclusion of this feature, so we suggest you take it with a grain of salt for the time being. A report from earlier today talked about the possibility of the Galaxy S7 being water resistant, which is quite interesting as well, especially since we’re just a few days away from the release.



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New app from Samsung and BBC micro:bit lets you push code to the phone over Bluetooth

Samsung has just released a new Android app for BBC micro:bit. Using this app, users can push code on their Android devices over Bluetooth. Pushing code previously required a computer, so this is a major breakthrough as far as convenience is concerned. For those unaware, BBC micro:bit is a small hardware programming kit that is offered to students of year 7 in the UK. This kit is given for free to all students fitting the criteria as part of BBC and the government’s goal to encourage programming and computer learning at a very young age.

To make things easier for the students, Samsung has a dedicated micro:bit hub which will get them started on coding. The app requires micro:bit hardware to function. However, it’s not an exclusive to Samsung devices, which ensures that a wide range of users can access it. The ability to write code and push it wirelessly to a smartphone is very intriguing and will surely help the students get a lot more out of the micro:bit.



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Wallpaper Wednesday: Material Design

Welcome to the third edition of our weekly Wallpaper Wednesday segment. If you happen to have missed the previous two posts, let me enlighten you. Every Wednesday, we’ll be bringing you a selection of our favourite backgrounds to download and install on your devices. All images are available in a QHD resolution, which is a perfect fit for the Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 edge, Galaxy Note 5 and other flagships, but can, of course, be used on different smartphones, too.

If any of the following images float your boat and you want to download and set one as your wallpaper, simply tap on a photo to maximise it, then click and hold to save it. Once the picture is stored locally, open up Settings, locate and select Wallpaper, then just tap the newly-saved image to set it as your background.

Alternatively, you can download a ZIP file containing all of this week’s backdrops by hitting the Download button at the very bottom of this post.


Snowy Mountain

Snowy-Mountain


Retro Bus

Retro-Bus


Steam Train

Stream-Train


Chrome Color Pool

Chrome-Color-Pool


Red Ribbon

Red-Grid


Iron Man

Material-Iron-Man


Stars

Stars


Download

Note: We’ve tried our best to identify the creators of all of the wallpapers featured in this week’s column. However, the images appear to lack copyright information, artist signatures or any real trace of origin. If you created a wallpaper we’ve posted and would like credit, or would rather we remove the image, kindly contact us.



