Happy New Year! We have got great things in store for 2019

Happy New Year to you from all of us here at SamMobile. We hope that you have a great time enjoying the festivities to ring in the new year wherever you may be in the world. We’ll be back to work from tomorrow as we have a lot of great things lined up for 2019. We’ll be releasing a brand new SamMobile app for Android in the first half of 2019. Our team has been working diligently on it and all I can say right now is that you’re really going to love...

Behind closed doors: How Samsung let us down in 2018

While it has been a great year for us Samsung fans in many ways, the company has seen a few bumps along the way in 2018. Its smartphone sales have dipped, Bixby is still far from what it should be in the heavily competitive virtual assistant market, the company’s mid-range and budget lineups are falling farther behind the competition, and as 2018 comes to a close, we still don’t have a proper look at Samsung’s foldable smartphone. We have already...

Behind closed doors: How Samsung impressed us in 2018

For Samsung fans, 2018 was an eventful year. It launched its usual Galaxy S and Galaxy Note flagships (the latter with a big battery), released phones with triple-camera and quad-camera setups, brought us the beautiful new One UI along with Android Pie, and picked up the pace with security updates for various devices. It also introduced gradient colors to its devices, launched an (expensive) 8K TV, announced Bixby 2.0, and even surprised us...

Galaxy Note 9 getting yet another Android Pie beta update

The Galaxy Note 9 is now receiving another new Android Pie beta update, the fourth one to be precise. The update is rolling out in India, Germany, and South Korea and is a minor one with a small changelog. It should also be available in other countries where the beta program was launched. The software version accompanying the new update is N960FXXU2ZRLT. While we were hoping the third Note 9 beta...

Night mode is missing an important option on stable Galaxy S9 Pie update

From the very first Android Pie test builds for the Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy Note 9, Night mode was a feature that grabbed our attention. It’s an official dark theme from Samsung for those who currently have to turn to the Samsung Themes store for a solution, and it makes the already beautiful One UI look even better. However, based on the Android Pie user manuals Samsung has published for the Galaxy...

Galaxy S9 Android Pie user manual now available on Samsung’s website

Samsung’s surprise release of the final Android Pie update for the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ wasn’t followed by any sort of official announcement. But the company is likely to fix that once the update starts to roll out to more countries around the world, and while that moment could be a few days or even weeks away, Samsung is carrying the momentum forward and has updated the Galaxy S9 user manual with references to Android Pie. Not much useful info...

Final Galaxy S9 Pie update may have a serious battery drain issue

The final version of the Galaxy S9 Android Pie update is impressively stable, or so it seemed. Yours truly still stands by his opinion that the update is quite stable overall for such a quick release, but it looks like a battery drain issue may have slipped past Samsung’s bug checking team. I just saw my Galaxy S9+ go down from 10 percent battery to 5 percent in a matter of seconds, without the phone...

Exclusive: Samsung working on a second Galaxy Home smart speaker

Samsung’s Galaxy Home hasn’t hit retail yet, but what the company showed off at the Galaxy Note 9 launch made it clear the Galaxy Home is meant to be a premium product. Pricing is yet to be revealed, but with features such as AKG audio, eight microphones, the ability to direct sound towards the user’s position, and a classy design, the first Bixby-powered speaker is likely going to compete with the Apple HomePod, which retails for $349. But in...

SamMobile Daily Recap, December 28, 2018: Galaxy Note 9 Pie info, Galaxy A50, 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 covered today. Phones Galaxy A50 could come with 4,000 mAh battery and 24MP camera [Update: With Infinity-V displays] Samsung may unveil...

New Good Lock plugin tells you which app secretly vibrated your phone

Samsung Good Lock is all about heavy-handed customization, and the 2018 iteration offers a number of interesting functionality through the use of individual apps. Samsung has now released a new app for Good Lock 2018 called Nice Catch. The premise? You can now catch apps that secretly vibrate or ring your phone in the act. No more secret vibrations Nice Catch can detect a number of things, such as...

Galaxy A50 could come with 4,000 mAh battery and 24MP front camera

With the Galaxy Note 9, Samsung finally gave us a big battery on a (mainstream) flagship device. Big batteries on mid-range and budget Galaxies have been less rare, but 2019 may see the Korean giant further pushing battery sizes on mid-range and budget phones. The Galaxy M20 is rumored to have a 5,000 mAh battery, and in the upcoming A series lineup, Samsung may be putting a 4,000 mAh battery on the Galaxy A50, according to GalaxyClub. Samsung going...

Final Galaxy Note 9 Android Pie update possibly coming by January 15

The final Galaxy S9 Android Pie update was released in some countries a day before Christmas. The update is yet to reach most countries, but it sure came as a surprise. The Galaxy Note 9 beta program hasn’t ended, though, as Samsung released a new Note 9 beta update earlier today. That means the January timeframe the company announced for the Android Pie update is still in effect, but the wait for...

[Poll] Are you using Night mode on Android Pie on your Galaxy S9 or Note 9?

Android Pie for the Galaxy devices brings many new features, along with a major upgrade for the user interface. One UI is beautiful, and while some aspects may not appeal to everyone (like the default app icons), One UI manages to be fresh yet familiar at the same time. Perhaps the best part is the new inbuilt Night mode, which makes the entire UI darker to make it easy on your eyes in the dark, also removing the need to download dark third-party...

