You’ll never guess which phone won Samsung’s flagship smartphone battery test

Samsung has posted a new video online in which it conducts a battery test on flagship smartphones. The company’s Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge go up against the Huawei P9, Apple iPhone 6s, HTC 10, Sony Xperia X and the LG G5. All devices are said to have been tested on equal terms, the same video is being played over and over again on all handsets. Which phone do you think won the test?

The LG G5 is the first to bow out after 6 hours 31 minutes and 49 seconds followed by the Huawei P9 which lasted 6 hours 51 minutes and 43 seconds. Sony Xperia X lasted 7 hours 15 minutes and 35 seconds while the HTC 10 kept fighting for 8 hours and 3 seconds. The iPhone was next to throw in the towel after 8 hours 13 minutes and 57 seconds. Unsurprisingly, it’s Samsung’s flagship smartphones that beat all of its competitors. The Galaxy S7 edge lasted for 10 hours 30 minutes and 14 seconds while the Galaxy S7 nearly made it a full 11 hours – it died after 10 hours 59 minutes and 11 seconds.

There’s no doubt about the fact that the Galaxy S7′s 3,000mAh battery and the Galaxy S7 edge’s 3,600mAh battery is more than capable of keeping up with users’ rigorous demands but the test isn’t really indicative of real world usage. It doesn’t take in a lot of factors like individual users’ screen brightness preferences or how much time they spend on call or online streaming videos. Your mileage is bound to vary if you stream a lot of videos on your Galaxy S7 edge while your friend with an iPhone 6s only uses the handset for emails and text messages. Nevertheless, you can get the point Samsung is trying to make here, which is simply: Buy the Galaxy S7.

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Galaxy On5 (2016) clears the FCC

We reported about a month ago that Samsung had the Galaxy On5 (2016) in the pipeline and that the budget handset could be released in the coming months. Data from Import tracker Zauba showed that Samsung had imported several units of the SM-G5700 into India for testing, evaluation and R&D. The Galaxy On5 bears model number SM-G550 which makes it very likely that the SM-G5700 is the Galaxy On5 (2016). The handset is now closer to seeing the light of day as it has received the necessary FCC certification.

Rumored specifications of the Galaxy On5 (2016) include a 5-inch display, 1.4GHz quad-core Exynos 7570 processor with 2GB RAM and Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. Samsung is yet to confirm when the Galaxy On5 (2016) is going to be released but considering the fact that the existing Galaxy On5 arrived in October last year it may not take more than a couple of months for its successor to hit the market. Whether or not Samsung will charge the same price for the new On5 handset remains to be seen.

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Verizon launches the Samsung Gear Fit 2 wearable fitness tracker

Samsung unveiled its latest fitness tracking wearable device about two months go. The Gear Fit 2 was immediately available for pre-order in the United States and now customers have another way of purchasing this wearable device. Verizon has launched the Samsung Gear Fit 2 with small and large band size options, it can be purchased from the carrier’s retail stores across the US as well as online through its website for $179.99.

The Gear Fit 2 is a pretty robust fitness tracking wearable device. It has a 1.5-inch curved Super AMOLED display, a 1GHz dual-core Exynos 3250 processor with 512MB RAM, 4GB storage and a 200mAh battery. A heart-rate monitor, gyroscope, barometer, accelerometer are also onboard alongside Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2. The built-in GPS enables users to map their runs without needing to carry a phone. It even functions as a standalone music player allowing users to store up to 500 songs which they can playback using a Bluetooth headset. Samsung Gear Fit 2 is compatible with any Android smartphone running version 4.4 or higher.

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Apple implores Supreme Court to rule against Samsung’s appeal

It was decided by the Supreme Court of the United States that it will hear Samsung’s appeal against damages awarded to Apple in a patent infringement lawsuit. Two weeks ago it officially confirmed that the hearing date for this review has been set on October 11. The question before the Supreme Court is this: Were the penalties awarded to Apple in a California federal court case which found Samsung guilty of infringing on Apple’s design patents excessive? Samsung contends that damages in patent lawsuits concerning complex devices like smartphones should only be based on patented components and not on total profits from sales of devices that have those infringing components.

