It’s Friday, which means it’s time for another edition of Watchface Friday! For those unaware, every Friday, we highlight a selection of our favorite watchfaces for the Gear S3 classic and Gear S3 frontier. All of the offerings are available to download through the Galaxy Apps Store, so you can rest assured that you won’t have to search all over the Internet to find something we’ve listed.
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.
While Samsung is yet to roll out the Android 7.0 update for its low-end and lower mid-range smartphones and tablets, Google has released the final version of Android 8.0. However, we’ve received some exciting news earlier today. According to our reliable sources, Samsung has started the development of the Android 8.0 Oreo update for the Galaxy S8 and S8+.
Galaxy S8 Android 8.0 Oreo update
The firmware version for the Android 8.0 update for the Galaxy S8 and S8+ could be G955FXXU1BQI1 and G950FXXU1BQI1, respectively. We’re not sure about the timeline for the release of Oreo for the smartphones, but we’ll let you know as soon as we get more information about it. There’s a fair chance that Samsung could start a beta testing program for early adopters like it did for the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge. Once the beta update gets tested thoroughly, the update could be rolled out worldwide much faster than last year as the company has started using multi-CSC firmwares.
Android 8.0 is supposed to make phones much faster, especially things like boot times. The new version of Android also limits background activities and manages them in a much better way, which helps a lot in increasing system smoothness as well as battery life. Other important features include Autofill framework for logins and passwords, picture-in-picture mode for even better multitasking, notification dots, and Android instant apps.
The Oreo update also brings a brand new design for emojis, over 60 new emojis, notification channels, an ability to snooze notifications, more granular storage controls, a new battery menu, adaptive icons, LDAC codec for Bluetooth audio streaming, wide color gamut for imaging apps, Wi-Fi aware technology, a proper progress bar while installing apps, smart text selection, sticky notifications, better fonts, ambient display, and more.
Samsung might not use all the Android 8.0 features mentioned above, as it tends to customize Android in its own flavor. What Android 8.0 features excite you most? Let us know in the comments section below.
The Galaxy Note 8 can be disassembled in ten relatively straightforward steps, reveals a teardown published by iFixit on Friday, but due to an abundance of small parts and the excessive use of adhesive, it’s a bit of a massive pain to reassemble.
Steering away from the traditional component layout, Samsung has positioned the battery in the center of the Galaxy Note 8 and moved the vibration motor to the bottom-right to provide the cell with some wiggle room, should it happen to heat up and expand.
There’s little chance of that happening though, seeing as the 3,300mAh battery the firm selected has not only been subjected to its extensive eight-point Battery Safety Check, but also tested by Underwriters Laboratories, a third-party company.
Most of the components found within the handset are modular and can be replaced independently, says iFixit, but having to remove the fragile (and expensive) rear panel to access the parts should be enough to convince customers to visit a support centre.
For this reason, the folks over at iFixit assigned the Galaxy Note 8 a repairability score of four out of ten; I guess Samsung’s main aim was to build a successor to the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7 that didn’t burst into flames, not one that was super easy to repair.
The Galaxy Tab A (2017) just went official in Vietnam. It’s a mid-range tablet with a metal body and price tag of VND 6,490,000 (about $285). It’s available for purchase from retail stores across the country. It features an 8-inch TFT screen, a quad-core processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage, a microSD card slot, and a 5,000 mAh battery.
The tablet runs Android 7.1 out of the box. The Galaxy Tab A (2017) also features an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with autofocus, f/1.9 aperture, LED flash, 1080p video recording, and an HDR Pro mode. The front-facing camera has a resolution of 5 megapixels. Connectivity features include LTE, GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, dual-band Wi-Fi b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.2, microUSB 2.0 port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
There’s also something called a Home Mode on the Galaxy Tab A (2017), which shows useful information such as calendar, date, time, weather, and rotates wallpapers intelligently when it’s being charged. The tablet comes packed with a 5,000 mAh battery, and the company claims that it can last up to 15 hours of Internet usage over LTE or Wi-Fi. The device could be launched in other markets over the next few weeks.
An unannounced variant of the Galaxy S8 Active has been spotted on the Wi-Fi Alliance’s online database. The handset’s model number (SM-G892U) is similar to the standard model (SM-G892A), which hit the shelves last month, though the inclusion of the letter U leads us to believe it’s an unlocked version.
If that turns out to be the case, the Galaxy S8 Active will be the first Active-branded device to launch outside of AT&T since the Galaxy S5 Active. There’s also a chance it could make its way to other regions, including Asia and Europe—but that doesn’t seem as likely as it hitting the open market in North America.
The Galaxy S8 Active is near-identical to the Galaxy S8; it sports the same Snapdragon 835 processor, 4GB of RAM and 12MP camera. However, Samsung has switched the meagre 3,000mAh battery for a 4,000mAh one, and replaced the elegant glass body with a military-grade polycarbonate shell.
We have to say, this news is hardly surprising. When AT&T announced the Galaxy S8 Active back in August, it revealed that it would only exclusively offer the handset for a limited time, instantly sparking a mass of rumors claiming it will be available somewhere else in the future. It’s beginning to look like they were right.
For a limited time only, you can bag yourself Samsung’s Dual-Port Car Fast Charger, which is capable of charging a Fast Charge-enabled handset from 0 to 50% in around half an hour, for just $17.83 (62% off).
