Galaxy J5 (2016) and Galaxy J7 (2016) go official in South Korea

Samsung has launched the Galaxy J5 (2016) and Galaxy J7 (2016), its first metallic budget smartphones, in its home market. The two devices will be launched by carrier KT in black and gold color options, with price tags of 290,000 won ($254) and 363,000 won ($318) respectively. Samsung will also be bringing the Galaxy J3 to South Korea at some point in the near future.

The Galaxy J5 (2016) and Galaxy J7 (2016) feature 5.2-inch and 5.5-inch 720p and Full HD Super AMOLED displays, a 13-megapixel rear camera, a 5-megapixel front camera with an LED flash, quad-core and octa-core processors clocked at 1.2GHz and 1.6GHz respectively, 2GB and 3GB of RAM, 16GB of expandable storage, and 3,100 mAh and 3,300 mAh batteries. Both run Android 6.0 Marshmallow, and also support NFC connectivity.

The new Galaxy J smartphones are expected to launch in Europe soon, and should be making their way to markets like India as well.

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Galaxy Note 4 gets another update In India with May security patch

Just four days ago Samsung released an update for the Galaxy Note 4 in India which brought the latest security fixes to this variant of the phablet. Build number GDTS1DPD2 brought the April security patch for the Galaxy Note 4, so it seems quite odd when Samsung releases another update for the handset today that carries a build date of April 22 but comes with the May security patch.

The previous update came in at 360MB and the one that has been released today is 378MB. The changelog doesn’t reveal much about what it brings, only mentioning that it features bug fixes and device stability improvements, aside from bumping up the Security Patch Level to May 1. It’s rolling out over-the-air to Galaxy Note 4 owners in India today and is also available from our firmware section. Do let us know if you’ve received it on your phablet.

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Themes Thursday: Check out these brilliant themes released this week

We’re back with Themes Thursday to showcase some of the best themes released in the past one week. Over 63 themes have been released in Samsung’s Theme Store over the past one week, and we’ve shortlisted ten themes that you might be interested in.

We are tremendously impressed by [Walk On Mars] Triple ZigZag and the Layers UI themes as they have a pleasing combination of blacks and bright colors. Blue-Red, Bleex Light, and Hexo UI have brilliant designs as well. Other themes listed below might appeal to a lot of people.

All these themes are paid, so you may or may not be able to see them in the Theme Store depending on your country.

[Walk On Mars] Triple ZigZag – Paid

[WoOS_Design] Picinic – Paid

Bleex Light – Paid

Blue-Red – Paid

Hexo UI – Paid

Layers UI – Paid

Material Mountains – Paid

SereneUI – Paid

Tiger Pattern – Paid

TouchOS Black – Paid

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Samsung’s latest Galaxy S7 commercial encourages you to dream using virtual reality

Samsung’s latest commercial showcases the company’s two most important products of the year: the Galaxy S7 edge and the Gear VR. The ad was released yesterday, and it reminds us that all of us have dreams, but unfortunately not every dream turns into reality. This is where Samsung wants to bring virtual reality into the picture.

The commercial showcases how one can get immersed in virtual reality using the Galaxy S7 edge and the Gear VR, and do everything that they ever dreamed of. Various virtual reality games, videos, and imagery can be enjoyed by downloading them from the Gear VR’s content library.

Virtual reality is where Samsung is beating all other smartphones in the market. It has partnered with Oculus, which is being considered as the pioneer in the virtual reality segment. Have you ever experienced virtual reality on a Galaxy device using the Gear VR? If yes, did you like the experience?

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Veggies and chocolate syrup feature in Samsung’s new Family Hub refrigerator ad

Samsung unveiled its IoT-based Family Hub smart refrigerator back at CES 2016. This refrigerator sports a massive touchscreen, letting you use it pretty much like a smartphone/tablet. The Korean manufacturer has formally started advertising this particular product, with the first commercial featuring Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard now going live.

