Themes Thursday: Here are this week’s twelve best new theme packs

Samsung has released 358 new themes in its Theme Store this week, and we’ve selected twelve of them for you. You can see that a lot of theme developers have started including AOD modes into their new themes, and a bunch of them are Full Color AOD modes. There are three Material themes from Cameron Bunch in this week’s list, and if you’re someone who likes stock Android UI, do check out those themes....

SamMobile Daily Recap: May 25, 2017 — Galaxy A8 (2016), Gear 360 (2017) and more!

We publish a decent amount of stories on a daily basis. Unfortunately, the majority of news breaks during our European hours of operation, which makes it difficult for our readers in the US (and other regions) to keep up with every post. But, we think we’ve come up with an ideal solution — a daily recap. So, without further ado, here’s what went live today: Business Samsung drops plans to sell its home network business Camera Gear...

Samsung says tricking Galaxy S8′s iris scanner is ‘unrealistic’

Berlin-based Chaos Computer Club recently demonstrated how the Galaxy S8′s iris scanner could be tricked. The method involved using a printed infrared image of the human eye attached to a contact lens. That was all they needed to trick the iris scanner into unlocking the device. Iris scanner functionality is still rare on smartphones so it’s a pretty big selling point for the Galaxy S8. However, it’s not ideal to know that a feature that’s meant...

Daily Deal: Save 15% on a pair of Samsung’s Gear Icon X wireless earphones

Amazon has cut the price of Samsung’s Gear Icon X wireless earphones by 15%, meaning you can currently pick up a pair for just $169.99. What’s great about these earbuds is that they not only bundle rear-time voice feedback for workout progress, but also have 4GB of integrated storage, so you can leave your phone at home and still listen to music. If you like the sound of the Gear Icon X and want to take advantage of the deal,...

32GB storage variants of Samsung Galaxy J5 Prime and J7 Prime are now available in India

We had reported last month that Samsung is planning to launch 32GB storage variant of the Galaxy J7 Prime in India. Now, Samsung has announced that it has launched the 32GB storage variant of not only the Galaxy J7 Prime but also the Galaxy J5 Prime. Earlier, these smartphones were available in the country with just 16GB internal storage. The Galaxy J5 Prime with 32GB internal storage is priced at INR 14,900 (approx. $230) and the Galaxy J7...

Samsung explains how it optimized the Galaxy S8 for the Chinese market

To coincide with the Galaxy S8′s release in China, Samsung has shared a post on its Newsroom highlighting the different ways it optimized the handset for consumers in the region, which include building a new Calendar application that allows users to simultaneously view the solar and lunar calendar, and introducing the option to purchase additional data in Smart Manager. The firm also launched two...

Samsung drops plans to sell its home network business

Samsung SDS, the South Korean chaebol’s IT Solutions arm, was in talks with Ireland-based Allegion to sell off its home network business. However, the company has now announced that it has decided not to go forward with its decision, hinting at failed negotiations. Currently, Samsung Group companies Samsung Electronics (22.58 percent) and Samsung C&T (17.08 percent) as well as Lee Jae-yong (9.20 percent) own a majority of shares in...

Samsung details world’s first 9.1-inch stretchable AMOLED display

Samsung Display confirmed a few days back that it was going to unveil the world’s first stretchable OLED display at SID 2017 in Los Angeles. It has presented a paper entitled 9.1-inch stretchable AMOLED display based on LTPS technology at the symposium. The stretchable panel in the future display zone at Samsung Display’s booth saw a great deal of interest from exhibitors at SID 2017. The PI that...

Samsung bets big on foundry business, reveals roadmap for 4nm process

Samsung is the world leader in semiconductor technology, and it is set to start the world’s largest semiconductor plan in July. The company was one of the first in the world to bring 14nm and 10nm processes for fabricating smartphone processing chipsets. Now, the company has announced a detailed foundry process technology roadmap, revealing information about 8nm, 7nm, 6nm, 5nm, and 4nm processes. Kinam...

Galaxy J5 (2016) receives April security patch in Europe

Samsung has started pushing out last month’s security maintenance release for the Galaxy J5 (2016) in Europe. The upgrade — J510FNXXU2AQD2 — addresses 49 Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) in the Android OS and packs 16 additional patches for the firm’s Galaxy-branded smartphones, which include a fix for a weakness that allowed prying eyes to access crash log files. As we’ve come to expect,...

Samsung Pay is now available in Hong Kong

Following a brief early access phase, Samsung has launched its mobile payment platform — Samsung Pay — in Hong Kong, with support for American Express, Bank of China (Hong Kong), Citibank, Dah Sing Bank, DBS and Standard Chartered. “Less than two years ago, Samsung Pay came to life in Korea with a simple mission: To empower customers with mobile payments that are simple, secure and available almost anywhere,” said Thomas Ko, VP of Samsung Pay. “Today,...