Samsung supplying OLED panel for the Touch Bar on Apple’s new MacBook Pro

Samsung has long been a component supplier for Apple even though both companies happen to be bitter rivals, that’s just how business is done in this day and age, and if a new report out of Korea is to be believed then Samsung has supplied Apple with the OLED Touch Bar panel that it has introduced with the new MacBook Pros last week. The report suggests that the Touch Bar is an OLED panel from Samsung Display’s A2 line and that Apple opted for it given the fact that it’s significantly thinner than conventional LED panels.

The report claims that the driver control integrated circuit has also been supplied by Samsung, it’s System LSI division is said to have supplied this crucial component which basically links the laptop to the Touch Bar. Neither Apple nor Samsung confirmed if this is indeed the case and we won’t know for sure until a Touch Bar model of the new MacBook Pro is taken apart and its components detailed. However, it’s not that hard to believe that Samsung might be the supplier given the fact that it virtually has a monopoly in the global OLED market.

We’ve already heard a lot of rumors in the past that Samsung might be one of the suppliers of OLED displays for the iPhone next year. Apple is expected to finally make the shift to OLED displays for the iPhone starting next year.

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Chinese customers furious after Samsung executives knelt to apologize for the Galaxy Note 7

The Galaxy Note 7 appears to have significantly dented Samsung’s position in one of the most lucrative smartphone markets on the planet. At first the company insisted that the Galaxy Note 7 recall did not affect customers in China. It only issued a formal recall in the country after halting production of the handset, no wonder China’s state broadcaster had some choice words for the Korean company. Samsung held an event in Shijiazhuang, Hebei a couple of days ago for local distributors and in order to thank them for their continued support as well as tender an apology for the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco about 20 Samsung executives from China and South Korea took to the stage and knelt in a solemn show of gratitude and sorrow. Little did the company know that this was only going to make customers in China furious.

According to a report out of China, at least 23 executives unexpectedly took to the stage and knelt en masse on the stage facing the audience. It was meant to be a gesture of gratitude and apology but as a picture of that rapidly went viral on Chinese social media, it garnered a strong reaction from the public. Some took to Weibo to express their feelings, saying that Samsung had shown disrespect for Chinese culture by having its employees kneel.

The Chinese take their kneeling very seriously. It’s a gesture that’s reserved for those praying to a deity in a temple or as a mark of respect for elders and that too on special occasions like their birthday or during the Spring Festival. In rare cases, they may also get on their knees when they’re desperate. Perhaps that’s what Samsung was going for here but the move has clearly backfired.

Samsung’s intention behind this might be noble but many Chinese customers are livid with what they perceive to be cultural misappropriation. Customers point out that Samsung claims to be a global company but does not recognize the importance of cultural differences.

The company has responded to this debacle by issuing a statement to Chinese publication The Paper. The statement implies that its executives in China kneeled on their own and that they were not told to do so by the management. Samsung said: “This was regional stock ordering event for distributors, PR had no knowledge of it beforehand. As we understand it, despite the influence of the Galaxy Note 7 explosions, distributors continued to support Samsung, and booked many orders at the event. This was extremely touching for Samsung’s top executives, and in accordance their customs they kneeled to express gratitude towards these distributors. Samsung’s China executives were also moved, and they kneeled too.”

Samsung just can’t seem to catch a break in China.

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Best Buy now taking pre-orders for the Gear S3 in the US

Over the past week we’ve seen pre-orders for the Gear S3 smartwatch going live in a couple of markets across the globe. It has been less than a week since pre-orders were opened in the United Kingdom and the smartwatch has already been sold out there. Samsung started taking pre-orders for the Gear S3 in Germany just yesterday and now one of its biggest retail partners is doing the same in the United States.

Customers in the United States who have been meaning to pick up the Gear S3 smartwatch can now place a pre-order for one via Best Buy. The retailer is selling both the Gear S3 classic and the Gear S3 frontier for $349.99. Both smartwatches are currently listed as “coming soon” so it’s unclear when they’re going to be released. Previous reports suggest that the Gear S3 is going to be released by mid-November so customers who place a pre-order now might not have to wait for too long. It would be best to place an order posthaste since the Gear S3 has a tendency these days to become quickly sold out.

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Samsung creates new entity for printer division prior to acquisition by HP

Samsung announced about a month ago that it had agreed to sell its printing division to HP for $1.05 billion. The move comes amid restructuring efforts over at Samsung as the company seeks to free up cash and focus more on its core businesses. The sale will help the company do just that while it’s going to further cement HP’s position as a market leader. The deal is expected to be closed by mid-2017, Samsung has now created a separate entity called S-Printing Solution for its printing division. It’s going to operate it until the deal is closed and control of the subsidiary is formally transferred to HP by mid-2017.

