SamMobile Daily Recap: February 3, 2017

We publish a lot of stories on a daily basis. Unfortunately, the bulk of the news breaks during our European hours of operation, which makes it difficult for our readers in the US (and other regions) to follow every post that goes live on SamMobile. But, we think we’ve come up with an ideal solution — a daily recap.

In the list below, you’ll find every story we published today. Chances are, you’re not going to be interested in all of them. To help you find what’s important to you, we’ve split them into their respective categories — so if you want to see the latest smartphone news, locate the Phones subheading.

Business

Samsung bought $31.6 billion worth of semiconductors last year

Samsung reportedly confused by Trump’s ‘thank you’ tweet

Deal

Daily Deal: Grab a Book Cover for the Galaxy Tab A 8.0 for 50% off

Display

Samsung launches CFG70 curved quantum dot gaming monitor in India

Firmware News

Original Galaxy A5 gets a new update but it’s not what you think it is

Stability update starts making its way to the Nougat-powered Galaxy S7 edge

Phones

Mystery Samsung phone with MediaTek Helio P20 processor spotted

PSA: Always On Display isn’t likely to come to the Galaxy S6 lineup or the Galaxy Note 5

PSA: Galaxy S7 fingerprint sensor needs to be pressed to unlock the device even on Nougat

Sprint fires up LTE Advanced for the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge

Samsung Pay

American Express will be Samsung Pay’s launch partner in India

Tablets

Galaxy Tab S3 will come with an S Pen

TV

Samsung was the top LCD TV vendor in 2016

Watches

Charging your Gear S3 with a third-party charger could end badly

Watchface Friday: Here are this week’s ten best watchfaces

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Watchface Friday: Here are this week’s ten best watchfaces

Welcome back to Watchface Friday! Every Friday, we’re highlighting a selection of our favorite watchfaces for the Gear S3 classic and Gear S3 frontier. All of the offerings are available to download through the Galaxy Apps Store, so you can rest assured that you won’t have to search all over the Internet to find something we’ve listed.

Gear S3 classic

SamWatch Basic 2

SamWatch Classic Blue

Skul

Titanium Gear S3

Vatka Ferris Wheel

Gear S3 frontier

Arik Levy Eclipse

Future Health

Luminous Green

Night Run

Simple LED

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PSA: Galaxy S7 fingerprint sensor needs to be pressed to unlock the device even on Nougat

Samsung changed how the fingerprint sensor works on the Galaxy J5 Prime and the J7 Prime to unlock the device. Unlike other devices from the company, users don’t need to press the fingerprint sensor when the screen is turned off. Just placing a finger on the fingerprint sensor gets the job done. Many were expecting that Samsung would implement the same mechanism in the Galaxy S7 and the S7 edge with the Nougat update and have been asking us about the same in the comments. We’re afraid that is not the case.

We’ve been playing around with the Galaxy S7 and the S7 edge after they received the Android 7.0 update, and Samsung still hasn’t changed how these devices unlock when the screen is turned off. You still need to press the fingerprint sensor to wake up and unlock the device. Compared to some competing devices, the current unlocking mechanism is cumbersome. Hopefully, that won’t be the case with the Galaxy S8 as it is expected to feature a new-generation fingerprint sensor placed on its back.

Got Nougat on your Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge? Check out a few tips and tricks to enhance your user experience, and see a list of all the major new features here!

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Galaxy Tab S3 will come with an S Pen

Samsung is due to launch its next-generation flagship Android tablet – the Galaxy Tab S3 – at the Mobile World Congress 2017 later this month. We’ve heard that the company is going to ship an S Pen with the Galaxy Tab S3. The tablet itself won’t have a place for the stylus like we’ve seen on the Note series. Samsung will ship the S Pen as part of a bundle with the tablet.

Additional accessories for the Galaxy Tab S3 include a Keyboard Folio and a Book Cover case. Samsung is going to release both Wi-Fi and LTE models of the tablet. Customers in the United States will be able to purchase one from Verizon and US Cellular. It’s unclear at this point in time whether the LTE Galaxy Tab S3 will be available from T-Mobile and AT&T.

