Samsung will unveil Galaxy S9’s Exynos processor on January 4

Qualcomm officially announced the Snapdragon 845 three weeks ago. Its latest flagship mobile processor is based on the same 10nm process as its predecessor. The Snapdragon 845 will likely power the North American, South American and Chinese variants of the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+.

The handsets will be powered by Samsung’s latest Exynos processor in other markets. Samsung is going to officially unveil its latest high-end Exynos processor on January 4. According to previous reports, it’s going to be called the Exynos 9810.

Galaxy S9’s Exynos processor

Samsung is teasing its next Exynos processor through the official Samsung Exynos Twitter account. The tweet mentions that this processor “goes beyond a component.”

It’s possible that this is a subtle hint to the advanced artificial intelligence capabilities of the new chip. Some reports have even suggested that it may have dedicated cores for artificial intelligence tasks but nothing is known for sure right now.

Samsung is going to announce its new flagship Exynos processor on January 4, 2018. The Galaxy S9 is going to be the first device to tout it. Samsung is expected to unveil the Galaxy S9 at the Mobile World Congress 2018 in February. The handset will likely be released at some point in the following month.

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December security patch update arrives on Galaxy A3 (2016) and A3 (2017)

Samsung is pushing out updates to a multitude of devices this week, and the latest devices to receive an update are the 2016 and 2017 models of the Galaxy A3, the smallest of Samsung’s premium mid-range phones that the company didn’t upgrade for the 2018 lineup. The update brings the December security patch to both devices; there’s nothing else of importance on offer, at least not in terms of user-facing features.

Galaxy A3 (2016) and Galaxy A3 (2017) owners can see if the update is available for their device by tapping the Download updates manually option in the Settings » Software update menu. The update will take time to propagate to all regions, so if it isn’t already available in your country, be sure to check again in a few days. It’s possible not every country will see an update with the December patch, as Samsung doesn’t release regular updates for non-flagship devices. In that case, you’ll just have to hold out until the company decides to release an update for your country with the most recent security fixes.

Thanks, Arif!

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What’s New With Android 8.0 Oreo Part 15: Automatically turn Wi-Fi on near known networks

Android 8.0 Oreo makes many significant changes to the operating system, both under the hood and in the user interface. There are also a few minor features that aren’t easy to find, especially ones that are part of stock Oreo and not exclusive to Samsung devices. One of these minor features is a new option in Wi-Fi settings that, when enabled, turns on Wi-Fi whenever the device is near a saved Wi-Fi network.

What’s New With Android 8.0 Oreo: Wi-Fi turns itself on near known networks

This works through location tracking; the device keeps track of where each saved Wi-Fi network is located. It’s a nifty feature, especially if you have ever forgotten to turn the Wi-Fi back on when you reach home after turning it off to avoid connecting to those saved public Wi-Fi networks that you don’t want to log in to. Of course, it’s also useful if you tend to turn Wi-Fi off to save battery juice when away from home or office, although the location tracking involved in making the Wi-Fi detection work is bound to negate any benefits that you’d benefit from disabling Wi-Fi.

But the feature works well, and the OS also notifies you each time it adds a particular Wi-Fi network to the list of saved networks. It’s disabled by default, and to enable it on a Galaxy S8 running the Oreo beta, you need to go into the phone’s settings, tap Connections, tap Wi-Fi, then go into advanced Wi-Fi settings by tapping the three-dot button on the top right. Here, toggle the Toggle on Wi-Fi automatically option. Naturally, keeping Wi-Fi on is recommended until the phone learns the location of your most frequently used networks.

To see more of what Android 8.0 Oreo brings to Samsung devices, check out our What’s New With Android 8.0 Oreo series.

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New Galaxy Note 8 update brings a fix for LTE data interruption

Samsung is pushing out a new update to the Galaxy Note 8 in Taiwan, bringing a fix for the issue of “intermittent interruption of LTE data.” That’s the only highlight in the changelog, and the firmware version (N950FXXU2BQKG) hasn’t changed from the last time, so this looks to be just a followup update. We’re not sure what kind of LTE data interruption Samsung is talking about, although we’re hoping the update fixes the problem with switching between 3G and 4G networks that at least one member of our team has been experiencing on his Note 8.

New Galaxy Note 8 update rolling out

It also remains to be seen if this update will be released for all regions or stay exclusive to a few countries. For now, if you’re using a Galaxy Note 8 in Taiwan, you can see if the update is available for your phone from the Settings » Software update menu. The rollout seems to have begun a couple of days ago, so it should have reached most eligible handsets at this point. We also have the latest firmware available in our database, so you can use a PC to manually install the latest software if the update isn’t available for you over the air.

Seeing the new update on your Galaxy Note 8?

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Samsung’s new 2-in1 Chromebook might come with a stylus

Last month, a new Samsung Chromebook under the codename ‘Nautilus’ was spotted in the Chromium Repository. The details in the commits pointed to a 2-in-1 device with a detachable keyboard.

Today, Chrome Unboxed has unearthed one more interesting titbit about the device. According to new commits, Samsung’s ‘Nautilus’ is expected to come with a stowable stylus just like the Chromebook Pro and Chromebook Plus in 2017.

A Pixelbook Competitor?