The new subsidiary is going to be lead by Kim Ki-ho who was the leader of Samsung’s printing division as an executive vice president. The deal gives Samsung the right to sell all HP inkjet products under the Samsung brand in South Korea. HP will be getting the subsidiary’s research facility in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, a production facility in China as well as more than 50 sales operations globally as part of this deal. HP has already agreed to hire all employees and has said that there will be no layoffs in South Korea. The deal is expected to go through by mid-2017 as it has already been given the greenlight by Samsung’s shareholders.

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Samsung powers 360-degree video journalism project of The New York Times

The New York Times is embracing virtual reality in a big way. We’ve seen the scribe dabble in VR in the past, it even teamed up with Google in October last year to send out one million Cardboard viewers as a promotion for some new VR films. It’s now joining forces with Samsung for a proper 360-degree video journalism project called The Daily 360. The aim here is to offer at least one VR video every day. Samsung is going to power the initiative by providing Times’ journalists across the globe with Gear 360 cameras and other equipment.

VR videos released as part of this project can be based on a major news story or just on something of interest. The first video covers a serious story from the Middle East but others might just be about the fashion week. We can expect to see some related to the upcoming US presidential elections as well.

“In collaborating with The New York Times, we want Samsung’s innovative products and services to show how coverage of the world’s most important stories can be made richer, more useful, and more human when augmented by 360-degree experiences,” said Marc Mathieu, chief marketing officer at Samsung Electronics America.

Viewers won’t necessarily need a Gear VR headset to view these VR videos as much of it is going to be web-based VR that can be viewed on PC. They will also be available through the Times’ iOS and Android apps.

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Gear S3 pre-orders go live in Germany, free strap offered as a gift

The Gear S3 is due to be released in mid-November and we’re now seeing the company start taking pre-orders for its latest wearable device in more markets across the globe. Merely four days after pre-orders went live and the Gear S3 ended up being sold out in the United Kingdom, the company today opened pre-orders for the Gear S3 in Germany. It’s also going to give a gift to all pre-order customers in the country.

Samsung has said that all those who pre-order the Gear S3 classic or Gear S3 frontier in Germany until November 28 will receive a free additional strap of their choice as a gift. The price for both versions is €399 and shipments are expected to begin by November 29. Customers will have a few strap options to choose from when they are placing a pre-order and the additional strap will ship with their order later this month.

If you’re curious to find out more about Samsung’s latest wearable device do check out our hands-on with the Gear S3.

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Samsung will invest $1 billion to increase chip production in the United States

Samsung today announced that its Samsung Austin Semiconductor LLC subsidiary is going to invest $1 billion by the first half of next year to increase chip production in the United States. The investment will be used to enhance existing System LSI production in order to meet the industry’s growing demand for advanced system-on-chip products particularly for mobile devices. “We are committed to Austin and our contributions to the community,” said Catherine Morse, General Counsel and Senior Director of Public Affairs at Samsung Austin Semiconductor.

This announcement follows Samsung’s revelation from last week that it’s going to invest a record amount of money in its semiconductor business in the coming year. Samsung Austin Semiconductor has already contributed quite a bit to Austin’s economy. An Impact Data Source Economic Impact Study revealed that the company poured $3.6 billion into the regional economy of central Texas last year and supported 10,755 jobs in the area during that time. Samsung has invested over $16 billion in the expansion of its maintenance of its Austin facility since it was established back in 1997.

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Daily Deal: Bag yourself a Galaxy View for just $469

If you’ve had your eye on Samsung’s gigantic 18.4-inch Android slate for a few months now, but haven’t been able to spare $550 to shell out on the device, you’re going to love today’s Daily Deal. For a limited time only, you can pick up the Galaxy View for $469 from Amazon, which is $30 less than Best Buy is selling the unit for in its sale.

For those in need of a refresher, the Galaxy View packs a gorgeous 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. It also ships running Android 5.1.1 Lollipop skinned with a recent version of Samsung’s TouchWiz UI.

Like the sound of the Galaxy View and want to take advantage of the deal? Cool! Simply hit the Buy Now button below. You will need to hurry, though, as Amazon has only assigned a small amount of inventory for this specific promotion and once it’s gone, it’s gone. It’ll also only run for a short period of time, so it’s better to purchase sooner rather than later.

Buy Now

Note: This deal is only available in the United States. For more information on the Galaxy View, be sure to check out our full review.

