Samsung’s next high-end clamshell smartphone spotted with Snapdragon 820 and 4GB RAM

We exclusively reported a few months ago that Samsung is working on a new high-end clamshell smartphone for China codenamed “Veyron.” It released the SM-W2016 in China last year, it’s a high-end flip phone and this handset’s successor is now in the pipeline. The SM-W2017 has been spotted on Geekbench with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor and 4GB of RAM.

It was initially believed that the SM-W2017 will feature dual 3.9-inch HD Super AMOLED displays and an Exynos 8890 processor. However, an import listing for this handset was recently spotted and it listing the screen size as 4.2-inch. The handset tested on Geekbench was running a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor coupled with 4GB of RAM and running Android 6.0.1. Those specs are enough to push the handset in bonafide flagship territory. Actual images of the handset itself have not yet emerged but it may only be a matter of time before we get our first look at the SM-W2017.

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Samsung Scoop passes through the FCC

Earlier today, an unannounced Samsung-branded Bluetooth speaker, called Scoop, passed through the United States of America’s official certification authority, the FCC. Unfortunately, the documentation provided in the application doesn’t reveal any exciting details about the device. However, the accompanying product photographs clearly show that the firm has opted for a futuristic design, which leads us to believe that this may be Samsung’s long-rumored competitor to the Amazon Echo.

That is, of course, just us speculating. All we know for certain is that the Scoop sports a leather carry strap, Bluetooth connectivity, a 3.5mm input audio jack, a Micro-USB charging port and a microphone for hands-free calling. Unfortunately, the paperwork doesn’t mention any information regarding the unit’s battery capacity, but seeing as the device is small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, we don’t expect it to sport an overly large cell — so we’re guessing that it’ll be able to last for around half a day of continuous use.

Do you like the look of the Scoop? Is it something you’d be interested in picking up? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments section.

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Samsung working on a Galaxy Tab A 10.1 with S Pen

It appears that Samsung will be adding a new model to its tablet lineup in the near future. The company is believed to be working on a Galaxy Tab A 10.1 which will be slightly different from the existing Galaxy Tab A because it’s going to come with the S Pen. Now, it won’t be the first tablet with a stylus that Samsung has ever released but it might be the first tablet to feature the new S Pen that was introduced earlier this month with the Galaxy Note 7.

A user manual for the SM-P580 and SM-P585 has been spotted on Samsung’s website. It mentions that the upcoming Galaxy Tab A will feature a 10.1-inch display, 1.6GHz Exynos 7870 processor, microSD support, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and the usual slew of features. Illustrations in the manual clearly show that this tablet also comes with the S Pen. It can’t be said for sure right now when Samsung is planning to launch this tablet. Those who would want to pick up this tablet will need to wait as more information about the pricing and availability of this tablet eventually comes in.

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Rogers rolls out Marshmallow update for the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge

Canada’s largest carrier, Rogers, has today started rolling out the long-awaited Marshmallow update to all its carrier-branded models of the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge located in its home region. The upgrade itself weighs in at a little over 1GB and transports all of the changes you’d expect to find baked into Android 6.0.1, in addition to a handful of additional bug fixes and stability improvements.

The full changelog can be seen below:

• Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)
• Exercise greater control over app permissions
• Experience enhanced battery-life through Doze
• Redesigned App Drawer

If you’re a Rogers customer, own a Galaxy S6 or Galaxy S6 edge and would like to see if the update is ready for your handset, simply head into the following menus: Settings > About Device > Software Update > Update Now. Alternatively, you could always wait until you receive a push notification prompting you to install the upgrade, but this has proven to take slightly longer than manually scanning for it.

 

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Galaxy Note 7′s S Pen apparently gets stuck if pushed in too hard

The Galaxy Note 5′s S Pen had a minor issue. It could be inserted back into the device the wrong way which would cause it to get stuck. Samsung quietly fixed it in its next production run of the Galaxy Note 5 and has designed the Galaxy Note 7′s S Pen compartment in such a way that it’s impossible to insert the stylus the wrong way in. However, it appears that people are still facing issues even when inserting the S Pen as it’s meant to be.

Apparently, when the S Pen is pushed too hard inside its compartment it will get stuck in the “water-tight silo.” Inserting it with a lot of pressure may cause the stylus to get stuck in the silo at a level lower than the metal side surface of the Galaxy Note 7. If this happens to you, don’t try to jam it in even further as that will only exacerbate the problem. Use a needle or a pin to carefully pry up the S Pen where it should spring back normally. If you are not able to retrieve it you might want to get your unit replaced but chances are you may have a lot of convincing to do.

