Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge January 2018 security update released in China

Samsung seems to be moving quickly with the January 2018 security patch, as we have now seen three days in a row of its release to compatible handsets. Early on in the month, we saw low-end devices like the Galaxy J1 mini Prime and mid-range devices like the Galaxy A5 (2017) receive the patch.

The January 2018 security patch is now being rolled out to the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge in China.

Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge January 2018 update

These are now the second flagship-level devices to receive the update so far this month, so it is only a matter of time before we see more flagships receiving the patch.

The latest security patch comes with fixes for six critical vulnerabilities in the Android operating system. It also includes fixes for several low, moderate and high-risk vulnerabilities. The update also patches 13 Vulnerabilities and Exposures (SVE) items that were discovered in Samsung’s software.

Samsung is rolling out firmware version G9300ZCU2BQL3 and G9350ZCU2BQL3 for the Galaxy S7 (SM-G9300) and Galaxy S7 edge (SM-G9350) in China, respectively. The firmware files are available for download from our firmware section for the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge. It’s only a matter of time before these devices receive this latest security update in other markets.

The post Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge January 2018 security update released in China appeared first on SamMobile.

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[Poll] How’s the latest Galaxy S8 Oreo beta working for you?

The Android 8.0 Oreo beta program for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ is at an end. Samsung had revealed that the beta program would come to a close on January 17th, and while the company didn’t make a final announcement that the program has indeed ended, we’re not expecting to see any more betas. Samsung is working on releasing the final build of Oreo sometime this month for beta testers, and while we wait for that to happen, we thought we’d ask you, our readers, about their opinion on the last Galaxy S8 Oreo beta.

 Latest Oreo beta is almost good as a stable build for us

I’m the only one here at SamMobile who is using the beta on my primary device, and the latest version of the beta is working mighty fine for me. I’ve only seen my S8+ acting up when trying to fire up the iris scanner. There are times when the iris scanner doesn’t immediately start scanning my eyes and makes me wait a few seconds. I also recall seeing Chrome crash in the background twice, but that’s about it. The overall experience has been a smooth one, which is great since it means Samsung doesn’t have a lot to do before it can start rolling out the official Oreo update.

What about you? How’s the latest beta running on your Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+? Let us know by selecting an answer in the poll and by getting a discussion going in the comments section!

How's the latest Galaxy S8 Oreo beta working for you?

• No issues here, it's great
• Some slowdowns, but otherwise fine
• I see app crashes and slow performance
• It was so bad I went back to Nougat
• I have frequent app crashes

Results

• No issues here, it's great 43%, 6 votes
  6 votes 43%

  6 votes - 43% of all votes
• Some slowdowns, but otherwise fine 29%, 4 votes
  4 votes 29%

  4 votes - 29% of all votes
• I see app crashes and slow performance 14%, 2 votes
  2 votes 14%

  2 votes - 14% of all votes
• It was so bad I went back to Nougat 14%, 2 votes
  2 votes 14%

  2 votes - 14% of all votes
• I have frequent app crashes 0%, 0 votes
  0 votes

  0 votes - 0% of all votes

Total Votes: 14

18 January 2018 - 26 January 2018

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You or your IP had already vote.

• No issues here, it's great
• Some slowdowns, but otherwise fine
• I see app crashes and slow performance
• It was so bad I went back to Nougat
• I have frequent app crashes

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Results

The post [Poll] How’s the latest Galaxy S8 Oreo beta working for you? appeared first on SamMobile.

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Here are the winners for our Gear Sport giveaway from December

The SamMobile premium giveaway winners have been selected for the month of December. What was the prize and who won? We gave away three Gear Sport smartwatches for December, and the usernames of the lucky winners are listed below. Please don’t forget to check your email if you’re the winner; contact us through our contact page if you haven’t received an email.

For the month of January, we shall once again be giving away a Gear Sport to three lucky folks, so make sure you sign up for our premium memberships to be able to take part in the giveaway and get a host of other benefits! You are enrolled in the giveaway automatically if you’re a premium member, so there’s no need to manually enter.

