SamMobile Daily Recap: November 24, 2017 — Galaxy S6, Gear S2 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.

Firmware News

Samsung reps say the Galaxy S6 will be updated to Android 8.0 Oreo

What’s New With Android 8.0 Oreo Part 12: Enhanced video player functionality

Laptops

Samsung Chromebook Pro may get a backlit keyboard soon

Phones

Microsoft Edition Galaxy Note 8 now available from Microsoft’s online store

TV

Samsung adds Amazon Prime Music to its Smart TVs

Watches

New Gear S2 software update targets battery optimization

Watchface Friday: Here are four of this week’s best watchfaces

The post SamMobile Daily Recap: November 24, 2017 — Galaxy S6, Gear S2 and more! appeared first on SamMobile.

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Watchface Friday: Here are four of this week’s best watchfaces

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.

Gear S3 classic

Mr. Time: Backlight by Mr. Time

Vakta SB01 by Vakta

Gear S3 frontier

DQS006 Lime Sports Watch by DQS

SMZ ‘Master’ by SMZ

The post Watchface Friday: Here are four of this week’s best watchfaces appeared first on SamMobile.

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New Gear S2 software update targets battery optimization

Whether the Gear S2 will ever be updated to Tizen 3.0 is unknown (it probably won’t, given it’s two years old at this point), but Samsung is continuing to support it with minor updates, with the latest one having gone live today. The update brings optimization for increased battery life and enhanced security, and that’s about it.

Gear S2 gets new update

The update is available on our Gear S2 in the Netherlands, but we’re guessing it’s also gone live in other regions or will do so in the near future. To grab the update, open the Samsung Gear app on your connected phone, go into settings, and then into the About gear section. It’s only 22 MB in size, so you should see it installed in a matter of minutes. The build number after the update will be XXU2EQJ2.

Should you discover anything new on your Gear S2 after the update is installed, do let us know in the comments. Also let us know if you’re seeing the update in your country.

The post New Gear S2 software update targets battery optimization appeared first on SamMobile.

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Samsung reps say the Galaxy S6 will be updated to Android 8.0 Oreo

Will the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge get the Android 8.0 Oreo update? Going by Samsung’s tradition of only releasing two major Android updates for every flagship, that would seem unlikely. But according to a couple of Samsung customer care representatives (from India, if we look at their names) who were asked the question by Reddit user CyberConCoder, Samsung is working on bringing Oreo to its first glass and metal flagship. Now, Samsung customer care executives are probably the least accurate source for such information, but at least one of the contacted reps seems very confident.

Android 8.0 Oreo for the Galaxy S6 on the cards?

Could it be that the company is finally doing what every Android manufacturer should be doing and extending the support period for its flagships for major Android upgrades to more than two years? No one can tell, although with even the mid-range Galaxy A series devices getting two Android version updates, it could be that Samsung wants customers paying top dollar for its flagships to feel more important. Even security updates are finding their way to older flagships ahead of the latest ones these days, so it’s certainly within the realm of possibility.

If the Galaxy S6 does end up getting Oreo, it would mean that the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 could end their support cycle on Android Q. Of course, that’s if Samsung is making changes to its policy instead of making an exception for the Galaxy S6. Extending support for flagships would undoubtedly come as the right move at this time, though. Considering how Apple is now on track to court consumers away from its Korean competitor with the notched yet bezel-less and OLED-toting iPhone X, Samsung is probably looking at other ways to ensure its flagship sales stay strong.

But, again, Samsung’s customer care has been wrong too many times in the past when it comes to details on software updates for devices, so we would suggest taking this information with a giant pinch of salt. We’ve reached out to Samsung for an official comment and will update this story once we get one, although we aren’t very hopeful of getting a conclusive answer since the company tends to stay mum on matters of software updates.

The post Samsung reps say the Galaxy S6 will be updated to Android 8.0 Oreo appeared first on SamMobile.

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What’s New With Android 8.0 Oreo Part 12: Enhanced video player functionality

With Android 8.0 Oreo, Samsung is building in enhanced functionality on its default video player app. Samsung’s video app has long been a feature-packed offering, even taking on some third-party apps, and while Oreo doesn’t bring changes that will be meaningful for every user, the video app is getting more customization option for video playback.

What’s New With Android 8.0 Oreo: Enhanced video player functionality

The first thing we noticed is a new Auto repeat option in the video player settings. When toggled, it will play the current video on loop. Samsung has also added a faster playback speed option. Videos can now be played 2x faster than normal, as opposed to only 1.5x on Nougat. The minimum playback speed, meanwhile, remains the same at 0.5x. Oh, and one change that many will welcome is that the back button will now exit the video app on a single press. On Nougat, it requires two taps of the back button.

There’s a lot more in Android 8.0 Oreo, and we’re sure Samsung will be adding features and changing things around in subsequent versions of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ Oreo beta and in the final release. Our What’s New with Android 8.0 Oreo series is your one-stop destination to see everything that’s new, and we’ll keep adding more information as we continue to play around with and discover stuff in the Android 8.0 beta.

Note: If you’re wondering why you don’t see the video player app in your app drawer, it’s because the video player is only accessible when you open a saved video from the gallery or other apps. Once you play a video, you can tap on the three-dot button on the top right to go into the video player settings. You can also download the Samsung Video Library app to be able to check out all your device’s videos from one location. 

The post What’s New With Android 8.0 Oreo Part 12: Enhanced video player functionality appeared first on SamMobile.

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Samsung Chromebook Pro may get a backlit keyboard soon

Samsung unveiled the Chromebook Plus/Pro at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year. The company released the new Chromebooks a couple of months later. The Chromebook Pro is particularly popular given its decent specs and brilliant display. However, many customers feel that it should have had a backlit keyboard as well.

It appears that Samsung is going to address this customer pain point soon. Some evidence has surfaced to suggest that the company is going to add a backlit keyboard to the Chromebook Pro.

Backlit keyboard for Chromebook Pro

Chrome Unboxed has discovered the addition of a keyboard backlight to the Samsung Chromebook Pro device board. This suggests that Samsung has decided to make amends for the oversight. A backlit keyboard might help Samsung win over potential customers who decided not to purchase the Chromebook Pro for this reason.

However, it’s unclear if Samsung is producing a second run of the existing Chromebook Pro with the new backlit keyboard or if it’s going to release a new variant of the Chromebook Pro. Previous reports have suggested that Samsung has a more powerful version of the Chromebook Pro in the pipeline.

Samsung is also reportedly working on a new 2-in-1 Chromebook. The company normally announces such products at the Consumer Electronics Show so we’ll have to wait until January to find out more.

The post Samsung Chromebook Pro may get a backlit keyboard soon appeared first on SamMobile.

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