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Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge get first major price cut in India

Folks in India who have been mulling purchasing the Galaxy S7 or the Galaxy S7 edge for some time now should take advantage of the first major price cut that the flagship handsets have received in the country. Retailers have cut priced of both handsets by over 10 percent making it the first major price cut for the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge after they were launched in March this year.

In the past Samsung’s flagship handsets have been known to witness a big price drop in the country a few weeks after launch. However, this wasn’t the case with these flagship smartphones. Lack of serious competition in the high-end segment of the market and strict monitoring of price by retailers meant that the Galaxy S7 retained its price for almost five months. Now that the Galaxy Note 7 has arrived, retailers see it fit to reduce the Galaxy S7′s price by over 10 percent. The Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge can now be purchased for Rs. 43,400 and Rs. 50,900 from Amazon India.

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Samsung’s user manual confirms that the original Galaxy Tab S will get Marshmallow

There has been a lot of speculation recently about the release of Marshmallow for the original Galaxy Tab S. Just a few days ago, Samsung Netherlands said that the company will not release Marshmallow for the Galaxy Tab S while Samsung Greece contradicted that today by saying that the tablet will indeed get Android 6.0. We’ve seen in the past as well that customer support reps on Twitter are not sure about Samsung’s update plans and this causes unnecessary concern among users.

We have found a user manual on Samsung’s website which confirms that the Marshmallow update is in the pipeline for the first-generation Galaxy Tab S and that it’s only a matter of time before this update is finally sent out to users who have certainly been waiting for a long time to get upgraded to Android 6.0. If you’ve been waiting for this update it would be best to tune out all the noise and rest assured that Marshmallow will be released for the original Galaxy Tab S in due time.

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Galaxy Note 7 Always On Display now shows what song is playing

The Always On Display mode was introduced by Samsung with the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge, the company has significantly improved the feature with the Galaxy Note 7 by adding a host of widgets that can be controlled via the settings menu. Samsung today rolled out an update for the Always On Display of the Galaxy Note 7 which shows the title of the song that’s currently being played on the device.

This goes to show that Samsung is certainly not done improving the Always On Display feature and that it will continue to roll out improvements for this feature down the line. This minor update for Always On Display adds a section between the clock and the widgets which shows the name of the track that’s being played in the music application. It certainly can’t get any easier than this to find out the name of the track without having to unlock the handset.

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Galaxy Note 7 does not feature Samsung’s logo in Japan

There was something unusual about the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 edge that Samsung launched in Japan last year. The handsets didn’t feature the company’s logo on the front. We saw Samsung do this again with the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge in Japan, South Korea as well as China, and now it’s ditching the logo once again for the Galaxy Note 7 in Japan. Press materials for this handset meant for customers in Japan show that the Galaxy Note 7 doesn’t have a Samsung logo on the front and even on the back.

Samsung has not yet said anything about its decision to remove its logo from one of the best handsets it has ever created. It can’t really be said for sure why Samsung would do something like this but it’s bound to have solid reasoning for it. Japan may be the only market where the Galaxy Note 7 is released sans branding because there haven’t been any reports yet of Samsung removing its logo from the new flagship  in other markets. I think many will agree that the Galaxy Note 7 actually looks quite sleek without the corporate branding, what do you think?

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Samsung may distribute the Marshmallow update for the first-generation Galaxy Tab S despite its previous claims

You may recall that on Saturday Samsung’s subsidiary in the Netherlands revealed that the firm wouldn’t be distributing the long-awaited Marshmallow update to the 8.4- or 10.5-inch first-generation Galaxy Tab S in Europe. However, in response to one of our reader’s comments over on Twitter, Samsung Greece has today revealed that the firm does, in fact, have plans to distribute the upgrade in the region, which consists of fifty-one independent states.

As you’d expect, we’re a little torn between who to believe here. It’s perfectly feasible that neither of the customer service representatives who helm the social media accounts have inside information that pertains to the update, so we decided to do a little digging and managed to obtain a copy of a new firmware for the slate that’s still in development. What’s interesting about this software is that it’s dated August and has the new PDA letter code, which suggests that it may include the files for the Marshmallow OS.

@PeterAd57181176 Όλη η σειρα TAB S θα πάρει update. Ευχαριστούμε.

— Samsung Greece (@SamsungGreece) August 22, 2016

Rather than merely confirming that this means that Android 6.0.1 will be making its way to the Galaxy Tab S and putting an end to all of the speculation, we’ve decided to reach out to some of our inside sources to seek confirmation and a little more information on the matter. We’ll be sure to update this story with the relevant details as soon as they respond to us, so be sure to check back shortly.

Thanks, Panos!