There hasn’t been any indication as yet to suggest that just like last year there’s going to be an 8-inch model of the Galaxy Tab S3. The 9.6-inch Galaxy Tab S3 is expected to feature a 2048×1536 pixel resolution display, Snapdragon 820 processor with 4GB of RAM and Android 7.0 Nougat. Samsung is likely going to release the Galaxy Tab S3 in South Korea first by next month.

Samsung will formally announce the Galaxy Tab S3 on February 26.

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Daily Deal: Grab a Book Cover for the Galaxy Tab A 8.0 for 50% off

If you’re the proud owner of a Galaxy Tab A 8.0, you may want to listen up as we have some good news.  you can now purchase an official Samsung Book Cover for the device for just $24.99 (50% off). What’s useful about this particular case is that it’s capable of automatically switching off the tablet’s display when the front is flipped closed — so you no longer have to worry about hitting the power button before placing the device in your bag.

If you like the sound of the Book Cover for Galaxy Tab A 8.0 and want to take advantage of the deal, simply hit the Buy Now button below. You’ll need to hurry, though, as Amazon has only reserved a small amount of inventory for this promotion and once it’s gone, it’s gone. We should also note, however, that only customers in the US will be able to purchase the case for the reduced price as the merchant isn’t offering international shipping.

Buy Now

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Charging your Gear S3 with a third-party charger could end badly

By now it’s safe to say that we’re all aware of the dangers associated with charging your smartphone using a third-party charger, but did you know that wearables are also at risk of catching fire when charged with aftermarket components? Lamar Jackson, a Gear S3 frontier owner from the United States, allegedly found this out the hard way.

Instead of using the OEM charger that came in the box with his Gear S3 frontier, Jackson opted for a Mophie Charger Force Desk Mount he found in a drawer. Many of the other wireless chargers he tried failed to provide the device with power, but this one appeared to work well. Maybe a little too well, though, as when he checked back he found that his $350 smartwatch was fried.

What’s surprising is that we had a similar experience with our Gear S3 classic. Earlier this week, we placed it on the Tronsmart Chocolate wireless charger overnight, then when picked it in the morning we found that it hadn’t charged and parts of the watch were extremely hot. When we positioned it on the factory cradle, a message appeared informing us that it had overheated.

However, it’s not just third-party chargers that are proving to be dangerous. A reddit user reported that his Gear S3 reached a high temperature while charging on the Gear S2′s cradle (even though a notification is immediately displayed instructing you to use the original charger), which is strange considering they both have similar power outputs.

Online blog Tizen Experts notes that the rise in heat is likely because the Gear S3 doesn’t fit properly in its predecessor’s dock; causing a flow of current through unintended parts of the watch, like the bezel, buttons, display and even the really small metal connections found at the top of the standard adjustable leather and rubber straps.

So there you have it, folks. Make sure you’re charging your Gear S3 with the original cradle to avoid any nasty issues.

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PSA: Always On Display isn’t likely to come to the Galaxy S6 lineup or the Galaxy Note 5

We see a lot of comments here at SamMobile from folks wondering why Samsung doesn’t bring the Always On Display feature to the Galaxy S6 lineup or the Galaxy Note 5. Well, we’ll get straight to the point here: Samsung probably isn’t going to bring Always On Display to those devices because of their puny batteries. Always On Display is a battery-intensive feature (taking around 1 percent battery per hour) as it keeps some part of the screen lit up at all times, and it would be rather moronic to offer the feature on a device that can barely get through half a day without needing a charge.

The Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge+ do have larger batteries than the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge, and both phones also manage to last quite long for their battery capacities. Samsung could certainly bring Always On Display to these devices and leave it to the consumer to enable it (or at least add an option that enables the feature only when the phone is charging), but for the average Joe the decline in battery life would be rather frustrating. Putting in tiny batteries on the 2015 flagships was certainly one of the dumbest moves the Korean giant has made (removal of the microSD slot takes the crown in this regard), and whether we like it or not, Always On Display is a feature ill-suited to any of those devices.

But there is certainly a chance Samsung will bring Always On Display to the Galaxy A (2016) lineup, as it is offered on the 2017 iterations. Even the Galaxy Note 5 might get it with the Nougat update, but at this point in time, there is no way to confirm. It’s best to keep expectations low; Always On Display is certainly a nice feature to have, but only when a smartphone is well equipped to handle the toll it takes on battery endurance.

