Samsung kicks off pre-orders for its latest SUHD TVs in India

Last week, we reported that Samsung had launched an eye-watering 44 new TV models in India, and now the handful of high-end units in the firm’s revised SUHD lineup are available to pre-order in the region, while all of the other mid-range Smart TVs and affordable Joy Beat TVs saw a standard in-store release where pre-booking was not required.

Pricing for the bezel-less curved Quantum Dot displays start at Rs. 419,000 for the UA55KS9000 and top out at Rs. 629,000 for the US65KS9000. All customers who pre-register for the former variant will receive a complimentary Galaxy S7 and Gear VR, while those who opt for the latter will be entitled to claim a free Galaxy S7 edge and Gear VR.

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Samsung will focus on these three fields in future technology development

Samsung has said that it has selected 12 tasks in three core fields – fast charging battery, functional exterior materials and artificial intelligence for smart devices – for the 2016 Samsung Research Funding Program for Future Technologies. Samsung started this program in 2013 for the development of basic sciences, material sciences and information & communications technology aside from working on innovative and futuristic technologies.

To develop artificial intelligence for smart devices the company is going to support work on six projects which include the development of dedicated deep learning chips that will be used as a hardware chip platform for AI and Internet of Things, enabling smart devices to have on-device learning without having to rely on cloud or server-based deep learning software. The work on fast charging battery is focused on three projects one of which deals with fast charging without energy density loss. The battery being developed is expected to have 80 percent capacity after just 10 minutes of charging. Samsung is also going to fund work on several projects for functional exterior materials, they include research on a novel metallic material that’s flexible and capable of maintaining the natural texture of the metal.

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Samsung launches Le Campus Junior to introduce kids to computer programming

Samsung has created a free online platform called Le Campus Junior to introduce kids between 7 and 13 to computer programming in a fun manner. This platform has been designed to teach them to use Scratch, the development platform created by MIT. Le Campus Junior teaches children through 40 short and fun video tutorials as it takes them through the main concepts of computer programming .

Parents have to first approve the registration process for their children after which they can follow the learning path and pick up where they left off by signing back in. Le Campus Junior has self-paced learning modules of Scratch ranked by difficulty with tutorials in different sections to help kids learn and then practise. Children can also evaluate their knowledge by taking quizzes and earning badges. Le Campus Junior by Samsung can be accessed at http://ift.tt/1G2am8m.

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Samsung explains how it hardened Android for Work using Knox

There was once a time when both business owners and their employees would only purchase corporate smartphones from BlackBerry as they feared offerings from other manufacturers weren’t as secure. However, over time, and with the development of new services, such as Android for Work, that perception has changed, and significantly more people are making the switch.

It would appear that Samsung is now one of the largest vendors for company handsets, and this likely has something to do with the Knox defense-grade security platform it builds into all its devices, which extends the software level protections of the Android operating system by adding a layer of reinforced hardware level security mechanisms.

Unfortunately, though, it’s not a feature that many people are aware of or understand — so Samsung has taken to its official YouTube channel to share a short video explaining how it hardened Android for Work with Knox on the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, and how using it can benefit you.

Check it out below:

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Leaked user manual sheds some light on the design of the Samsung Z2

The Samsung Z2 has been in the press a lot recently. We first heard of the handset a little over a year ago when a series of leaked images surfaced online highlighting its design, then shortly after the device was granted Bluetooth certification in the United States, and just a week ago a database listing was discovered revealing that the South Korean company had started importing a lot of components into India to assemble its latest Tizen-powered smartphone at its Noida assembly plant.

Today, we’re getting our second proper glimpse at the aesthetic features of the Z2 thanks to a prematurely published user support manual for an unannounced device carrying the model number SM-Z200F, which matches up to the identification tag included all of the previous leaks, rumors and speculation we’ve heard about this particular handset. Fortunately, it doesn’t look like Samsung has changed the design of its latest addition to the Z lineup too much, which is good news as we we’re huge fans of the look and feel of the Z1 and Z3.

