الغريب: 02/06/18

الثلاثاء، 6 فبراير 2018

Rumored Galaxy S10 specifications include AI chip and bigger battery

Almost two weeks before the scheduled launch of the Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S9+, purported specs of Samsung’s 2019 S-series flagship have surfaced in a new rumor out of China. The individual that has provided this information has been correct on multiple accounts in the past. Nonetheless, since it’s still way too early to be speculating about the Galaxy S10, take this information with a heavy dose of salt.

Rumored Galaxy S10 specifications

Given that the Galaxy S9 is going to be a minor update design-wise, one can expect Samsung to introduce major changes with next year’s flagship. As we see quite an emphasis on artificial intelligence across the industry, it makes sense that one of the purported specs includes a dedicated neural processing unit for enhanced AI features. Alongside it an updated Exynos processor and new UFS 3.0 memory; the latter of the two doubling the data transfer speed of the current generation while being more power efficient.

Support for 5G is also said to be present on the Galaxy S10, as 5G networks are expected to be commercialized in the coming year. Samsung may also employ a larger “L” shaped battery to improve battery life. Additionally, we may end up seeing the next generation of the Infinity Display, with an illustrious screen-to-body ratio of 93%. A big focus on 3D tech may also be present with features like facial recognition being improved.

Definitely take this information with a grain of salt, though, as we more than a year out from a potential release of this device. In the meantime check out some of the Galaxy S9 features we at SamMobile are looking forward to, and some leaked cases, renders, and specs for the much anticipated upcoming flagship.

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Rumor: Samsung working on a new Exynos 9810-powered NX camera

Two years back, Samsung exited the highly-competitive camera business. Well, although Samsung never officially announced the exit, it has officially retracted from some markets and hasn’t made any NX cameras since then. The decision obviously left many photography enthusiasts disappointed.

No evidence so far about a new NX camera

Now, there is a new rumor making rounds online that Samsung is working on a new NX camera. The source for this exciting rumor is an anonymous tip received by Mirrorless Rumors about Samsung’s new high-end APS-C camera powered by an Exynos 9810 SoC. Yes, Exynos 9810 is the same chipset Samsung will be using (along with Snapdragon 845 for select markets) in its Galaxy S9 series this year. The anonymous tip about Samsung’s new NX camera goes into great detail explaining all the features and specifications, albeit without corroborating evidence.

The 30.1-megapixel prototype camera in testing is apparently an NX1 retrofitted with a new APS-C sensor and Exynos 9810 chipset. The tipster says all major features of Exynos 9810 SoC are enabled in the camera. This equips the camera with an optional LTE-connectivity, GPS for location tagging, UHS-II support for high-speed SD cards, Bluetooth 5.0, 802.11ac, USB 3.1 Type-C for uncompressed output, etc. On the software front, the new prototype camera purportedly features an accelerometer-based shutter, which the tipster claims will most probably make it to the Galaxy S9. This does sound plausible given Samsung’s emphasis on camera features for the Galaxy S9 series. Interestingly, if the Galaxy S9 series indeed comes with a similar shutter feature then it might give some credibility to the rest of the details mentioned in the tip.

Before you get your hopes high, do remember there is absolutely no evidence so far about Samsung developing a new NX camera. Even the anonymous tipster says what he/she played with is a prototype based on an NX1, and there is no information about when and if it will ever hit the market. So, don’t put too much stock into the tip, parts of which are reproduced below:

“30,1 megapixels sensor (6720*4480) which is stacked (3-stack FRS) ISOCELL with Tetracell and dual-pixel AF. Extremely fast readout combined with 4K 120fps h/265 encode capability enable impressive framerates

“All features of Exynos 9810 are enabled (except a small part of GPU), so a huge amount of in-camera processing power, optional LTE-connectivity with eSIM, GNSS (GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou) for location tagging, SD 3.0 with UHS-II support for memory cards (up to 300 MB/s), Bluetooth 5 for continuous low-power connection and 802.11ac with 2×2 MIMO for fast image- and video transfer. USB 3.1 Type-C with DP enabled for uncompressed output up to 5K 30fps and 4K 60fps. There is a PCIe 3.0 x2 bus left if they decide to add something like a CFexpress card-slot, or Thunderbolt 3 or 10GbE.”