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American Express will be Samsung Pay’s launch partner in India

We exclusively reported two months ago that Samsung Pay is going to be launched in India in the first half of 2017. A new report published today reiterates what we already told you a couple of months ago so that’s not news to us. However, it does reveal one interesting bit of information related to the launch of Samsung’s mobile payments service in India.

Samsung recently started teasing the launch of Samsung Pay in India. The latest Galaxy Note 5 update released in the country features the Samsung Pay app which is a big indication that things are moving along nicely and that the payments service will go live in the country soon.

Citing a person familiar with the matter, the report claims that Samsung has picked American Express as its launch partner for India. It also mentions that Samsung might be exploring opportunities with Visa and MasterCard as well, undoubtedly the giants of the card industry.

Samsung has worked with all major card companies in the different markets where it has already launched Samsung Pay. In some markets, it started out with just American Express and in others it went ahead with both Visa and MasterCard.

Even though India is a huge market for Samsung, the reach of its mobile payments service will be limited given that it only works with a handful of premium (expensive) devices such as the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S7 series as well as the Galaxy Note 5. Counterpoint research notes that there are more than 2.5 million of these devices being used in India so while it’s a respectable install base, Samsung Pay may only see true growth in India when the hardware required to make it work trickles down to more affordable handsets.

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Samsung bought $31.6 billion worth of semiconductors last year

Samsung was the top semiconductor chip buyer in 2016, according to a new report released by Gartner. It accounted for 9.3 percent of all semiconductor sales last year. The company spent $31.6 billion on chips and took the top spot on the list. Apple came close in second place as it spent almost $30 billion and accounted for 8.8 percent of all sales. Both companies spent $61.7 billion combined on semiconductors in 2016, they have shared the first and second position between themselves for six consecutive years. Expectations for future growth have fallen even though Samsung and Apple continue to exert a lot of influence on technology and price trends for the entire semiconductor industry.

Even as it saw increased competition from Chinese OEMs in markets such as TVs, smartphones and TV panels, the company increased its consumption of semiconductor chips in 2016. It increased its semiconductor design total available market with a 9.3 percent market share, up from 8.9 percent in the year before. The top ten list does show that China continues to pose a threat as 2016 was the first time that three Chinese companies ranked in the top ten.

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Samsung was the top LCD TV vendor in 2016

A division of market research firm TrendForce, WitsView, has released a new report which reveals that LCD TV shipments increased by 1.6 percent annually across the globe to reach 219.2 million units. The shipment growth has been attributed to strong sales in North America and the increasing affordability of large TVs. Samsung remained the top LCD TV vendor last year as it shipped 47.9 million units across the globe.

Despite its impressive performance compared to its rivals, Samsung posted a flat annual growth rate for 2016 as it had to deal with shortages for mid-size panels through the year. Samsung’s shipments were particularly affected by the earthquake in southern Taiwan in February last year which caused supply shortages.

Samsung is now believed to close to inking a sourcing deal with LG Display which will see its rival’s display division supply LCD panels to the company. Samsung may start receiving LCD panels from LG by June this year. LG was the second on the list of top LCD TV vendors last year as it shipped 28.2 million units globally.

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Samsung reportedly confused by Trump’s ‘thank you’ tweet

President Trump was quick to take to Twitter to thank Samsung after a report surfaced online claiming that the firm is planning to build a plant in the United States to manufacture home appliances. However, it would appear that company officials are a little confused by the tweet as they’re still yet to reply.

Speaking to Korean publication The Investor, an industry official said, “We feel pressured for (President Trump) thanking Samsung because nothing has been decided yet, but it could give the wrong impression that Samsung may have done something (as he wished).

Thank you, @Samsung! We would love to have you! https://t.co/r5nxC9oOA4

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 2, 2017

He then reportedly went on to add that “new investment plans like building factories take considerable time to review. But with the President making such a comment first, we could be viewed as withdrawing from a plan that we haven’t even decided yet.”

Samsung was quick to issue an official statement following the publication of the tweet, noting that it’s invested $17 billion in its semiconductor plant in Austin, Texas, but reassuring concerned parties that no plans to construct a factory have been confirmed as it’s still “[evaluating] new investment needs in the US.”