As can be seen in the sketch below, the front of the Z2 is incredibly similar to that of the Z3, while the back retains the same camera, flash, dual-SIM and microSD layout as the original Z1. The render also enables us to come to the conclusion that Samsung may have opted for a 4-inch display as opposed to the previously-rumored 5-inch panel as it doesn’t look like there would have been enough room to fit a larger screen in the aluminum and plastic-clad body.

Unfortunately, as with all leaks and rumors, we have to take this alleged design with a pinch of salt until Samsung provides us with some evidence with regards to what it has in store for its next Tizen smartphone, but hopefully we won’t have to wait too much longer to find out.

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Samsung launches the Galaxy On5 Pro and Galaxy On7 Pro in India

We don’t remember when they came out, but we recall a few rumors that said Samsung would be focusing on streamlining their smartphone lineup and making fewer devices than they used to. The Korean giant has certainly dialled down its tendency to launch new devices, but it looks like it still has a long way to go before it truly stops launching unnecessary smartphones that serve little to no purpose. After launching the 2016 iterations of the Galaxy J2, Galaxy J5 and Galaxy J7, Samsung has now launched sequels to the India-exclusive Galaxy On5 and Galaxy On7.

Meet the Galaxy On5 Pro and Galaxy On7 Pro. That’s right – Samsung isn’t using the (2016) suffix for these devices, and it’s probably because these devices don’t offer as many upgrades over their original counterparts as devices like the Galaxy J5 (2016). In fact, Samsung has even used the same model numbers as the original On5 and On7. Like the first On devices, the On5 Pro and On7 Pro are budget options that are cheaper because they come with LCD displays instead of Samsung’s AMOLED screens, which many might consider a huge downgrade.

In terms of specs, the Galaxy On5 Pro comes with a 5-inch HD display, a quad-core Exynos 3475 processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of expandable internal storage, an 8 MP rear camera, a 5 MP front camera, 4G LTE connectivity (with VoLTE support), and a 2,600 mAh battery. The On7 Pro gets a 5.5-inch HD display, quad-core Snapdragon 410 CPU, the same amount of RAM, storage and front camera resolution, a 13 MP rear camera, LTE support, and a 3,000 mAh battery. Both handsets run Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, with features like S Bike Mode and Ultra Data Saving Mode.

The Galaxy On5 Pro and On7 Pro are priced at Rs. 9,190 and Rs. 11,190 respectively (roughly $140 and $170) and come in black and gold color options. Both phones are already available from Amazon India. We have both devices in our possession and will be doing a couple of quick reviews to see where the new phones stand compared to the original On5 and On7.

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First Galaxy Note 7 photo surfaces

The Galaxy Note 7 moniker has been used here quite a bit, particularly since Samsung made its decision to leap from 6 to 7 and bring the Note line up to the same marketing number as the Galaxy S line this year. We’ve already seen Evan Blass leak the Galaxy Note 7 front and back in what has become a favorite press release photo, showing three colors, with the dual-edge design and the interesting iris scanner that’s headed to the imminent device, but now, we have the first real-time photo of the Galaxy Note 7 out in the wild to match the first one.

The photo, coming from TechTastic, shows the device as Blass has leaked it, with the iris scanner that matches the leaked Note 7 panel (what we can call the first Galaxy Note 7 panel to arise) and features the dual edge design. In what has become nothing short of the obvious, the dual edge design here shows that the Galaxy Note 7 will have a curved design, aligning with phone cases that have surfaced showing protection for the same. The phone itself matches the Black Onyx color that will be one of three colors for the upcoming device,  The phone in the photo looks legit, and has the long or more tall design that is characteristic of the Galaxy Note series. If you’ve used both, it’s hard to argue that this is a Galaxy S7 edge photo in disguise.

There isn’t much to tell about the photo, except to say that it’s the first real image of the phone we’ve seen. At any rate, we’ve seen photos like this before that have been confirmed when Samsung announced them — so we advise you to take this image seriously. With regard to specs, we’ve covered that the Galaxy Note 7 will feature a 5.7-inch, dual edge Super AMOLED display, with a Quad HD resolution (2,560 x 1,440p), Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 821 SoC/Exynos 8893 SoC (depending on region) with 6GB of LPDDR4 RAM, 64/128/256GB of storage (yes, 64GB of minimum storage, the 32GB is out), with a USB Type-C port, a revamped TouchWiz “Grace” UX, new Gear VR headset compatibility (and, of course, a new handset), a hybrid UFS/microSD card slot with a price tag of €849 in what could be the Korean giant’s costliest phone yet. A 3,600mAh battery could be housed within the handset.

