Galaxy J7 (2017) US variant possibly spotted on GFXBench

We’ve already seen two variants of the as yet unreleased Galaxy J7 (2017) on the benchmarking website GFXBench – the SM-J727P and the SM-J727A – and its last outing revealed a 1.5GHz octa-core Exynos 7870 processor with 2GB of RAM. It appears that the US variant of the Galaxy J7 (2017) has now been spotted, it bears model number SM-J727VL.

The GFXBench listing reveals that the SM-J727VL features a 1.4GHz quad-core Snapdragon 425 processor with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. A Qualcomm Adreno 308 graphics processor will be on board as well. All of the other specifications remain the same so we can expect it to have an 8-megapixel rear and 5-megapixel front camera as well as Android 7.0 Nougat.

It remains to be seen which carriers in the United States offer this device, a previous report has suggested that at least one of these variants is going to be sold by Verizon, AT&T and US Cellular. This variant may be branded as the Galaxy J7 Sky Pro. Samsung is yet to confirm when it’s going to officially launch the Galaxy J7 (2017).

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Galaxy J5 (2016) and Galaxy A8 receive February security patch

After having detailed the February security patch last week, Samsung is now rolling it out to compatible devices. The latest handsets to receive said patch are the Galaxy J5 (2016) and the Galaxy A8. An over-the-air update is now being rolled out for both of these handsets which brings the February security update as well as additional stability and performance improvements.

Firmware version J510MNUBU2AQA5 is now being rolled out for the Galaxy J5 (2016). Samsung has already received the February security patch for other handsets in this series, such as the Galaxy J7 Prime and the Galaxy J5 Prime. Samsung is rolling out firmware version A810FXXU1AQA2 for the Galaxy A8 as well.

Don’t expect much in the way of new features and functionality with this update. They’re minor releases that only bring the latest security patch to these handsets. The latest patch features fixes for several vulnerabilities in Android as well as vulnerabilities that Samsung found in its software.

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Samsung Galaxy Note 8 reportedly codenamed ‘Baikal’

Samsung recently confirmed that it is not giving up on the Galaxy Note series even after the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco. It is now being reported that the South Korean smartphone giant’s next phablet, the Galaxy Note 8, is codenamed ‘Baikal.’ For those who aren’t in the know, Baikal is a lake situated in southern Siberia, considered to be the deepest lake in the world.

The Galaxy Note 8 is expected to feature a 4K display (for better VR experience) and the AI-powered virtual assistant Bixby. Samsung will reportedly source batteries for the device from LG. Nothing much is known about the upcoming phablet as of now, but we will keep on reporting about the device as and when we get any new information about it.

Galaxy Note8，厉害了我的贝加尔湖。 http://pic.twitter.com/7X4QeoJmzk

— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) February 13, 2017

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Samsung reportedly bags $4.3 billion OLED supply contract from Apple

Samsung Display has reportedly won a contract worth $4.3 billion from Apple to supply the company with an additional 60 million units of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels for the next-generation iPhone. This is said to be a fresh deal between the two companies after Samsung Display inked another contract with Apple last year for supplying 100 million OLED display panels for the iPhone 8. Apple is expected to make the switch to OLED displays with the iPhone 8 for the very first time.

Apple ships close to 200 million iPhones every year so the combined supply volume of 160 million OLED panel units means that Samsung is going to fill almost 80 percent of Apple’s entire demand. Previous reports have suggested that only the premium model of the iPhone is going to feature an OLED display this year but as reports of an increase in panel supply keep coming in, it’s now expected that the two to three iPhone variants that Apple is expected to launch this year may all feature an OLED display.

Neither company has confirmed or denied this deal, as is the norm.

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Harman shareholders will vote on Samsung merger later this week

Samsung Electronics announced a couple of months ago that it was going to acquire Harman International for $8 billion. The acquisition is contingent on Harman winning shareholder approval and some of its minority shareholders have voiced concerns about the price being too low, some have even filed lawsuits against the company’s CEO. According to a new report, Harman International shareholders are going to vote on this merger later this week, February 17 to be precise, and the merger will only go through if 50 percent or more of the shareholders vote in its favor.

Samsung announced this deal back in November. It’s going to pay $112 per share in cash to Harman which represents a 28 percent premium on the closing price of November 11. It’s also a 37 percent premium on Harman’s 30-day volume weighted average. Even though minority shareholders have voiced their concerns, Harman doesn’t expect to see serious opposition during the vote. The company said last year that the deal is on track for a mid-2017 close.