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2-17-2016 Firmware Updates: Galaxy Core Prime, Galaxy S6, Galaxy Note 3, 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
Afghanistan (AFG) SM-J500H GALAXY J5 5.1.1 J500HXXU1APA5
Algeria (TMC) SM-J500H GALAXY J5 5.1.1 J500HXXU1APA5
Australia (XSA) SM-T670 5.1.1 T670UEU1APA5
Austria (T-Mobile) (MAX) SM-G361F GALAXY Core Prime 5.1.1 G361FXXU1APA2
Austria (T-Mobile) (MAX) SM-G361F GALAXY Core Prime 5.1.1 G361FXXU1AOJ1
Austria (Telering) (TRG) SM-G361F GALAXY Core Prime 5.1.1 G361FXXU1AOJ1
Austria (Telering) (TRG) SM-G361F GALAXY Core Prime 5.1.1 G361FXXU1APA2
Brazil (ZTO) SM-T670 5.1.1 T670UEU1AOJC
Chile (CHO) SM-T670 5.1.1 T670UEU1AOJC
Chile (Telefonica) (CHT) SM-G530H GALAXY Grand Prime 5.0.2 G530HXXU2BOK3
China (China Mobile) (CHM) SM-N9108V GALAXY Note 4 5.1.1 N9108VZMU1COL3
China (China Mobile) (CHM) SM-N9108V GALAXY Note 4 5.0.1 N9108VZMS1BOK2
Colombia (COO) SM-T670 5.1.1 T670UEU1AOJC
Colombia (COO) SM-T561M GALAXY Tab E 9.6 3G 4.4.4 T561MUBU0APA1
Colombia (Movistar) (COB) SM-A710M 5.1.1 A710MUBU1AOL5
Dominican Republic (CDR) SM-G920I GALAXY S6 5.1.1 G920IDVU2COGA
Dominican Republic (CDR) SM-G920I GALAXY S6 5.1.1 G920IDVU3DOJF
Ecuador (ECO) SM-G928G GALAXY S6 Edge + 5.1.1 G928GUBU2AOJ4
Egypt (EGY) SM-E500H GALAXY E5 5.1.1 E500HXXU1BOJ2
Egypt (EGY) SM-J500H GALAXY J5 5.1.1 J500HXXU1AOI1
Egypt (EGY) SM-E500H GALAXY E5 5.1.1 E500HXXU1BPA1
Egypt (EGY) SM-J500H GALAXY J5 5.1.1 J500HXXU1APA5
Germany (DBT) SM-G110H GALAXY Pocket 2 4.4.2 G110HXXU0APA2
Germany (DBT) SM-T210 GALAXY Tab3 7.0 Wi-Fi 4.4.2 T210XXBOB1
Germany (DBT) SM-G110H GALAXY Pocket 2 4.4.2 G110HXXU0AOC3
Germany (DBT) SM-T210 GALAXY Tab3 7.0 Wi-Fi 4.4.2 T210XXBPA1
Germany (Vodafone) (VD2) SM-G130HN GALAXY Young 2 DUOS 4.4.2 G130HNXXU0AOI3
Germany (Vodafone) (VD2) SM-G130HN GALAXY Young 2 DUOS 4.4.2 G130HNXXU0APA2
Guatemala (PGU) SM-N900 GALAXY Note 3 5 N900UBUEBOF1
Guatemala (PGU) SM-G318ML GALAXY Trend 2 Lite 4.4.4 G318MLUBU0AOE3
Guatemala (PGU) SM-G318ML GALAXY Trend 2 Lite 4.4.4 G318MLUBU0AOJ1
Guatemala (PGU) SM-N900 GALAXY Note 3 5 N900UBUEBOK1
Iran (THR) SM-J500H GALAXY J5 5.1.1 J500HXXU1AOI1
Iran (THR) SM-J500H GALAXY J5 5.1.1 J500HXXU1APA5
Ireland (TSI) SM-A310F 5.1.1 A310FXXU1AOL7
Ireland (Three) (3IE) SM-G361F GALAXY Core Prime 5.1.1 G361FXXU1AOL1
Israel (Cellcom) (CEL) SM-N900 GALAXY Note 3 5 N900XXUEBOK3
Israel (Cellcom) (CEL) SM-N900 GALAXY Note 3 5 N900XXUEBOL4