Qualcomm has just announced its high-end Snapdragon 821 processor, just in time to confirm the latest leaked specs from China, though a Verizon USA variant with the Snapdragon 820 SoC has appeared in Geekbench — which was perhaps nothing more than early device testing prior to the Qualcomm announcement.

The Galaxy Note 7 will be unveiled on August 2nd, at which point Samsung will make everything plain.

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Gear VR owners can catch the 2016 T-Mobile Home Run Derby in virtual reality

NextVR, a company that specializes in virtual reality experiences, has teamed up with MLBAM or Major League Baseball Advanced Media to deliver the 2016 T-Mobile Home Run Derby in virtual reality. Those who own the Gear VR headset with a compatible Samsung smartphone can tune into the event and catch the VR stream for free.

This partnership enables Gear VR owners to experience Major League Baseball like they’ve never experienced it before. Multiple cameras are going to capture the game from as many viewpoints for an immersive experience while play-by-play VR audio commentary will be provided by MLB.com’s Michael Petriello. The on-demand program will be available 15 minutes after the event and additional highlights will be available at a later date. To watch the 2016 T-Mobile Home Run Derby on Gear VR just download the NextVR from the Oculus Store and go to the dedicated MLB channel to stream this event in virtual reality for free.

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Galaxy Note 7′s processor has been officially introduced by Qualcomm

There have been many leaks concerning the hardware specifications of the Galaxy Note 7 which suggest that the upcoming flagship is going to use Samsung’s Exynos 8893 processor in developing markets and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 821 processor in markets like the United States. Qualcomm today officially introduced the Snapdragon 821 which is a slightly improved version of the Snapdragon 820 that powers some variants of the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge.

Qualcomm says that the Snapdragon 821 delivers a 10 percent improvement in performance over its predecessor as well as greater power efficiency and application performance. The Qualcomm Kryo quad-core CPU reaches speeds of up to 2.4GHz but it has the same X12 LTE modem as the Snapdragon 820. The company hasn’t said which devices will be powered by this processor but does mention that we can expect commercial devices powered by the 821 in the second half of this year. The Galaxy Note 7 fits in that timeline perfectly. Samsung mass produced the Snapdragon 820 for Qualcomm on its 14nm LPP process but it’s unclear at this point in time if it’s going to be mass producing the Snapdragon 821 as well.

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Galaxy Note 7 may feature a hybrid UFS/microSD card slot

Samsung introduced a new mobile storage format based on UFS 1.0 last week, it said that the new storage format is going to provide read and write speeds that are 5x better than microSD cards. The only caveat here is that the new UFS cards are not compatible with existing microSD card sockets which means there’s every possibility that the Galaxy Note 7 is going to feature a hybrid UFS/microSD card slot.

Samsung has said in a statement that the new UFS cards are not compatible with existing microSD card sockets, however, it has developed a new socket design that supports both UFS and microSD cards. The company says that it’s working with different partners in the industry to integrate this hybrid slot in next-generation devices. Now that Samsung has created a new storage format that’s significantly faster than microSD and has created a socket that supports it as well as microSD there’s really no reason why it should kick off things with the Galaxy Note 7, its next flagship smartphone. The slot will enable the Galaxy Note 7 to boost support for Samsung’s faster UFS 1.0 memory cards while also being compatible with existing microSD cards.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab S Marshmallow update arriving in the near future

The original Samsung Galaxy Tab S tablet is less than two years old which means that it’s still compatible with the current most recent Android release which is Marshmallow. Samsung hasn’t said when it’s going to come out with Marshmallow for this device but we’ve heard when the company is going to release Marshmallow for the original Galaxy Tab S.

