Samsung may launch its ‘Uhssup’ social network with the Galaxy S9

Samsung filed a trademark for the ‘Uhssup’ brand name back in January. The trademark application described it as a mobile app for sharing real-time location with and communicating with friends. Nothing else was known about this mysterious service then.

A report from Heraldcorp, a South Korean media outlet, now says that Samsung may launch its ‘Uhssup’ social network with the Galaxy S9. The app will apparently come pre-loaded on the flagship devices.

Features that are already available in other popular apps

According to the report, apart from filing a trademark application for ‘Uhssup’ brand name with the EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office), Samsung has also filed trademark applications in Korea for ‘Uhssup’ and ‘Samsung Social’ names.

The report reiterates the functionality of ‘Uhssup’ as an app that allows users to share their location in real time and comment on the locations of other users. The app will also apparently have messaging features similar to other messaging services like WhatsApp. All these are features already available in other popular social networking apps which makes Samsung’s rumored service quite puzzling.

With the information we have so far, it is not clear what is Samsung’s rationale behind launching its own social network. Even a company like Google has struggled to come up with a successful social network despite having the most popular digital properties out there. Fortunately, we don’t have to wait too long to see what this new service is all about if it is going to launch with the Galaxy S9 series as the report states. Let’s hope it’s not another misadventure from Samsung like its ChatOn service.

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Samsung Internet v6.4 brings some new features and improvements

Samsung Internet version 6.4 is ready for prime time with the new update now rolling out to users in the stable channel. The latest update brings some new features that were only available in the beta version of Samsung Internet previously as well as some other improvements.

The latest version of Samsung’s default browser brings Web Bluetooth, improvements to the download manager, and region-specific features for users in India and China. It enables Web Bluetooth by default for developers and allows web applications to interact with Bluetooth Low Energy peripherals via a JavaScript API if the user accepts the Bluetooth permission request.

Brings new features and Chromium security patches

Samsung made improvements in version 6.4 to monitor and control your downloads in the browser. It is now possible to pause, resume, and cancel downloads right from the notification panel. The browser also allows users to rename files before downloading them.

The new version offers many improvements specific to the users in India and China. Users in India gain improvements pertaining to the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and quick access to live Cricket scores. Samsung Internet will now prompt users in India to save their UPI ID for easy access whenever they enter it on a web page. The new version also makes it easy to launch Samsung Pay from UPI ID fields to create new  IDs or make payments through the interface.

Samsung has also partnered with India Today to offer live Cricket scores to interested users through an optional downloadable extension. For users in China, Samsung has improved the customization options for the default start page which offers localized content from various internet partners in China. 

Finally, the new version also includes Chromium security patches to mitigate attacks from the ‘Spectre vulnerability’.

The new update will gradually roll out to users via the Google Play Store and Galaxy Apps Store in the next few days.

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Latest Galaxy S9 leak leaves little to the imagination

We’re less than a week away from the official launch of the Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S9+. While we already know what to expect from the Galaxy S9, a new leak has left little to the imagination. Not only does it reiterate what we’ve heard about the Galaxy S9’s specifications but it also brings some images of the Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S9+ as well. The leak likely stems from some retailer’s database.

As expected, the design itself is quite similar to the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+ with the bottom bezel being noticeably smaller. The placement of the fingerprint sensor below the camera is one major design change. We can also see the new Lilac Purple color in these images.

Samsung’s own teasers have suggested that the camera will perhaps be the biggest selling point of its new flagship. The leak reiterates that the Galaxy S9+ has a dual camera and that the camera on both models will feature f/1.5 and f/2.4 variable aperture. This will result in enhanced performance in both low-light and well-lit conditions. Reports about the slow-motion feature supporting up to 960fps have been backed up by this leak though the resolution hasn’t been revealed.

The company will finally be introducing stereo speakers to its flagship smartphones with the Galaxy S9. Tuned by AKG, the stereo speakers will provide surround sound using the bottom-firing speaker and the earpiece which will double as a speaker as well.

No new revelations have been made in this latest Galaxy S9 leak as far as the specifications are concerned. The Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ feature 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch 2960 x 1440 pixel resolution 18.5:9 aspect ratio displays, Exynos 9810 processor in most markets as well as 3,000mAh and 3,500mAh batteries.

The base model will feature 64GB of storage and the Galaxy S9 will feature 4GB of RAM while the Galaxy S9+ will get 6GB. Both models will also be available in a dual-SIM variant.

