Thousands of Galaxy Note 4 batteries have been recalled in the United States

Samsung dealt with a very costly recall last year after it was discovered that the Galaxy Note 7’s battery wasn’t safe. It ended up discontinuing the flagship handset and booked billions in losses. There has now been another Galaxy Note-related recall but it’s not going to worry Samsung as much.

The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled over 10,000 Galaxy Note 4 batteries in the country. It covers Galaxy Note 4 units that went through AT&T’s refurbishing process and were distributed to customers through the FedEx Supply Chain.

It has been discovered that some of the batteries in those refurbished units are counterfeit and show anomalies that can cause them to overheat. The batteries are non-OEM which means they were not supplied by Samsung.

Fortunately, this hasn’t caused any problems to those users just yet. There has only been one report of overheating so far and it didn’t cause any damage to the user or their property. The counterfeit batteries weren’t placed into all of the recalled units but the general recall has been issued to ensure safety for all users.

Those who own one of the refurbished handsets have been advised to stop using the recalled battery and power down their unit. They will soon receive by mail from FedEx Supply Chain a free, new replacement battery and a postage paid return box to send the recalled battery back.

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Google will pay Samsung $3.5 billion to remain the default search engine

Google has been renewing its licensing deals recently. It was reported a couple of days ago that it would pay nearly $3 billion to Apple just to remain the default search engine on iOS devices. According to a new report out of South Korea, it will also pay Samsung for the same privilege. Samsung is reportedly going to receive $3.5 billion from Google in licensing fees this year.

Google is the default search engine on Samsung devices with its search widget getting prime real estate on the home screen. The amount of search traffic it pulls in just because of this is certainly significant.

$3.5 billion may seem like too big a price to pay for this but the fact remains that Google’s search business still accounts for a large chunk of its revenues. It’s certainly in Google’s best interests to bring in as much search traffic as it possibly can.

It’s just the cost of doing business for Google. It would rather pay $3.5 billion to Samsung so that Google Search remains the default search engine than not having access to the traffic that the world’s largest smartphone vendor can send its way.

Samsung is the leader in terms of smartphone shipments globally after all. For Samsung, it’s a significant increase in licensing revenues so this arrangement is essentially a win-win for both parties.

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Wallpaper Wednesday: Flags

Welcome to the latest edition of Wallpaper Wednesday. This week, we’re highlighting four backgrounds featuring flags. All of the images are available in a suitable resolution for the Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+ and just about any other smartphone on the market.

If any of the following images float your boat and you want to download and set one as your wallpaper, simply tap on the photo to maximise it, then click and hold to save it. Once the picture is stored locally, open up Settings, locate and select Wallpaper.

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Brazil

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Germany

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UK

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US

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Download

Tune in next week for another batch of flags!

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SamMobile Daily Recap: August 16, 2017 — Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy S8 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 34% on a 64GB EVO+ microSD card

General

Samsung India launches its biggest product experience centre in the country

Samsung’s new SSD is both affordable and portable

Phones

Galaxy Note 8 breaks cover in Deep Sea Blue color

Galaxy Note 8’s software will get the following improvements

Samsung’s latest ads show that the Galaxy S8 is ‘made for summer’

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Galaxy Note 8 breaks cover in Deep Sea Blue color

It was reported two weeks ago that Samsung might introduce a new color option with the Galaxy Note 8 called Deep Sea Blue. The handset is expected to be available in three colors with Midnight Black and Maple Gold being the other two. A render of the Galaxy Note 8 in Deep Sea Blue has been leaked online today.

The design itself isn’t surprising given that we’ve already seen it many times in leaked images and renders. The S Pen will be sporting the new color as well as the handset’s metal frame. The color won’t really pop on the front given Samsung’s decision to use black on the front of every Galaxy Note 8 color variant. We saw this with the Galaxy S8 this year and commended Samsung for it.

The back will really be the canvas for this new color option but we’ll have to wait before we get to see it. The render that has been leaked online today by @evleaks only shows us the front of the device.

It’s likely that there will be more leaks before Samsung officially unveils the handset. Even if there aren’t, it’s only a few days until August 23 when Samsung will formally make the Galaxy Note 8 public.

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Daily Deal: Save 34% on a 64GB EVO+ microSD card

For a limited time only, you can pick up a 64GB EVO+ microSD card for $27.85 (34% off), which is a fantastic price to pay for a chip that not only offers super snappy transfer speeds, but is also waterproof and resistant to extreme temperatures.

If you want to take advantage of this promotion, tap the Buy Now button. Be warned, though — Amazon only has a limited amount of inventory available for this specific deal (like usual) and it’s available worldwide, so it’ll probably go fast.