According to our information, the original Galaxy Tab S is going to receive the Marshmallow update in the near future. Samsung is likely going to release this update in the third quarter so it can either arrive later this month or by August but it shouldn’t take longer than that. Marshmallow is most likely going to be the latest major Android release for this tablet as it may not release Android Nougat which is yet to be publicly released even for the most recent of mobile devices.

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Samsung needs to stop making phones with 8GB of storage

Samsung recently announced the Galaxy J2 (2016), and I have been using the device as my primary phone for the last couple of days. A budget smartphone always comes with a slew of limitations, but my biggest gripe with the Galaxy J2 (2016) has been its limited storage space. I’ve been bombarded by “you’re running out of storage space” messages since the first day, and during the initial day or two, most of my time was spent moving apps to the external SD card and uninstalling anything that I didn’t absolutely need.

It’s not like 8GB of storage is absolutely bad, but Samsung’s software takes up a lot of space for system files. Also, the company’s collaboration with Microsoft means you get preloaded versions of Skype, Word and a few other apps, all of which take more than 100 MB of storage out of the box. Then there’s the fact that Android doesn’t properly support installing apps on the external storage (Marshmallow made things better, but some of an app’s data still resides on the internal storage). Oh, and Samsung has also decided adoptable storage isn’t a feature people need – we agree it’s not necessary on a high-end device, but cheap smartphones would benefit from giving users the option to use a feature like adoptable storage.

Limited storage makes life especially hard for us reviewers. My J2 (2016) only has around 500 MB of free space available, and to test any high-end game/one with a large amount of data, I will be forced to remove a couple of other apps from the phone. But the thing is, I’m already only using apps that are essential for me. Even for a regular user, that doesn’t bode well, and as I see it the Galaxy J2 (2016) is only good for folks who can live their life with Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp and will never install anything else on their phone.

I get it, Samsung. No matter what happens, you can’t really make feature-packed phones like the Chinese OEMs do at low price points, but there is no reason to limit people to such a low amount of storage in this day and age. You make your own chips and using at least 16GB chips would barely affect your profit margins. It would, however, go a long way in improving the user experience. Folks who buy budget phones like to use apps like everyone else, and just 8GB of storage is no longer viable for anyone but the most basic smartphone users.

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‘A Day with AMOLED’ shows just how better AMOLED is than LCD

There was a time when Samsung was heavily invested in LCD technology but it has moved on since then. The company now favors AMOLED displays for its devices and is ramping up production to meet its own demand as well as demand from companies that source displays from Samsung. “A Day with AMOLED” is a short video published online by Samsung Display which shows just how better this display technology is than LCD.

The short video walks us through three different times of day – Color of Noon, Shape of Sunset and Depth of Night – and uses vibrant imagery to showcase the differences between LCD and AMOLED. The latter is certainly better with visibly sharper images, better color reproduction and an overall better viewing experience. It goes without saying that Samsung is going to stick with AMOLED displays for some time now, the company has started converting some old LCD production lines to OLED lines, and it was even reported recently that Samsung Display has uncoupled its LCD business from the OLED business because it’s seeking an exit from LCD though the report was denied by the company.

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Samsung Gear 360 Manager app modified to work with non-Samsung devices, gets forced 4K support

To control and manage your Samsung Gear 360 camera you need the Gear 360 Manager app that is only available for Samsung devices, meaning that the company’s 360-degree camera can’t be controlled using a non-Samsung smartphone. A member of the XDA developers forum has created a port of the Gear 360 Manager app that works with non-Samsung devices and even has forced 4K support.

Device lock has been removed from this Gear 360 Manager port which allows the app to work with handsets from the likes of Sony, HTC, Huawei, etc. Forced 4K video support means that the app does not downgrade videos to 2K for devices other than the Galaxy S7. To install this port on your device it needs to be running Android 5.0 Lollipop or higher and must have the Samsung Accessory Service installed from the Play Store. Full instructions and relevant cautions are detailed in the forum post.

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Samsung Galaxy Note 7 pricing could start at €849

By now, it is pretty much guaranteed that the Galaxy Note 7 will come with a dual-edge display, and that a flat version might not exist. Other than the cool factor, an Edge screen means a higher price tag, and the Galaxy Note 7 could be the costliest flagship from the Korean manufacturer yet. Our sources tell us the Note 7 could start at €849 in Europe, €50 more than the Galaxy S7 edge.