In a legal brief filed with the court, Apple claims that Samsung has not provided enough evidence to support its claim that design patent damages should only be based on patented components and not on total profits from sales of infringing devices. Apple argues that there is no need for the Supreme Court to send this case back to the lower court for further proceedings as Congress is clear on issues related to design patent damages so the apex court shouldn’t allow Samsung to make additional arguments. Samsung has not yet commented on this latest development, but the company has previously said that a ruling made in favor of Apple is going to negatively effect the economy and hurt innovation.

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Samsung releases some cool 360° videos captured with the Gear 360 camera

Samsung unveiled its Gear 360 camera earlier this year. The device enables the average user to easily create 360° VR experiences without having to spend too much money on equipment. It’s a great and easy way to create immersive content and Samsung really wants you to know that which is why it has released three cool 360° videos which showcase the capabilities of the Gear 360 camera.

The first one shows us a group of skydivers who jump out of the plane and make their way to the beautiful land of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The 360° video enables us to feel like a part of that group even as we scroll around the video manually, you can watch it using the Gear VR to get a proper immersive experience. The second video showcases a paramotor ride in Rio de Janeiro and gives us a great close look at the city’s iconic Christ the Redeemer statue. The third and final video is a timelapse of South Korea which highlights the beauty of Samsung’s home country. The Gear 360 is still hard to come by in some markets but Samsung promises wider availability later this year.

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Why is Samsung spending $10 billion to buyback its own shares?

Samsung announced a share buyback program worth $9.9 billion last year. It said that the program will be implemented in stages and would be completed in one year, it will be cancelling all shares purchased in the buyback. It has completed three phases and repurchased 5.63 million common and 2.09 million preferred shares all of which have been cancelled. Samsung has now embarked on the fourth and final phase of the share buyback program which will see the company repurchasing and cancelling 990,000 common shares and 230,000 preferred shares.

Buyback programs are just some of the ways public companies can return money to shareholders. The company essentially pays them cash to purchase their equity, it can either keep the repurchased shares as treasury stock which can be reissued in the future or awarded to employees, or the company can choose to retire those shares and they will cease to have any financial value. Samsung is doing the latter.

Earnings Per Share or EPS is one of the most common ways of valuing a profitable company. It’s a measure of the company’s profit allocated to each outstanding share. One of the ways to increase EPS even when earnings are flat is to reduce the number of outstanding shares and one of the ways to do that is to buyback shares and retire them. When EPS increases investors normally take it as a sign that a stock in undervalued and is ripe for increase. This results in an increase in demand which drives up price and thus the company’s outstanding stock becomes more valuable. No wonder Samsung’s shares rised sharply when it announced the buyback program last year. Since Samsung will be buying back the shares with excess cash it sends a signal to the market that it doesn’t have cash flow problems.

Samsung’s stock was struggling last year and the company lost billions in market value but things have improved since then. Just two weeks ago the company’s stock price surged to a new record high and investor sentiment remains bullish on the company, but that’s not all because of the buyback, Samsung’s impressive performance in the previous quarter is also a major contributor. With this $10 billion exercise Samsung is aiming to revive investor confidence in the company and the plan appears to be working for now.

Disclaimer: This is not a call on Samsung stock and should not be taken as one, it is merely a commentary on its buyback program.

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Press renders of the Galaxy Note 7 and the new Gear VR leaked

There’s no stopping Galaxy Note 7 leaks. Even though we’re only a couple of days away from the official announcement the leaks just keep coming in. The official press renders of the Galaxy Note 7 and the new Gear VR headset have now been leaked online. We saw a blurry photo of the new Gear VR just yesterday but this render is crisp and clear so we get a really good look at the upcoming virtual reality headset.