“Very impressive software feature was accelerometer-based shutter. You press the shutter, and the accelerometer registers the G-forces (acceleration). Then it takes a picture when the X- and Y-acceleration are closest to 0 and the Z-acceleration is closest to 1 (natural gravity).”

The Exynos 9810 is a powerful SoC with many bells and whistles. If Samsung indeed decides to use it in a camera, even if just to showcase the power and cutting-edge features of its flagship processor, there is no doubt it will result in a compelling camera. Circling back to the original point, though, we have yet to see any hard evidence about Samsung plotting a return to this market.

The post Rumor: Samsung working on a new Exynos 9810-powered NX camera appeared first on SamMobile.

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Samsung’s Voice Note app coming to Windows

Samsung’s stock apps have improved a lot in the last couple of years. Samsung Internet (browser), Samsung Email, Samsung Music Player, S Health, Samsung Keyboard, etc. have all received new features and UI updates to turn them into good alternatives for Google’s Android apps. Though often ignored, Samsung’s Voice Recorder app is one such default app which is better than even many paid options available out there.

With Samsung also making high-end 2-in-1 PCs, the company is now trying to bring some of its Android apps and features to the Windows platform to offer a more uniform experience across its products. Samsung published a promotional video on YouTube for its Voice Note app for Windows, confirming its imminent launch for the desktop operating system. Though named Voice Note, it seems to be the same Voice Recorder app that’s already available on Samsung’s Android smartphones. Even the icon is the same.

No information about availability yet

The video highlights use cases of the voice note app in classrooms where students can effortlessly record notes for easy retrieval and replay when needed. Users can also bookmark specific parts in the voice notes for easy navigation. The app allows sharing of voice notes using the new Windows 10 share menu. From the video, it appears that the app is built to take advantage of many new features implemented in Windows 10.

Much of the functionality shown in the video is already available in the Android version of the Voice Recorder app. Still, it’s a welcome sign to see Samsung bringing its feature-packed app to Windows PCs. Voice Note app combined with Windows 10 inking features can come in truly handy in office meetings and classrooms.

Currently, there is no information about the availability of the app. It is unclear if it will be limited to Samsung PCs only, although, based on some CES hands-on videos, the app is expected to make its debut on the newly announced Samsung Notebook 9 (2018) PCs. Given that Samsung has made its S Note, SideSync and Flow app available for all Windows users, there is a possibility of Samsung doing the same for its Voice Note app as well.

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Bixby may help you set up your Galaxy smartphone in the future

It goes without saying that Samsung’s Bixby digital personal assistant is here to stay and its capabilities will only improve in the future. While it’s not capable of doing this right now, it’s possible that Bixby might help you set up your Galaxy smartphones in the future with voice commands.

This won’t really be a groundbreaking feature, though, given that other assistants are capable of doing this already. Microsoft allows users to rely on Cortana to set up a Windows 10 PC with voice commands. It would likely do that on smartphones as well if Microsoft or OEMs made Windows 10-powered smartphones anymore.

Using Bixby to set up a Galaxy smartphone

Users have to go through the process of setting up their handset whenever they power it up for the first time or perform a factory reset. The steps involve activating it on a carrier, connecting to Wi-Fi, punching in the credentials and consenting to a bunch of things before the device can be used.

It’s not really a cumbersome process, to be honest, I personally feel Bixby won’t shave off a lot of precious time from the setup process if I just decided to do it manually. The performance of this feature will depend upon how much better Bixby gets at recognizing voice commands to offer any real benefit or simply risk becoming a novelty.

The possibility that Bixby might help you set up your Galaxy smartphone using voice commands stems from some strings discovered in the SetupWizard APK of the leaked Galaxy Note 8 Oreo beta. It would be a far-fetched assumption to suggest that this feature might be included in the Galaxy S9 because there has really been no concrete evidence to support this theory.

The strings discovered in the APK betray phrases like “Hi, I’m Bixby! Let’s set up your phone,” and “You can read a button aloud to move on, or tap if you prefer.” So the way this would work is that if you’re supposed to tap on the Next button to move forward, you can simply say “Next” and Bixby will take you to the following step.