The Galaxy Note lineup has always commanded a higher price tag than the Galaxy S series, and given Samsung is going all in with just a curved screen variant for the Galaxy Note 7, the pricing shouldn’t really be surprising. Sadly, it does mean that a lot of folks who have been looking forward to the Note 7 could be put off from buying it, or at least be forced to wait a couple of months for the price to come down.

The Galaxy Note 7 is expected to carry specs similar to the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, with the addition of features like an iris scanner, a USB Type-C port, a larger battery, and possibly 6GB of RAM. The phablet will also be offered in a new color variant judging by a leaked render, and if the rumors are true, Samsung will take the wraps off the Galaxy Note 7 in a little over three weeks.

What do you think about the Note 7′s price tag, and about Samsung’s decision to not launch a cheaper flat screen variant?

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4TB Samsung 850 EVO SSD specs and price appears online

Samsung is yet to announce a 4TB 850 EVO SSD but it appears that this SSD may be out soon. It’s already listed for sale on Adorama which is one of the largest photography and video retailers in the world. It’s the only online retailer that’s listed the 4TB 850 EVO SSD so far, even though an official announcement has not yet been made a revised EVO 850 data sheet from May 2016 does mention the 4TB model so it won’t be surprising when it’s released in the near future.

This 4TB SSD utilizes 3D TLC (3 bit) V-NAND with a maximum speed of 98,000/90,000 4K random read and write IOPS as well as up to 540/520 MBps of sequential read and write throughput. The big selling point here is the fact that Samsung has been able to cram in 4TB of capacity in the standard 2.5-inch form factor with just 7mm thickness. Attempts to purchase the SSD don’t go through as Adorama says that the SSD is on back order but it’s likely that Samsung will provide information about the release soon. The 4TB Samsung 850 EVO SSD is priced at $1,499.

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Samsung reveals how it fosters innovation within its ranks

Samsung introduced its Creative Lab (C-Lab) innovation program earlier this year, it enables the company’s employees to develop their own business ideas. It has showcased nearly a dozen C-Lab projects up till now and has even launched five projects as proper companies. Samsung is now providing us with a closer look by taking us on a virtual tour of the C-Lab

The Creative Lab was set up to allow Samsung employees to work on their own business ideas and to give them the time and resources they need to develop that idea into a production. The only pre-requisite for a C-Lab project is that it has to be genuinely innovative, it doesn’t matter if the idea does not fit within an existing area of business for Samsung, the company promises its employees full support to develop that idea into a new product or service. Employees are allowed to dedicate themselves to their projects 100 percent as Samsung allows them to take between six months and a full year away from their usual jobs to spend it working on their projects.

Samsung says that it created the C-Lab back in 2012 based on the experiences the company’s management had in Silicon Valley. The management saw that the entire business environment was changing and that the startup scene was particularly doing well because they were not held back by the intricacies of a global conglomerate. That’s what made it decide to launch C-Lab and also make some changes in the way it conducts business to become more of a startup instead of a boring corporate giant. Hierarchical systems do not govern C-Lab projects, each team has a leader and project members and that’s it. This enables everyone to get their hands dirty so to speak and work together on projects to meet shared goals. C-Lab workers are also told that failure isn’t a bad thing and that it’s a part of the exploration process that some of the most innovative companies on the planet go through.

Any Samsung employee can suggest an idea for a C-Lab project which is then screened based on how innovative, specific, and marketable they are. In the voting stage, voters decide which projects should move to the next stage. The projects then go through a final review by experts before the final presentation where a selected audience plays the role of venture capitalists and decide whether or not they would invest in a project. Up to 20 projects are selected every year using this process and they become official C-Lab projects. When projects are completed, those that are closely related to Samsung’s existing businesses like home appliances or TVs are transferred to each division for further development before market launch. Those that don’t fit into Samsung’s existing divisions are provided support to launch as an independent company and Samsung also invests money to help those employees launch their business.

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