Italy (ITV) SM-T715 GALAXY Tab S2 8.0 LTE 5.0.2 T715XXU2AOL6
Italy (TIM) (TIM) SM-A510F 5.1.1 A510FXXU1APAE
Kenya (AFR) SM-E500H GALAXY E5 5.1.1 E500HXXU1BPA1
Kenya (AFR) SM-G531F GALAXY Grand Prime VE 5.1.1 G531FXXU1APA1
Kenya (Zain) (DKR) SM-J500H GALAXY J5 5.1.1 J500HXXU1APA5
Korea (KOO) SM-T700 GALAXY Tab S 8.4 Wi-Fi 5.0.2 T700KXU1BOJ1
Korea (KOO) SM-T700 GALAXY Tab S 8.4 Wi-Fi 5.0.2 T700KXU1BPA2
Korea (KT Corporation) (KTC) SM-G850K GALAXY Alpha 5.0.2 G850KKTU2CPA4
Korea (KT Corporation) (KTC) SM-G850K GALAXY Alpha 5.0.2 G850KKTU2CPA4
Korea (KT Corporation) (KTC) SM-G850K GALAXY Alpha 5.0.2 G850KKTU2CPA4
Korea (KT Corporation) (KTC) SM-G850K GALAXY Alpha 5.0.2 G850KKTU2COJ2
Korea (LG Uplus) (LUC) SM-G925L GALAXY S6 Edge 6.0.1 G925LKLU3DPB2
Korea (LG Uplus) (LUC) SM-G925L GALAXY S6 Edge 6.0.1 G925LKLU3DPAD
Korea (LG Uplus) (LUC) SM-G925L GALAXY S6 Edge 6.0.1 G925LKLU3DPB2
Korea (LG Uplus) (LUC) SM-G925L GALAXY S6 Edge 6.0.1 G925LKLU3DPB2
Korea (LG Uplus) (LUC) SM-G920L GALAXY S6 6.0.1 G920LKLU3DPB2
Libya (BTC) SM-E500H GALAXY E5 5.1.1 E500HXXU1BPA1
Libya (BTC) SM-J700F GALAXY J7 5.1.1 J700FXXU1APA7
Libya (BTC) SM-E500H GALAXY E5 5.1.1 E500HXXU1BOJ2
Libya (BTC) SM-J500H GALAXY J5 5.1.1 J500HXXU1APA5
Libya (BTC) SM-J500H GALAXY J5 5.1.1 J500HXXU1AOI1
Mexico (Telcel) (TCE) SM-T670 5.1.1 T670UEU1AOJC
Morocco (MAT) (MAT) GT-I9515 GALAXY S4 VE 4.4.2 I9515XXU1ANL1
Morocco (MWD) (MWD) GT-I9515 GALAXY S4 VE 4.4.2 I9515XXU1ANL1
Morocco (MWD) (MWD) SM-G531F GALAXY Grand Prime VE 5.1.1 G531FXXU1APA1
Nepal (NPL) SM-J200H 5.1.1 J200HXXU0APA2
Nepal (NPL) SM-J500H GALAXY J5 5.1.1 J500HXXU1APA5
Nepal (NPL) SM-J500H GALAXY J5 5.1.1 J500HXXU1AOL6
New Zealand (NZC) SM-G360G GALAXY Core Prime 5.1.1 G360GDXU1BOL1
New Zealand (TNZ) SM-G360G GALAXY Core Prime 5.1.1 G360GDXU1BOL1
New Zealand (NZC) SM-G360G GALAXY Core Prime 4.4.4 G360GDVU1ANJ4
New Zealand (Vodafone) (VNZ) SM-G360G GALAXY Core Prime 5.1.1 G360GDXU1BOL1
New Zealand (Vodafone) (VNX) SM-G360G GALAXY Core Prime 5.1.1 G360GDXU1BOL1
Nigeria (ECT) SM-J500H GALAXY J5 5.1.1 J500HXXU1AOI1
Nigeria (ECT) SM-J500H GALAXY J5 5.1.1 J500HXXU1APA5
Nigeria (ECT) SM-E500H GALAXY E5 5.1.1 E500HXXU1BOJ2
Nigeria (ECT) SM-E500H GALAXY E5 5.1.1 E500HXXU1BPA1
Pakistan (PAK) (PAK) SM-J500H GALAXY J5 5.1.1 J500HXXU1APA5
Pakistan (PAK) (PAK) SM-J500H GALAXY J5 5.1.1 J500HXXU1AOI1
Paraguay (Tigo) (TGP) SM-G928G GALAXY S6 Edge + 5.1.1 G928GUBU2AOJ4