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Samsung’s new Gamebox Launcher hits the Play Store

Samsung recently released Gamebox Launcher, an upgrade to its Game Launcher tool that turns it into a full-fledged home screen launcher focused on letting users quickly access games on their smartphones. In addition to being a console-like hub to installed games, Gamebox Launcher includes many other features, including the option to subscribe to YouTube channels and offering recommendations on the top gaming titles available on the Play Store. Gamebox Launcher was initially limited to the Galaxy Apps store, but Samsung has now published the app on the Play Store in beta form.

Sadly, Gamebox Launcher is not available in every country – we’re guessing it is only for the US and for South Korea at this point, an exclusivity that was also seen on Samsung’s Good Lock launcher. Of course, that shouldn’t deter you from trying it out, as we have the APK file ready for download. Gamebox Launcher should run on all of Samsung’s phones on Android 5.0 and above; keep in mind that some of the features might not work on every device, especially on devices older than the Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge and the Galaxy Note 7.

Head over to the Play Store to download Gamebox Launcher, or download the APK from this link and install it on your device manually. The Play Store version seems to be a different package (and a newer one) than the APK file; if you can access Gamebox Launcher from the Play Store, do try and share its installation file so we can publish it here for our readers (you can use any of these apps to grab the APK file after installing Gamebox Launcher from the Play Store).

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Galaxy Note 5 gets August 1 security patch in India

The Galaxy Note 7 went up for pre-order in the Indian market today, and Samsung is also making the occasion special for Galaxy Note 5 owners in the country by pushing out the August 1 security patch for the device. You can grab the security-enhancing update through a 76.93 MB download over the air, through Samsung Smart Switch on a PC, or by downloading the firmware from our database. The build number for the update is N920GDDU2BPH2.

The changelog doesn’t mention any specific details, so don’t expect to see anything notably new or different after installing the update. As with all updates, this one might not show up on your device of its own accord (even when you’re on a Wi-Fi connection). To initiate a manual download, simply go into the Settings » About device menu and hit the Download updates manually button.

Firmware Details:

Model	SM-N920G
Model name	Galaxy Note 5
Country	India
Version	Android 6.0.1
Changelist	7980311
Build date	Wed, 10 Aug 2016 05:49:35 +0000
Security Patch Level	2016-08-01
Product code	INS
PDA	N920GDDU2BPH2
CSC	N920GODD2BPF1

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Samsung is working on a souped-up variant of the original Galaxy J7 called the Galaxy J7 Prime

If a recent report is anything to go by, it would appear that Samsung is working on a souped-up variant of the Galaxy J7 that it launched back in June 2015. We’ve been led to believe that this latest handset, which has been dubbed the Galaxy J7 Prime, has not been designed to compete with the Galaxy J7 (2016), but has instead been created to provide consumers with the option of purchasing a device with recent mid-range specifications for a modest price.

Vietnamese publication TechRum has created a table showcasing the difference in specifications between the first-generation Galaxy J7 and the rumored Galaxy J7 Prime, which can be seen below. The most notable contrasts come in the form of an upgraded display, a larger amount of RAM, an increased camera pixel size and the inclusion of a biometric scanner. Based on the leaked images the news website obtained, we can also conclude that the firm has designed to keep the same design as its predecessor.

SpeaSpecificationstions	Galaxy J7d	Galaxy J7 Primexy Prime
Screen	5.5 inch SuperAMOLED HD (720×1280)	5.5 inch Full-HD (1920×1080)
CPU	Octa-Core Exynos 7870 1.6GHz / 1.5GHz Snapdragon 615 Octa-Core	Octa-Core Exynos 7870 1.6GHz / 1.5GHz Snapdragon 615 Octa-Core
RAM	2GB	3GB
Internal Memory	16GB	32GB
Expandable Memory	Support microSD	Support microSD
Rear Camera	13MP f / 1.9 Flash LED	13MP f / 1.9 Flash LED
Front Camera	5MP f / 1.9 with LED flash	8MP f / 1.9 with LED flash
Fingerprint Sensor	No	Home Button
Battery	3300mAh	3300mAh
OS	Android 6	Android 6

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Galaxy On7 (2016) specifications revealed in latest GFXBench listing

It was only a couple of days ago that the Galaxy On7 (2016) passed through the FCC in the United States, and now the handset has made its second appearance in the GFXBench online directory. This time the device has been recorded with the model number SM-G610F, which is identical to the unit that was run through Geekbench a mere two weeks ago; leading us to believe that the smartphone that surfaced in GFXBench back in June was, in fact, an internal testing model and not the variant that will hit the shelves later this year.

