Samsung’s ‘Metal 12’ magnesium alloy destined for future Galaxy and Gear devices

Samsung’s new Notebook 9 (2018) is made from “Metal 12,” that’s what the company is calling its durable and lightweight magnesium-aluminum alloy. The company has now filed a trademark for the term Metal 12 and the filing suggests that this durable material may also be used for future Galaxy and Gear devices, i.e. smartphones and smartwatches.

Metal 12: A proprietary magnesium-aluminum alloy

Samsung introduced Metal 12 to the world as a durable but lightweight magnesium-aluminum alloy that it created. The material’s first outing on a consumer product is with the recently unveiled Notebook 9 (2018), the new material boosts the notebook’s portability due to its lightweight properties.

Samsung has filed for a trademark with the European Union Intellectual Property Office to protect the “Metal 12” moniker. The filing reveals that Samsung isn’t ruling out the possibility of using Metal 12 for devices like smartphones and smartwatches.

Rumors about Samsung using magnesium for its flagship Galaxy S smartphones have been around for a few years. Previous reports reveal that the company possibly tested a prototype of the Galaxy S7 made from a magnesium alloy but that’s not what we got with the final product.

It’s unlikely that Metal 12 will be used for the Galaxy S9 or even the Galaxy Note 9 for that matter. What this trademark registration does is cover Samsung until such time it decides to actually use this material for other products like smartphones and smartwatches. When it intends to do that is anybody’s guess right now.

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Galaxy J7 Prime and Galaxy Tab E Android 8.0 Oreo update confirmed

Samsung is yet to release Android 8.0 Oreo for flagship devices like the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 so it really can’t be said for sure when the update will filter down to its premium mid-range lineup, let alone compatible low-end devices. Nevertheless, one of its carrier partners has revealed that the Galaxy J7 Prime and Galaxy Tab E Android 8.0 Oreo update will arrive in due course.

Galaxy J7 Prime and Galaxy Tab E Android 8.0 Oreo update

Samsung has been running an Android 8.0 Oreo beta program for the past couple of months. It has only released beta firmware for the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+. The company is yet to confirm when it will roll out Oreo for all users but it’s expected to do that in the near future.

The company itself hasn’t said anything about the Android 8.0 Oreo update for the Galaxy J7 Prime and the Galaxy Tab E. The information comes from T-Mobile’s update tracker. The carrier has one on its website which informs users what stage the upcoming software update for their device is in.

The support pages for both handsets mention that the Oreo update is in “manufacturer development” phase. This means that Samsung is working on Android 8.0 Oreo for the Galaxy J7 Prime and Galaxy Tab E. It will obviously be released for these devices long after the flagships have had their turn.

If T-Mobile is due to receive this update, users on other carriers and in other markets can result assured that they will get Oreo on their units as well later this year.

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US Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ models clear the FCC

We already know when the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ will be unveiled, Samsung confirmed that much at CES 2018 earlier this week. Therefore, it’s not surprising to see the US-bound models of the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ clearing the FCC. The Galaxy S9 bearing model number SM-G960U and the Galaxy S9+ with model number SM-G965U have made their customary FCC pitstop.

One step closer to release

These aren’t the first Galaxy S9 models that have stopped by the FCC. The international variants have already made this customary stop last month, even before Samsung confirmed that it’s next flagship smartphone will be unveiled at the Mobile World Congress 2018 in Barcelona next month.

The FCC filing reveals that the agency tested these two models on CDMA, GSM, UMTS and LTE networks. This means that just like last year, Samsung is going to release a single variant of the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ in the United States which the carriers can customize with their own branding if they so desire.

The models have support for all the relevant LTE bands, even T-Mobile’s band 66, so there won’t be any compatibility issues when they hit shelves in a couple of months.

We’ll be on the ground in Barcelona to bring you the latest developments from Samsung’s Galaxy S9 event. The Galaxy S9 is surely one step closer to release now.

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Galaxy J7 Pro updated with December security patch in India

A story about the December update hitting a budget phone here in January? Yes, not something we would like to focus on, but it’s important when a device is getting its first update months after it launched and went on sale in a particular market. That’s right, the Galaxy J7 Pro is finally getting its first software update in India, bringing with it the December 2017 security patch. Not the January patch, sadly, but J7 Pro users can probably wait a few more months for the next security update.

Galaxy J7 Pro gets December 2017 security patch

The update is a 421 MB download, bumps the build number up to J730GMDXU2AQL1, and carries a generic changelog, so don’t expect to see any new features or notable changes. To grab the update, go into the Settings app, tap Software update, then tap the Download updates manually option. You can also wait for the update to show up on its own, but is that something you really want to do after the already long wait you have endured to see the first software update on your Galaxy J7 Pro? No? We didn’t think so.

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