Peru (PEO) SM-T670 5.1.1 T670UEU1AOJC
Portugal (Vodafone) (TCL) SM-G361F GALAXY Core Prime 5.1.1 G361FXXU1APA2
Russia (SER) SM-T210 GALAXY Tab3 7.0 Wi-Fi 4.4.2 T210XXBNI1
Russia (SER) SM-T210 GALAXY Tab3 7.0 Wi-Fi 4.4.2 T210XXBPA1
Saudi Arabia (KSA) SM-J500H GALAXY J5 5.1.1 J500HXXU1APA5
Saudi Arabia (KSA) SM-G531F GALAXY Grand Prime VE 5.1.1 G531FXXU1APA1
Saudi Arabia (WTL) SM-J500H GALAXY J5 5.1.1 J500HXXU1APA5
Saudi Arabia (ACR) SM-E500H GALAXY E5 5.1.1 E500HXXU1BPA1
Saudi Arabia (KSA) SM-J500H GALAXY J5 5.1.1 J500HXXU1AOI1
Saudi Arabia (Black Edition)(KSA) GT-I9515 GALAXY S4 VE 4.4.2 I9515XXU1ANL1
South Africa (XFE) SM-E500H GALAXY E5 5.1.1 E500HXXU1BPA1
South America (Open Line) (NBS) SM-A510M 5.1.1 A510MUBU1AOL7
Spain (PHE) SM-J500FN GALAXY J5 5.1.1 J500FNXXU1AOL1
Spain (PHE) SM-J500FN GALAXY J5 5.1.1 J500FNXXU1APB1
Spint (cdma) (SPR) SM-T817P GALAXY Tab S2 9.7 LTE 5.1.1 T817PVPS2AOL1
Tunisia (TUN) SM-J500H GALAXY J5 5.1.1 J500HXXU1APA5
Tunisia (TUN) SM-G531F GALAXY Grand Prime VE 5.1.1 G531FXXU1APA1
Tunisia (TUN) SM-E500H GALAXY E5 5.1.1 E500HXXU1BOJ2
Tunisia (TUN) SM-G531F GALAXY Grand Prime VE 5.1.1 G531FXXU1AOJ2
Tunisia (TUN) SM-E500H GALAXY E5 5.1.1 E500HXXU1BPA1
Tunisia (TUN) SM-J500H GALAXY J5 5.1.1 J500HXXU1AOI1
USA (T-Mobile) (TMB) SGH-T399 GALAXY Light 4.2.2 T399UVUAOH2
USA (T-Mobile) (TMB) SGH-T399 GALAXY Light 4.2.2 T399UVUAPA1
United Arab Emirates (LYS) SM-E500H GALAXY E5 5.1.1 E500HXXU1BOJ2
United Arab Emirates (LYS) SM-J500H GALAXY J5 5.1.1 J500HXXU1AOI1
United Arab Emirates (XSG) GT-I9515 GALAXY S4 VE 5.0.1 I9515XXU1BOG3
United Arab Emirates (XSG) SM-J500H GALAXY J5 5.1.1 J500HXXU1APA5
United Arab Emirates (LYS) SM-J500H GALAXY J5 5.1.1 J500HXXU1APA5
United Arab Emirates (XSG) SM-J500H GALAXY J5 5.1.1 J500HXXU1AOI1
United Arab Emirates (LYS) SM-E500H GALAXY E5 5.1.1 E500HXXU1BPA1
Unknown (TTR) SM-G361F GALAXY Core Prime 5.1.1 G361FXXU1AOJ1
Unknown (TTR) SM-G361F GALAXY Core Prime 5.1.1 G361FXXU1APA2
Unknown (THW) SM-G318MZ 4.4.4 G318MZDXU0APB1
Unknown (THW) SM-G318MZ 4.4.4 G318MZDXU0APB1
Unknown (THW) SM-G318MZ 4.4.4 G318MZDXU0APB1
Unknown (MRU) SM-E500H GALAXY E5 5.1.1 E500HXXU1BPA1
Unknown (XAS) SM-T817P GALAXY Tab S2 9.7 LTE 5.1.1 T817PVPS2AOL1
Unknown (BNG) SM-J500H GALAXY J5 5.1.1 J500HXXU1APA5
Unknown (BNG) SM-J500H GALAXY J5 5.1.1 J500HXXU1AOL6
Uzbekistan (CAC) SM-T210 GALAXY Tab3 7.0 Wi-Fi 4.4.2 T210XXBNI1
Uzbekistan (CAC) SM-T210 GALAXY Tab3 7.0 Wi-Fi 4.4.2 T210XXBPA1