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Samsung India launches its biggest product experience centre in the country

Samsung India has launched its new Executive Briefing Centre which it describes as its biggest product experience centre in the country. The first-of-its-kind centre in India has been designed as a one-stop destination for all of Samsung’s premium products and services as well as its enterprise offerings.

Spread over 9,000 sq ft, the Executive Briefing Centre is located at the Samsung India HQ in Gurgaon. It showcases Samsung’s products for various segments such as education, smart homes, manufacturing, transportation, retail, virtual reality, gaming, financial services, air conditioning and more.

The company’s “Make for India” innovations get their own display in the centre. They’ve helped the company became one of the country’s most trusted brands.

Samsung Southwest Asia President & CEO Mr. HC Hong inaugurated the centre along with other top executives. We are experiencing robust growth in India. But numbers are not as important. More important thing is that we are the most trusted brand in India, loved by Indians,” said Mr. HC Hong

Samsung has designed the Executive Briefing Centre as a fully-functional venue to showcase integrated Samsung solutions in a dynamic environment. It’s the ideal location for Samsung to educate and engage with its customers, partners and the media on its B2B offerings.

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Samsung’s new SSD is both affordable and portable

Portable SSDs are becoming increasingly popular these days. Rapid advancements in SSD technology have made the drives smaller, faster and cheaper to acquire. Most new PCs have fast USB 3.1 ports which enable users to take full advantage of the speeds offered by these super fast storage drives.

As some of you know, Samsung is a major player in the SSD market. It routinely launches new products to extend its lead in this market. Samsung has now launched a new SSD drive that combines portability with affordability.

The new Portable SSD T5 from Samsung promises data transfer speeds of up to 540Mbps. It will be offered in 250GB, 500GB, 1TB and 2TB sizes. They will be available in Alluring Blue and Deep Black colors. It ships with a USB-C to USB-C cable as well as a USB-C to USB-A cable for compatibility with older devices.

SSDs tend to be smaller than conventional 2.5-inch portable hard drives. That’s also the case with the Samsung Portable SSD T5. It looks more like a business card than a portable hard drive. Weighing just 51 grams, the SSD offers AES 2560bit hardware encryption.

Prices for Samsung’s new Portable SSD T5 start at $129.99 for the 250GB model. Prices climb drastically for higher capacities. The 2TB Portable SSD T5 will set you back $799.99. Available globally starting today, the new SSD also comes with a three-year limited warranty.

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Samsung’s latest ads show that the Galaxy S8 is ‘made for summer’

Samsung wants to maintain the sales momentum for the Galaxy S8 so it has created new ads for the flagship. It’s not surprising to see a marketing blitz from the company at this point in time. There will be a lot of competition in the flagship market towards the end of this year. Samsung will also be introducing a new flagship which is bound to eat into the Galaxy S8’s sales.

The three 15-second ad spots from Samsung highlight three major features of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. The first ad, titled “Tan lines,” points out that the flagship offers all day battery life. This means that you can lounge by the pool all day watching content on your phone without having to worry about charging it.

Titled “Balloon,” the second ad spot highlights the fact that the Galaxy S8 is water resistant. Customers need not worry if they drop it in the pool or in the ocean. The water resistance should actually encourage them to use their handsets to take pictures under water.

“Sunbather,” the final ad spot, tells us that the Galaxy S8 is “sand resistant.” This isn’t news but it ties in nicely with the whole “made for summer” line that Samsung is taking with its latest marketing campaign for the Galaxy S8.

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Galaxy Note 8’s software will get the following improvements

Samsung previously used the TouchWiz branding for its custom Android user interface. It stuck around even though the company didn’t really concern itself with naming the user interface for the past few years. The company introduced the “Samsung Experience” moniker with Android 7.0 Nougat. That’s what its custom software is now called.

Samsung Experience 8.1 is the latest version that’s available on devices like the Galaxy S8. As the company gears up to launch the Galaxy Note 8, there has been some speculation about the improvements that it will make to the UX.

We’re hearing that the Galaxy Note 8 will be launched with Samsung Experience version 8.5. The latest version is going to get several improvements. It’s going to be much smoother than it is right now with no dropped frames.

Samsung has also made optimizations to ensure that iris and face recognition are faster than they are on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. All of these improvements combined will certainly make the new flagship well worth the money.

The updated user experience won’t be limited to the Galaxy Note 8. Samsung will eventually release it for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ as well. However, it may take a couple of months for it to release Samsung Experience 8.5 for these devices after the Galaxy Note 8 hits the market.

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