A lot of animation is on show, and we see the likes of cupcakes, chocolate syrup etc featuring in the video. Clearly, there’s a lot happening inside the refrigerator, including what appears to be a yoga class. It’s a pretty long ad and the TV slot would probably feature a much shorter version of this. Catch the commercial in its entirety below.

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EE taking pre-orders for White Pearl version of the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge

Samsung has quite the bad habit of not making every color variant of its flagships available in all markets, especially at the time the devices go on sale. This year, the white version of Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge is the elusive option, but those living in the UK and willing to go with carrier EE can now pre-order the White Pearl Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge. Availability will begin on May 6, with consumers having the option to opt for one of EE’s numerous payment plans.

White can feel boring to some, but it’s a color well-suited to Samsung’s premium design language for its flagship phones and looks the most classic of them all. Samsung will hopefully expand the availability of the White Pearl version to other markets in the coming weeks, and maybe one day start making every color (and storage) variant of its top-of-the-line smartphones accessible in every region around the world. You know, just like how Apple does it.

Pre-order the Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge from the source links below.

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Samsung Checkout on TV is a native two-step payment system for smart TVs

Samsung announced yesterday that it’s opening up Samsung Checkout on TV to developers, this two-step payment solution was previously offered only to select partners. The company aims to make TV app markets more dynamic and fruitful for developers with this native billing option which works on all Samsung smart TVs from 2014 to 2016 while 2013 models will get support by the end of this year. Samsung Checkout on TV presents a huge opportunity to developers as they can offer paid features right on Samsung smart TVs whereas users get the ability to quickly purchase goods, apps, and services directly from their TVs.

Samsung Checkout on TV is currently available in 53 countries and more will be added in the near future. It provides a simple management system for items and transactions and supports multiple payment methods like credit cards, mobile carriers, and even PayPal. This simple two-step system has been designed to work with the TV remote control. Once users have configured their payment method they just need to click on “Pay Now” to purchase an item, they will need to enter a four-digit PIN to authorize the transaction. Users can purchase items like apps, subscriptions, in-app purchases and more using Samsung Checkout on TV.  To ensure data protection this payment system uses Samsung’s Smart TV security solutions including Samsung Secure Numpad and Secure Keyboard to keep financial information secure in the payment process.

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Otto is a cute personal assistant robot from Samsung

It is fairly evident from the technology and products showcased at the SDC 2016 event that Samsung is pushing heavily towards the Internet of Things. The company demonstrated Otto, a cute personal assistant robot that could not only answer questions but also double up as a security monitoring device.

Otto is essentially a home companion smart robot that can answer questions similar to Siri or Amazon Echo. However, it also features a display and a high-definition camera, so it can double up as a home security guard. The Internet-connected robot can broadcast live video to mobile devices and PCs. Its camera can be moved in various directions using a mobile camera. More importantly, it can also talk to and control smart home appliances like an air conditioner or a refrigerator.

The smart robot is based on Samsung’s Artik 10 board computer that will be available for purchase next month. The Artik 10 is a prototype and Samsung doesn’t have any intention make it commercially available to consumers. It is essentially a live example of what could be made using the company’s Artik board computers. Samsung wants IoT enthusiasts to experiment using the Artik 10 and make smart devices like the Otto.

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Samsung will start shipping Artik 10 board computer next month

Samsung has announced that it will start shipping Artik 10, a board computer which competes with Raspberry Pi 3, next month. It was initially unveiled last year and it could be a PC replacement or could be used to build robots, drones, smart appliances, or other gadgets.

The Artik 10 will be available for purchase through online retailer Digi-Key in May. The pricing isn’t official yet, but it could cost more than the $35 Raspberry Pi 3, and even the $99 Artik 5. The Artik 10 features an octa-core 32-bit ARM SoC with Mali-T628 MP6 GPU, 2GB LP-DDR3 RAM, 16GB flash storage, and USB ports. It also comes with wireless capabilities including Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth, and Zigbee along with GPIO, I2C, I2S, and SPI connectors.

