Samsung expects the Galaxy S7 to surpass the Galaxy S6 in sales

Two days ago Samsung took to the stage in Barcelona to unveil the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge. The new flagships are a significant improvement over the predecessors and Samsung is counting on them to perform better than last year’s flagship. Samsung’s mobile chief DJ Koh has said that the company expects the Galaxy S7 sales to surpass the Galaxy S6.

Koh also pointed out that Samsung tried to add as many features as possible to the Galaxy S7 that were discontinued in previous models, water resistance is just one of those features. Pre-orders for the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge have already been opened in launch markets. The new flagships are going to be available in 60 countries across the globe on March 11 with additional countries being added to the list in the weeks to come.

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Samsung demonstrates world’s first end-to-end 5G solution at MWC 2016

A few days back Samsung announced that it will showcase technologies at the Mobile World Congress 2016 that pave the way towards a 5G future. In partnership with Deutsche Telekom, it announced today that they have successfully showcased the world’s first end-to-end 5G demonstration at Mobile World Congress 2016.

The end-to-end 5G demonstration involved two Samsung smartphones in tracking precise movements of a robotic arm from two different angles. The 4K UHD video was transmitted over-the-air without any delay by the Ultra High Mobile broadband (U-MBB) service which uses Samsung’s 60GHz radio access technology. Samsung and Deutsche Telekom were able to achieve throughput more than 1.5 gigabit per second on each smartphone. The smartphones used in this demonstration featured 16 antenna elements which support beam-forming as well as conventional 3G and LTE networks. This ability to support multiple bands and technologies in a small form factor is one important enabler of 5G.

It goes without saying that in the future there will be Samsung handsets that support 5G networks. The company appears to be very interested in this network technology and wants to be a driving force behind it. Still, it’s going to take a couple of years before 5G becomes mainstream, major carriers in the United States expect to start commercial availability of their 5G networks by late 2017 or early 2018.

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Verizon starts taking pre-orders for the Gear S2 classic 3G from tomorrow

It was only a few days ago that Samsung announced that the Gear S2 classic 3G will be available from major wireless carriers in the United States. Carriers are supposed to individually confirm pricing and availability for this variant of the Gear S2 smartwatch. Verizon has confirmed the pricing and release date for the Gear S2 classic 3G today.

Big Red will start taking pre-orders for this smartwatch from tomorrow for $399.99. The Gear S2 classic 3G from Verizon is also going to be available for $349.99 with a new two-year contract. Existing customers will be able to add the device to their Verizon account for $5 per month. The smartwatch will connect to Verizon’s 3G network enabling users to make calls, send and receive messages and notifications even when they’re not paired to a smartphone.

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T-Mobile unboxes the Galaxy S7 underwater

Now that the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge have been officially unveiled I’m sure many of you will be heading over to YouTube to watch hands-on reviews and unboxings of the new flagships. There’s an entire community built around unboxing handsets as that’s one of the things people like to see before they decide to purchase a new handset. T-Mobile is getting in on the unboxing craze as well but with a unique twist, it has uploaded a video in which the Galaxy S7 is being unboxed underwater.

It actually makes perfect sense for T-Mobile to do this since the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge both are water resistant up to 5 feet for 30 minutes. It’s a fun little video in which we get to see @askdes try to hold on to the contents of the box as they float away. Many of you will be interested in finding out how the handsets perform underwater and in the video they seem to hold up pretty nicely so it looks like you’ll be able to take those underwater selfies very easily. T-Mobile has already confirmed pricing and release date for the new flagships and customers who make a purchase from Magenta will also get a free year of Netflix alongside the free Gear VR headset that’s promised by Samsung to all customers who pre-order the Galaxy S7 or the Galaxy S7 edge.

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Samsung updates Smart Switch for Android with support for Galaxy-to-Galaxy transfer via USB OTG

Samsung has today updated its Smart Switch application on the Galaxy Store. This latest upgrade brings support for Galaxy-to-Galaxy transfer via USB On-The-Go (OTG), which makes it faster and easier than ever before to migrate content from your old smartphone to your new one.

For those unaware of USB OTG, it’s a networking standard that was introduced to Android back in 2014, which lets you plug in an external peripheral to your smartphone via a USB to microUSB cable. It also makes it possible for multiple devices to connect directly with each other.

Smart Switch makes great use of this innovative technology by empowering users to connect one phone to another. The application will then transfer all of the selected content stored on the old unit to the new handset, which includes any S Planner events, call logs, alarms, emails and Internet bookmarks.

There’s one main advantage of using this type of data transfer, and that’s speed. Prior to the implementation of USB OTG, the only options available for transferring files between devices was by switching out memory cards (which only worked if your old/new handset supported expandable storage), moving files over Wi-Fi or plugging into a computer and manually dragging/dropping the files.

However, all three methods above are slow and tedious. USB OTG means that you don’t need a memory card or a computer to move files. You just need to have the two devices ready and Samsung’s transfer cable handy, then you’re good to go.

 

 

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Samsung’s removed its Music and Video Player apps from the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge

Last night, during a dedicated Unpacked event in Barcelona, Samsung took the wraps off its latest flagship smartphones of 2016, the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge. After spending some time with the handsets, we quickly realized that the South Korean company had renewed its agreement with Microsoft to preload the firm’s productivity suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneDrive and Skype) on both devices.

However, we’ve now discovered another software alteration that Samsung has made to the phones. This one’s a little peculiar, though. The manufacturer has removed both its stock Music and Video Player applications from the units and, instead, replaced them with Google Play Music and Google Play Movies. If users don’t want to take advantage of the search engine giant’s offerings, they can always download Samsung’s aforementioned media tools from the Galaxy Store.