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Samsung and Qualcomm team up to deliver products supporting LTE in Unlicensed spectrum

Samsung and Qualcomm announced today that they have teamed up to provide small cell technologies and products supporting LTE in Unlicensed spectrum designed to improve the speed and capacity of mobile networks, enabling mobile carriers to provide improved user experiences for their customers. As data services and smartphones put enormous strain on cellular networks the need for more spectrum is rising so that carriers can ensure a great user experience. LTE in Unlicensed spectrum includes several technologies that allow aggregation of licensed and unlicensed spectrum bands so that network capacity and speed can be efficiently and timely increased.

Samsung’s LTE-U eFemto cell features a Qualcomm FSM9955 chipset and supports enhanced Carrier Sensing Adaptive Transmission (eCSAT) features for coexistence with Wi-Fi. This small cell technology has been designed to enable plug-and-play deployments with an easy installation process and high capacity for both mobile operators and enterprises. One small cell unit is capable of supporting three carriers of 20 MHz each across both licensed and unlicensed spectrum, with peak download throughput being as high as 450Mbps.

The Samsung LTE-U eFemto cell with Qualcomm FSM9955 chipset is going to be exhibited at Samsung’s booth at MWC 2016 from February 22 to February 25 in Barcelona.



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New fingerprint sensor by Synaptics can be placed underneath the volume rocker

Synaptics has announced its newest fingerprint scanner which is so small that it can even fit into the volume rocker. If we’re being specific, the sensor is just 3.5mm wide, paving the way for potentially innovative placements of the scanner. While it’s not guaranteed that this fingerprint scanner will be used under the volume rocker in future devices, we certainly like the idea.

This is enough reason for excitement for Samsung fans as Synaptics currently supplies the fingerprint sensors for its Galaxy flagships, well it has been a supplier since the days of the Galaxy S5, so it won’t be far-fetched to assume that next year’s Galaxy flagship (or perhaps the Note flagship this year) could feature this innovative new technology underneath.

In addition to announcing this new sensor, Synaptics has updated the SentryPoint Security Suite with anti-spoofing features. As you may recall, the fingerprint scanner on the Galaxy S5 was susceptible to fake fingerprints. This new update to SentryPoint basically fixes this, by paying emphasis to “liveness” of the human touch. This is a crucial addition to Synaptics repertoire and could go a long way in making fingerprint scanning tech more secure.



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Samsung will showcase technologies that pave the way towards a 5G future at MWC 2016

Samsung has announced today that at the Mobile World Congress 2016 later this week it’s going to showcase 4G LTE and advanced mobile technologies that pave a way toward a 5G future. The company will also introduce multilink connectivity technology, centralized radio, mmWave radio access solutions as well as Internet of Things to further provide reliable mobility and architectural flexibility.

“5G technology will offer us a new level of experience, which is immersive, tactile and ubiquitous. Thanks to seamless mobility, higher throughput and low latency of 5G technology, new services like hologram calls, virtual reality broadcasting of live football games and self-driving cars will enrich our lives,” said Youngky Kim, President and Head of Networks Business at Samsung Electronics.

The company will demonstrate the technology at MWC 2016 by transmitting eight UHD 4K videos over the air without any delays. It will also introduce the world’s first mobile handover test using the mmWave radio system and smartphone-integrated multiple antenna modules in a small form factor. The key lineup of Samsung IoT solutions are going to be demonstrated at MWC 2016 as well, these include the IoT Core Gateways, base stations, integrated digital units and more.

All of these technologies and more will be exhibited at the Samsung booth in Exhibit Hall 2 Stand 2M10 during MWC 2016 from February 22 to February 25 in Barcelona.



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Samsung has pretty much confirmed that the Galaxy S7 will be water resistant

It has consistently been rumored that the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge will be water resistant. The existing flagships don’t play nice with water but it looks like the upcoming handsets will get along with it just fine. Soon after Samsung Indonesia posted a video online which more or less confirmed that the next flagship handsets will be water resistant, Samsung is teasing the same feature through its official Twitter account.

