Samsung considers increasing memory chip production capacity at its China plant

To cash in on the industry-wide boom for memory chips, Samsung is reportedly considering to increase the production capacity at its plant in China. The semiconductor giant could increase the memory chip production at its Xi’an plant in the Shaanxi Province in central China, but no specifics have been reported as of now. Samsung had already invested $7 billion in its Xi’an plant for manufacturing 3D NAND chips

The company’s spokesman did not divulge any information about potential investment amount or what products would be made using the additional resources at its chip plant in Xi’an. However, South Korean media is reporting that the company is in advanced talks with Chinese authorities to add 3D NAND chip production capacity and that the construction could begin before the end of this year.

Samsung and other memory chip companies are expected to enjoy record revenue and profits, thanks to the booming demand for processing, storage, and memory chips used in consumer electronics such as smartphones, wearables, and other connected devices. Research firm IHS expects this year’s memory industry revenue to jump 32 percent to reach as much as $104 billion. However, memory chip production is still likely to struggle to keep up with the demand.

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Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge receive May security patch in Europe

Those who own the Galaxy Note 4 or the Galaxy Note Edge in Europe will soon receive an over-the-air update notification if they haven’t already. As it turns out, Samsung is rolling out the latest May security patch for both the Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge. These devices were first released by Samsung over two years ago.

Firmware version N910FXXU1DQE2 is now being rolled by Samsung for the Galaxy Note 5. The Galaxy Note Edge gets firmware version N915FYXXS1DQE1. Both feature the May security patch and other minor tweaks. This isn’t a big update so there are no features that come as part and parcel of this update.

Samsung detailed the May security patch for its devices a couple of weeks back. It brings patches for 54 vulnerabilities found in Google’s Android OS while Samsung has fixed some 11 bugs in its own software.

Since both devices are over two years old, it’s not like they are in line to receive any major Android OS updates over the following years. Samsung will continue to send out security patches for these handsets as and when required.

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Galaxy S8 Japan release confirmed for June

After unveiling the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ on March 29, Samsung released the new flagship in a handful of markets across the globe on April 21. Since then, the company has gradually been releasing its new device in additional markets. Earlier this week it finally launched the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ in China.

Samsung has now confirmed that the Galaxy S8 Japan release is going to take place next month. The company will be looking to regain consumer confidence that it lost after the Galaxy Note 7 debacle. Japan is one of the best markets for Apple’s iPhone so Samsung’s new flagship is going to have a Herculean task on its hands if it wants to win over customers from the iPhone.

To get the word out about its new device, Samsung is going to conduct various promotional events throughout Japan for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. A precise release date has not yet been provided but apparently, the handsets will be released in the country by early June.

The Japanese market is dominated by the iPhone while Samsung only accounts for a tiny share of the market. The company only sold 300,000 smartphones in Japan in the first quarter of this year, accounting for just 3.8 percent of the market share.

It wasn’t always like this, though. Samsung accounted for as much as 14.8 percent of the market back in 2012 but its position in the Japanese market has weakened considerably since then.

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Galaxy J3 (2017) leaked in all its glory

Samsung is due to launch the Galaxy J (2017) series in the near future. There have already been countless leaks concerning the Galaxy J5 (2017) and Galaxy J7 (2017). Now, the Galaxy J3 (2017) has been leaked in all its glory.

Bear in mind that this isn’t the new Galaxy J3 that has been launched in the United States. This variant has model number SM-J330 and it will be launched in Europe and other markets across the globe.

Previous Galaxy J3 models had a plastic body but the Galaxy J3 (2017) kicks things up a notch with its partially metal body. The device features a 5-inch 1280×720 pixel resolution LCD display.

There’s an Exynos 7570 1.4GHz processor under the hood coupled with an ARM Mali-T720 graphics processor and LTE Cat.4 modem. There’s 2GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage. Some variants of the new handset will have 3GB of RAM and 32GB memory.

The Galaxy J3 (2017) is said to feature NFC, Bluetooth 4.2, two SIM card slots and a 2,600mAh battery. It will be powered by Android 7.0 Nougat.

Samsung is expected to launch the Galaxy J3 (2017) over the next few weeks. It may be priced at around 200 euro. Samsung is yet to confirm anything officially about the new Galaxy J series.

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