SamMobile premium December giveaway winners

Username	Country
43colburn	USA
jmrnoronha	India
Shaney73	UK

The post Here are the winners for our Gear Sport giveaway from December appeared first on SamMobile.

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Tip: Double tap software home button on Always On Display to launch camera

Always On Display (AOD), following its debut on the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, has gained numerous customization options over time. AOD is now available on a slew of Samsung phones, and on devices with the Infinity display (such as the S8, Note 8, and the new A8 and A8+), you can also enable an always-on home button in AOD mode. This allows for quickly waking up the screen with a double tap, but did you know you can also set the AOD home button to launch the camera?

Since there’s no physical home button on the Galaxy S8, Galaxy Note 8, or the Galaxy A8 (2018), the quick launch camera feature is assigned to a double press of the power button. But, for those who prefer the old way of double pressing the home button, Samsung has built in an option in the AOD settings that, when enabled, lets you double tap the software home button to open the camera app. It’s also useful for consumers in India where Samsung has disabled the power button shortcut for the camera as the power button is also used for making emergency calls.

To enable the AOD camera launch shortcut, follow the steps below.

How to enable AOD home button camera shortcut

Step 1: Open the Settings app on the phone and select Lock screen and security

Step 2: Then tap Always On Display. 

Step 3: Here, first tap Content to show and select either Home button and clock or information or Home button only, depending on what you want to see on the screen when AOD is enabled.

Step 4: Then, tap Double tap Home button and select the Quick launch camera option.

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That’s it. You can now double tap the home button when the phone is locked and in Always On Display mode to launch the camera app. For more tips and tricks for your Samsung phone, check out our tips and tricks section. Need help with the steps above? Leave a comment and we’ll do our best to help you out.

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The new Exynos 7885 SoC is arguably the Galaxy A8 (2018)’s best feature

A lot has been said about the new Galaxy A8 (2018) and Galaxy A8+ (2018), especially when it comes to how these handsets bring Samsung’s mid-range lineup closer to the flagships more than ever. What hasn’t been highlighted enough is the Exynos chip that powers these handsets. The Exynos 7885 is the first Exynos 7 series chip to sport performance-oriented Cortex-A73 cores (and also the first with Bluetooth 5.0 support), and in my experience with the A8+, I’ve come to realize that the new Exynos SoC makes for one of the most significant upgrades to the A series.

It’s what’s under the hood that counts

I’ve talked about how the Galaxy A7 (2017) disappointed me with its everyday performance, and I’d chalk it up to the fact that it was powered by a processor that’s all about efficiency (even though a Snapdragon chip with similar specs seems to perform better). The Exynos 7870 that powered last year’s A series phones was an octa-core chip with eight Cortex-A53 cores, and it just didn’t have the grunt to keep Samsung’s heavy (and still fairly unoptimized) software running without hiccups. My girlfriend is currently using the A7 (2017), and while her complaints of poor performance have only become more frequent in the last couple of months, that phone wasn’t a great performer out of the box, either.

Don’t Miss: Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018) initial impressions |

It’s a different story with the Galaxy A8+, however. Performance on this phone has been almost flagship-like in everyday usage, with the few stutters and hiccups here and there not getting in the way of the user experience. It’s not perfect: The A8+ slows down when apps are being installed or updated in the background, or when I try to switch between two apps quickly by double tapping the recent apps button. But, like the Infinity display or the Gear VR support, the A8+’ everyday performance makes it feel like a flagship without all the bells and whistles (or price tag) of an actual flagship. The 6GB of RAM helps, of course, but our experience with the A8 has been a similar one despite lower RAM on that model.

Now, as with most Samsung phones, it’s possible the A8 and A8+ will slow down after a few weeks or months of use, but things are looking promising right now. If anything, just the fact that there are two Cortex-A73 cores under the hood means the A8 or A8+ will not see the same kind of performance dip as their predecessors. Again, nothing’s certain until someone has used one of these phones for an extended period, but as it stands right now, I would argue that the new Exynos 7885 chipset is the Galaxy A8 and A8+’ best feature.

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