“Change your idea of what a phone can handle,” says the tweet, and it also features a short clip which shows the unfortunate incident of a young lady dropping her phone in the pool, implying that you wouldn’t need to worry about the Galaxy S7 dying out on you should you drop it in the pool. Samsung is going to unveil the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge on February 21 and pre-orders are expected to go live the very same day with deliveries likely started March 11 in launch markets.



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Samsung Pay now supports 15 more banks and credit unions in the US

Samsung has just updated its mobile payment gateway with support for fifteen new banks and credit unions in the United States. This brings the total of supported Visa and MasterCard issuers up to an astonishing 68. However, despite the South Korean company’s best efforts, the third-largest bank in America, Wells Fargo, is still missing from the list.

A roundup of all of the newly-supported banks can be seen below:

  • Affinity Federal Credit Union
  • Central Minnesota Credit Union
  • Charlotte Metro Credit Union
  • Connexion Credit Union
  • Fannin Bank
  • Marine Federal Credit Union
  • NCPA Federal Credit Union
  • Partners! Federal Credit Union
  • People’s United Bank
  • Redwood Credit Union
  • Security Service Federal Credit Union
  • States Department Federal Credit Union
  • Trustone Financial
  • US Alliance Financial
  • Wes Banco

If you own one of the newest card additions, you will now be able to activate Samsung Pay and store your payment details within the application, so that you can effortlessly make mobile payments when you’re out and about.



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[Poll] Does Samsung’s update policy affect your decision to buy a new Galaxy smartphone?

Samsung announced earlier this week that Android 6.0 will be rolling out to the Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 edge and other Galaxy devices in the coming weeks. It was a welcome announcement, but it also got us thinking: Why did the release of the newest version of Android for existing devices come just a week before Samsung’s latest flagships are set to be unveiled? The answer is pretty clear we guess, and it’s a tradition that the company has followed for a long time now.

At a time when smaller manufacturers like HTC and Motorola are rushing out software updates (if only in certain markets) without making consumers wait for months on end just so they can announce newer smartphones, Samsung is disappointingly unwilling to change. Okay, so it did change a little by allowing users to take part in a beta testing program, but even that was limited to just two markets around the world.

To say Samsung’s software is huge and needs to be tested would be an overstatement. HTC’s software isn’t the lightest out there either, but the Taiwanese manufacturer manages to complete everything from porting to testing in a matter of weeks. With Samsung’s resources, doing the same (or even doing it faster) shouldn’t be a problem. It just looks like the Korean giant is unwilling to roll out software updates to an existing flagship before the next one gets announced.

There’s no guarantee that the next major version of Android that comes along later this year will come to the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge before the Galaxy S8 goes official, just like the Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 edge, Galaxy S6 edge+ and the Galaxy Note 5 are still waiting for Marshmallow. Which brings us to the question of the day: Does Samsung’s software update policy affect your purchasing decision of the company’s new flagships? Not just the Galaxy S7, which will be hogging all the limelight in the next couple of months, but generally as well?

Let us know through the poll below, and do leave a comment with your thoughts on the matter.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

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Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) with a 3,300 mAh battery hits FCC

The Galaxy J7 (2016) has paid a visit to the FCC, leaving behind the documentation of its 3,300 mAh battery. Recently, the 2016 iteration of the Galaxy J7 surfaced on several occasions. Specifications of the device were revealed in GFXBench’s database, and certification at the Bluetooth SIG marked a major step towards its release. Now, with the appearance at the FCC, another hurdle seems to have been cleared.

Significantly, the FCC documents reveal a battery with a capacity of 3,300 mAh, which is a lot less than the previously rumoured 4,300 mAh. However, it’s still 300 mAh more than the original Galaxy J7. Combine that with the device’s Exynos 7870 processor with 14 nanometer technology, and it should be efficient enough to make those 3,300 milliamp-hours last at least a day or two.