This will only be truly useful if users are no longer required to say the “Hi Bixby” hotword for every command. If Bixby isn’t always listening for a command during the setup process and users either have to press the hardware button or say, Hi Bixby, every single time it just defeats the purpose. Bixby 2.0 is expected to eliminate that requirement.

So while it’s completely possible that Bixby could help you set up your Galaxy smartphone, a lot has to improve before this starts to make sense.

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Samsung might establish second semiconductor production line at Pyeongtaek facility

We’ve heard reports about a significant capacity increase at Samsung’s Pyeongtaek fab since last year as the company was believed to have allocated $14 billion for that purpose. According to a new report out of South Korea, Samsung is now thinking about setting up a second semiconductor chip production line near Seoul as it anticipates rising demand for semiconductors.

The report claims that Samsung executives are in talks with officials in Pyeongtaek about setting up a new chip production line in the city that lies some 70 kilometers outside Seoul. It also adds that no specific size or timing of investment has been determined as yet.

Samsung yet to make final decision

Samsung started mass production at its new semiconductor fabrication line in Pyeongtaek in July last year. It was initially focused on mass production of Samsung’s fourth-generation V-NAND memory product. Samsung started constructing the new facility in May 2015 and was able to get the fab line up and running in just over two years, the company likes to point out that this is the largest single fab in the industry.

The company said last year that it’s going to further improve its manufacturing capabilities by investing close to $30 billion in its global production facilities. It certainly has the money to invest in these endeavors and with its semiconductor division driving record profits for the company, it won’t be surprising if Samsung does decide to establish a second line at the Pyeongtaek facility.

A Samsung Electronics executive quoted in the report says that while the company has reviewed the possibility of adding another line, no final decision has been made yet. If and when the decision to establish a second line is made, it would be the company’s first major investment ever since Samsung’s heir apparent Lee Jae-yong was released from prison.

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[Poll] Would you be interested in buying the Galaxy S9 in Lilac Purple?

We exclusively reported in December last year that one of the color options for the Galaxy S9 will be a shade of purple. A Galaxy S9 render was leaked last night which revealed that this new color option is going to be called Lilac Purple. Samsung is going to launch the handset with four different color options and what we want to know is that whether you would be willing to give this hue a chance.

Galaxy S9 in Lilac Purple

The four color options for the Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S9+ include Midnight Black, Lilac Purple, Titanium Gray and Coral Blue. There doesn’t appear to be a gold color option even though Samsung has offered it for previous Galaxy S flagships. The company is also going to offer special and limited edition color options in select markets throughout the year.

What do you think about this new Lilac Purple color though? Do you think it’s a refreshing change from the black, blue and gold hues that we’ve become so used to now? Vote below and share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

Would you be interested in buying the Galaxy S9 in Lilac Purple?

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Check out Android 8.0 Oreo screenshots from the Galaxy Note 8

While the official Oreo beta program from Samsung only targeted the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, a test build for the Galaxy Note 8 had also leaked around a month ago. Since then, quite a few Oreo builds for the Note 8 have surfaced (mainly for the Snapdragon variant), and the latest ones are release candidate builds (with the February security patch included), which means they are stable enough to be released to the public unless Samsung discovers serious bugs down the line.

Galaxy Note 8 Oreo screenshots

The Note 8 will get the Samsung Experience 9.0 UX like the Galaxy S8 and S8+, but since most of us haven’t had the chance to try out Oreo on our Note 8s, we’ve put together a few screenshots of the new software for your viewing pleasure. Naturally, Oreo on the Note 8 isn’t any different from what we’ve seen on the S8 (the S Pen functionality remains the sole differentiation). The list of new features is common for both flagships, and you can take a look at our coverage of those features in our What’s New With Android 8.0 Oreo series.

Of course, it remains to be seen when the Galaxy Note 8 will receive the official Android 8.0 Oreo update. It shouldn’t take too long after the update hits the Galaxy S8 and S8+; sadly, we’re still waiting for Samsung to release Oreo for the S8 duo. For consumers in some markets, that wait could extend until the end of February.

We’d like to give XDA forum member TJ Connor a shout-out for providing us these screenshots, which you can check out below.