As previously reported, the big difference between the existing Gear VR Consumer Edition and the new Gear VR is the color, aside from the USB Type-C port. The new headset is all black yet it retails the design of its predecessor. It doesn’t appear to have been changed in any major way but Samsung will have made some tweaks under the hood. The accompanying report mentions that the new Gear VR measures 207mm x 122mm x 98.5mm and that it offers 110° field of view as opposed to its predecessor’s 96°. Despite having a USB Type-C port the new headset remains compatible with the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S6 series. I don’t really need to explain the Galaxy Note 7 renders because they’ve been leaked so many times that you are all quite familiar with Samsung’s upcoming flagship handset by now. The report claims that the new Gear VR will be available next month while the Galaxy Note 7 will be released in France in early September. Another report today claimed that the Galaxy Note 7 will be released in Amsterdam on August 16.

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Galaxy Note 7 release date in Amsterdam said to be August 16

Samsung is going to unveil the Galaxy Note 7 on August 2. Previous reports have suggested that the company might release the handset on the very same day. A new report has surfaced which claims that the Galaxy Note 7 release date in Amsterdam is August 16 which means that the handset will be launched there a full two weeks after it’s unveiled in New York City.

Even though the report only mentions August 16 as the release date for this handset in Amsterdam, there is a possibility that the Galaxy Note 7 might be released on this very day across much of Europe. As far as the U.S. release is concerned it’s still believed that the handset could be released on August 2. T-Mobile is one of the carriers that’s expected to start taking pre-orders from next week while pre-orders in Dubai have already begun. From the looks of it, Samsung might release the Galaxy Note 7 in a handful of markets on August 2 and will make others wait until August 16. None of this has been officially confirmed as of now so take it with a grain of salt.

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Leaked video offers a glimpse of the new Samsung Z2 Tizen smartphone

We have known for a few months now that Samsung is working on a new Tizen-powered handset called the Samsung Z2. Just yesterday the user manual of this handset leaked online and gave us some clues about its design. It was also reported yesterday that the Samsung Z2 will be launched in markets across Africa and Southeast Asia as well. A video has been leaked online which offers us a glimpse of the Samsung Z2 in action alongside the Samsung Z1 and Samsung Z3.

The short video offers a glimpse at the Samsung Z2 as it’s lined up with the Samsung Z1 and Samsung Z3. A unity game is launched on each handset and checked for functionality, that’s about it. The video doesn’t reveal too much about the design itself or the specifications for that matter. Previous rumors suggest that the Samsung Z2 model number SM-Z200F is going to have a 4-inch display and at least 1GB RAM. It may also be the first Tizen smartphone from Samsung to be compatible with 4G. Samsung has not yet confirmed when it’s going to launch its new Tizen smartphone.

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Samsung files for ‘Gear S3 Frontier’ trademark in Korea

We exclusively reported yesterday that Samsung’s next-generation smartwatch is going to be round and that it’s going to be unveiled in September. The Gear S3 is going to have a rotary bezel just like the Gear S2 and Samsung will announce it at IFA in Berlin this September. The company has now filed a trademark for “Gear S3 Frontier” in South Korea, the significance of the word “Frontier” is unknown at this time.

The trademark does deal with a wearable device as the details mentioned under the Designated Goods section of the application include “Smart watches,” “Smart watches to make mobile payments,” “Wearable computers,” “computer interfaces, namely, software interfaces with multi health devices to record health conditions,” among other similar descriptions. If these details are anything to go by, the Gear S3 might offer improved health and fitness tracking features and might even be compatible with Samsung Pay right out of the box. We will continue to hear more about Samsung’s next smartwatch until it’s announced at IFA 2016 and might even see some leaked photos and renders before it’s made official.

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Samsung appears to be testing a new Exynos processor

Import logs often reveal the components that Samsung runs tests on so they are a great source of getting an idea of what we can expect from the company down the line. Latest data from Indian import tracker Zauba shows that Samsung has imported a pair of boards in the country and the Exynos 8895 chipset is on each board. Samsung has not announced this processor yet and it’s not immediately clear which devices it will be powering.

Samsung’s existing high-end processor is the Exynos 8890 which powers the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge. Some rumors have suggested that the Galaxy Note 7 could be powered by the Exynos 8893 processor in some markets but there’s no confirmation of that just yet. Technical specifications of the Exynos 8895 are not available at this point in time so any and all improvements made to the chipset remain a mystery right now. It would be too soon to assume that this is the chip that’s destined for the Galaxy S8 which is due to arrive early next year.

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