Galaxy Xcover 4 passes through the FCC

Less than a month after it was spotted on the Wi-Fi Alliance’s online database, the Nougat-powered Galaxy Xcover 4 has made a pitstop at the FCC in the United States, which is typically one of the last testing facilities a new device is sent to before it launches on the open market.

A recent Geekbench listing points towards the Galaxy Xcover 4 sporting an Exynos 7570 processor and 2GB of RAM. Unfortunately for us, Samsung’s done a good job at keeping the rest of its internals under lock and key (it’s probably frustrated it couldn’t do the same for the Galaxy S8), so we don’t have anything else to go on.

We suspect that a release is right around the corner, though — so be sure to stay tuned for all the latest details.

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Galaxy S8 press shot released with March 29th date on display

Samsung confirmed the March 29th date of its upcoming Galaxy S8 announcement at MWC 2017 where it showcased its newest devices, the Galaxy Tab S3 and Galaxy Book. Now, however, the market is headed into the final month of teases and leaks, with a press shot released by none other than the VentureBeat reporter and renown leakster, Evan Blass himself.

The Galaxy S8 press shot shows the confirmed announcement date, along with a wallpaper that looks rather similar to that of the Galaxy Note 7. A Pearl Black color is also seen here (appearing similar to the newest Galaxy S7 edge color), not to mention the sleek form factor that Samsung teased earlier with the Galaxy S8 signup page and “Unbox Your Phone” mantra. A closer look at the Galaxy S8 (it’s hard to tell if the 5.8-inch Galaxy S8 or the 6.2-inch Galaxy S8+ is shown here) shows the iris scanner/camera, along with the volume rocker on the left, the dedicated Bixby AI button, and the power/standby button on the right side. The little white screen “slither” you see on the phone’s right near the power button teases the dual-edge functionality that yields the Edge Panels when swiped from right to left.

Apart from the iris scanner, Bixby button, and dual-edge design (along with the ultra-thin bezels), little else is seen here. This press release shot continues to drill home the point that Samsung will announce the next Galaxy on March 29th (presumably around 12:23PM, since that is the time listed on the device).

Alongside of the 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch curved Super AMOLED panels, 8MP front/12MP Dual Pixel back camera combo, octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835/Exynos 8895 SoC, Samsung has said that it intends to bundle a pair of Harman AKG headphones into every Galaxy S8 box – which means that AKG audio is expanding beyond just the newly-announced Galaxy Tab S3.

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Endomondo, Map My Run, and MyFitnessPal apps are now available for Gear S2 and S3

Under Armour, the popular American sports brand, has released three new apps and a watchface for the Gear S2 and the Gear S3. These new apps offer users a way to calculate and keep track of calorie intake, physical activities, and workouts.

Endomondo and Map My Run apps can accurately track runs, walks, rides, and more using GPS data from Samsung’s smartwatches (or smartphones connected to them). The MapMyFitness app can calculate calorie intake and help you achieve the perfect weight. The ‘Under Armour – Own The Day’ watchface keeps on changing colors throughout the day.

You can now install these apps and watchfaces on your Gear S2 or Gear S3 through the Galaxy Apps store. The app catalog for Samsung’s Tizen-based smartwatches is slowly improving, thereby offering a better ecosystem to users.

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SamMobile Daily Recap: February 28, 2017 — Galaxy X, Harman acquisition and more!

We publish a lot of stories on a daily basis. Unfortunately, most 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. But, we think we’ve come up with an ideal solution — a daily recap.

In the list below, you’ll find the stories we’ve 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 Galaxy S8 news, locate the Phones subheading.