Further specs include a 5.5-inch display with a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, a 12-megapixel rear-facing camera, a 5-megapixel front-facing shooter, 3GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal storage space. In all likelihood, we may see a microSD slot for expanding the storage on the device, and possibly a fingerprint reader. The device tested at the FCC is the SM-J7109, which is a dual-SIM version that’s headed for China.

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Samsung Galaxy S7 leaks in new images and a short video

The Galaxy S7 was leaked in Dubai yesterday along with its box and box contents. Now, more images and a short video (fifteen seconds to be precise) of the device have been leaked that confirm some of its features. The leaked images show the black variant of the Galaxy S7 and its SIM card slot which also holds the microSD card, thereby confirming the return of the much requested microSD card slot to Samsung’s flagship.

According to AndroidAuthority, the Galaxy S7 will come with a 12-megapixel rear-facing camera and IP68 (or IP67) rating for water-resistance. The design of the device seems quite similar to the Galaxy S6. There’s the metal frame and glass front/back, but the glass is now curved across all the sides, and the home button is now relatively taller.

Even though the camera has a resolution of just 12 megapixels, each individual pixel is said to be much larger (similar to the pixels on the Nexus 5X and the Nexus 6P). Although it doesn’t tell us much about the actual image quality, we all know that Samsung has been a leader when it comes to smartphone camera technology. There’s no information about the resolution of the front-facing camera in this report.

Now coming to the most important (yet heartbreaking) thing, the device is said to come with a 2,800 mAh battery instead of a 3,000 mAh one as rumored earlier (though our sources are still pointing towards a 3,000 mAh battery). We should wait for the official unveiling before making any assumptions based on these leaks. Moreover, there’s no USB Type-C port here, and it looks like Samsung has decided to stick with the good old microUSB 2.0 port for now.

The Galaxy S7 will run TouchWiz on top of Android 6.0 Marshmallow, and this is the first time that we’re getting to see the software side of the Galaxy S7, thanks to the short video. From the looks of it, the interface looks nice and clean (and colorful). The icons look flatter and rounded off, but the Flipboard integration is still present. That’s it for now. What do you think about this device? Will you be upgrading to the Galaxy S7 or the S7 edge from your current device?

Samsung Galaxy S7 Leak MicroSD Card Slot And SIM Card Slot

Samsung Galaxy S7 Leak Back Camera



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Android 6.0 for Galaxy devices brings new Samsung browser, Cross App, and more

Samsung recently started updating the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge to Marshmallow globally, and most of the new features were revealed through the consumer consultant guide that we leaked last week. The Korean giant has now officially announced everything the update brings to its devices on its website, and it’s not just default Android 6.0 features that have come along for the ride.

Android 6.0 brings version 4.0 of Samsung’s internet browser; this is the version that supports the ad blocking plugins that were launched earlier, and the update also adds a Secret mode for private browsing. Yes, it seems funny that the option wasn’t present in the browser before, but users who haven’t already opted for alternatives like Chrome and others should now be able to browse websites without “leaving behind a trail of information”, with the ability to lock the Secure mode with a fingerprint. Samsung Internet 4.0 also supports browsing through the Gear VR, which we took for a spin in our hands-on last year.

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The other major new feature is Cross App. With Cross App, you will be able to operate “certain apps from within other apps.” As Samsung’s example notes, this could include firing up the gallery or camera or opening a link through the in-app browser in the messaging app. For the latter, the app will allow users to flick the in-app browser while the page is loading so they can continue sending messages while the website’s content loads in the background. Cross App isn’t totally new – third-party apps already do this pretty well (for example, WhatsApp), and Samsung is simply implementing cross-app functionality in its own apps.

Other new functionality is mostly standard fare, including the power-saving feature Doze, better control over app permissions, and the ability to adjust audio speed when playing video. Here’s hoping the update makes its way to various Galaxy devices quickly and that all these new features aren’t accompanied by too many bugs or issues that have ruined major updates in the last couple of years.

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جميع الحقوق محفوظة لمدونة الغريب 2013