According to this latest batch of benchmark results, the final version of the Galaxy On7 (2016) will sport a 5-inch Full HD display, a 1.5GHz Exynos 7870 System-on-Chip (SoC), 3GB of RAM, 16GB of expandable internal storage, a 13MP rear-facing camera, an 8MP selfie shooter and will run Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow out of the box. Recent speculation also points towards the device packing a fingerprint scanner and being powered by a 2,600mAh non-removable battery.

All we know for certian is that the Galaxy On7 (2016) has compatibility for a plethora of connectivity options, such as WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2 LE, GPS and LTE compatibility for bands 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20 and 40. We also expect it to play host to a handful of Samsung’s latest proprietary software, which includes S Bike Mode and the revamped Power Saving Mode that made its debut on the Galaxy Note 7.

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Official Samsung Z2 images leak out ahead of launch

The Samsung Z2 has made numerous appearances in recent weeks, most notably at the company’s official Galaxy Note 7 launch in Kenya. We recently got hold of an official feature video showcasing the Z2, and just a day before the phone is expected to launch in India, press images of the device have made their way online.

The images were spotted by GalaxyClub – they don’t show anything we haven’t already seen in previous leaks, but they do confirm that the Z2 will be a low-key affair with a rather bulky design (and a protruding camera to boot) and a shiny gold color option. In terms of specs, the phone is expected to feature a 3.97-inch WVGA display, a 1.5GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 4G connectivity (a first for Tizen handsets), a 5-megapixel rear camera, a VGA front camera, 8GB of internal storage, a 1,500 mAh battery, and version 2.4 of the the Tizen operating system.

For Indian consumers the Z2 will exclusively offer the My Money Transfer app; the phone also gets features like the ability to adjust torch brightness and Ultra Data Saving Mode for saving on data costs. The Z2 will bring Tizen to numerous new markets, including Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, and South Africa, although there is currently no word on when the handset will become available for purchase.

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Galaxy Grand Prime (2016) surfaces on Geekbench with a 1.4GHz quad-core processor

Two weeks ago, an unidentified Galaxy-branded smartphone was spotted in an Indian import database carrying the model number SM-G532F. Unfortunately, at the time, information surrounding the handset was a little sparse, but we quickly concluded that we were looking at the successor to the Galaxy Grand Prime that launched back in 2014 bearing the model number SM-G531F.

Now, however, the handset — dubbed the Galaxy Grand Prime (2016) – has been spotted on the official Geekbench website, shining some light on its specifications. The benchmark results reveal that the handset, which is expected to launch later this year, will sport a 1.4GHz quad-core processor, 1.5GB of RAM and will ship running Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow.

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You can currently bag yourself a brand new Galaxy View for just $349.99

If you’ve been in the market for Samsung’s humongous 18.4-inch Android tablet for a while now, but haven’t had $549.99 to pick one up, you may want to listen up as we’ve spotted the perfect deal for you. Best Buy is currently offering the 32GB variant of the Galaxy View for an eye-watering $200 off its retail price over on its official eBay and online store; meaning, for a limited time, you can pick one up for just $349.99.

For those in need of a refresher of its specifications, the Galaxy View sports a Full HD display, a 1.6GHz Exynos 7580 octa-core processor, a Mali-T720MP2 GPU, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of expandable internal storage, a 2.1MP rear-facing camera, an integrated kickstand and a 5,700mAh battery, which can withstand up to 9-hours of heavy use. It also ships running Android 5.1.1 Lollipop skinned with a recent version of Samsung’s TouchWiz UI.

Read more: Samsung Galaxy View Review: A movable display that misses the mark

If you like the sound of the Galaxy View and would like to take advantage of this deal, hit the source link below.

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Samsung reportedly launching refurbished smartphone program

Samsung might be preparing to launch a program through which it sells refurbished models of its flagship Galaxy smartphones. Reuters reports that the company might launch this program as early as next year. Apparently this is just one of the ways that Samsung will try to keep up the earnings momentum after turning around its mobile business. This may also help the company as demand in the global smartphone market declines by maximizing cost efficiency and keeping operating margins above 10 percent.

Samsung is reportedly going to refurbish high-end smartphones returned by customers who signed up for one-year upgrade programs in countries such as the United States and South Korea. It will then sell those smartphones again but at a lower price. The report doesn’t say how much the discount will be on refurbished handsets and in which markets Samsung is going to sell these units it. Samsung hasn’t confirmed anything about this program as yet. When contacted by the scribe, a spokeswoman for Samsung said that the company does not comment on speculation.

Apple is already in the business of selling refurbished iPhones and even though it doesn’t reveal sales figures for refurbished units, the fact that its program has been around for so many years goes to show that it must be working for Cupertino. Refurbished handsets are cheaper and usually come with a warranty so it would be great for Samsung’s position particularly in developing markets where many customers can’t purchase a new high-end smartphone but might find a refurbished unit well within their budget.

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