Samsung Display and Universal Display Corporation extend OLED partnership

Samsung has been using OLED displays in its products for quite some time now and is also one of the biggest suppliers of OLED panels in the market. It sources phosphorescent OLED materials and technology from a company called Universal Display, they’re the building blocks for its OLED products. Samsung and Universal Display Corporation have announced today that they have signed long-term OLED material supply and license agreements.

Continuing supply of phosphorescent OLED materials

Universal Display Corporation supplies the UniversalPHOLED phosphorescent OLED materials used for manufacturing OLED panels. It will now continue to supply its proprietary materials and technology to Samsung Display for use in its OLED panels. This partnership will run through December 31, 2022 and may also be extended for an additional two-year period.

With rights to more than 4,500 issued and pending patents worldwide, Universal Display Corp has been a staple in the industry since 1994. “As Samsung continues expanding its OLED product roadmap and investments, we look forward to supporting its advancements with our highly-efficient, high-performing proprietary OLED technologies and UniversalPHOLED materials,” said Universal Display Corp CEO Steven V. Abramson.

Samsung’s display-making affiliate and the Universal Display Corporation have worked together for more than 18 years. This agreement is going to extend their partnership even further. Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed by either company.

The post Samsung Display and Universal Display Corporation extend OLED partnership appeared first on SamMobile.

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Samsung wants to accelerate the launch of Bixby-powered home appliances

Samsung showcased its vision for IoT by making many Bixby and SmartThings-centric announcements at CES 2018. Samsung announced its DRVLINE self-driving car platform, new Family Hub refrigerators, 2018 SmartTV line-up, etc. – all of them linked to Bixby in one way or another. Bixby is a key component of the Samsung’s IoT vision as technology is moving towards natural voice-based interaction with gadgets.

Samsung wants to accelerate the launch of Bixby-based home appliances to speed up AI advancement. The company will officially launch a new TV model in March in New York as part of the efforts. It is also planning to bring Bixby powered washing machines around the start of spring this year. “The time of the launches will vary slightly from country to country. It is part of a strategy to load Bixby into all of our products by 2020,” a Samsung Electronics official told the media.

Samsung wants all of its products to be IoT ready by 2020

Samsung has already outlined the new features coming to the 2018 SmartTV line-up. As expected, Bixby will play a central role in the new TV experience. The new features revolve around using Bixby for seamless setup, content discovery and sharing, smart home control, etc. Bixby-powered washing machines will gain smart features such as suggesting washing courses, detergent input, learning washing methods, ordering detergents, diagnosing product errors, etc.

AI assistants require huge amounts of user data to become smart. This is an area Samsung’s Bixby is lacking in comparison to the rivals. By launching many devices with Bixby, Samsung will be able to bridge the data gap and make its AI smarter. A smart AI assistant will immensely help Samsung in the IoT battle against rivals.

During the CES 2018 keynote, Samsung reiterated its plans to make all its products IoT ready by 2020. Currently, 90% of all the products Samsung makes are already IoT capable. Being a global giant in semiconductors, smartphones, and home appliances, Samsung has a tremendous opportunity to build a compelling IoT ecosystem powered by Bixby and SmartThings.

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New Galaxy S9 teaser videos published by Samsung

In less than two weeks from now, Samsung will be officially announcing the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ in Barcelona. As the official unveiling inches closer, Samsung is trying to pump up the hype by launching new teaser videos for the Galaxy S9 series.

Hints at low-light camera capabilities and 3D emoji

Samsung Mobile Korea has posted three teaser videos of 15 seconds each on its YouTube channel. These videos don’t reveal any significant details but seem to hint at the camera capabilities and the rumored 3D emoji of the Galaxy S9 series.

The first teaser video is a little more ambiguous in what it is trying to convey. Our guess is that it is trying to hint at the stereo speakers in the Galaxy S9 series. Also, at the 10 seconds mark, there is a not so subtle hint about the rumored 3D emoji. The second teaser video is more straightforward and is hyping up the Galaxy S9’s camera capabilities in low light conditions. The messaging of the third teaser video is again unclear, but it seems to be tilting towards performance improvements.

