SamMobile Daily Recap: August 1, 2017 — Galaxy Note 8, Gear VR (2017) and more!

We publish a lot 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. However, we think we’ve come up with a fantastic solution — a daily recap. Here’s what we published today. Deals Daily Deal: Save 23% on a Gear VR (2017) with Controller Firmware News Original Galaxy J5...

Samsung reveals some details about its upcoming wearable device

Recent reports have suggested that Samsung is working on a new wearable device. It’s not said to be a full-fledged smartwatch so it won’t be the Gear S4. The information that Samsung has revealed suggests that it’s more of a fitness tracker/smartwatch hybrid. Samsung has revealed some details about the upcoming wearable device. The company has sent out a survey to members of its SmartLab Plus program....

Daily Deal: Save 23% on a Gear VR (2017) with Controller

Amazon has cut the price of the Gear VR (2017) with Controller by 23%, so you can pick one up for a limited time only for the modest price of $99.48 — and best of all, the promotion is available worldwide. For those unaware, the Gear VR (2017) supports both microUSB and USB Type-C, meaning it’s not only compatible with the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, but also with the Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 edge and Galaxy Note 5. To...

Samsung Pay adds support for SBI (State Bank of India) debit cards in India

Samsung Pay is now compatible with debit cards from State Bank of India (SBI), the largest and most widely used bank in India. At launch, Samsung Pay had arrived with support for only credit cards from SBI, in addition to both debit and credit cards from Axis, HDFC, ICICI, and Standard Chartered, and the Paytm wallet service. Recently, the app received full support for India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) service, which has been growing...

Original Galaxy J5 getting update with July security patch in Europe

Samsung is currently pushing out an update that brings the July security patch to the original Galaxy J5 in Europe. The 45MB update doesn’t have anything else of importance, other than the usual bug fixes and performance improvements. As for the July security patch, it addresses a total of 65 Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) in the Android operating system and 16 weaknesses in Galaxy-branded...

Leaked Galaxy Note 8 press render confirms design

Samsung isn’t due to unveil the Galaxy Note 8 until August 23 but that doesn’t mean the leaks will stop coming in. Several leaked renders and schematics of the Galaxy Note 8 have already tried to give us a sense of the handset’s design. Earlier today, an official-looking press render of the Galaxy Note 8 was leaked online. We’ve now been treated to yet another press render of the Galaxy Note 8. The...

New render of the Midnight Black Galaxy Note 8 leaked

evleaks has just published a render of the Midnight Black version of the Galaxy Note 8, giving us yet another look at the upcoming phablet ahead of its official launch. Sadly, this render doesn’t reveal anything new and only confirms that the Galaxy Note 8 will be indistinguishable from the Galaxy S8+ when you look at it from the front. Thankfully, we can look to previously leaked renders to get an idea of the Note 8’s design, including the new dual...

[Update: Apps now available] Daydream update rolling out to the Galaxy S8 and S8+, says Google

After Verizon and T-Mobile’s recent goofup saying that their updates for the Galaxy S8 and S8+ were introducing Daydream support when they actually weren’t, Google is now officially saying that an update with Daydream support is rolling out to Samsung’s latest flagships. This can be taken as the final word that Daydream support is actually arriving, unless Google is just saying so because of Verizon...