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Samsung Chromebook Plus is now available for purchase in the US

The Chromebook Plus, which was showcased alongside the Chromebook Pro at CES 2017 last month, is now available for purchase in the US. Priced at $449, Samsung’s new Chrome OS-based 2-in-1 laptop can now be purchased from Samsung’s official website, Amazon, and Best Buy.

The Chromebook Plus features a 12.3-inch 360-degree rotating touchscreen LCD display (with 2400 x 1600 pixels resolution and 400 nits brightness), a 2GHz hexa-core ARM processor, 4GB RAM, 32GB eMMC flash storage, stereo speakers, dual microphones, a 720p webcam, and a 5140 mAh battery.

The Chromebook Plus comes preloaded with Google Play Store so that it can run Android apps. It also comes with a capacitive stylus that can be used for doodling, drawing, sketching, and jotting down notes. Connectivity options include two USB Type-C ports, dual-band Wi-Fi ac/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, and a headphone jack.

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Support page for Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus (SM-G955FD) goes live on Indian website

Samsung is expected to unveil the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus at an event on March 29 in the US, and that’s more than a month from now. However, a support page for the larger variant of the company’s upcoming flagship smartphone has gone live much earlier than anticipated, thereby confirming its model number shortly after its logo appeared.

The model number SM-G955FD denotes that Samsung would launch the dual-SIM variant of the Galaxy S8 Plus in India. The device is expected to feature a 6.2-inch curved Super AMOLED display with QHD resolution, an Exynos 8895 or a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, 4GB RAM, 64GB internal storage, a microSD card slot, iris as well as fingerprint scanners, and a USB Type-C port.

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Samsung heir will be summoned again in corruption investigation

Despite having dodged arrest once in the ongoing corruption probe, Samsung Heir Lee Jae-yong is going to be summoned again tomorrow as South Korean prosecutors continue to look into bribery allegations against the country’s largest conglomerate the impeached President Park Geun-hye.

Allegations of bribery have been made against Samsung as the company is said to have provided over $35 million to foundations run by President Park’s friend Choi Soon-sil in exchange for the government’s support of a controversial merger between two Samsung affiliates a couple of years ago. The merger was crucial in setting in motion the succession plan that may eventually see Lee Jae-yong take over as chairman of the conglomerate from his father.

Lee Kyu-chul, a spokesman for the prosecution team, confirmed earlier today that vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Lee Jae-yong will be summoned along with two other group officials on Monday morning. Lee will be questioned over the new findings that investigators have made in the past few weeks and they might even consider requesting an arrest warrant for him once again.

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Galaxy A3 (2016) receives February security patch in The Netherlands

Samsung officially detailed the February security patch for compatible devices earlier this week and it has now started rolling it out for those devices. We’ve received word that the Galaxy A3 (2016) is receiving the February security patch in the Netherlands. Interestingly, last year’s Galaxy A3 has received this patch before the Galaxy A3 (2017), but then again, this isn’t surprising at all.

Firmware version A310FXXU2BQB1 is now being rolled out for the Galaxy A3 (2016) in the Netherlands. The update comes in at 226MB and brings the February security patch that includes fixes for 50 vulnerabilities in Android as well as fixes for several exploits exclusive to Samsung’s software. Stability and performance improvements are included in this update as well.

Now that this firmware update is out in The Netherlands, it’s only a matter of time before it’s made available to users in other countries across Europe as well. The over-the-air update is being rolled out gradually so it’s going to take some time before it’s made available to everybody.

Thanks, Henk!

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T-Mobile offering the Galaxy Tab E for free

T-Mobile has brought back its “Tablet on Us” promotion to offer the Samsung Galaxy Tab E for free. Those who are interested in picking one up can head over to the carrier’s website or one of its retail locations in the United States and grab the tablet on the carrier’s Equipment Installment Plan. They then have to put it on T-Mobile One or any mobile internet plan with at least 6GB of data.

Once that’s done, T-Mobile is going to cover the full cost of the Galaxy Tab E with a monthly bill credit. What this basically means is that customers get the tablet for free. The carrier also points out that existing T-Mobile One customers can add a tablet line to their account for $20 per month with AutoPay which is going to get them unlimited mobile data. Bear in mind that this is a limited time offer for folks in the United States so if someone is interested they shouldn’t waste any time.

While we’re on the subject of tablets, we’d really like to know if you’d still consider buying a new tablet?

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