No word as yet on the pricing but Samsung is reportedly going to start taking pre-orders for the Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S9+ on February 25, the very same day that they’re unveiled, with shipments starting March 8.

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Alleged Galaxy Tab S4 benchmark reveals specifications

The Android tablet market has been staring at an uncertain future for some time now. Between lack of interest from Google, lackluster customer demand, slower replacement cycles, and phablets cannibalizing sales, demand for tablets has slowed down. IDC recently published its tablet shipment numbers for 2017 which revealed that the global tablet market saw a 7.9% decline year-on-year while Samsung’s tablet shipments were down by 6.4%, conceding the second spot to Amazon Kindle Fire tablets.

Taking note of the uncertainties in the tablet market, Samsung has been lying low in the Android tablet space for the last couple of years. The company has cut down on the number of models and the frequency of new tablet launche. Samsung launched the Galaxy Tab S3 last year as its flagship tablet. Though the tablet itself was a good performer, the Android tablet experience left a lot to be desired. If we are to believe a listing on the GFXBench benchmarking website, then it seems Samsung has plans to launch a successor to the Galaxy Tab S3.

An Infinity Display finally?

As per the GFXBench listing, the alleged Galaxy Tab S4 (model number SM-T835) sports a 10.5-inch screen with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels. It will run Android 8.0 Oreo and will be powered by a Snapdragon 835 processor coupled with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal memory. It will come with a 12-megapixel rear camera and a 7-megapixel front camera. While the internals point towards an evolutionary upgrade, there are rumors that the Galaxy Tab S4 will receive a major design refresh in the form of an Infinity Display.

The Galaxy Tab S4 was one of the unannounced devices mentioned in the leaked Galaxy Note 8 Oreo build. Apart from that tiny hint, so far, we haven’t come across any credible information about the Galaxy Tab S4’s existence or launch date. Although benchmark results can be fabricated easily, Samsung working on a successor to its flagship tablet shouldn’t be much of a surprise.

If the Galaxy Tab S4 is indeed in the works, then one would expect it to make an appearance, along with the Galaxy S9 , at the Mobile World Congress 2018 in Barcelona later this month because the Galaxy Tab S3 was unveiled at MWC 2017. However, there’s no concrete evidence available as yet to support the theory. There isn’t any evidence of firmware development for a device with model number SM-T835.

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Samsung aiming for sales of over $10 billion in India this year

India is a key market for Samsung and even though it’s under increasing pressure from the likes of Xiaomi, the company has been trying hard to hold on to its dominant position in the Indian market. The company’s total sales for 2017 reached nearly $9 billion in India and it wants to do better than that in 2018. Samsung is targeting sales of over $10 billion in the country this calendar year.

Smartphones will decide if Samsung achieves this goal

This was revealed by senior Samsung executives in discussions with business partners during a recent global meet. The company’s sales will be driven by its smartphones, premium TVs and home appliances such as washing machines and refrigerators. Samsung will be focusing on these products for the Indian market this year.

Samsung India is now confident that it will be able to exceed $10 billion in sales even though Xiaomi has been making life difficult for the Korean giant in the smartphone market. Smartphones are the largest sales contributor for Samsung in India as they account for 60 percent of all sales. The remaining 40 percent is generated by consumer electronics products.

This means that Samsung’s performance in the smartphone market will decide whether or not it’s able to achieve this goal. Samsung is revamping its strategy to take on Xiaomi in this lucrative market but it remains to be seen if the new strategy will deliver the kind of results that Samsung needs to keep its Chinese rival at bay.

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SamMobile Firmware Update Magazine: February 19, 2018

Welcome to the latest edition of our weekly Firmware Magazine. You can think of it as your go-to resource to find out which of your Samsung devices has received a new update or if it’s going to receive a new firmware update in the near future.

To keep things interesting, we present the Firmware Magazine in new designs every week. It will always include the important details about firmware updates such as the firmware versions, device model numbers, Android OS versions and the country where said update is out already.

SamMobile Firmware Update Magazine

Keep in mind, however, that these firmware details are based on the firmware that are available in our database, and in some cases, the latest updates might not show in the same week as the full firmware files take additional time to make it to our database.

The purpose of this magazine is to bring all of that important information about firmware updates to you, the reader, in a manner that’s easy to comprehend—so even if you’re new to the world of firmware, you’ll have no trouble making sense of it all.

Click on the image below to grab the latest firmware magazine!

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