It’s unclear why Samsung has made this switch, but we presume it has something to do with the amount of content available through the Google Play Store. I, myself, am a subscriber of Play Music All Access and use it religiously on my Galaxy S6 edge+ — so it’s pretty safe to say that I’m happy with the company’s decision to axe its default services. After all, I can’t even remember the last time I opened Music Player.

Samsung Music and Video on the Galaxy Store.

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Android 6.0.1 rolling out to the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge in the UK

Samsung announced the global rollout of Android 6.0 Marshmallow for the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge last week, but it is only now the update seems to be making it to actual devices. The Galaxy S6 (SM-G920F) and Galaxy S6 edge (SM-G925F) are getting Android 6.0.1 over in the UK on the Vodafone network, with the update featuring build number XXU3DPB8. The update should be hitting other networks in the country soon, in addition to regular unlocked units.

Android 6.o brings an updated visual design on the software front, newer version of Samsung’s Internet browser, Cross App functionality in built-in apps, Google Now on Tap, Doze, and better permissions control. The Note 5 has already gotten the 6.0.1 in one market, and it looks like Marshmallow will now roll out in earnest as the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge have been officially announced. The Galaxy S6 and S6 edge shouldn’t have too many bugs on the Marshmallow unlike the Note 5, considering Samsung did a thorough beta test before releasing the official update.

Expect the update to show up on your Galaxy S6 or S6 edge as a notification in the next day or two. If that doesn’t happen, you can take a trip into the Settings » About device » Software updates menu to rush things up, or grab the firmware from our firmware section to upgrade manually. Check out Marshmallow on the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge here.

Firmware Details:

Model	SM-G920F
Model name	Galaxy S6
Country	United Kingdom (Vodafone)
Version	Android 6.0.1
Changelist	7025264
Build date	Tue, 16 Feb 2016 01:14:05 +0000
Product code	VOD
PDA	G920FXXU3DPB8
CSC	G920FVFG3DPB8

 

Model	SM-G925F
Model name	Galaxy S6 edge
Country	United Kingdom (Vodafone)
Version	Android 6.0.1
Changelist	7025264
Build date	Tue, 16 Feb 2016 01:12:14 +0000
Product code	VOD
PDA	G925FXXU3DPB8
CSC	G925FVFG3DPB8

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Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge use Sony IMX260 camera sensor, in-house audio chip

Much has been said about the new camera on the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge. Samsung has stepped back from the megapixel race and opted for a 12-megapixel camera that has bigger pixels, better autofocus and a larger aperture for an improved imaging experience, especially in low-light conditions. Before the devices were announced, we were expecting the S7 and S7 edge to have Samsung’s new BRITECELL camera sensor, but it turns out the company has turned to Sony once again for its devices’ sensors.

We ran the AIDA64 app on the Galaxy S7 edge at MWC and found that the device has a Sony IMX260 sensor, an upgrade over the IMX 240 used in the Galaxy S6 lineup and the Galaxy Note 5. Perhaps it’s not surprising that there is no BRITECELL sensor – Samsung had said the BRITECELL camera will have a pixel size of only 1 micron, which is considerably smaller than the 1.4 micron pixels on the S7 and S7 edge. So both devices should be using the IMX260 in every market, which means they should offer the same image quality at all times unlike the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge.

While Samsung might not be using its own camera sensor, it certainly seems to have developed a custom audio chip for its new Galaxies. Our SamMobile Device Info app reported a “Lucky CS47L91 Sound” chip on the device. If you remember, we had exclusively reported that the Galaxy S7 is codenamed Project Lucky, so it certainly seems like this chip is custom-made by the Korean manufacturer. Hopefully it will offer the high-quality sound Samsung is promising compared to previous Galaxy flagships.

We are working on getting more information from Samsung and will update this story once we learn more on the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge’s camera and audio hardware. In the meantime, go check out our hands-on experience with the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, and also look at Samsung’s new Gear 360 virtual reality camera.

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Galaxy S7 Always On display feature not coming to existing Galaxy handsets

Samsung confirmed yesterday that the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge features an Always On display. The features allows the device to show ambient information on what would otherwise be a black screen when the display is turned off. The Always On display is capable of displaying a clock, calendar or even a background image. It also supports theming so third-party themes from the Themes store will be able to change the look and feel of this feature.

In the past, Samsung has brought over some of the features it has introduced with new flagships to the predecessors, but don’t keep your fingers crossed for this particular feature. Always On display feature is not going to be released for existing Galaxy handsets, not even last year’s flagships, so if you’d like to use this feature you have to pick up the Galaxy S7 or the Galaxy S7 edge.

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Samsung Z5 (SM-Z510FD) Tizen smartphone imported to India for testing

Despite limited availability and with only two devices in the market, Samsung’s Tizen platform has done relatively well for a new operating system. Both the Z1 and Z3 managed to rack up considerable sales after launch, and it should come as no surprise that the Korean giant is working on yet another Tizen phone. An SM-Z510 was recently imported to India for testing, and the model number suggests the device will be called the Samsung Z5 when it launches sometime in the future.

310 units of an “ASSY METAL REAR UNIT” were imported with a value of Rs. 1,665 (roughly $25). That might sound like the phone could be made of metal, but this is likely only the chassis of the phone. Development has probably just begun, and if we go by the time difference between the Z1 and Z3′s launch, we are a few months away from seeing the Z5 make an official appearance. Or at least an unofficial one thanks to the rumor mill that keeps constantly spinning.

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