Xbox Wireless Controller support for Samsung Gear VR confirmed

Samsung’s Gear VR headset is one of the cheapest ways of getting a great virtual reality experience provided that you already own a compatible Samsung smartphone. The content list for this device is gradually increasing and there are now more experiences and games for it than ever before. It’s possible to use physical controllers with the Gear VR while playing a VR game and it has now been confirmed that one of the best controllers on the market will soon be able to work with the Gear VR.

Microsoft has confirmed that the Xbox Wireless Controller support for Gear VR will be rolled out soon. This will enable Gear VR owners to control games using this controller which is one of the best in the business. The first game to support Xbox Wireless Controller on Samsung’s headset is Minecraft: Gear VR edition. Fans attending Minecon 2016 will be the first to experience this personally before the support is rolled out to the public. Microsoft has confirmed that Minecraft: Gear VR Edition is going to receive an update next month which will add Xbox Wireless Controller support. The company is working to expand this support to other Gear VR games that can also be played using a physical controller.

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Galaxy Note 2 emits smoke in an airplane baggage compartment mid-air

Samsung just can’t seem to catch a break these days. After weeks of negative publicity because of the Galaxy Note 7 recall, it’s now having to look into an incident which happened on Indian airline IndiGo’s flight from Chennai to Singapore earlier this week. India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation has said that passengers on the flight smelled smoke coming out from an overhead baggage bin and alerted the cabin crew. It was later discovered that there was smoke and sparks emitting from a Galaxy Note 2 which was kept inside a bag in the bin.

The regulator said that it had been a suspected fire but IndiGo said that there was no fire. The cabin crew used a fire extinguisher out of caution and then put the phone in a container filled with water. Samsung has acknowledged that it’s looking into the matter, saying that “we are in touch with relevant authorities to gather more information.” The regulator has now said that it’s going to send an advisory to all airlines with a warning to keep all Samsung Note smartphones switched off in flights or avoid carrying the phones on commercial flights completely.

This appears to be the first such report about the Galaxy Note 2 as it’s not believed to have widespread battery defects like the Galaxy Note 7. Samsung released the Galaxy Note 2 back in 2013 and it no longer sells this handset officially.

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Samsung Z2 has been released in Indonesia

A month ago, Samsung launched its new Tizen-powered smartphone in India. Since then the Samsung Z2 has been released in South Africa and Nepal. The handset recently received the DG SDPPI certification in Indonesia which meant that the Samsung Z2 would be releasing there in the near future. Samsung today confirmed that the Tizen-powered Z2 has been released in Indonesia.

In our hands-on with the Samsung Z2 we concluded that it’s a smooth and snappy device even though the specifications are not that spectacular. The Samsung Z2 is powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core processor coupled with 1GB RAM and 8GB internal storage, aside from a 5-megapixel rear and VGA front camera. Samsung Z2 also has some great software features like Ultra Power Saving, Ultra Data Saving and S Bike modes. The Samsung Z2 is geared towards customers who are moving up from a feature phone and buying their first smartphone. It’s competitively priced against low-end Android handsets at Rp. 899,000 ($70).

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Daily Deal: Snag yourself a pair of Level U Pro headphones for just $58

If you’re after a new pair of Bluetooth earphones, you’re going to love this deal Amazon has just kicked off on a set of Samsung’s latest Level U Pro in-ear headphones. While stock lasts, you can grab yourself a pair of the splash- and sweat-resistant earphones for just $58. That’s a little over $40 off their retail price!

Just like the regular Level U, the Level U Pro features a magnetic clasp along the side of the earbuds, which not only prevents them from tangling, but enables you to control your music and accept/decline calls, too. If you have the Level application installed on your smartphone, you’ll also have access to S Voice and a Text-to-Speech (TTS) converter.

If you like the sound of the Level U Pro headphones and want to take advantage of this promotion, hit the Buy Now button below. We strongly advise you to hurry, though, as Amazon only has a limited amount of inventory available for this specific deal, and once it’s gone, it’s gone.

Buy Now

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Samsung could use Exynos 8895 with ARM’s Mali-G71 GPU in the Galaxy S8 next year

A senior official from Samsung was recently arrested by the South Korean police officers while trying to steal the company’s confidential information related to 14nm and 10nm technology. The report contained information that Samsung is planning to use 10nm-based Exynos chipset in the Galaxy S8 next year. Now, we’ve come across some more information regarding the next high-end Exynos chipset from Samsung.

According to the information we’ve received, the Galaxy S8 could use an Exynos 8895 processor with ARM’s new Mali-G71 GPU. The new GPU is said to be up to 1.8 times as powerful as the Mali-T880 MP12 GPU used in the Exynos 8890-powered Galaxy S7. Moreover, this GPU is reportedly faster than the one from the Snapdragon 830 as per GFXBench results.

The Mali-G71 GPU uses the ARM’s brand new Bifrost architecture, which is claimed to offer high-end 4K and VR experiences. It is also compatible with Vulkan, OpenGL ES 3.2, GPU Compute, and Android RenderScript. Running at 850MHz, the 16nm GPU can provide a throughput of 27.2Gpix/s, which is double than that of the Mali-T880 GPU running at the same frequency. However, it needs to be seen what frequency Samsung ends up using.

It is being rumoured that Samsung might use 4K display in the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 edge for better VR experience. You should take this with a pinch of salt as it preliminary information, and things can change by the time Samsung unveils the Galaxy S8 early next year.

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Samsung launches the Galaxy On5 (2016) and Galaxy On7 (2016) in China

Last year, Samsung launched the Galaxy On series of budget smartphones in India, and kept the series exclusive to the country. It then launched the Galaxy On5 Pro and Galaxy On7 Pro as minor upgrades over the original devices, once again keeping them exclusive to the Indian market. But the On5 Pro and On7 Pro seemed to just be placeholders for Samsung’s plans to launch a proper 2016 iteration of the On5 and On7; the Galaxy On7 (2016) has been spotted online on multiple occasions, and the device has now gone official in China in addition to the Galaxy On5 (2016).

The Galaxy On (2016) devices are a complete overhaul compared to what Samsung launched last year – both devices have metal bodies and mid-range specs. The On5 (2016) doesn’t have a dedicated page on the Samsung China website just yet, but it is mentioned along with the On7 (2016), meaning it will also go on sale in the country soon. The Galaxy On7 (2016) has a 5.5-inch Full HD LCD display, an octa-core Snapdragon 625 processor clocked at 2GHz, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a 13-megapixel rear camera, and an 8-megapixel front camera (both cameras have an aperture of f/1.9).

There’s 4G LTE connectivity, a 3,300 mAh battery, and Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow out of the box. The On5 (2016) will have a Snapdragon 617 processor, but Samsung hasn’t mentioned any of its other specs. If we were to guess, it could feature a 5-inch HD display, 2GB of RAM, 13-megapixel and 5-megapixel cameras, 16GB of internal storage, and a 2,600 mAh battery, encased in a similarly metallic body.

With the Galaxy On7 (2016), Samsung seems to be aiming for those who don’t want to spend more on getting the company’s new Galaxy C handsets, which also feature metal bodies and have slightly better specs (like 4GB of RAM and a Super AMOLED display). The On7 (2016) is available for purchase in China in gold, pink gold, and black colors, with a price tag of 1,599 yuan (roughly $240). The On5 (2016)’s pricing and availability are unknown, and there’s no word on whether these handsets will come to other markets.

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