New Galaxy Note 9 Android Pie beta update rolling out

The Galaxy S9 may have been updated with the final version of Android Pie, but the Galaxy Note 9 Pie beta program hasn’t ended yet. Samsung is rolling out a new beta update for the Galaxy Note 9 today. The update is available in the US and India at the moment, but it should also be rolling out in other countries where the beta program was launched. The software version is getting bumped to N960FXXU2ZRLR...

Official Galaxy S9 Android Pie update doesn’t include Adoptable Storage support

Samsung’s final version of Android Pie that is rolling out for the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ does not come with support for Adoptable Storage. The feature was found in the leaked Pie firmware for Snapdragon Galaxy S9s in the US, suggesting Samsung could finally bring it to Galaxy smartphones. It didn’t actually work in the leaked firmware, and the official Pie update does not include the feature at...

Samsung introduces Remote Access to Smart TVs

Samsung has just announced a ‘Remote Access’ feature for its upcoming Smart TV lineups. The feature will provide users wireless, on-screen control over connected peripheral devices, including PCs, tablets, and smartphones. Users can remotely control compatible programs and apps on their connected devices through their Samsung Smart TV. Remote Access for Smart TVs Earlier this year, Samsung...

Galaxy S10+ screen protector almost perfectly fits a Galaxy Note 7

Remember the Galaxy Note 7? The last of Samsung’s flagship smartphones with the traditional home button and big bezels met an unfortunate early demise, and the company moved on to the Galaxy S8 and introduced us to the Infinity display, which threw away most of that bezel and the home button for a higher screen-to-body ratio. Come next year, Samsung will bring us the Galaxy S10 with even smaller bezels,...

Love using Bixby? Maybe don’t update to Android Pie on your Galaxy S9

Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ owners who love using Bixby for controlling various aspects of the phone might want to hold off from updating to Android Pie. As one of our readers pointed out, Bixby 2.0 on Android Pie on the Galaxy S9 fails to understand many commands that worked with Bixby 1.0. And it turns out that it’s Bixby 2.0 to blame and not the new Android version. The same commands fail on a Galaxy...

SamMobile Daily Recap, December 26, 2018: Galaxy S10, new Galaxy Fit, 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 covered today. Phones Galaxy S10 front camera may have the same animation as the Galaxy A8s Samsung may unveil the Galaxy M series smartphones...

The stable Galaxy S9 Android Pie update really does seem… stable

I have no intention to jinx things for Samsung and for the millions of Galaxy S9 and S9+ owners who will soon download the official Android Pie update, but it looks like the company has managed to get a stable release out the door without bugs. The random reboots that plagued Android Oreo despite months of testing are nowhere to be seen, and neither are minor bugs or app crashes. Considering Pie has come out in nearly half the time, that’s quite...

Exclusive: Colors and more for upcoming Galaxy tablets, smartwatches

We often share information about Galaxy products that are in the early stages of development. It was exclusively reported last week that Samsung is working on a new smartwatch with model number SM-R500 and codename Pulse. We can share some information about a few upcoming smartwatches and tablets from Samsung. Samsung has several new devices in development Samsung has a couple of new wearables with model number SM-R370 and SM-R375 in development....

Samsung may cut back spending on expanding its chip production facilities

Samsung’s semiconductor business has seen astronomical growth in the last couple of years, making the company the largest chipmaker in the world dethroning Intel. The Korean giant’s chip business has been the biggest contributor to the company’s record-high earnings in the recent quarters. Despite the stellar performance, there were always doubts about sustainability given that a large part of this success came from transient demand factors in the...

Samsung’s Android Pie firmware hints at 3D scanning for upcoming phones

Next year, Samsung is going to hop on the 3D facial scanning bandwagon that has gripped the smartphone industry since Apple introduced Face ID technology with the iPhone X. Some proof of that has shown up in the Android Pie firmware that Samsung has released for the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy Note 9. XDA Developers has found code in Samsung’s system app for biometric security that suggests the Korean giant...

Samsung C-Lab to showcase eight new AI projects at CES 2019

Samsung has announced that it will showcase eight new innovative projects at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2019. Developed from C-Lab (Creative Lab), Samsung’s in-house startup incubator, the new projects are related to Artificial Intelligence (AI). In addition, eight C-Lab spin-offs will also showcase their newly released commercial products at the event. The 2019 edition of the annual tech trade show will be held in Las...

Sound on Display Samsung OLED panels to be shown off at CES 2019

The Sound on Display Samsung OLED panels could arrive in 2019. Samsung has already revealed this technology earlier this year. It uses vibration and bone conduction to transmit sound in smartphones. Sound on Display is one of the methods that Samsung has been considering to kill the notch. The company provided a few details about this technology at the Samsung OLED Forum conference in China a couple of months back. Sound on Display Samsung OLED panels...

Samsung may unveil the Galaxy M series smartphones next month

We have seen enough evidence already to confirm that Samsung is gearing up to launch Galaxy M series smartphones in the near future. From our exclusive reports and benchmark listings, we also have an idea about the possible color options, storage variants, and specifications. Thanks to a new report today, we now have information about the launch time frame as well. According to a report from the Indian news agency IANS, Samsung is planning to unveil...