Over 2.7 million Galaxy Note 7 devices returned as recall enters the final stretch

It has almost been three months since Samsung confirmed that it was recalling the Galaxy Note 7 for good and that the device was being discontinued. Those who own one are repeatedly being reminded to power down the device and take part in the refund and exchange program. Samsung has said today that more than 2.7 million units of the Galaxy Note 7 have been returned out of the roughly 3.06 million units sold worldwide after the handset was released.

The return ratio is well above 90 percent in major markets like North America and Europe but the ratio is lower in Samsung’s own backyard. It’s hovering around 80 percent in South Korea. Samsung has been taking tough steps in other markets to force people to return the Galaxy Note 7. It’s going to release a new update for the device in Europe next week which will limit battery charge to 30 percent. It’s also going to release the final update for the Galaxy Note 7 in the United States starting next week, the update will render the device incapable of charging.

Samsung is yet to take such steps in South Korea but if the ratio doesn’t increase there soon it may be forced to do so.

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/2gr0w6A
via IFTTT

Samsung may be thinking about spinning off its foundry business

Samsung has been working on a complex restructuring program for quite some time now. The company has been selling divisions that are weighing down its core businesses and has been taking additional steps to adopt a leaner corporate structure. A new report suggests that Samsung is thinking about reorganizing its foundry business that comes under the System LSI division to systematically grow this business. Samsung is reportedly planning to separate the design and manufacturing operations into the new business unit and spin it off to the fabless and foundry divisions.

Samsung’s System LSI division is basically made up of four core segments which include the system on chip team that develops mobile processors, the LSI development team which works on camera sensors and display driver chips, the foundry business team and the support team. It’s claimed that Samsung is thinking about forming the fabless division by bringing together the system on chip and LSI development teams and separating them from the foundry business.

This will enable Samsung to grow the business more systematically by separating its semiconductor design and manufacturing capabilities, at least in theory. Samsung has not yet commented on this report so there’s no confirmation about any of this just yet.

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/2hetvOO
via IFTTT

Free watch face platform Facer now available for the Gear S2 and Gear S3

Have you been feeling a bit short on watch faces for your Samsung smartwatch? Perhaps you might like to give Facer a try. For those who are unaware, Facer is a leading watch face customization platform which supports major smartwatch platforms and provides thousands of watch faces for free. Premium watch faces are also available for puchase. The creator tool can be used to easily create watch faces as well. It already supports the Samsung Gear Live and now it finally has support for the Gear S2 and the Gear S3.

Facer version 3.0.1 is now available for download from the Google Play Store. It includes support for the Gear S2 and the Gear S3. The Facer Companion app is also available for both of these smartwatches as well. It won’t work until the companion app has been installed. Once both apps are up and running, it’s pretty easy to swap and select watch faces as per your liking. The best part is that the Facer app itself is available as a free download.

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/2gtgou9
via IFTTT

Samsung Pay beta is now live in Malaysia

Samsung confirmed in October that it’s expanding Samsung Pay to three additional countries: Russia, Thailand and Malaysia. It promised that the service would go live in all three countries by the end of this year. Samsung fans in Malaysia will be delighted to know that Samsung Pay has finally landed in their country, albeit in beta.

The company is yet to officially launch its mobile payments service in the country but it’s conducting beta trials with Maybank. The bank’s customers will be able to make payments on the go with their Maybank credit and debit cards configured with Samsung devices that support Samsung Pay.

During the beta trials only Maybank Visa Credit, Debit and Prepaid Cards are supported. Supported devices in this period include the Galaxy S6 edge+, Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge, Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy A7 (2016) and Galaxy A5 (2016).

Those who are interested in joining the beta program will first need to register and then wait for an email to arrive. It will normally be sent within ten days of the registration if it’s successful. Registrations for this beta are being accepted until December 16.

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/2hdEesP
via IFTTT

US carriers confirm release dates for last Galaxy Note 7 update

Samsung is going to release the last update for the Galaxy Note 7 next week in the United States. The update will leave the device incapable of charging and functioning as a mobile device by cutting network access. It’s going to work with the country’s major carriers to release it within 30 days.

Verizon, the country’s largest carrier, has already said that it’s not going to release this update on its network while rivals AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile are going to follow through but they’ll only do it after Christmas possibly because they don’t want their customers to go through this hassle during the holidays.

T-Mobile will be the first of the pack to release this update on December 27. AT&T will effectively kill the Galaxy Note 7 with this update on January 5 and Sprint will do the same on January 8. Verizon is sticking with its decision of not releasing this update on its network so far but it remains to be seen if it changes its stance once its rivals have gone through with it.

Samsung hasn’t taken such a drastic step to get people to return their Galaxy Note 7 anywhere else as yet. The next update that it’s releasing for the Galaxy Note 7 in Europe is only going to limit the handset’s battery charge to 30 percent.

from SamMobile http://ift.tt/2hsyCvL
via IFTTT