If you like the sound of this promotion and want to take advantage of it, hit the Buy Now button below. We advise you to hurry though as Amazon only has a limited amount of inventory available for this specific deal and it’ll probably sell out fast.
Samsung has revealed that approximately 395,000 customers pre-ordered the Galaxy Note 8 when reservations opened in South Korea on Thursday, outpacing its ill-fated predecessor, which managed to draw in 380,000 pre-orders over a 13-day period.
That’s an impressive feat, especially when you consider the fact the Galaxy Note 8 is Samsung’s most expensive smartphone to date, carrying a price tag of 1,090,000 won ($964) for the 64GB variant and 1,250,000 won ($1,107) for the 256GB version.
It’s unclear whether the Galaxy Note 8 has what it takes to outsell the much-loved Galaxy S8, which racked up an impressive 550,000 pre-orders in two-days, though with almost 400,000 reservations in just 24-hours, it certainly seems feasible.
65 percent of customers who reserved a handset opted for the 64GB model, with the most popular color being Deepsea Blue, reports The Korea Herald, adding that analysts expect pre-orders to exceed one-million units by September 14.
We presumed that a lot of loyal Galaxy Note fans would gravitate towards the near-identical Galaxy S8+ when they found out the Galaxy Note 8 sported a smaller battery and a less ergonomic build—but that’s clearly that’s not the case.
The official release of the Galaxy Note 8 is scheduled to take place on September 21; however, customers who pre-order the device will receive it starting September 15, if not a little earlier, like some lucky folks in the United States.
Now, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ have gained HDR video playback on YouTube. If you have the latest version of YouTube app installed on your Galaxy S8 or S8+, you can see HDR written when you try to change the video resolution manually. Right now, we can only see 1080pHDR as the maximum resolution even when playing 4K HDR videos. So, we’re not sure if the phones would be able to play QHD or 4K HDR videos.
Earlier this week, Netflix added support for HDR video playback on the recently announced Galaxy Note 8, but not the Galaxy S8 or S8+ yet. Let us hope the Galaxy Tab S3 gains HDR video playback through Netflix and YouTube. Samsung is equipping all its high-end TVs, smartphones, and tablets with HDR-capable screens so that users can enjoy immersive content on their devices.
Popular watch face platform Facer has teamed up with a number of leading watchmakers, including Manufaktur Waldhoff and Maurice Lacroix, to bring their coveted traditional dials to digital smartwatches. A total of sixteen high-end watch faces are included in the new Watchmaker Series, with more set to be added in the coming weeks.
In addition to the new watch faces, Facer has treated its Android application to a much-requested makeover, which bundles an analytics suite, edge-to-edge cover images, a flexible media carousel, verified accounts and an overall improved focus on video to—hopefully—allow brands to effectively showcase their creations, thus driving sales.
More notably, the update introduces “Brand Protector,” an in-house feature designed to automatically detect and flag designs published by users on the Facer platform that may infringe existing copyrights and trademarks—so expect to see the abundance of Audemars Piguet and Rolex watch faces disappear from the market pretty soon.
Facer 4.0 is available to download from the Play Store.
Samsung is still leading the virtual reality race, according to a new report published by research firm IDC; however, like last quarter, Sony is gaining ground with the success of its more functional PlayStation VR headset.
It’s hardly a surprise that Samsung has been at the forefront for as long as it has; it regularly awards complimentary Gear VR headsets to customers who pre-order its latest flagship smartphones, including the Galaxy S8.
But, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. The question is: How long can Samsung maintain its lead, before Sony takes over? At the rate it’s churning out new headsets, we’d say a few more months.
Despite its design comprising of a thin metal frame sandwiched in between two slabs of glass, the Galaxy Note 8 is actually a pretty durable smartphone. At least, that’s what a video uploaded to JerryRigEverything’s YouTube channel would lead you to believe.
In the five-minute video, the Galaxy Note 8 is scratched, but not until a high level of pressure is applied, so you don’t have to worry about a rogue razor blade leaving any blemishes on your shiny new handset—and even burned in a slightly unrealistic flame test.
Needless to say, we’re very impressed with the build quality of the Galaxy Note 8, though seeing as the Galaxy S8 also survived JerryRigEverything’s strenuous testing process, we’d be lying if we said we weren’t expecting to the device to perform exactly as it did.
Announced last month, the stylus-toting Galaxy Note 8 sports a 6.3-inch Infinity Display, a Snapdragon 835 processor, 6GB of RAM, a 12MP dual-camera setup, an 8MP front-facing shooter and a 3,300mAh battery. For more details, be sure to check out our hands-on coverage.
The Galaxy Tab A2 S is an unannounced tablet from Samsung that appeared in Samsung’s official changelog two months ago. It is supposed to be budget-friendly for children. It wasn’t announced at the last Unpacked event, and there’s a fair chance that the South Korean brand will quietly launch it in the near future. Now, images of the tablet have leaked, showing its physical design.
The Galaxy Tab A2 S is rumored to run Android 7.0 out of the box, and will come in two variants: Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi + LTE. The tablet comes with an 8-inch display HD (1280 x 800 pixels) display, a 1.4GHz Snapdragon 425 processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with autofocus and LED flash, and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera with a fixed-focus lens.
The tablet is expected to come packed with a 5,000 mAh battery and a USB Type-C port for charging and data transfer. The Wi-Fi only variant of the Galaxy Tab A2 S could cost €200 in Europe, but customers will have to shell out €100 more if they want LTE connectivity in the device. It could be offered in Black and Gold.