Business

Samsung’s Harman acquisition approved by Fair Trade Commission

Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong will be indicted on bribery and other charges

Samsung’s infamous battery affiliate gets a new leader

Deals

Daily Deal: Save 50% on an S-View Flip Cover for the Galaxy S7 edge

Firmware News

Galaxy Note 5 receives February security patch

Samsung rolling out February security patch for the Galaxy A5 (2016) in Europe

General

Samsung Family Hub app available now [APK]

Phones

Best Buy offering a $100 gift card, 256GB microSD card and wireless charger with Galaxy S7 purchase

Galaxy S8 on-screen buttons may be customizable

Samsung is expanding its Rich Communication Services messaging service

Samsung trademarks Galaxy X in South Korea

Virtual Reality

The Samsung Galaxy Studio makes Samsung’s MWC visitors move

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Daily Deal: Save 50% on an S-View Flip Cover for the Galaxy S7 edge

Looking to add a layer of protection to your Galaxy S7 edge? You’ve come to the right place. For a limited time, you can snag yourself a S-View Flip Cover for a mere $24.99 (50% off). By far, the best thing about this case is that it sports an interactive window, which provides quick access to key phone features, including the option to answer incoming calls and peruse notifications without having to open the cover.

If you like the sound of this promotion and want to place an order, simply hit the Buy Now button below. We advise you to hurry, though, as Amazon only has a low amount of inventory available. It’s also worth noting that this is an international deal and the S-View Flip Cover for the regular Galaxy S7 is on sale, too. It can currently be had for $24.12 (52% off).

Buy Now – Galaxy S7 Buy Now – Galaxy S7 edge

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Samsung is expanding its Rich Communication Services messaging service

Samsung has announced today that it’s going to expand its Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging services using the NewNet Communication Technologies solution that it recently acquired. Samsung’s RCS is a complete end-to-end solution which features RCS-enabled devices, native and downloadable device clients, RCS application servers based in the cloud, a third-party monetization platform and an interconnectivity hub among operators.

RCS enables users to enjoy rich messaging features in simple texting messaging, features that would otherwise only be available in services like WhatsApp and Viber. They will be able to participate in group chats, video calls and large file transfers while using their phone numbers without needing an additional app for this purpose.

The company’s RCS cloud will let carriers quickly launch the service while avoiding costly and time-consuming efforts of setting up their own network infrastructure. Samsung’s RCS hub is also going to support and simplify the RCS interconnectivity between other RCS-enabled operators. This will enable true messaging evolution post SMS/MMS and will make it possible to achieve a global footprint quickly.

Samsung is now working with several carriers to expand the availability of RCS messaging, the carriers include Deutsche Telekom, KT, SK Telecom, T-Mobile and Vodafone. The RCS solution will be supported by Samsung smartphones running Android 6.0 Marshmallow and up.

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Samsung’s infamous battery affiliate gets a new leader

You may not have heard of Samsung SDI prior to the Galaxy Note 7 debacle last year. It’s the conglomerate’s battery affiliate and it supplies Samsung Electronics with battery cells for its smartphones. Samsung SDI was supplying the bulk of the batteries for the Galaxy Note 7 and as the company’s thorough investigation later revealed, there was a problem with the battery which caused the Galaxy Note 7 to combust spontaneously.

Samsung SDI’s reputation has suffered a great deal of damage but the company has done a lot of soul-searching since the entire Galaxy Note 7 debacle and is committed to ensuring that something like that doesn’t happen again. Cho Nam-seong was the previous CEO of Samsung SDI who recently tendered his resignation due to personal reasons.

He’s now going to be replaced by Jun Young-hyun who is currently the president of Samsung’s memory chip division, according to a statement issued by Samsung SDI. Jun’s nomination as the new leader of Samsung’s now infamous battery affiliate is subject to approval at the company’s annual shareholder meeting which takes place on March 24.

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Samsung’s Harman acquisition approved by Fair Trade Commission

Samsung Electronics announced late last year that it was going to acquire Harman International for $8 billion. Even though there was some pushback from minority investors initially who thought that the price was too low, Harman’s shareholders eventually approved the acquisition during the shareholders’ meeting earlier this month. The relevant regulatory approvals are now required before Samsung can close this deal once and for all.

The company has cleared one such hurdle. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has given its final approval to Samsung for the acquisition of Harman International. The decision is similar to the European Commission which also sees no harm in allowing the acquisition to go through. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission is of the view that this acquisition is not likely to cause a problem with regard to the Fair Trade Act and restriction of competition.

With this regulatory hurdle taken care of, Samsung is well on its way to closing the Harman acquisition within the timeframe it specified when it announced that it was going to buy this company for $8 billion.

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