 

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October security patch now rolling out for the Galaxy S6 edge in Europe

Less than 24 hours after it started arriving on the Galaxy S6 edge+, Samsung is now distributing the October security patch for the factory unlocked variant of the regular Galaxy S6 edge in Europe. In addition to bundling patches for a total of 68 vulnerabilities in the Android operating system (OS), the upgrade also transports fixes for a handful of errors present in the firm’s Galaxy range of smartphones.

Much to our dismay, Samsung failed to provide a comprehensive changelog for the October maintenance release. Instead, it has simply listed the contents as “privately disclosed” to prevent hackers from using the list of security weaknesses in the OS to target devices that the firmware hasn’t arrived on yet. We do know, however, that it addresses a bug that resulted in units freezing while switching applications.

Just like all other Security Maintenance Releases (SMR), this specific update is being pushed out in stages. If you own an unlocked model of the Galaxy S6 edge, reside in Europe and would like to see if the OTA is ready for your unit, head into Settings » About Device » Download Updates Manually. Alternatively, you can always wait until you receive a notification prompting you to upgrade.

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T-Mobile to offer Samsung flagship BOGO deal on Black Friday

If a leaked promotion roster that was posted on reddit on Saturday is anything to go by, it looks like T-Mobile will hold one of its famous BOGO deals on Samsung’s latest flagship smartphones on Black Friday.

When the sale is live, customers will be able to purchase either a Galaxy S7 or Galaxy Note 5, and will receive a 50 percent rebate on a second device via Bill Credits  – so if you pick up a Galaxy S7, you’ll be entitled to half off another one.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like T-Mobile will be including the Galaxy S7 edge in the deal. We’re not entirely sure why, but if we were to hazard a guess we’d say that it’s because it isn’t having a difficult time offloading stock.

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All SamMobile Premium Memberships get €5 discount in honor of our fifth anniversary

The SamMobile community has grown considerably since we first started out five years ago. All of our free members get access to our firmware database and forums but we do have Premium Memberships for those who want an enhanced experience. In honor of our fifth anniversary, we have decided to offer a €5 discount on all SamMobile Premium Membership tiers.

Members can choose from Silver tier which costs €10 for 30 days, Gold which costs €35 for 180 days and the Platinum tier that costs €60 for 365 days. All Premium Members get an ad-free experience, Weekly eMagazine, fast download speeds for firmware, access to the premium forum and support from experts. The price is only billed once and all Premium Memberships fall back to a free membership when they expire. Gold and Platinum members are also included in exclusive monthly giveaways of Samsung products.

New members can now get a €5 discount on all three tiers in honor of our fifth anniversary. Head over to our Premium Membership page right now to sign up.

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Samsung Z1 gets a price cut on Snapdeal

Almost two years after it launched in India, Samsung’s first Tizen-powered smartphone has been subject to a pretty hefty price cut. When it first hit the shelves in the region back in January 2015, the Samsung Z1 carried a price tag of Rs. 5,700 ($85), but now you can pick one up through Snapdeal for just Rs. 4,064 ($60).

It’s worth noting that this is a brand new unit, which comes complete with a 12-month warranty — so don’t be fooled into thinking that you’re going to receive either a pre-owned or refurbished device. The retailer is simply slashing the price to get rid of old stock before its rumored successor arrives next year.

If you’re still looking to enter the smartphone market and don’t require the extensive catalog of applications and complex customization options that Android has to offer, then Tizen is the perfect OS for you. The Samsung Z1 runs the system smoothly and has some great integrated features.

Fortunately, there’s no need to hurry to pick up the Samsung Z1 as it’s unlikely that its price will rise again. We expect it to remain at Rs. 4,064 until the South Korean company finally announces the next model. We also presume that Samsung will keep this model in its lineup as it’ll be the cheapest Tizen device on the market.

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Gear S3 has already been sold out in the United Kingdom

It has only been four days since the Gear S3 classic and Gear S3 frontier became available for pre-order from Samsung’s official website for customers in the United Kingdom. It appears to be doing well in the country because the Gear S3 has already been sold out even though it hasn’t even been a full week since Samsung started taking pre-orders for it.

Samsung has updated its UK website to reflect that the Gear S3 is out of stock. The company says that its latest smartwatch is currently unavailable due to high demand. The company encouraged customers to place a pre-order by promising to give a free pair of Level Active headphones to the first 1,000 people who pre-ordered the Gear S3. Prospective customers can sign up to be notified when the Gear S3 classic and Gear S3 frontier are back in stock. Both models are priced at £349 ($425) and customers who have already placed their pre-orders are going to start receiving units from Friday, November 11.

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