The Galaxy S9 series has been the subject of non-stop leaks and rumors in the last couple of months. Everything from the press renders and official accessories to the launch colors have been leaked online. We’re now seeing benchmarks surface and these leaks will continue in the days leading up to the launch event.

What do you make out of the teaser videos? Do they get you hyped up about the Galaxy S9? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section.

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Snapdragon 845-powered Galaxy S9+ with 6GB RAM benchmarked

The first Snapdragon 845 benchmarks were posted online earlier this week, giving us a glimpse of the performance gain we can expect from the new chip. With reports suggesting that Samsung’s Exynos 9810 will smoke its competitor from Qualcomm many were excited to see the first (unofficial) Galaxy S9 Exynos 9810 benchmark that surfaced online yesterday.

The benchmark results will continue to roll in now that the official launch of the Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S9+ is just around the corner. Today, a Snapdragon 845-powered Galaxy S9+ with 6GB RAM has surfaced on AnTuTu. The Galaxy S9+ is the only model that’s expected to feature 6GB RAM, the Galaxy S9 will only get 4GB.

Galaxy S9+ Snapdragon 845 benchmark

It goes without saying that the benchmark result can’t be independently verified right now because the Galaxy S9+ isn’t out. It’s not too difficult to fabricate benchmark results and it has happened in the past. Just bear that in mind even if the Galaxy S9+ Snapdragon 845 benchmark result seems accurate.

The AnTuTu listing is for the Galaxy S9+ model number SM-G9650, this particular variant will be headed to Hong Kong.The AnTuTu benchmark awarded it a score of 265267 points. Since the Exynos 9810 hasn’t surfaced on AnTuTu as yet the two can’t be compared on this benchmark. For the sake of comparison, the Snapdragon 835-powered Galaxy S8+ with 6GB RAM received a total score of 170641 points on AnTuTu.

Don’t be put off by the 1080×2020 pixel resolution in the benchmark result because the test is run in Full HD+ on AnTuTu. The Galaxy S9+ will have a 1440×2960 pixel resolution display with 18.5:9 aspect ratio as expected.

It’s likely that we’ll see the Exynos 9810-powered variants of the upcoming flagship smartphone surface on AnTuTu as well in the near future. Samsung is due to unveil the Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S9+ on February 25 in Barcelona, Spain.

The post Snapdragon 845-powered Galaxy S9+ with 6GB RAM benchmarked appeared first on SamMobile.

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[Poll] Does Samsung pulling Galaxy S8 Oreo update make you think twice about buying its phones again?

After a long beta test, Samsung finally released the Galaxy S8 Android 8.0 Oreo update last week for users who participated in the beta. The update was also rolled out for non-beta devices in about a dozen markets two days ago. We exclusively reported today that Samsung has stopped rolling out the Galaxy S8 Android 8.0 Oreo update and that it’s now working on a new version which will be released in the near future.

As you can probably imagine this isn’t something that Samsung fans have been happy to hear. They were already cross with Samsung for not rolling out the Oreo update quickly for the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+ and when it finally releases the update, Samsung pulls it after a couple of days for unexplained reasons.

Perhaps more work needs to be done on the firmware which is why Samsung has taken this decision. However, if this was the case, then Samsung shouldn’t be rolled out the update in the first place. A botched rollout from a company the size of Samsung is not something that many can forgive and with good reason.

So we have got to ask, will the whole Galaxy S8 Oreo update fiasco make you think twice before purchasing a Samsung smartphone again, flagship or otherwise? Vote below and share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.

Does Samsung pulling Galaxy S8 Oreo update make you think twice about buying its phones again?

• No, while unfortunate, setbacks like this can happen.
• Maybe, Samsung's update procedures are messed up.
• Absolutely. Never buying a Samsung phone again.
• No, I love Samsung phones and can never give them up.

