Samsung vice chairman heads to the office early after dodging arrest

Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong dodged arrest on Wednesday when a South Korean court threw out the prosecutors’ request for an arrest warrant. The company and its leadership are being investigated over allegations of corruption, bribery and embezzlement in South Korea’s influence-peddling scandal. After being released from the detention center where he was held until the court handed down its ruling, the vice chairman went back to...

Samsung retains second place in global chip market with 11.8 percent share

Latest data from IT consulting firm Gartner shows that global semiconductor sales increased 1.5 percent year-over-year and totaled $339.7 billion in 2016. The top 25 semiconductor suppliers saw their combined sales increase 7.9 percent from the previous year and they accounted for 75.9 percent of the entire pie. Intel remained in first place for the 25th consecutive year with a market share of 15.9 percent. Samsung Electronics is holding on to its...

Samsung makes it official, Galaxy Note 7 investigation report coming January 23rd

We had previously heard that Samsung would be announcing the results of its investigation of the Galaxy Note 7 on January 23rd, and the company has officially confirmed today that the full report will indeed be made public on the aforementioned date. Samsung says that it will share its findings, along with those of “independent experts organizations”, at a press conference in Seoul, with the conference to be streamed live globally. Samsung will...

Samsung’s new initiative aims to eradicate color blindness

Color blindness is a serious issue. Generally known as Color Vision Deficiency or CVD, nearly 300 million people are affected by it. Samsung has collaborated with Hungarian company Colorlite on an app called #SeeColors, which will use its groundbreaking tech used on color correction glasses. The app is also available for smartphones in addition to Tizen-based Smart TVs, so it can reach a wide range of affected people out there. The app...

Themes Thursday: Here are this week’s three best themes

We’re glad to welcome you to this week’s Themes Thursday! Samsung has released Android 7.0 update for the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge this week, and we wanted to let you know that the update has imposed a new restriction. If you’re running Android 7.0 on your Galaxy device, you can’t capture screenshots of themes anymore due to a new “security policy.” However, we found another way to capture...

Daily Deal: Bag yourself a new Gear VR for 47% off

If you’re looking to enter the VR market, we have a fantastic deal for you. While stock lasts, you can pick up the 2016 variant of the Gear VR for just $52.72 (47% off). It’s worth noting that this is the same variant that launched alongside the recalled Galaxy Note 7, so it features a USB Type-C port and microUSB, which means you’ll be able to use it with the Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 edge, Galaxy S6 edge+, Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge and Galaxy Note 5. Like...

Vodafone UK could update the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge to Nougat on January 23rd

Those using an unlocked Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge in the UK have probably received the official Android 7.0 update by now, but what about those who got their device from one of the carriers in the country? Well, according to a Reddit user, Vodafone could start sending out the update to its users on Monday, January 23rd. The date comes from a Vodafone customer care agent, but as we have seen in the past, customer care executives aren’t always...

Samsung reveals the names of devices that will receive Android 7.0 updates

After thoroughly testing beta versions of Android 7.0-based firmware, Samsung released the final update for the Galaxy S7 and the S7 edge in a few markets this week. Now, Samsung has announced through its official blog post that it will release Android 7.0 updates for a bunch of smartphones and tablets. According to Samsung, the Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 edge, Galaxy S6 edge Plus, Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy...

Samsung Z2 gets a minor Tizen firmware patch with Wi-Fi Calling on board

Samsung is rolling out a new Tizen update to the Z2, bringing the Wi-Fi calling feature along with it. The handset caters to the budget market segment, so it’s good to see that the company is not taking the device lightly. Tizen is still a relatively unpopular concept with Android dominating the budget market space. As for this particular update, the Z2 doesn’t see any other major features...

Demonetisation in India had little to no effect on Samsung’s mobile phone sales

Demonetization of INR 500 and INR 1,000 bank notes in India affected a lot of business across a wide range of categories. However, according to a new report from The Hindu, Samsung claimed that its mobile phone sales were great even during the demonetization phase as retailers quickly adapted to digital payment channels. Manu Sharma, vice president of Samsung India’s mobile business, said, “Our Diwali and Puja [festive] sales were very good in October,...

Exclusive: Bixby can use the Galaxy S8′s camera for visual search, text recognition

With the launch of the Galaxy S8 drawing nearer, we’re uncovering different features of the device’s AI assistant, Bixby. Previously we reported about its ability to conduct payments, and how it can control all native applications. Now, we have information that Bixby will also provide a visual search and OCR tool using the camera of the Galaxy S8. The standard camera app on the Galaxy S8 will feature its own Bixby button, giving access...

Android 7.0 firmware for South Korean Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge now available online

Samsung started rolling out Android 7.0 updates for the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge in a few regions earlier this week, and the full firmware files hit our database yesterday. We now have Android 7.0 firmware files for South Korean Galaxy S7 (SM-G930S) and S7 edge (SM-G935L) in our firmware database. The Android 7.0 firmware for the South Korean Galaxy S7 (for SK Telecom) and Galaxy S7 edge (for LG U+) have build number G935LKLU1DQA1. You...

Cheetah Mobile launches ‘Made for Samsung’ version of its News Republic application

Chinese internet provider Cheetah Mobile has launched a ‘Made for Samsung’ version of its News Republic application on the Galaxy Apps Store. Upon installing the app, users are able to enjoy a flurry of features that are exclusive to Galaxy-branded devices, including text-to-speech translation, an Edge Panel briefing screen and a dedicated Gear S3 client. The full list of new, exclusive features,...

Galaxy J7 (2017) passes through the FCC

Earlier today, an unannounced Galaxy-branded smartphone was spotted at the United States of America’s official certification authority, the FCC. Unfortunately, the documentation accompanying the device doesn’t reveal anything about its internals, other than it carries the model number SM-J727, which leads us to believe that we’re looking at the long-rumored Galaxy J7 (2017). Recent rumors and speculation...