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Stability update starts making its way to the Nougat-powered Galaxy S7 edge

Samsung has today started rolling out a rather unexpected OTA for the international variant of the Galaxy S7 edge. Unfortunately, the changelog doesn’t provide any indication of what the update — firmware version G935FXXU1DQAS — bundles, but seeing as it weighs in at a little over 15MB, we’re guessing that it’s packed full of bug fixes and stability improvements for the much-anticipated Android 7.0 Nougat upgrade that recently made its way to the device.

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Mystery Samsung phone with MediaTek Helio P20 processor spotted

We’ve heard for a couple of years now that Samsung is thinking about sourcing processors from MediaTek for its low-end devices, particularly those powered by Tizen. Samsung currently uses its own Exynos processors or Qualcomm’s Snapdragon series for Android devices while it relies on the likes of Spreadtrum for Tizen devices. MediaTek is no small player as it’s the largest supplier of processors to OEMs in China. The companies have been talking about a potential partnership for a few years and just four months ago a major MediaTek executive said that Samsung was now a customer.

It appears that this partnership is now moving forward. A mystery Samsung device with model number SM-G615F has been spotted on the benchmarking website GFXBench. The listing shows that this handset has a 5.7-inch 1080p display, a 2.3GHz MediaTek Helio P20 processor with 3GB RAM and 32GB of internal storage. It also features 12-megapixel cameras on the front and back. Android 7.0 Nougat is mentioned as well.

There’s little information available about this device right now so it’s unclear in which series Samsung will fit this MediaTek-powered device in. If one were to speculate based off of the model number, you may not remember but Samsung assigned SM-G600 to the original Galaxy On7 while the On7 (2016) carried model number SM-G610. Perhaps this is the next-generation On7? Hopefully, the situation will clear up in a couple of weeks.

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Samsung launches CFG70 curved quantum dot gaming monitor in India

Six months after showcasing it at the Gamescom 2016 Expo, Samsung has launched the CFG70 curved gaming monitor in India. The Quantum Dot monitor would be available in two screen sizes in the country: 24-inch (LC24FG70) and 27-inch (LC27FG70). The LC24FG70 is priced at INR 35,000, while the LC27FG70 costs at INR 42,000.

Both, the LC24FG70 and the LC27FG70, feature curved Quantum Dot displays with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, 1ms response time, and a refresh rate of 144Hz for compliance with AMD’s FreeSync technology. The company claims that its new monitors feature 3000:1 contrast ratio, a UX specifically designed to help gamers, and a rigorous pre-shipment color calibration process.

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Original Galaxy A5 gets a new update but it’s not what you think it is

Samsung has started rolling out a new firmware update for the original Galaxy A5 in Europe. It has been a while since this handset received a new update, it was last updated to Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow back in the summer last year. Samsung is now rolling out a new update for the SM-A500 but it’s not what you think it is.

The original Galaxy A5 is going to remain at Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow after this update because Samsung has only sent out a security patch for this device. What’s interesting is that this device isn’t even receiving the latest security patch for the month of January 2017. Firmware version A500FUXXS1CPK6 actually brings the November 2016 security patch for the original Galaxy A5.

This update is now being gradually rolled out across Europe for the unlocked variant of the Galaxy A5. If you’ve not yet received the update you can head over to our firmware section and download it manually.

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Sprint fires up LTE Advanced for the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge

Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge in select cities across the United States will now get significantly faster mobile data speeds on Sprint. The carrier has confirmed that it has fired up three-carrier aggregation and thus brought faster LTE Advanced support to these handsets. There are a total of seven devices on Sprint’s network right now that support three-carrier aggregation, only two are from Samsung, and the carrier says that all seven account for almost 20 percent of its postpaid user base.

Sprint claims that the switch to three-carrier aggregation is going to offer subscribers peak speeds of up to 200Mbps which is a significant improvement over two-carrier aggregation that provides speeds of up to 100Mbps. LTE Advanced involves using multiple LTE bands to allow for greater bandwidth speeds. As the number of bands go up so does the data rate, at least in theory. Sprint has now enabled three-carrier aggregation via an update for both Samsung flagships. Users in cities like San Francisco, Dallas, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Cleveland, Chicago, and more will now be able to enjoy faster mobile data.

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