Results

• No, while unfortunate, setbacks like this can happen. 50%, 1 vote
  1 vote 50%

  1 vote - 50% of all votes
• Maybe, Samsung's update procedures are messed up. 50%, 1 vote
  1 vote 50%

  1 vote - 50% of all votes
• Absolutely. Never buying a Samsung phone again. 0%, 0 votes
  0 votes

  0 votes - 0% of all votes
• No, I love Samsung phones and can never give them up. 0%, 0 votes
  0 votes

  0 votes - 0% of all votes

Total Votes: 2

14 February 2018

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You or your IP had already vote.

• No, while unfortunate, setbacks like this can happen.
• Maybe, Samsung's update procedures are messed up.
• Absolutely. Never buying a Samsung phone again.
• No, I love Samsung phones and can never give them up.

×

You or your IP had already vote.

Results

The post [Poll] Does Samsung pulling Galaxy S8 Oreo update make you think twice about buying its phones again? appeared first on SamMobile.

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Exclusive: Samsung stops Galaxy S8 Android 8.0 release, new version being developed

Samsung started rolling out the much-awaited Android 8.0 Oreo update for the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+ last week. As promised, the update was first released to members of the beta program before it was rolled out to non-beta devices earlier this week. The update had only been sent out in a handful of markets but in a rather unexpected turn of events, Samsung has stopped the Galaxy S8 Android 8.0 Oreo update release.

Galaxy S8 Android 8.0 release halted

Samsung started the Galaxy S8 Android 8.0 Oreo release a couple of days ago in markets like Turkey, Norway, the UAE, India, Belgium, Germany, France, Poland and others. The company had said that it would roll out the update in the Netherlands next week.

However, it came to our attention that Samsung had halted the rollout. We have conducted our own research can now independently confirm that Samsung has pulled Oreo for the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+. The Android 8.0 firmware files for these handsets are no longer available for download on Samsung’s servers. We have subsequently removed the Oreo firmware files from our database as well.

There’s going to be little impact for those who have already updated their devices to Android 8.0 Oreo. They can continue to use Oreo on their handsets normally as this doesn’t affect them.

We have received word from a source that Samsung is working on a new firmware version for the Galaxy S8 Android 8.0 release so it should be out soon, hopefully.

The reason behind halting the rollout is unclear at this point in time. We have reached out to Samsung for a comment on the matter and will update when we hear back.

The post Exclusive: Samsung stops Galaxy S8 Android 8.0 release, new version being developed appeared first on SamMobile.

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New logo trademark hints at Samsung smart glasses yet again

It has been rumored for more than four years now that Samsung could make its very own smart glasses similar to Google Glass. Some reports have even suggested that the wearable device would be called Gear Glass offer more advanced features than Google Glass. The company hasn’t released any such device so far but a new logo trademark has now surfaced which suggests that there may be hope yet for Samsung smart glasses.

Samsung smart glasses

Samsung has tons of patents detailing technologies and features for wearable smart glasses. Based on those patents, we reported two years ago that they will enable Samsung’s smart glasses to offer features that Google Glass can only dream of.

The company still has all of those patents and may have advanced some of those technologies even further. Samsung itself hasn’t revealed any plans of launching wearable smart glasses but it has filed to trademark a rather interesting logo which doesn’t fit in with any of its existing products.

The trademark filing’s description reveals that it may be used for “Smart glasses,” “Computerized vision-assisted eyewear consisting of a camera / computer / display for capturing / processing / displaying an image,” and “(computer hardware for analyzing and configuring vision-assisting eyewear” among many other uses.

It mentions vision assistance multiple times in the filing which suggests that this product, if it’s real, may be positioned as more than just a regular wearable product under the Gear family. It may serve a medical purpose as well by allowing owners to use their prescription lenses if need be.

A trademark filing isn’t enough to ascertain whether or not a product is going to be out soon. It’s circumstantial evidence at best and one that warrants attention because of the timing. Will we see something like this being announced alongside the Galaxy S9 on February 25? That remains a mystery for now.

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