In the new commits by Jongpil Jung, who was earlier linked to Samsung by his email address and previous Samsung Chromebook commits, there are multiple references to inserting the pen, ejecting the pen, and the stylus tools menu reacting to these actions. These actions should sound familiar to anyone who has used any Samsung’s stylus-enabled devices in the past.

Samsung’s Chromebook Pro and Chromebook Plus were announced at CES 2017, and have generated a lot of interested in the Chrome OS ecosystem. It looks like Samsung is keen on pushing the envelope even further with this detachable 2-in-1 Chromebook. When launched, Samsung’s ‘Nautilus’ will compete with Google’s PixelBook in terms of form factor and features. Since PixelBook is priced too high for a Chromebook, Samsung’s offering will have better success in the market if it’s priced reasonably.

This year, Google has officially brought Android apps to Chrome OS, thereby effectively paving the way for making Chrome OS a replacement for Android on tablets. Android’s tablet market hasn’t been going anywhere with no interest from Google. Chrome OS with Android apps might very well become the new tablet OS of choice for all the OEMs going forward.

There is a chance that this new 2-in-1 Chromebook by Samsung will make an appearance at the CES 2018, even if it doesn’t go on sale immediately given the early stages of development.

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Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ swing by the FCC

The Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ have just passed an important milestone on their way to retail shelves, or at least an official announcement. Both handsets have been certified by the FCC on December 27th, just in time for New Year’s. As expected, there is no information on the phones’ specs listed in the FCC documents. There’s not even a standard design outline in there, which might be because some of the documents were submitted to the FCC way back in mid-November, at a time when the final design may not have been, well, finalized.

Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ by the FCC

The FCC has certified the international unlocked models carrying model number SM-G960F and SM-G965F (for the S9 and S9+ respectively). Naturally, further certifications will be necessary before Samsung can bring the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ to market, including those by the major carriers in the US. The devices were already being tested by authorities in China, and the FCC is another pit stop on the path to an official launch. It’s one of the more important pit stops, though, and the FCC certification suggests things are proceeding as planned as far as development on the two devices is concerned.

Does the December certification also mean that the Galaxy S9 could be unveiled early, as some rumors have suggested? Not really, especially if we consider the additional time Samsung is taking for making sure the batteries inside its flagships are safe after the Galaxy Note 7 debacle. Not to mention recent rumors have pegged the S9’s launch for MWC 2018, and there’s no logical reason for Samsung to mess with the launch schedule of its mainstream flagship line.

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Samsung launches Samsung Mobile Care insurance service in Spain

Samsung Electronics has announced the launch of Samsung Mobile Care in Spain. Launched in collaboration with the insurer Allianz Global Assistance, Samsung Mobile Care is a paid smartphone insurance scheme aimed at covering accidental damages for Samsung devices.

Samsung Mobile Care covers accidental damages

Under the scheme, customers can make a single payment of €129 (~$154) or €5.99 (~$7) per month during the 2-year coverage period. For that money, Samsung Mobile Care covers your Samsung smartphones from any physical damage during the plan period. Covered accidental damages include damage to the screen, cracks, breakage of glass, liquid damages etc. Theft and cosmetic damages are not covered under the policy. The plans also offer other benefits, like worldwide coverage when you travel abroad.

The website mentions users can claim for accidental damages twice in the 2-year coverage period. For each of those claims, Samsung charges a deductible of €79 (~94) as a service fee. Users can also request for renewal of the plan after the 2-year coverage period.

Currently, the scheme is applicable only for the Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge, Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, and the Galaxy Note8. The plan must be purchased and activated within 30 days from the date of your smartphone purchase.

Samsung already offers a similar insurance scheme in the US under the name Samsung Premium Care. The US plan offers a wide variety of benefits not covered under the standard warranty policy. They include home visits for repair, coverage for accidental damages, and extended warranty. Samsung Premium Care is free for the first month. After the first month, the service costs $11.99 per month. In the US, a customer can get a maximum of 3 accidental damage claims per 12-month period with $99 deductible.

While third-party accidental damage insurance plans were always available in many markets, it is always nice to see the device manufacturer offering the same. Considering how expensive replacing damaged screens for high-end Samsung phones can be, it may be a good investment for people who want complete peace of mind while using their expensive Samsung phones.

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New Android 8.0 Oreo now rolling out to the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+

Samsung has just started rolling out a new Android 8.0 Oreo beta firmware for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. Samsung is calling the latest release the “2nd beta” on our Indian unit of the S8+ and we don’t see the same update on our European variants, so it’s possible the new beta isn’t going to be released for beta testers from the first phase, at least not immediately. The software version of the latest beta is ZQLE, and like the last beta, this one also seems to be all about bug fixes. Not surprising, as all the new features have no doubt been implemented already and Samsung is likely to focus on ironing out any errors and bugs as we inch closer to the final release of Oreo for the Galaxy S8.

New Galaxy S8 and S8+ Android 8.0 Oreo beta rolling out

To see if the update is available on your Galaxy S8 (if you’re enrolled in the beta program, of course), go into the phone’s settings, tap Software update, then tap the Download updates manually option. It’s a 613 MB update, so make sure you’re using a Wi-Fi connection before you begin the download. As always, since this is a beta release, be sure to backup important data before updating. We’ll be digging into the new beta to see if anything has changed or improved; in the meantime, you can check our What’s New With Android 8.0 Oreo series to see all the major features that the latest version of Android brings to the Galaxy S8 and S8+.

Have you received the latest beta on your Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+?

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