Although the Raspberry Pi 3 has a 64-bit CPU, it lacks Zigbee, which is used to interconnect various sensors and devices. The Artik 10 will help IoT enthusiasts in developing and testing new products. It can also connect to the Artik Cloud service, which was announced at the ongoing SDC 2016. Understandably, Samsung wants to tap into the growing IoT market with the Artik 10. The company already sells IoT products under its SmartThings brand, which it acquired in 2014.

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Samsung is testing a power-efficient TouchWiz launcher

Samsung has been trying to address TouchWiz-related issues since the launch of the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge by dialing down on software customization. The company is now trying to leverage Vulkan APIs to optimise the TouchWiz launcher. The Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge were the first smartphones in the world to use Vulkan APIs for improved graphics performance.

At the ongoing Samsung Developers Conference 2016 event, principal engineers at Samsung demonstrated a new TouchWiz launcher, which utilizes the advantage of Vulkan APIs. The new “TouchWiz-like” home launcher doesn’t utilize everything that Vulkan has to offer, but it still showcased improved power efficiency as well as performance when compared to the current launcher based on OpenGL ES.

Samsung’s testing showed that the Vulkan-powered TouchWiz launcher, which isn’t ready for the prime time yet, is 6.4 percent more power-efficient than the current launcher in page scrolling and 5.76 percent more power-efficient while opening and closing the app tray. Samsung engineers claimed that it could result in around 40 minutes longer battery life on the Galaxy S7 edge.

With this experiment, Samsung showcased that Vulkan can not only improve gaming but a lot of other things where graphics come into the picture. Google has introduced system-level Vulkan support in the newest version of Android N Developer Preview, and we hope that Samsung would release the new TouchWiz launcher with the upcoming Galaxy Note 6.

Image Credit: AndroidCentral

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Early Galaxy S7 and S7 edge launch boosts Samsung’s profits in Q1, 2016

Samsung announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2016 earlier today. The company recorded a revenue of KRW 49.78 trillion ($43.46 billion) and an operating profit of KRW 6.68 trillion ($5.84 billion). The South Korean electronics giant said that the increase in its revenue and profit is a result of the early launch and successful sales of the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, increased sales of OLED display panels, better memory product mix, and increased sales of its 14nm chips. The company’s revenue increased 5.7 percent year-on-year and its profits increased 12 percent year-on-year.

The company’s Mobile and IT Communications division recorded a consolidated revenue of KRW 27.6 trillion with an operating profit of KRW 3.89 trillion ($3.4 billion), which is an increase of 6.6 percent and 42 percent year-on-year increase, respectively. Despite weak sales of smartphones, the company’s overall profit increased due to an early launch of the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge. The company said that it expects weak demand for smartphones and tablets in the next quarter, but plans to tackle the problem using its mid-to-low-end Galaxy J and Galaxy A series.

Samsung’s semiconductor business reported a revenue of KRW 11.15 trillion with an operating profit of KRW 2.63 trillion. The memory division saw good sales in the segment despite a weak season, but System LSI recorded solid sales. Samsung expects a steady demand for its memory and other semiconductor products in the next quarter. The company also expects to begin mass production of its second-generation 10nm products later this year.

In the display segment, Samsung posted a revenue of KRW 6.04 trillion and an operating profit of KRW 0.27 trillion. Samsung’s display division saw a decrease in demand for LCD panels, but the sales of OLED display panels shined due to increasing demand for high-end smartphones. The company plans to expand the customer base for its OLED panels and improve profitability for LCD panels.

The company’s Consumer Electronics (CE) division, which consists of TVs, digital appliances, printers, and health and medical equipment, posted a consolidated revenue of KRW 10.62 with an operating profit ofKRW 0.51 trillion. Its TV business recorded improved earnings with the help of high-end UHD TVs and curved TVs, but the demand decreased due to seasonality and an economic downturn in emerging markets. However, the company is expecting an increase in demand due to Olympics. Its digital home appliances business showed some improvement with the sales of Chef Collection refrigerators and ActiveWash washing machine.

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